Yeah I will be suprised if they didnt thrive.

 

I got rili's just after I got my CRS haha although I got 20+ compared to 10 CRS. Now I got a stupid amount of rili's and 20 CRS :S. probably should cull 40 or so rili's but now sure what to do with them.

 

enjoying the updates. Cant wait for the shrimp pics.

Having too many shrimp and needing to cull a bunch is a problem I look forward to .

 

I picked up some Stability at lunch and dosed the tank.  Hopefully it will kick start my tank's cycle.

Yeah I will be suprised if they didnt thrive.

 

I got rili's just after I got my CRS haha although I got 20+ compared to 10 CRS. Now I got a stupid amount of rili's and 20 CRS :S. probably should cull 40 or so rili's but now sure what to do with them.

 

enjoying the updates. Cant wait for the shrimp pics.

 

Sell them if their good quality, or cull them, sell them to a LFS for store credit, or donate to someone plenty of options :)

Having too many shrimp and needing to cull a bunch is a problem I look forward to .

 

I picked up some Stability at lunch and dosed the tank.  Hopefully it will kick start my tank's cycle.

Keep us updated should help you a bit

Sell them if their good quality, or cull them, sell them to a LFS for store credit, or donate to someone plenty of options :)

 

 

lol I wouldnt sell my culls they are so bad. I was thinking of giving them away if anyone would want them haha.

 

sorry for going off subject. What is the most humane way of "culling" a cull?

sorry for going off subject. What is the most humane way of "culling" a cull?

sorry for going off subject. What is the most humane way of "culling" a cull?

Bring em to mine for cichlid food thats where all my bad ones go and i keep the decent culls to get someone else started on thier shrimp journey lol

I would think putting them in an ice bath or cold water in the fridge for 30 mins to an 1 hr ( puts them to sleep ) and then either slicing in between the eyes or crushing there heads as quick as possible.

I used clove oil to euthanise sick fish in the past as recommended by rspca. but feeding them to something bigger and continuing the circle of life maybe best :-)

I've seen matt moron at a salmon farm and they dope up the females with clove oil and extract the eggs.

+ 1 on the circle of life...if one of mine dies the others usually eat it still kicking . As a species I think we have a pretty distorted view on the life cycle of the planet.

+2 circle of life. That we have a distorted view of life as a species is probably an understatement. In fact it certainly is. 

Day 25-28 (1/22-1/25)

The tank has been setup for 4 weeks and there still is no sign that it has started cycling.  On Day 25, I started adding Seachem Stability.  I am dosing every 12 hours.  According to user comments I have read as well as the manufacturer, you can’t overdose Stability.  I don’t mind wasting some if it gets my cycle going a little faster.  In addition to the Stability, yesterday I added some ceramic filter media from my community tank to both AquaClears.

 

The algae has continued to expand at an alarming rate.  It looks like it may have choked out some of my moss.  In an attempt to get it under control, last night I dosed the tank with Seachem Prime and added a couple of Otocinclus.  I will continue to dose with Prime until the tank finishes cycling (if that ever happens).  

 

If the algae continues to expand, the only thing l can think of to do is daily WCs.  If I do 80% WCs for a week maybe all the extra nutrients will be leached out of the AS.

 

As always, I appreciate any comments and/or advice.

 

 

Your tank is looking great!

Really like your chart and graph.

I think you have done the right thing introducing the otos. It's quite possible that your tank may have cycled as much as it can with out a bioload. You should see a rise in nitrate now you have something in there.

Looking forward to your updates and pics as the tank matures.

Your tank is looking great!

Really like your chart and graph.

I think you have done the right thing introducing the otos. It's quite possible that your tank may have cycled as much as it can with out a bioload. You should see a rise in nitrate now you have something in there.

Looking forward to your updates and pics as the tank matures.

Thanks Inverted.  

 

The chart and graph are generated by the iOS app I use to track my tank as well as remind me of maintenance.  It isn't perfect, but it does most things I need it to do.  It is called Aquarimate.  If anyone knows of a better app, please let me know.

 

I hope your are right about the otos.  They don't seem very happy in their new tank.  They are swimming the glass most of the time like they are looking for a way out.  I know that Seachem Prime makes the ammonia in the tank non-toxic, but I wonder if it is still stressing the otos.

I tried to get some pics of the otos.  Below are the two best shots I got.  They weren't very cooperative.

While trying to get a shot of the otos, the largest snail I have seen in the tank by far showed itself.  It is a ramshorn, right?

Before tonight, this is the biggest snail I have seen in the tank.

Day 25-28 (1/22-1/25)

The tank has been setup for 4 weeks and there still is no sign that it has started cycling.  On Day 25, I started adding Seachem Stability.  I am dosing every 12 hours.  According to user comments I have read as well as the manufacturer, you can’t overdose Stability.  I don’t mind wasting some if it gets my cycle going a little faster.  In addition to the Stability, yesterday I added some ceramic filter media from my community tank to both AquaClears.

 

The algae has continued to expand at an alarming rate.  It looks like it may have choked out some of my moss.  In an attempt to get it under control, last night I dosed the tank with Seachem Prime and added a couple of Otocinclus.  I will continue to dose with Prime until the tank finishes cycling (if that ever happens).  

 

If the algae continues to expand, the only thing l can think of to do is daily WCs.  If I do 80% WCs for a week maybe all the extra nutrients will be leached out of the AS.

 

As always, I appreciate any comments and/or advice.

 

 

 

Your picture is way too small to see the algae. What type of algae are you getting?

Your picture is way too small to see the algae. What type of algae are you getting?

I am not sure.  It is fuzzy like BBA but in my experience BBA forms more clumps than this algae.  

 

Here is a picture of a branch that has been covered by the algae.  Below the image is a thumbnail.  If you click on it, it should open the image in a new window.  If you then click on the new image it should bring up a full resolution (2692x1793) version of the picture. 

In the picture below you can see the algae at the base of the moss.

Hey mate,

 

Those are not algae. It looks like fungi to me.

 

What driftwood are those? Driftwood that are not aged will grow fungus. Fungus is good, it provides food source to plankton, shrimp and otocinclus.

Hey mate,

 

Those are not algae. It looks like fungi to me.

 

What driftwood are those? Driftwood that are not aged will grow fungus. Fungus is good, it provides food source to plankton, shrimp and otocinclus.

Thanks Shrimpy Daddy!!  I am so glad to hear that it is not algae.  I had BBA in my community tank and it was a nightmare to get rid of.

 

The driftwood is Spider Wood that I purchased from my LFS.  It was clean when I put it in the tank.  Shortly afterward the white stuff (fungus?) started to appear on it.  The brown fungus showed up later.  The smaller stuff is Cholla wood.  

Yeah.... BBA is tough. But the worst is spirogyra. At least BBA does not look bad if you leave it alone. It turns pink colour when it is in acidic water (below ph 6.0) and can be pleasing sometime.

 

For new tank that is using ADA AS, spirogyra is a big concern. It will appear when there is ammonia spike under high lighting condition. Since you had lowered the lighting, it should not appear.

 

The "brown fungus" might be diatom coating the fungus. If diatom appears, it is sign of your tank is slowly cycling. This opposed to your testing that the tank is not cycling. The high ammonium may got to do with the ADA AS and also any kind of anti-chlorine or slime coat you are adding. Are you adding any of these sort of product?

 

To remove the ammonium effectively and safely, put in a couple packs of Purigen into your filter. You will see it drops significantly within 24 hours. Purigen will prevent massive ammonium and nitrite spike.

 

Here are a few more good sign to show your tank is cycling:

1. Appearance of critters, such as cyclop and white round worm.
2. Your plant is growing and the leaf stopped melting.
3. Any green algae is growing, such as GSA and GDA.

 

The "brown fungus" might be diatom coating the fungus. If diatom appears, it is sign of your tank is slowly cycling. This opposed to your testing that the tank is not cycling. The high ammonium may got to do with the ADA AS and also any kind of anti-chlorine or slime coat you are adding. Are you adding any of these sort of product?

 

To remove the ammonium effectively and safely, put in a couple packs of Purigen into your filter. You will see it drops significantly within 24 hours. Purigen will prevent massive ammonium and nitrite spike.

 

Here are a few more good sign to show your tank is cycling:

1. Appearance of critters, such as cyclop and white round worm.
2. Your plant is growing and the leaf stopped melting.
3. Any green algae is growing, such as GSA and GDA.

 

Before I added the Otos, I was not using any water conditioners on the RO water except Salty Shrimp GH+.  I started adding Seachem Prime when I added the Otos to detoxify the ammonia in the tank.  I don't think Prime adds a slime coat, but I will check.

 

After the first week of daily water changes, the ADA AS was only bringing the ammonia level to 0.25ppm. I didn't think that was enough to get a cycle going so I added some ammonia to bring the level up to about 2ppm.  The ammonia brand I am using was recommended by several people online and I used it to cycle another tank so I am fairly confident it doesn't have any additives.

 

I planned to add purigen once my tank cycled.  I was afraid if I added it before that it would slow down the cycle.  If that is not the case, I will pick some up and put it in the tank tonight.

 

Thanks again for all your help.  I was starting to get a little discourage with my tank not cycling and being taken over by "algae".  I'll keep an eye out for the positive signs you listed.

Prime will give you false ammonium reading. It has chemical to alleviate ammonium level, which supposed to increase cycling efficiency. However, this does not work. I had tested that bacteria will fix ammonia and not ammonium.

 

"I didn't think that was enough to get a cycle going so I added some ammonia to bring the level up to about 2ppm." <--- This is a bad idea. The ADA AS will slowly leech ammonium and will not have large spike. Adding ammonia will have a large spike and will kill anything in the tank, which includes bacteria. Next if you are using ADA AS, don't add anymore ammonia, just use alkaline water to leech the ammonia out faster. ;) If you are using inert substrate, you could use ammonium sulphate or ammonia and dose to maximum 1ppm. 

 

"I planned to add purigen once my tank cycled.  I was afraid if I added it before that it would slow down the cycle." <--- The most effective technique is to have gradual ammonium/ ammonia releases into the water. Hence, having 0.5ppm and below ammonium level constantly is better than 2ppm spike. Too much ammonia and nitrite will kill everything in your tank, including your plant.

 

By the way, cycling a tank is not just about ammonia and nitrite. These are the two parameters have been talking by everyone is because they are measurable easily. Hence, all the aquarium products are hyping on them. There are much more complicated stuffs happening during cycling stage. For example, protein-fixing bacteria, sugar-fixing bacteria and plankton will also need to colonise to maintain the environment. One good way to seed some of these microbes is to use a pipette and stick into your community tank's substrate at about 1 to 2cm deep and suck out the water. Dose the water into your new tank. A healthy substrate will contain concoction of all the beneficial microbes that no product in the market has. Do this once a week until your tank is fully cycled. :)

Thanks once again Shrimpy Daddy.  I will do a WC tonight to reduce the ammonia level.  I will add some purigen at that time. I will also stop adding ammonia and let the ADA AS and the Otos take care of adding ammonia to the tank.

 

For the last few days, I have been dosing with Seachem Stability.  Should I continue?

 

Based on your comment, I will stop using Prime to detoxify the ammonia.  Will the Otos be able to survive?

 

Thank you for the education.  I had no idea there was so much involved in cycling a tank. 

No worries, mate.

 

Stability is fine. But.... One problem with the bacteria in the Stability is that they create a lot of thick biofilm. Not a bad thing, just that it annoys me when my tank glass gets blurry and it tends to allow algae to stick. Pardon me, I am very OCD. LOL!!!

 

I doubt the Prime will totally detox ammonia; tried before and does not really work. Instead, the aerobic bacteria in Stability will consume the ammonia quite rapidly. Once you perform large water change (Sometime Oto may not like it. You have to premix the water 24 hours beforehand) and added Purigen, the ammonium level will decline rapidly.

 

Cycling is usually easy and not complicated. However, there are many methods circulating around and tends to confuse people. Not saying they don't work, but most of them are for general aquarium and not targeting on shrimp tank or planted tank. I think up till now, there is no real article that talks about how to cycle a shrimp tank in a controlled manner.

I have a bin next to the tank that is connected to my RO filter.  It has been filled since my last WC several days ago but I haven't added SS GH+ yet.  I'll add the GH+ and do a WC in 24 hours.  Out of curiosity, why is it important to premix the water 24 hours in advance?

 

Thanks again for spending so much time helping and teaching me.  I am sure a lot people will benefit from this thread because of your comments.

When salts just dissolved in the water, they are very reactive/ aggressive and could kill. Only are all the ions are in equilibrium, then they will be gentle to livestock.

When salts just dissolved in the water, they are very reactive/ aggressive and could kill. Only are all the ions are in equilibrium, then they will be gentle to livestock.

Thanks, I didn't know that.  I have been mixing right before refilling the tank after a WC.  Could this have killed my ammonia eating bacteria?