Jump to content

Fluval 13.5 gal Sea Evo for a planted shrimp tank?


She11kat

Recommended Posts

I have a Fluval 13.5 gal Sea Evo and I want to set it up as a planted shrimp tank. I have had a lot of aquariums but never a planted shrimp tank

 

-Tank size 22 x 11.5 x 15 in

-Fluval 3 stage filtration. Its an overflow type filter

-Pump Output: 500 L/h (132 US Gal/h)

-Lumens: 1383 LM

-Color Temperature: 14000K

 

Right now the tank has:
-50w EHEIM Jager heater
-Flourite Black Sand and rock for aquascape
-Dwarf baby tears
-A Coco Petite Nana
-A Nana Golden
-4 Echinodorus Aflame
-3 Blyxa Japonica

Is the water flow strong for Shrimp and the plants, can I actually have shrimp in this tank, additional plants if needed, is the stock lighting is good enough for the plants and basically any good advice you guys are willing to give

I basically need help from people with expertise and experience. I have asked this question on other forums and got no answers or just a "yep your good to go". Please help

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi @She11kat,

is the tank completely cycled? It must not have any detectable ammonia or nitrite.

What type of shrimp will you be planning on keeping in the tank?

The type of shrimp will determine what pH, TDS, KH and temperature the tank should be.

While we are at it... you need to get a reading of pH, TDS, KH and temp of your tank/water parameters.

 

Do you know what type of rock you have in the tank? Many rocks leech minerals and will alter water parameters, especially in a small tank. If you don't know, remove the rock. Stable water parameters is better than a constantly changing environment.

Apart from that "yep, you're good to go".

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I haven't decided on the type of shrimp yet. My tank has fully cycled, well if just having plants in the tank counts. All my plants are babies right now so I am waiting until they fill in a bit so the shrimp have a good home. I purchased the Nutrafin Master test kit but I am not sure it test for everything I need for shrimp.

The rocks I have in the tank are local river rock that has been cleaned an sterilize via scrubbing and baking in a 450 degree oven for 90 mins. I have used this process for 16 years for the rocks I put in my tank but if you think I need to get rid of them I will. 

The filter out put is pretty strong it makes quite a current in the tank. I am worried it maybe to strong. I was also wondering about the overflow. Is it going to suck the shrimp in?

Oh and I don't have moss in my tank, I have dwarf baby tears. Is moss a must?

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, She11kat said:

Nutrafin Master test kit

That kit will not have tests for TDS and temp.

Temperature is easy. You just need a thermometer. 

TDS is measured with a TDS meter, which can be purchased easily and cheaply off ebay.

 

As for the rock, it's best to test pH, KH and TDS to see if it is leeching carbonates. If the rock is limestone based, the pH and KH will increase slowly over time.

3 hours ago, She11kat said:

wondering about the overflow.

All those holes need to be blocked off with mesh or foam. Otherwise adult and baby shrimps will get sucked into the filter area. I think filter foam would be easiest to apply.

Doesn't your Sea Evo tank come with a little plastic plate that fits over the overflow holes? That plate allows you to control the water flow, which should help with the output strength.

3 hours ago, She11kat said:

Is moss a must?

Moss is not crucial. But it is good for a shrimp only tank, since moss is low light, low maintenance and offer lots of hiding and grazing area for adult and baby shrimps alike.

 

Edited by jayc
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok I will get a TDS meter and watch for any changes in PH/KH/TDS. The test kit tests for Phosphate, Calcium, Nitrate, Nitrite, Ammonia, pH High Range, pH Low Range, Carbonate Hardness, General Hardness, and Iron. Beside the TDS is there other additional parameters I need to be testing for?

The tank does have a little plastic plate that fits over the overflow holes but it doesn't affect the power of the pump. If you raise is eventually the filter chamber water level just gets lower and lower.

I really appreciate your help, out of 3 different forums you have been the only person to really help and provide some guidance. I don't know what I am doing wrong but I must be forum handicapped

 

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, She11kat said:

Beside the TDS is there other additional parameters I need to be testing for?

The most common tests for a shrimp tank are pH, KH, GH and TDS.  

Temperature is also important and needs to be constant cool 22-24degC (not sure what that is in F, but you can convert it).

Ammonia and Nitrite is another important test, but is done less frequently after the tank is cycled.

3 hours ago, She11kat said:

If you raise is eventually the filter chamber water level just gets lower and lower.

Hmm. Then the only other way is to replace the pump with a lower flow one if you are concerned it is too strong. The SeaEvo tank is built for a marine setup, hence the high flow, as corals like the high flow.

 

3 hours ago, She11kat said:

I don't know what I am doing wrong but I must be forum handicapped

Nah, not you. The forum is only as good as the people on it. SKFA has the most friendly of people on any aquatic forum that I have been on. 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Join Our Community!

    Register today, ask questions and share your shrimp and fish tank experiences with us!

  • Must Read SKF Articles

  • Posts

    • beanbag
      Update to say that after a few gravel vacs, front wall scrub, moss / floating plant trim, that the condition seems to have improved.  My current theory is that it is due to waste / debris management, where "stuff" like that brown mulm accumulates in the substrate and behind the HMF filters.  Maybe some tanks can somehow deal with it, but mine can't.  Also another experienced shrimper suggested that maybe those "shell bugs" don't just live on the shrimps but also in this debris.  Maybe this is the reason some tanks fail due to "old tank syndrome" where all they need is a good gravel vac? Also, I am guessing that plant trim helps too because now more of the nutrients and light go into growing algae instead of more plants? Well anyway for this tank I will try weekly water change and monthly gravel vac / plant trim.  For my next tank, I'm thinking of something like an under-gravel system where this mulm can fall down and I vac it out.
    • sdlTBfanUK
      Good to have an update and good to hear you are getting shrimplets, so hopefully your colony will continue and you may not get to the point where you have to cull some to stop over population. These type of shrimp only live 12 - 18 months so the adult deaths may be natural? If you have the time I would do weekly 25% water changes, adding the new water via a drip system and do some vacuuming clean of the substrate each week, even if only a different bit each week! See if that helps in a few months and if it does then stick with that regime? It should help reduce any build-ups that may be occuring!
    • beanbag
      Hello again, much belated update: The tank still has "cycles" of 1-2 month "good streaks" where everybody seems to be doing well, and then a bad streak where the short antenna problem shows up again, and a shrimp dies once every few days.  I am not sure what causes things to go bad, but usually over the course of a few days I will start to see more shrimp quietly standing on the HMF filter, and so I know something is wrong.  Since I am not "doing anything" besides the regular 1-2 week water changes, I just assume that something bad is building up.  Here's a list of things that I've tried that are supposed to be "can't hurt" but didn't prevent the problem either: Dose every other day with Shrimp Fit (very small dose, and the shrimp seem to like it) Sotching Oxydator Seachem Purigen to keep the nitrates lower Keeping the pH below 5.5 with peat Things that I don't do often, so could possibly "reset" the tank back to a good streak, are gravel vac and plant trim, so maybe time to try those again. One other problem I used to have was that sometimes a shrimp would suddenly stop eating with a full or partially full digestive tract that doesn't clear out, and then the shrimp will die within a few days.  I suspected it was one of the foods in my rotation - Shrimp Nature Infection, which contains a bunch of herbal plant things.  I've had this in my food rotation for a few years now and generally didn't seem to cause problems, but I removed it from the rotation anyway.  I don't have a lot of adult Golden Bees at this point so I can't really tell if it worked or not. Overall the tank is not too bad - during the good streaks occasionally a shrimp will get berried and hatch babies with a 33-50% survival rate.  So while there are fewer adults now, there are also a bunch of babies roaming around.  I guess this tank will stagger on, but I really do need to take the time to start up a new tank.  (or figure out the problem)
    • jayc
      If that is the offspring, then the parents are unlikely to be PRL. I tend to agree with you. There are very few PRLs in Australia. And any that claim to be needs to show proof. PRL genes have to start as PRL. CRS that breed true after x generations doesn't turn it into a PRL. Neither can a Taiwan bee shrimp turn into a PRL despite how ever many generations. I've never seen a PRL with that sort of red colour. I have on Red Wines and Red Shadows - Taiwan bee shrimps. So somewhere down the line one of your shrimp might have been mixed with Taiwan bees and is no longer PRL. It just tanks one shrimp to mess up the genes of a whole colony. 
    • sdlTBfanUK
      Sorry, missed this one somehow! The PRL look fantastic and the odd ones look part PRL and part Red wine/Red shadow in the colour. They are still very beautiful but ideally should be seperated to help keep the PRL clean if you can do that.  Nice clear photos!
×
×
  • Create New...