# The New Shrimp Oasis~new pics 4/28/08



## gotcheaprice (Aug 29, 2007)

Marimo ball!
Nice start, but I think you should have more plants to help with the cycle! Just pull them out after and rescape one it cycles. I hope you have success this time with CRS, as I might get some soon!


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## waterfaller1 (Jul 5, 2006)

Thank you..heheh, that marimo ball gets around huh? . Yes..I am on the plant hunt again. The stores here stink for fw plants. There is one that had some nice stuff the other day. I wanted to go back today, and also get some amanos for my nano..but he won't have them in until thurs., and the weather is wicked here today. I will look, but probably cannot find anything decent at the big box stores here in town. They mostly carry the 'bog plants'.


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## python (Mar 21, 2007)

Looks sweet. It will look really cool when the ground cover fills in some in the front. I also like how you hid the heater.

Aquaria Studio in Waterford Lakes (Alafaya and 408) has a pretty good plant selection with healthy plants. They have a very nice, large planted display tank that is cool, too.


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## A Hill (Jul 25, 2005)

Looks good!

How about some leaf litter though?

As for plants why not post in the Swapn'Shop Looking for low light plant trimmings! And you'll probably fill it up quick:thumbsup: 

-Andrew


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## fshfanatic (Apr 20, 2006)

Nice start...


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## moogoo (Dec 7, 2007)

looking good! love the marimo ball. my shrimp seem to be hiding a lot lately. not sure why. nothing has changed. looking forward to seeing you fill this tank up though.


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## waterfaller1 (Jul 5, 2006)

Thank you everyone for the nice compliments. Leaf litter from outside makes me nervous. What about almond leaves? I did make a post in the swap n shop and someone is sending me a whole bunch of nice low light plants this week for a great price.


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## waterfaller1 (Jul 5, 2006)

I am so bummed.:icon_cry: Why oh why did I listen to someone and use this florabase? Now I am being told it will turn into mush in a year and have to be replaced. What if I am successful and have tons of baby CRS in a year?
I have my corydoras habrosus, and temporarily have my betta in there until I get his tank up and cycled. So now I guess I will have to break the fish up into my nanos, rip the substrate back out and start over. This is just great, I could kick myself...a little more research and I would probably have just picked up the eco complete which was also available at the same LFS. BTW I took the anacharis out and moved things a bit, my new plants will arrive today...ugghh.


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## dekstr (Oct 23, 2007)

There's some bacteria in the water column. But they mostly live on surfaces--like plants, filter media, substrate, etc. No point saving the water.

The fish water is great for watering plants and the lawn though.


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## crazie.eddie (May 31, 2004)

Save enough to keep the wood, plants, filter media submerged in it. This will keep the bacteria alive. When you switch to the new susbtrate, fill it with new water, adjust the temps, and the dechlor (Preferably Prime) and run the filter (without the media) for a day or so. This will neutralize the chlorine. Then add the decor back in, including the filter media. If you don't neutralize the chlorine, adding the materials back into the tank would kill the bacteria, thus having to start the cycle again.


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## waterfaller1 (Jul 5, 2006)

Thanks crazieeddie, I use straight RO water though. I shouldn't have any issue with chlorine?


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## daFrimpster (Mar 7, 2005)

It looks much better with the driftwood off center.


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## moogoo (Dec 7, 2007)

crazie.eddie said:


> Save enough to keep the wood, plants, filter media submerged in it. This will keep the bacteria alive. When you switch to the new susbtrate, fill it with new water, adjust the temps, and the dechlor (Preferably Prime) and run the filter (without the media) for a day or so. This will neutralize the chlorine. Then add the decor back in, including the filter media. If you don't neutralize the chlorine, adding the materials back into the tank would kill the bacteria, thus having to start the cycle again.


sorry to hijack. 

So all these times that I've done water changes with my python and getting water directly from tap and then adding water conditioner to the water, I'm killing off bacteria with the chlorine until the conditioner can fully do its job?

sucks that you have to rip it apart. I think the eco-complete would look nicer anyway against the color of the CRS's


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## waterfaller1 (Jul 5, 2006)

Ok..so just came back with the eco complete. It's a 20 lb bag, but it sure does not look like much. Is it going to be enough for a 10 gal? It was $26.!



moogoo said:


> I think the eco-complete would look nicer anyway against the color of the CRS's


I think you are right there.


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## ShortFin (Dec 27, 2005)

Since you are re-doing your tank. In case you are not aware about the Marimo ball; if you later decide to get rid of it, you will still get that type of algae everywhere in the tank. It is very hard to get rid of.


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## moogoo (Dec 7, 2007)

holy moly... $26!? i used 1 bag of flourite for my 10 gal and I felt it was enough. 1 bag of eco-complete should be good for your 10 gal too. i'm a fan of the dark substrate. i was pretty disappointed to find that after i washed the flourite it became so light. i definitely like the look of the eco-complete better. at the time i didn't know there were other types of flourite that were darker. In the end, eco-complete is nicer because it's a more uniform grain. 

good luck w/ your re-do! i'm sure it'll look shrimp-tastic.


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## James From Cali (Dec 15, 2006)

ShortFin said:


> Since you are re-doing your tank. In case you are not aware about the Marimo ball; if you later decide to get rid of it, you will still get that type of algae everywhere in the tank. It is very hard to get rid of.


Marimo Balls are not very invasive at all. They may be the algae of Clado but a more tamed version in which it does not cause masive problems.


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## A Hill (Jul 25, 2005)

STOP!!!

I was the one who told you Flora base is great. And it is.

It doesn't just turn to mush its lies IMO, I've had it in my 55g for two years. Still not all mush that it should be according to others.

There is some dust and stuff but just having some MTS keep the small stuff down and the larger granules up.

Return the ECO you'll be glad you did.

-Andrew



waterfaller1 said:


> I am so bummed.:icon_cry: Why oh why did I listen to someone and use this florabase? Now I am being told it will turn into mush in a year and have to be replaced. What if I am successful and have tons of baby CRS in a year?
> I have my corydoras habrosus, and temporarily have my betta in there until I get his tank up and cycled. So now I guess I will have to break the fish up into my nanos, rip the substrate back out and start over. This is just great, I could kick myself...a little more research and I would probably have just picked up the eco complete which was also available at the same LFS. BTW I took the anacharis out and moved things a bit, my new plants will arrive today...ugghh.
> Here is the last look before it gets torn up...:icon_roll Should I save the water and just reuse it since it has some bacteria in it, or just use new?


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## waterfaller1 (Jul 5, 2006)

Aghhh..I just drove for 30 minutes there & 30 back, spent another $30 and you say it's ok? What is wrong with the eco now?:icon_roll You guys are killin' me...


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## moogoo (Dec 7, 2007)

DO THE ECO!! looks more visually stunning against the red and white of the CRS's!


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## A Hill (Jul 25, 2005)

waterfaller1 said:


> Aghhh..I just drove for 30 minutes there & 30 back, spent another $30 and you say it's ok? What is wrong with the eco now?:icon_roll You guys are killin' me...


Sorry I had to stay after for FST to finish a test or I would have gotten to you sooner. 

Nothing is wrong with the ECO. It is different from Flora base, and you already put the first in your tank so why redo it? Next time you go to the LFS bring the eco back with you and return it, or keep it for your next tank:icon_roll 

The flora base won't just turn to mush all the sudden, I've had it in one tank for two years and in my black diamonds' tank for almost a year now.

-Andrew


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## waterfaller1 (Jul 5, 2006)

No need to apologize, but thanks for looking out.
here is Red Sea's response to my e-mail:

"Hello.
Its true it does turn into mud on the bottom not the top. Its takes a year or 2. After 6 months you have to start adding root nutrient supplements to the flora base. Thank you and have a good day.

pinky"


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## A Hill (Jul 25, 2005)

Signed pinky?

I would expect Eco and similar substrates to do the same as with ADA AS not sure with the ASII but the orriginal was reported to be the same.

Nothing to really worry about, 
-Andrew


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## waterfaller1 (Jul 5, 2006)

A Hill said:


> Signed pinky?
> 
> I would expect Eco and similar substrates to do the same as with ADA AS not sure with the ASII but the orriginal was reported to be the same.
> 
> ...


I would think if these other substrates did the same everyone would be saying so, and looking for alternatives.


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## oblongshrimp (Jul 26, 2006)

eco doesn't break down as its not clay based. The nice thing about aquasoil (and I think florabase) is it helps lower the pH of the water and helps soften it also.


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## A Hill (Jul 25, 2005)

oblongshrimp said:


> eco doesn't break down as its not clay based. The nice thing about aquasoil (and I think florabase) is it helps lower the pH of the water and helps soften it also.


Eco isn't clay based:icon_eek: What the heck is it? I thought most if not all the popular ones where clay based... wow I've been lost :icon_roll 

They do lower the PH/GH (maybe KH can't remember) which was a deciding factor when I bought it, plus you're paying for water with Eco; which I can supply and don't need to pay for with my substrate.

The amount it breaks down is minimal compared to what these reviews and stuff describe. A few MTS keep the big stuff on top and the smaller stuff on the bottom, and once you add two you never need more:icon_roll 

-Andrew


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## waterfaller1 (Jul 5, 2006)

A Hill said:


> A few MTS keep the big stuff on top and the smaller stuff on the bottom, and once you add two you never need more:icon_roll
> 
> -Andrew


If you had ever kept them in sand, where you can see how much waste they produce, you might not be so inclined to want them.


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## neilfishguy (Dec 16, 2007)

ShortFin said:


> Since you are re-doing your tank. In case you are not aware about the Marimo ball; if you later decide to get rid of it, you will still get that type of algae everywhere in the tank. It is very hard to get rid of.


 Yeah. He will if he puts it in a blender and then pours the marimo shake back into the tank....Thats about what it takes to make marimo go invasive. not to mention the grow like one cm a year.......


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## waterfaller1 (Jul 5, 2006)

Wow, am I glad I did the switch! It looks so much better. And the Florabase was nasty when I removed it. I will get some pics together and post them later. I'll get some of the substrate that was removed and what it did to the water too...:icon_eek:


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## A Hill (Jul 25, 2005)

MTS's poop isn't much compared to most things people keep, I don't worry about it.



waterfaller1 said:


> Wow, am I glad I did the switch! It looks so much better. And the Florabase was nasty when I removed it. I will get some pics together and post them later. I'll get some of the substrate that was removed and what it did to the water too...:icon_eek:


Maybe you got a bad bag:icon_ques 

-Andrew


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## waterfaller1 (Jul 5, 2006)

Oh come on.. do you think all the people that had problems with it got a bad bag? How could it be 'bad'...it just IS bad. 
Here is some of the substrate with leftover water.


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## waterfaller1 (Jul 5, 2006)

before












after


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## gotcheaprice (Aug 29, 2007)

I like the color a lot more 
But whats that patch of plants in front of the driftwood? If you want it to spread, I suggest breaking it down into small patches and let it grow out.


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## moogoo (Dec 7, 2007)

Told ya it would look tons better. Just wait til you get your CRS in there. They will be popping out against the black substrate.


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## A Hill (Jul 25, 2005)

waterfaller1 said:


> Oh come on.. do you think all the people that had problems with it got a bad bag? How could it be 'bad'...it just IS bad.
> Here is some of the substrate with leftover water.


I can't say for all people. I think its a great substrate and as long as you understand that it's clay its fine. I bet if you stir up your Eco you'll get some water clarity problems as well, just like any substrate. It's your tank, your money, and your choice though so whatever. I think the new substrate does accent your plants better and make them look brighter. 

Experiences vary,
-Andrew


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## Kayakbabe (Sep 4, 2005)

I can't chime in on which substrate is better.. because I've only used Eco. I like the way it looks and my plants thrive in it. Since I like the look and my plants do well. I haven't bothered to try anything else. I might at some point.. I've been thinking of putting a larger tank in my theater room and all the colors in there are brown... but that is probably a couple of years away.


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## waterfaller1 (Jul 5, 2006)

New plants


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## fish-aholic (Dec 23, 2007)

Whats that little patch of plants right in front of the driftwood?


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## A Hill (Jul 25, 2005)

fish-aholic said:


> Whats that little patch of plants right in front of the driftwood?


That'd be riccia.

Tank looks great! Make sure to keep that tiger lotus trimmed or it will take over your tank in short time.

When are you going to add the shrimp?

-Andrew


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## NeonShrimp (Mar 9, 2006)

Looks good! Can't wait to see the shrimp all over the place. Although I have at least some moss in all of my shrimp tanks, I can't get enough of the stuff


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## waterfaller1 (Jul 5, 2006)

Thanks guys! The shrimp...*sigh* when they get here.They are growing..:icon_smil

Look close..see those green sprigs on the driftwood=moss...:tongue:


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## Riley (Jan 24, 2006)

Nice tank! What kind of shrimp you putting in there?


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## waterfaller1 (Jul 5, 2006)

Thank you. It will have crystal red shrimp.


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## OhNo123 (Jan 8, 2008)

It looks great! I like your betta too! where did you get it? My lfs never has superdeltas!


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## moogoo (Dec 7, 2007)

Looking good. That tiger lotus looks great! How did you anchor your riccia? I'm anchoring mine using plastic mesh with a stainless steel ring ziptied to the bottom so that it's out of sight. Your method looks pretty clean too. Just curious how you did it.


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## waterfaller1 (Jul 5, 2006)

Thank you Ohno123!{funny name:icon_smil } I got the betta from Thailand, off AB. He is a Halfmoon.:icon_wink He is no longer in this tank. There are now 4 corydoras habrosus, three striped Kuhli loaches, and 1 otto{I know..he needs friends~ he was a freebie, don't worry I will get him some...don't flame me}


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## waterfaller1 (Jul 5, 2006)

moogoo said:


> Looking good. That tiger lotus looks great! How did you anchor your riccia? I'm anchoring mine using plastic mesh with a stainless steel ring ziptied to the bottom so that it's out of sight. Your method looks pretty clean too. Just curious how you did it.


 Thanks moogoo{another funny name..:hihi: } The tiger lotus is much more colorful than I expected! I took the riccia, swished it in a bowl of water to get off all the loose leaves. Then I tied it to a piece of glass rock{all I had that was big enough at the time} with fishing line.


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## OhNo123 (Jan 8, 2008)

Oh jeez! from Thailand!? I'm assuming you live near a transhipper. 

When are you going to get the shrimp?


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## waterfaller1 (Jul 5, 2006)

OhNo123 said:


> Oh jeez! from Thailand!? I'm assuming you live near a transhipper.
> 
> When are you going to get the shrimp?


 The transhipper cost more than the fish...:icon_lol: I wish I knew about the shrimp.. waiting for them to grow to a big enough size. They will be nice though..Hinomaru.


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## moogoo (Dec 7, 2007)

waterfaller1 said:


> I took the riccia, swished it in a bowl of water to get off all the loose leaves. Then I tied it to a piece of glass rock{all I had that was big enough at the time} with fishing line.


I see. I guess it will take lots of trimming then for it to stay on the rock? Seems like it will grow through the fishing line rather quickly. Looks nice though. I hope my riccia creates a nice lawn. I've only started to see growth trough the mesh recently. Tank's been set up for 1 week.


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## NeonShrimp (Mar 9, 2006)

I have my riccia tied with fishing line to flat riccia stones and I have not had to trim it in over a month since it was place in my tank. I use five stones worth as a foreground lawn.


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## MrJG (Feb 21, 2007)

Lookin' better and better. Going straight for the hinos? I hope they do well for you in the oasis. Do you have CRS in any of your other tanks? Im sure with your experience on the other planted tanks and reefs you have going you know what they need to thrive. 

edit: nice looking tank you have there too neonshrimp


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## waterfaller1 (Jul 5, 2006)

Thanks mr JG for the well wishes! I did have some CRS in one of my nanos w a few months ago. The morning after adding anubias nana petite they were all gone.:icon_sad: I hope to have better luck this time.Maybe a bigger tank will make a difference.
Great tank Neon Shrimp! How are those anubias doing for you?:smile:


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## waterfaller1 (Jul 5, 2006)

New Pic
new plants~new lighting.. 2X 14 wt T-5


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## NeonShrimp (Mar 9, 2006)

Wow, nice scaping. The Riccia is turning into a little jungle where the shrimp can have fun


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## waterfaller1 (Jul 5, 2006)

Thanks NS. Notice the back corner is empty...that's where my tiger lotus is. All the big leaves it had during shipping just faded away. It is busy growing new ones though...:icon_cool


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## forddna (Sep 12, 2007)

Very nice. No shrimp yet? :sad:


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## waterfaller1 (Jul 5, 2006)

Thanks Amanda. I am not sure what is happening with the shrimp I was supposed to get...:icon_frow I bought some more to arrive this week from our S & S.


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## forddna (Sep 12, 2007)

S & S? What's that?


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## waterfaller1 (Jul 5, 2006)

Swap & shop..


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## forddna (Sep 12, 2007)

Oh DUH!!! LOL


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

forddna said:


> Oh DUH!!! LOL


(I was thinking Save our Shrimp?)


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## waterfaller1 (Jul 5, 2006)

lauraleellbp said:


> (I was thinking Save our Shrimp?)


:icon_smil


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## waterfaller1 (Jul 5, 2006)

Ok..it's officially a shrimp oasis! Thanks Chikorita!


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## moogoo (Dec 7, 2007)

Pics please


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## James From Cali (Dec 15, 2006)

Yes its a shrimp oasis, yes....one problem.,.... no pics of this shrimp filled oasis


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## forddna (Sep 12, 2007)

Pics or ban!!!!


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## Chikorita (Dec 16, 2007)

I tried to take picture of the whole tank of my shrimp tank but somehow the picture turned out to be very dark. If I concentrate on a specific spot then the light is ok but if taking a picture of a whole tank then it is dark and cant barely see the plants in the tank .. what did I do wrong ?? does anyone know ?? ))


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## waterfaller1 (Jul 5, 2006)

forddna said:


> Pics or ban!!!!


:help: lol..they are out for blood. You are just going to have to be patient. Give the poor guys a break, they made a very long trip across the United States.
I stink at photography too..especially macro shots. I wish I knew some basic settings I could play around with. Like the ISO, fstop..all that good photo stuff. I just get lucky once in awhile, but still have no clue what I am doing..


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## Chikorita (Dec 16, 2007)

oh wait .. hang on !!!
I used to have the tank with eco-complete .. and I put some crystal reds in there along with the yellows .. even if I use RO water .. the ecocomplete .. buffered the water to HARD .. with low ph .. well my tap water is kinda soft and low PH anyway .. but by adding my tap water into the ecocomplete .. it would has a hardness of around 220ppm .. with a ph of around 6.2 .. weird .. anyway .. my crystals were not happy in that water .. I mean they live, they berried but the babies are just nowhere to be found .. then I slowly change out the water to 100%RO .. like water change of 20% per day for a straigh 2 weeks .. and the water is still in the hard area with the low ph .. so I think it is the ecocomplete that buffered the water to hard .. 

Well .. I finally gave up on that tank and bought the ada soil .. and started a new tank .. and they were happier since then ...


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## forddna (Sep 12, 2007)

How hard? My tank water is fairly hard. How hard is too hard for shrimp???


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## Chikorita (Dec 16, 2007)

forddna said:


> How hard? My tank water is fairly hard. How hard is too hard for shrimp???


Only on shrimps like crystals red (high Grades) .. tiger .. then you want the water to be soft .. but for other shrimps like cherrys, yellows, ghost shrimps  anything should be ok for them heheheh

I think ppm of 150 is HARD .. anything above that is Harder ) hehehhe
soft water would be somewhere with the ppm of 80 or less ..


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## Chikorita (Dec 16, 2007)

I am trying to take some baby shrimps pics 
couldnt do it nicely at all ..
may be my digital camera is an old model hehehe


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## aman74 (Feb 19, 2007)

waterfaller1 said:


> :help: lol..they are out for blood. You are just going to have to be patient. Give the poor guys a break, they made a very long trip across the United States.
> I stink at photography too..especially macro shots. I wish I knew some basic settings I could play around with. Like the ISO, fstop..all that good photo stuff. I just get lucky once in awhile, but still have no clue what I am doing..


What brand T5 light is that?

Thanks


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## waterfaller1 (Jul 5, 2006)

aman74 said:


> What brand T5 light is that?
> 
> Thanks


Hi, it's a Coralife,called an Aqualight. I got it here.. clicky

It's a couple inches longer than the tank, but it's not very noticeable. I like it.
I love this one..my Current Nova Extreme 2 X 24 wt T-5, I got mine from Marine depot, but big al's has this one too...
clickityclik


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## aman74 (Feb 19, 2007)

Thanks for letting me know, I've seen those, but in the pic it looked a bit different so I thought I might have missed a new product.


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## ZooTycoonMaster (Jan 2, 2008)

I wanna see an updated pic please


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## waterfaller1 (Jul 5, 2006)

I wanted to take some yesterday, but wasn't home most of the day. I will work on it.:icon_smil


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## froghair (Jan 5, 2008)

Waterfaller, those are great looking! Do you inject CO2?


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## waterfaller1 (Jul 5, 2006)

Thank you! No injected CO2, I use excel.


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## waterfaller1 (Jul 5, 2006)

New Plans~
I just ordered some bright sand and ADA Amazonia. The 10 gallon is going to be upgraded to a 20L{20 gallon long}. Any thoughts on making this a smooth transition greatly appreciated. I Got the ADA from aqua forest aquarium, and called there. The guy was very helpful with how much I needed and how to do lots of wc's for the first few weeks, then add some beneficial bacteria, then the tank inhabitants. The reason I want to upgrade is to change the substrate, and give the fish more room. I think I am borderline with my stocking, and should be good in the 20L.


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## ZooTycoonMaster (Jan 2, 2008)

No updates in 25 days


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## waterfaller1 (Jul 5, 2006)

Working on the new tank today!
latest pics


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## ZooTycoonMaster (Jan 2, 2008)

Woah how do you get your Ozelot Sword to grow that big:icon_eek:


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## NeonShrimp (Mar 9, 2006)

With blue bells and cockle shells... sorry that was from something else. I agree with ZooTycoonMaster, very nice sword and I also like the Downoi garden The fissiden and lobelia are also looking good


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## southerndesert (Sep 9, 2007)

Gorgeous! Very nicely done and I love getting to look at your work. These forums are always offering a treat.

Cheers, Bill


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## forddna (Sep 12, 2007)

What's the green, leafy plant directly behind the Downoi in the first pic? It's kind of a light green color. I have the same plant and would like an ID. Thanks!


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## waterfaller1 (Jul 5, 2006)

That tank is a ten gal. so maybe it just looks big? It has grown alot and changed colors since I got it. It's a favorite.
Lauralee, I think you are talking about the green temple~Hygrophilia corymbosa. Thanks everyone!


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## waterfaller1 (Jul 5, 2006)

when I got the sword


waterfaller1 said:


>


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## waterfaller1 (Jul 5, 2006)

New pics from yesterday..


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