# | ShrimpTech | v3 | R.I.P. |



## shrimpnmoss (Apr 8, 2011)

*Modular UGF Tank * will incorporate all the benefits of running an UGF shrimp tank, while minimizing the problems of active substrate and UGF with active substrate. A modular tank can be adapted to most common dwarf water shrimps ranging from Caridinas, Neocaridinas, Sulawesi and Tigers all requiring different water parameters with out a tank rebuild.

*Issues with previous versions:*
- active substrate is exhausted in about ~10-12 months when using UGF
- must tear down the tank to replace the substrate
- inability to vacuum or remove mulm from substrate
- water parameters are not reliable after 10-12 months which led to decreased baby survival from 90% TO 50% then to 20-10%
- hard to predict how much your soil will actually buffer the pH 
1) Africana + Amazonia II = pH 6.4 to 6.8
2) Fluval Shrimp Stratum = pH 6.5 for only a few months
3) Lots of Africana + New Amazonia = pH 4.6-4.8
4) New Amazonia = pH 5.5
- once set up hard to change water parameters when changing out shrimps
*
Proposed Solution: *
Build as close to a pH and TDS neutral tank as possible and remove the active substrate from the tank. Use active substrate in a reactor so the active substrate can be changed and replaced. This will also allow me to control how much substrate and composition to use in the canister/reactor. I will now be able to "hot swap" pre-cycled cartridges at regular intervals. Sulawesi use some coral chips. Tigers use minimal amount of active substrate with a bit of coral chips. CRS full cartridge of active substrate. TB use Africana. I will also use a long-lasting inert substrate in tank that can be vacuumed from time to time to help remove mulm. Run reverse UGF on 1/2 of the tank to further help push the mulm up out of the substrate.

*Substrate:*
I requested some samples from www.substratesource.com to evaluate. After testing pH and TDS of the samples. I ended up ordering the following: 

1080 cubic inches of NM0110
http://www.substratesource.com/index.php?p=substrate&pn=NM0110

500 cubic inches of NT0101
http://www.substratesource.com/index.php?p=substrate&pn=NT0101

I haven't decided if I'm going to use the natural sand as final top layer yet. I'm afraid over time it might fall down through the gravel layer.


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## shrimpnmoss (Apr 8, 2011)

*Left UGF* - Air Driven regular UGF. Water travels down through the substrate.
*Right UGF* - Reverse UGF where the UGF is the "spraybar" from the canister to push water upwards.







*
First Layer of lava Rocks and coco puffs all pre-cycled from the tank teardown.*









*Remineralized RO to 200ppm. Tested water 24 hours later. pH and TDS holding steady.*









*Media Reactor Pre Filter. Not being used currently, because I want the pH to be neutral for BTOE and Royal Blue Tigers.*








*Close up of gravel. I chose a lighter inert gravel because it is hard to see black shrimp in dark substrate.*


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## shrimpnmoss (Apr 8, 2011)

10 BTOE & Royal Blues from Nick. 10 BTOE from Jimko.


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## Bananariot (Feb 28, 2012)

In line canister for active substrate?
Fluorite or small grain lava rock for substrate?

I'm excited to see this project. The reactor is a great idea!


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## jkan0228 (Feb 6, 2011)

+1 what are you going to be using for substrate? 

Will you using pre filters to swap out the active substrates? What substrates will you be using? 

Will you be using basically trial and error and constant testing to see what amount of substrate will last how long?

Are the red things on the left UGF connectors or are they blockers for the holes?


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## madness (Jul 31, 2011)

Sooner or later someone is going to figure out a clever way of using something other than a tank full of active substrate to lower the pH of water for soft water shrimp tanks in a similarly reliable and consistent fashion.

Beyond what I feel comfortable trying but someone will figure something clever out eventually.

edit: this doesn't seem so different from what the powerhouse filter media is designed to do.


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## 2in10 (Feb 8, 2011)

Intriguing setup, an interesting sounding solution.


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## shrimpnmoss (Apr 8, 2011)

+1 what are you going to be using for substrate? 

*See update on post #1*

Will you using pre filters to swap out the active substrates? What substrates will you be using? 

*Post #1*

Will you be using basically trial and error and constant testing to see what amount of substrate will last how long?
*
I took a base line reading with no active substrate in the system. Then will adjust accordingly.
*
Are the red things on the left UGF connectors or are they blockers for the holes?
*They are blockers to close some holes closer to the start to get a more even flow through the UGF.*


Update.


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## shrimpnmoss (Apr 8, 2011)

Updated shrimp pics.


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## h4n (Jan 4, 2006)

very nice idea Howard!


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## Michiba54 (Nov 24, 2011)

shrimpnmoss said:


> I haven't decided if I'm going to use the natural sand as final top layer yet. I'm afraid over time it might fall down through the gravel layer.


Haven't mixed the two myself, but from what I have seen of other people who have it will probably sink within a few weeks at the most.... and potentially look horrible depending on the sand/gravel ratio.

EDIT: I just looked at your pictures again and that is a pretty deep bed of gravel. Me thinks your sand would just disappear.


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## shrimpnmoss (Apr 8, 2011)

Michiba54 said:


> Haven't mixed the two myself, but from what I have seen of other people who have it will probably sink within a few weeks at the most.... and potentially look horrible depending on the sand/gravel ratio.
> EDIT: I just looked at your pictures again and that is a pretty deep bed of gravel. Me thinks your sand would just disappear.


I think you are right. I nixed the sand over gravel idea. If I ever do a inert sand tank. It'll be without UGF or gravel. Too many potential issues.

*Water Changes*

Losing shrimps after a water change? I don't have that problem. Here I'm doing a large water change. I'll slow down the water changes as the tank matures.

1) Drop the water filling 5g bucket
2) Fill the bucket with 5g of RO
3) Remineralize with Salty Shrimp GH+ mineral.
a) 200ppm for Tigers
b) 120ppm for Pure Lines. Only 1/2 gallon at a time. Very very small water changes. 5%-10%. I also drip in top offs for Pure Lines.
c) 150ppm for TTs

http://www.alphaprobreeders.com/bee-shrimp-mineral-gh-1-000-grams/

4) Drip the incoming water. 2-3 drops per second. It takes me about 4-5 hours to drip 5g of new water.

Tip: Attach two air line suction cups to the line. One in tank, one in bucket so the air line doesn't move.

5) Take your time. Start in the morning or drip it overnight. Shrimps are expensive, no need to rush.

6) Change water with the lights off. Less stress for the shrimps.


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## Michiba54 (Nov 24, 2011)

Do you filter your water through a DI filter too or just RO?


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## shrimpnmoss (Apr 8, 2011)

Michiba54 said:


> Do you filter your water through a DI filter too or just RO?


It is super RODI water I buy from the store 25g at a time. The store is called Water To Go. They use a 12 stage filter system the size of my living room. The water is filtered through Particle, Carbon, RO, DI, UV, Ozone then a final carbon polish. I figure a home RODI system can't top a monster commercial one. I only run 3 tanks and really don't change water that often. 25g usually last me 1.5 weeks and that is with the family drinking it too.


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## Geniusdudekiran (Dec 6, 2010)

Bada-pa-pa-paa, I'm lovin' it :hihi:

Lucky you, you live near a hippie-water store  :hihi:. At least my tap works well...


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## shrimpnmoss (Apr 8, 2011)

This tank settled at a pH of 7.5. So I deployed the Modular Part of the UGF. Now the pH is 6.5 perfect to house BTOE and CRS/CBS. I have some extra Beni Mixed CBS/CRS that I will toss in here soon. There are about 4-5 cups of New Amazonia in the Pre Filter.


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## jrwestcoast (Jun 28, 2011)

Did u cycle the new Amazonia before you put it in?


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## shrimpnmoss (Apr 8, 2011)

jrwestcoast said:


> Did u cycle the new Amazonia before you put it in?


Yup, I have a whole tub of pre cycled 3 month old Amazonia from the tank breakdown before I switched to natural gravel. The old version had Africana and Amazonia taking the ph down into the 4's...yikes...that's why I had to redo the tank.

...lol...you can see the corner of my tub of cycled Amazonia in the background of the pic....I have another tub of Africana too.


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## antiquefloorman (Oct 8, 2011)

How do you store your pre cycled aqua soil?? How do you keep it from souring??
Thanks,
Tim


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## shrimpnmoss (Apr 8, 2011)

antiquefloorman said:


> How do you store your pre cycled aqua soil?? How do you keep it from souring??
> Thanks,
> Tim


The previous version of this 20L was only 3 month old. It had fully cycled Aquasoil. I leached out all the ammonia from that soil.

I took the AS out kept it in a large storage bin. I dry it out completely first though. Once the Aquasoil is cycled it re-cycles very quickly the second time when reused. (a few days typically) Contrary to popular belief not all beneficial bacteria dies when dried. There are types bacteria that will go dormant when dried out and quickly revive when re submerged. Mosura BT-9 & ADA Bacter 100 are examples of products use dry bacteria. The main point of using cycled Aquasoil is to get all the ammonia to leach out. I have enough cycled Aquasoil to swap out this canister 5-6 times.

I'll cycle more in an empty tank when I start running out. 

My next goal is to find a inert black substrate that won't breakdown and that's not coated with anything. This natural gravel looks great for Black Tigers because of the contrast. It won't look so good for CRS/CBS shrimps.


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## shrimpnmoss (Apr 8, 2011)

Bought myself a Father's Day gift from the LFS today. 1 horned bumble bee nerite and a 1/2 zebra 1/2 something else nerite...look at the weird shell pattern:eek5:

























Berried Female BTOE


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## jrwestcoast (Jun 28, 2011)

Hope the nerite snails are both males otherwise you are going to have a tank full of eggs in a couple of weeks.


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## bostoneric (Sep 7, 2011)

be super careful with those prefilters, those nipples break off really easy.
I've busted 4 of them, had water all over the place 1 time 
finally found metal replacements for the top nipples.
check ebay for the metal replacements


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## honda237 (Aug 11, 2010)

Tank and shrimp looks awesome and very creative with the UGF. 
What ph meter do you use?
This:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Brand-New-D...676?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cca7757e4
don't mean to thread jack.


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## honda237 (Aug 11, 2010)

shrimpnmoss said:


> 3) Remineralize with Salty Shrimp GH+ mineral.
> *a) 200ppm for Tigers
> b) 120ppm for Pure Lines. Only 1/2 gallon at a time. Very very small water changes. 5%-10%. I also drip in top offs for Pure Lines.
> c) 150ppm for TTs*
> ...



Also plan on switching my tigers and neos over to this stuff, what is your ph for those tds?


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## shrimpnmoss (Apr 8, 2011)

honda237 said:


> Tank and shrimp looks awesome and very creative with the UGF.
> What ph meter do you use?
> This:
> [Ebay Link Removed]
> don't mean to thread jack.


Yeah, that POS cheap Ph pen broke on me after a couple of month's of use. You get what you pay for.



honda237 said:


> Also plan on switching my tigers and neos over to this stuff, what is your ph for those tds?


see above...I can't measure PH anymore...LOL...and I've switch this whole tank to tap water and the shrimps are doing fine. The modular UGF was working for a while, but I had to disconnect it. The 2215 was not strong enough. A canister full of Aquasoil creates tremendous load on the filter. It was sucking air through some unknown joint. After I disconnected it the air problem was solved. 

I also lost a bunch of Tigers over my vacation because it got into the 90s while I was gone for 2 weeks and no one was home to turn on the fan.

The surviving tigers are doing well as are the fire yellows....the yellows are going gang busters right now...damn Neos....they're pretty much bullet proof.


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## shrimpnmoss (Apr 8, 2011)

bostoneric said:


> be super careful with those prefilters, those nipples break off really easy.
> I've busted 4 of them, had water all over the place 1 time
> finally found metal replacements for the top nipples.
> check ebay for the metal replacements


Yeah bro. Mine didn't break but it wasn't a clean seal and I was getting air in the canister. When I redo Modular UGF, I'll use a old canister filter next time instead of that unpowered prefilter.


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## ren (May 19, 2010)

Too bad the prefilter filled with amazona didn't work out so well. 
So whats next tech/DIY for the tank? Whatdoes the tank look like
now?


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## shrimpnmoss (Apr 8, 2011)

ren said:


> Too bad the prefilter filled with amazona didn't work out so well.
> So whats next tech/DIY for the tank? Whatdoes the tank look like
> now?


Yeah, the motor wasn't powerful enough to pull the water without pulling air, or the prefilter was leaking. Either way the gurgling from the air in the canister was really annoying. I think this concept will still work but with different equipment. 

I'm slowly going to dial this tank down. Move the shrimps over to a smaller temporary tank. I'm thinking about redoing this tank as a split tank. Put a glass/plexiglass divider so I can have 2 X 10gallons sharing a filtration system. We'll see. After summer is over and the breeding slows down a bit then I can mess with it easier.

I'll put up a new pic this weekend.


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## honda237 (Aug 11, 2010)

shrimpnmoss said:


> Yeah, that POS cheap Ph pen broke on me after a couple of month's of use. You get what you pay for.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Hmm maybe I won't go so cheap. LOl sorry I mean gh for those tds not Ph, guess i was tired. That stinks about the the tigers and modular ugf, hopefully next time it works better.
I found this one, don't know how much better it is though, looks the same except it has a brand name:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/350596875260?ssPageName=STRK:MEBOFFX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1427.l2649


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## c_gwinner (Mar 23, 2012)

Don't know if this would work, but what if you instead of pre-filtering with the amazonia, you actually put it on the outflow side before going back into the tank. It should put less strain on the motor since its more of a pressure then vacuum now on it. Just an idea and not sure if it would make that much of a difference.


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## shrimpnmoss (Apr 8, 2011)

c_gwinner said:


> Don't know if this would work, but what if you instead of pre-filtering with the amazonia, you actually put it on the outflow side before going back into the tank. It should put less strain on the motor since its more of a pressure then vacuum now on it. Just an idea and not sure if it would make that much of a difference.


That's a good idea>


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## shrimpnmoss (Apr 8, 2011)




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## BoxxerBoyDrew (Oct 16, 2005)

VERY NICE TANK, and GREAT IDEAS! 

I would try the outflow side of the filter for the amazonia filter too! From the DIY I have tried on canister filters in the late 90's for terrariums and Dart Frogs, the output IS the way to go!

I really like the substrate color! The BTOE really POP! SORRY for your losses too! Nothing kills the lasting fun of a trip than coming home to dead critters! Been there, done that and hope to never have it happen again!!!

Keep up the GREAT work!!!
Drew


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## jkan0228 (Feb 6, 2011)

I thought you didn't keep neos?!


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## speedie408 (Jan 15, 2009)

forget the neos, look at that nice looking nurii mutated! haha or am I wrong?


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## shrimpnmoss (Apr 8, 2011)

BoxxerBoyDrew said:


> VERY NICE TANK, and GREAT IDEAS!
> 
> I would try the outflow side of the filter for the amazonia filter too! From the DIY I have tried on canister filters in the late 90's for terrariums and Dart Frogs, the output IS the way to go!
> 
> ...


Thanks!



jkan0228 said:


> I thought you didn't keep neos?!


I don't, but I got 5 fire yellows from Nick a while ago...lucky I did...cause if I didn't this tank would be pretty empty after killing most of the tigers...now it's filled with yellows....neos are so easy...this tank is pure Tap water....remineralized to 200ppm.



speedie408 said:


> forget the neos, look at that nice looking nurii mutated! haha or am I wrong?


hahaha...you know your own plants when you see it huh?....that's the one that I grew in the orb...a baby of the original one that you sent me like a year ago...It's happy in the planter filled with aquasoil...


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