# Jake's 18"/3gal Nano Shrimp Tanks



## somewhatshocked

I've got a fancy new tank.

18" L x 6" W x 7" H = 3gal:










Came with a nice glass cover but I'll either need to have it cut to fit an HOB or go topless. Came with four glass dividers (these tanks are typically used to house Bettas with five separate compartments - and for coral frags) that I may also be able to use to partially cover the tank. Would just mean that a section near the filter will be completely open - about a third of the top. 

I've been shutting down a bunch of tanks and this little one is going to be my compromise. Perfect footprint for shrimp, as there's quite a bit of ground space. Will be great as a cull tank or for some 

So what will I do with it? I've got three Red Sea Nano filters I could swap over. Could use one on each end to make sure there's plenty of flow. Or I can steal the Red Sea media and toss it in an AquaClear 20. 

Don't think I want this to be high-tech so it's going to be fun trying to figure lighting out. Maybe an 18" Marineland Double Bright wouldn't be overkill for mosses and crypts. Have a few bags of UP Aqua Shrimp Sand and Azoo Plant Grower Bed so I'm good on the substrate front. Also have this piece of wood I can butcher for use:










Just need to get the super glue and a bunch of moss ready.

For placement, I've got a ton of options. There's room beneath my Ebi and I have plenty of space on this rack. 

Multiple Tank Syndrome is a serious problem, kids. Be careful when you're visiting fish shops in search of coral fragments. You'll end up buying new shrimp tanks.

Jake


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## Geniusdudekiran

Jake, you're out of control. Lol

Nice tank, I want one!


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## somewhatshocked

Only out of control if you don't consider that this is technically replacing a bunch of other tanks. Ha.

And let's get real... this is way better than me dragging up another 20L from storage.


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## Geniusdudekiran

Lol. Who is the tank manufactured by? Looks like it's made with SW in mind; my LFS is pretty much geared towards SW. How much was it?


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## Big O

Sweet little tank Jake! Where did you get that from, and if you don't mind, how much did you pay for it?

Thanks,

big o


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## somewhatshocked

Made by Deep Blue Professional - tend to focus a lot of their products on marine/reef. This is on page 13 of their product PDF - with the glass dividers for Bettas. They also make all kinds of coral frag tanks that are perfect for shrimpers.

I think it was $34/$35. A little too spendy for a tank so small but the footprint was worth the splurge. Was also at a janky LFS in Southern Indiana that charges out the rear for everything. My preferred fish shops in Louisville never have any tanks worth buying. So I snatched it up when I found it yesterday. I've seen them at a couple shops in AZ for about $20ish in the past. 

Now to find an 18" light fixture that isn't a nightmare. Or maybe I'll make my own LED fixture. It's a shame Coralife doesn't make an 18" T5NO rig. That'd be perfect. (As I type this, I'm betting I'll cave and get the dang Marineland fixture that is overpriced and less than perfect. At least it'll be easy to suspend above the tank from the wire racks.)


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## Geniusdudekiran

Lol. Your style of writing and choice of words is always very entertaining. 

Archaea has two 18" fixtures. One LED and one PCL. And both are very sexy fixtures.


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## somewhatshocked

Archea fixtures typically only work with rimless, though. So I'm stuck getting something unattractive and hanging it from the rack.


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## Geniusdudekiran

Oh, forgot it was rimmed. Any derimming possibilities on this tank?

Looks like it's pretty much the same dimensions as the 45-F if I'm correct... except it doesn't go as far back.


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## somewhatshocked

They use black/darker silicone so they look kinda gross de-rimmed. At least in my opinion. 

Actually bought it because it was rimmed. Makes it easier to cover and prevent evaporation.

It's a really short tank so I'm excited about the ability to put it in so many places at home.


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## shrimpnmoss

Wow, this is the longest nano tank I've seen. 18 inches and 3g...lol...


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## somewhatshocked

Just brought the hacksaw up to cut the wood to size and have already Dremeled the intake pipe on the AC20. 

Now I'm going to spend all evening finding the perfect fixture. I know it'd be really easy to build a low light LED fixture for under $50. Just... ugh. All that effort for a moss & crypt tank.


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## manualfocus

This is an awesome size tank! I'm excited to see what you've got up your sleeves for this one.


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## somewhatshocked

Almost ashamed to admit it but I think I may go with this eBay auction # 300620093692 - it's one of those cheapo Beamworks/Beamswork LED fixtures. But this tank is just 7" tall. So the light would be just five or six inches from the substrate. And it's only $35. WAY cheaper than the Marineland equivalent. 

Surely it could handle mosses and crypts?

While it's really low light, something tells me I'd even be okay with suspending the fixture above the tank a bit.

What's the worst thing that could happen with it? I mean, I've already cooked one tank this week. Might as well try screwing up another one.


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## somewhatshocked

Okay. Bit the bullet. Bought that fixture. If it sucks, I can use it to light the interior of a cabinet, closet or some such. 

This tank is so short there's next to no way it won't do a decent job.


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## RWaters

Petlanddiscount near me has a Deep Blue tank like that with three compartments for bettas. I think it's 1.5 or 2 gallons. The extra length on that one looks great. They also make a one gallon that's tall rather than wide, but unfortunately ..it's only one gallon! I can't wait to see yours set up.


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## Geniusdudekiran

Nice light, that'll look nice on the rack or wherever you put it.

These'd be great for shrimp racks!


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## somewhatshocked

One of the potential locations:










Not sold on it, as it won't really be visible unless you're sitting where I sit to do work every day.

Another option, the space between the two 20Ls:










Leaning toward the spot beneath the Ebi. It'll help hide the junk hanging behind the shelf.


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## Geniusdudekiran

somewhatshocked said:


> Not sold on it, as it won't really be visible unless you're sitting where I sit to do work every day.


Isn't that why we have tanks? To serve as ADD induction machines? Hey that sounds like ADA. Connection? Made. :hihi:


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## somewhatshocked

At least *I* will know it's there! You're right.


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## Geniusdudekiran

My tanks are strategically placed all around my room. At least my current favorite's on my desk so I don't have to flat out turn straight around in my swivel chair and stair for 15 minutes at a time. lol


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## somewhatshocked

Created both of my work spaces at home (large loft environment with multiple levels) so I can always see tanks ahead of me or just to the side. It's really improved my quality of life, to say the least. More people should consider it.


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## Geniusdudekiran

Absolutely. I think we're happier people in general :hihi:

Looking at my tanks and listening to some music is better than watching TV for me. It really clears your mind out more than anything else; so in that way, as others (*cough cough* parents) may see them as "distractions," we see planted aquariums as the key to clearer, different thinking.


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## Wicket_lfe

Curious to see how this goes. I've also seen these at Petland, a commercial store. Mainly meant for Bettas.

Now I'm tempted to get one if I see it that size! lol


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## gnod

uh oh... i think i'm getting another tank. -_-

btw, is this rack sturdy enough for 2 20Ls?


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## somewhatshocked

Yep - check the journal out for details.

Not the cheap-o wire racks from Target. They're the Home Depot version rated for tons of weight. 



gnod said:


> btw, is this rack sturdy enough for 2 20Ls?


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## tenzero1

I went and looked at the catalog for that company and I definitely want some of those tanks. You have a great one I cant wait to see how it turns out!


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## somewhatshocked

Think I've settled on Willow and Java/Xmas/Peacock mosses. Flame and the wild-type of Willow would be ideal but I can almost never get my hands on either.

And maybe a bunch of C. parva if I can find it in submerged form so I don't have to go through the crypt melt shenanigans. Think I'll avoid Anubias in this tank because even nana 'petite' would be kind of large.


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## somewhatshocked

People constantly ask me how much substrate comes in various packages from various sources. So let's take a look.

Here are a couple of my favorites. One is overpriced, the other isn't. I'll let you figure it out for yourself.










Each 2kg bag of the Shrimp Sand is $20-$25.

Each 5.4kg bag of Azoo is $20-$25.

Azoo is lighter than Shrimp Sand so you get easily 4-6 times as much product for your money. 

Two bags of UP Aqua Shrimp Sand **might** be enough for me to line the bottom of this tiny tank. A bag of Azoo will cover a 20L with ease.

Not trying to review vendors, not trying to say one is better than the other because they both have their strengths and weaknesses. Just showing you what you get for your money.


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## somewhatshocked

LED fixture came today and it is just meh. I knew I was getting something really cheap, though, and am okay with it. And it's perfect for this application.

Here's a look:




























A look at the substrate (Shrimp Sand) I chose to use:










How the fixture lights things up:










I think I'll be able to maintain low light for moss and C. parva (come on, people, sell me some submerged C. parva already!) if the fixture sits right on top of the tank with a thin glass cover.

Though, if you take a look at how little room there is on the tank:










You'll see that I need to suspend it probably an inch or two above the tank. We'll see how that works out.

Have been super gluing scraps of wood together all afternoon and plan to attach some moss later today with plans of flooding the tank this evening. 

Plan to let things run and grow for a month before shrimp move in. I've sold off nearly all of my Crystals so I'm thinking I may end up buying something to provide stark contrast to the tank's soon-to-be dark features. It's a little small so I'm not sure Tigers are a good choice. Probably some run-of-the-mill CRS or maybe Snow Whites/Goldens? Possibilities are endless!

Thanks for reading along on yet another tiny tank journey.

Jake


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## Warlock

man.. how have i missed this thread!!

awesome!!


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## somewhatshocked

My dumb butt used up all the slate last week so I had to attach this to black lava rock:










Yes, it'll be positioned a bit differently in the tank and the rock, for the most part, will be beneath the substrate. 

Not too shabby for wood scraps and some super glue gel, if I may say so myself. I kind of like the idea of part of the wood touching the substrate. 

I can neither confirm nor deny that I fell asleep sitting up in a chair but I *can* tell you that I won't be attaching moss til tomorrow. I've got a decent amount of Java/Xmas/Singapore/Peacock and a literal pound of Willow Moss. 

Love the way mixed mosses have grown in another tank of mine:










But think the more messy look of Willow Moss could be interesting with such a small tank.

Another mission for tomorrow: see if I can get a glass shop to notch out section for my AC20 or if I have to get crafty with a glass cutter and silicone on my own.


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## somewhatshocked

Slowly filling:










Filled:



















Tank looks way more bright than it truly is. 

Forgot to attach this part of the wood to a rock, so I have to weight it down for a week or two:










All the super glue will eventually be covered up with moss growth. Then it'll look pretty sweet, I think. 

A reputable seller sent me these Cryps as parva but they're a little large to be parva, I'm thinking. Decided to use them anyway because they're tall:










Also found two small E. parkeri that had recently split so I decided to toss them in, as well, to see what happens.

Put two chunks of sponge from an old filter in the AC. It contains the AC sponge, old sponges, old ceramic chunks, new ceramic chunks, filter floss. Decided to use Nutrafin Cycle again, as well. 

Excitement builds!


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## Warlock

dig the substrate!


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## jamesyu

question that defies me -- how do you propagate moss on wood, because rubberbands don't do it for me.


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## radioman

I thought that light might be to bright but it looks just right. It does look kind of blue though. Do you know the spectrum?


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## radioman

Warlock said:


> dig the substrate!


He super glues it to the wood.


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## somewhatshocked

Yep, super glue gel. That's the white stuff on the wood. You can see in the 20L photo above that moss completely covers the glue within a few weeks. That way there's nothing too unsightly. Tying it on with thread also works well.

The 51 white LEDs are 6500K - the 3 blue ones are actinic. Definitely a weak fixture but I suspect it'll be fine for this particular tank.


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## somewhatshocked

You know what's not fun? Waiting 3-4 weeks for a new tank to mature to the point where shrimp would be happy.

This tank can already process 4PPM of ammonia in less than 24 hours. But here I am waiting. And waiting. And waiting. 

At least it's going to be loaded down with moss when the first critters move in.


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## FisheriesOmen

jamesyu said:


> question that defies me -- how do you propagate moss on wood, because rubberbands don't do it for me.


Use scissors to snip pieces off, kinda like mowing a lawn


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## somewhatshocked

That works for trimming moss. They asked how I got moss to grow on wood. That can be accomplished by attaching with cotton thread, thin fishing line, mesh, super glue gel, et al.



FisheriesOmen said:


> Use scissors to snip pieces off, kinda like mowing a lawn


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## gnod

how's the AC20 flow on this tank? i may buy it if you think it's ok. if not i may just use a red sea nano on mine. 

i just unpack the packaging and poured in what i hope is AS, and filled it. 
now i don't know what to do... 
guess i'll decide once the water clears but again, i hope it's AS. how the heck do you tell the difference between AS and Shrimp stratum!?


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## somewhatshocked

Definitely get an AC20. The tank is so long that the Red Sea Nano won't cut it. You can turn the flow down some on the AC20, which is nice. No complaints on this end. It's just a $10 price difference and is well worth it.

ADA Aquasoil, if it's new/uncycled, will create an ammonia spike. Fluval Shrimp Stratum is just plain old clay/dirt that doesn't do much.


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## gnod

got it, getting the ac20. 
btw, i think i'm going to just moss up my tank - i've always wanted different types of moss and i've got about 4 right now.


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## somewhatshocked

I really love the tank and think it's well-suited for moss and shrimp. It's so short that getting adequate flow is no problem. And lighting? Even this cheap-o eBay LED fixture I bought does the trick.

Bonus of the AC20: way more media options. You can even run a standard bag of Purigen if necessary. Parts are cheap and readily available. More sturdy than the Red Sea Nano (which is a great filter for standard 2.5gal tanks). 

You'll likely need to cut the intake pipe with a Dremel tool or hacksaw but that's the only real modification necessary. I also cut part of the intake strainer down so I could pull the sponge up a bit higher.


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## gnod

nice, you got it. i got some spare hose parts laying around too.


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## somewhatshocked

Nothing's really changed:










Moss is growing in, added a couple Anubias nana 'petite' until I can make room for them in another tank. Likely going to add 5-6 more E. parkeri this week.

Everything is cycled and half a milliliter of ammonia is being consumed each day. Going to feed the tank with ammo until sometime in May when I add shrimp.


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## shd17

somewhatshocked said:


> Yep - check the journal out for details.
> 
> Not the cheap-o wire racks from Target. They're the Home Depot version rated for tons of weight.


 Can you point to what shelve is that? Looking to do a similar set up.


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## gnod

nice, any idea what shrimp you're gonna put in there? 
i couldn't decide what i want to do with mine so... i made it into a moss tank for the time being.


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## somewhatshocked

They're the standard rack available at your local Home Depot. There are several versions on their website, however. I don't have a link handy but it's easy to find.



shd17 said:


> Can you point to what shelve is that? Looking to do a similar set up.


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## somewhatshocked

It's got a few weeks to go but probably some really white bees? Goldens? Something like that.



gnod said:


> nice, any idea what shrimp you're gonna put in there?


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## Geniusdudekiran

Nick just got his new shipment... take your pick :hihi:


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## somewhatshocked

Didn't see any that I don't already have - aside from that "Impact" CBS. 

Thought about going with some sort of tiger but this tank is too small and parameters too geared toward CRS/CBS/Bee/yadda yadda.

greenfish has some high-grade Goldens, I see. May go that route.


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## tatersalad

Does the shrimp sand you are using have any buffering capabilities? Would you recommend it for a dry start application?
Thanks


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## somewhatshocked

There are several threads here on the forum about UP Aqua Shrimp Sand. Here's a link to UP's product page. Definitely buffers.

I wouldn't use it in a tank that had so much plant mass that a dry start was necessary. There are better substrates for plants on the market that cost a whole lot less. 

A lot of people who sell the product would have you believe it's miracle dirt. While it's a great product, it's pretty easy to find cheaper alternatives.



tatersalad said:


> Does the shrimp sand you are using have any buffering capabilities? Would you recommend it for a dry start application?
> Thanks


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## Geniusdudekiran

Yeah goldens would be nice. I personally think goldens are pretty good looking bees, but seems like most don't. Haters gonna hate.


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## Michiba54

Nice set up!

A dump of a pet store near me sells Deep Blue products an it makes me wonder why they even make rimmed aquariums with white/clear silicone anymore. You just can beat that sleek look the black silicone gives. :icon_cool

Look forward to seeing your progress as well as how that light works for you.


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## FisheriesOmen

lookin good!


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## somewhatshocked

Six Golden Bees from Liam are on their way!

They'll likely live in another tank for a couple weeks, though.


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## somewhatshocked

Just decided to do a water change, now that I see all kinds of snails and such thriving in the tank. Went to my RO reservoir and pulled the water. Then realized I needed to fill it back up. Bam, my PWC filter housing exploded. Fun times. 

Now to see if they'll honor their warranty. (This isn't a review, just relaying what happened)

I actually think this tank may be ready for shrimp. Super-exciting! Will update with photos a bit later, maybe.


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## somewhatshocked

The best thing about tonight (RO/DI unit drama aside)?

"DEPART USPS SORT FACILITY: LOUISVILLE, KY"

NERDING OUT. They'll be here tomorrow. Hopefully not cooked by the 90 degree temps.


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## somewhatshocked

Current full tank shot:










Those crypts in the rear right still irk me. Likely to give them away.

Had to raise the light about an inch to hopefully combat the tiny algae problem (will add some more Ramshorns and Pond Snails to remedy the situation):

Also removed the glass cover to drop the temperature down a bit:










Removed the E. parkeri from my 12gal long and split them, now have ten total in this little tank:










The tiny bit of Fissedens I added has exploded and the moss has almost completely covered the gross super glue gel:










May end up raising the light a bit more. Turned out to be a great eBay purchase. 

Still no response from my RO/DI vendor.

Really enjoy this tiny tank.


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## wicca27

looks **** jake. cant wait to see shrimp in it


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## somewhatshocked

Thanks! I can't wait, either. Best impulse purchase ever.


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## somewhatshocked

Had one DOA but five are alive and well. Decided to just go ahead and put them all in the tank. 

Some are already starting to color up:


















































Here's hoping I get some offspring from these buggers!


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## mgdmirage

great little tank


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## somewhatshocked

Okay, somebody needs to stop me from ordering a 45F to go along with this tank. I've fallen in love with the dimensions.

Some updated/rough photos!

Finally getting floaters to thrive:










The goldens:




























Moss has grown in, everything has matured, E. parkeri are growing, yadda yadda. Loving it.


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## Geniusdudekiran

Nice shrimp Jake. I'm not going to try to stop you from getting a 45-F -- definitely my next tank, absolutely beautiful glass-wise and dimensionally.


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## somewhatshocked

Thanks! They're quirky little buggers.

The 45-F will maybe replace my Ebi some day soon. Gotta fight the urge.


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## somewhatshocked

Got all kinds of messages and emails overnight asking about the Shrimp Sand and how much of it is necessary to fill a 20 gallon long tank. So many messages, in fact, that it's probably best I post my response here: one bag will cover a 3gal tank like this one. It would easily take 5-6 bags for use in a standard 20L tank. Honestly, I'd probably buy a couple extra bags just in case.

Would take about 1.5-2 bags for a standard 5.5gal tank 2-2.5/3 for a 10gal. 

If you're considering this product, it's great. I really enjoy it. It's attractive and does its job really well. But there are cheaper and better alternatives. Just remember it all boils down to personal preference and your bank account. Buy what will get the job done and what looks best to _you_. Otherwise you won't be happy with the finished product.


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## dasob85

just awesome


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## acitydweller

Jake,
Very nicely done. I love golden bees, though many people dont as you said.
They stand out more when contrasted against your bee soil. Did you put any additives into the soil before filling up the tank? Was a UGF considered as part of the build? Reason i ask is that many of the shrimp soils buffer as you mentioned but a UGF would help circulate the water through the soil to help with that buffering.

Im going to go branch hunting this week and see if i can stitch together a design like yours. very insprational work here!


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## somewhatshocked

Thanks, all!

acitydweller: Didn't add anything to the substrate and didn't consider a UGF. There's so much flow from the AC20 that it'd be almost crazy to add more. My RO/DI water holds its own over time so I don't really need the buffering capacity of active substrates, honestly. I just chose it because I like the look.


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## somewhatshocked

An updated FTS:










It's looking way better than I expected.

Some of the inhabitants:


























Caught this one just after a molt:










It was way too quick for me to capture the process.

P.S. I think I want to add some Mischlings to this tank. Decisions, decisions.


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## Couesfanatic

Love the tank size and light. The thermometer looks huge. Nice job.


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## somewhatshocked

Thanks!

I actually have three thermometers in the tank so I can monitor environmental changes in the condo. It's in an awkward location and I'm trying to figure out what I can and can't do as far as temp goes before it impacts the tank. Almost have it figured out.


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## Geniusdudekiran

Whoah, update time? Lol. 

Can't wait to see how it's progressed. Have any of the Goldens bred yet?


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## somewhatshocked

Only have phone pics today.

Rough full tank shot :










Moss grew in like crazy. 

Have to weed out the floaters every other day:










Super-low light, no ferts and the E.parkeri are nearly splitting again:


















No breeding yet. Not entirely sure they're not all the same gender. But we'll see! Or I could add a couple more. Kinda contemplating adding a couple mischling that I've got.


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## cawolf86

Still looking great for a low-maintenence tank! Those shrimps are sexy.


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## Geniusdudekiran

Awesome. Shrimp are looking solid!


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## somewhatshocked

It's gotta be one of my favorite footprints when it comes to tanks. Definitely want to get another. Or maybe the ADA version. 

Almost thinking of replacing my Ebi - which I love lately - with one.


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## cawolf86

Replacing an Ebi......or adding another tank.


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## FisheriesOmen

Wow it's really filled in.... I envy you, my floaters never seem to thrive....


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## somewhatshocked

Definitely not another. The new rule is I have to shut something down if I want to bring in a new one.



cawolf86 said:


> Replacing an Ebi......or adding another tank.


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## tenzero1

Tank is looking awesome I definitely love the size. Unfortunately I live in a tiny place and my fiance wouldn't like another tank unless I shut one of mine down that is already going. Never enough room.....


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## sayurasem

I love golden bees!


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## somewhatshocked

They've turned out to be cool shrimp.


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## Geniusdudekiran

So are they technically goldens or snows? Because some of them look like snows to me. Or do you have a mix of both?

Also, you never posted pics of your trees in the bonsai thread! :tongue:


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## somewhatshocked

They came from Liam as regular grade Goldens and have whitened up quite a bit with my foods and supplements.

Can't post bonsai pictures until they get pruned and look less than janky!


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## Geniusdudekiran

somewhatshocked said:


> They came from Liam as regular grade Goldens and have whitened up quite a bit with my foods and supplements.
> 
> Can't post bonsai pictures until they get pruned and look less than janky!


I may need to pick up some of your super shrimp foods sometime in the near future then!

Aww, come on! :icon_lol:


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## algarciajr

I like this tanks footprint, it's to bad they don't have any distributors in Houston.


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## somewhatshocked

Considered contacting the company to find someone who can ship to you?

Also wouldn't hurt to ask one of your area fish shops to carry them.



algarciajr said:


> I like this tanks footprint, it's to bad they don't have any distributors in Houston.


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## jeepjon

I'm about to go searching locally for this tank. To make a long story short...gotta cut down on size in my place. A baby has the tendency to cause one's house to noticeably shrink!

(also an excuse to set up 2 new tanks)...I have a 36" stand that I think 2 of these side by side would do well with.

Will definitely be following this thread. I am really glad that deep blue makes this tank. It is PERFECT for what I need. Now I gotta find it here in Cleveland.

Thanks,
Jon


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## Bananariot

Oh if you haven't seen my post somewhere else cause I was hyped to find out Deep blue makes a 5 gallon long called bettaplex 5 gal. 18" x 6" x 6".

Something for you and I to look into. I know your MTS makes you want to get more tanks. Shut a regular one down to get this bad boy


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## bitFUUL

somewhatshocked said:


> The new rule is I have to shut something down if I want to bring in a new one.



Great rule, I need this one.


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## somewhatshocked

The BettaPlex 5 has five compartments, not five gallons. 18x6x6 = just under 3 gallons. 

It's actually this 3gal tank. DBP's measurements in their catalog are just a bit off. Measurements are actually closer to 18 x 6 x 7.



Bananariot said:


> Oh if you haven't seen my post somewhere else cause I was hyped to find out Deep blue makes a 5 gallon long called bettaplex 5 gal. 18" x 6" x 6".
> 
> Something for you and I to look into. I know your MTS makes you want to get more tanks. Shut a regular one down to get this bad boy


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## Bananariot

somewhatshocked said:


> The BettaPlex 5 has five compartments, not five gallons. 18x6x6 = just under 3 gallons.
> 
> It's actually this 3gal tank. DBP's measurements in their catalog are just a bit off. Measurements are actually closer to 18 x 6 x 7.


Oh wow, I totally didn't even bother to calculate the dimensions myself. xD I just assumed it was right and the compartments were removable. Well thus continues my search for a tank xD or a custom maker but idk where to start to find one haha.


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## somewhatshocked

All the compartments are definitely removable. They're glass panels that also double as an adjustable tank cover.

You may want to consider posting a WTB here on the SnS for a custom acrylic tank. There are a couple folks on TPT who make smaller tanks all the time and sell them. 24x7x7 would make for a terrific 5gal.


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## Bananariot

somewhatshocked said:


> All the compartments are definitely removable. They're glass panels that also double as an adjustable tank cover.
> 
> You may want to consider posting a WTB here on the SnS for a custom acrylic tank. There are a couple folks on TPT who make smaller tanks all the time and sell them. 24x7x7 would make for a terrific 5gal.


Sounds like a good idea. Yeah I was looking for something along those dimensions. thanks!


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## somewhatshocked

Time to update basic parameters since so many people are asking (doing this for all the shrimp tanks I have journals for on TPT):


Temperature: 72

GH: 6

KH: 0-1

pH: 5.9-6

Nitrate: 10ish

TDS: 170

Guess it's clear that this substrate sure is a pH buffer. I occasionally add a bit of crushed coral to the filter to keep it as high as it is now.


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## Bananariot

A drop in pH like that got me thinking about Taiwan Bees........hehe talk about risk with a tank this small. If I only didn't have to go back and forth from college....

Is that achieved with straight azoo or is it still a mix of up and azoo. Tbh I haven't tested my 5 gal in a while for pH, last time I saw it, it was at the 6-6.5 level.....>.> thank god crystals don't mind the acidity.


----------



## somewhatshocked

This tank is 100% UP Aqua Shrimp Sand.

Thinking about adding a few more Whites/Goldens or some Mischling. Figure Mischling would be a good way to eventually try Taiwan Bees in this tank without risking the bank. I'm confident in my ability to maintain stable params in a tank this small because I'm with them nearly 24 hours per day so the Mischling price may be worth it.


----------



## Bananariot

That sounds like a good idea. Do you know how much $$ it cost to fill the tank up with Up Aqua about-ish?

Mischlings sound like a good idea. I want to try it one day once I can stay in a place for a year.


----------



## somewhatshocked

Probably only requires a single bag of UP Aqua for this tank, honestly.


----------



## somewhatshocked

Wonder if I have enough spare moss to start a new shrimp tank?










That's after I gave half of it away.

(This is for a new 45-F)


----------



## Bananariot

lol that's a boatload of moss. 

BTW I'm blaming you for the onslaught of new tanks I'm gonna get. I my mind set on a 45-F, but I'm gonna wait for a couple of months because............I'm getting this tank by mid july....

I'm gonna go for the risky and either use OEBT or BKK's on this little tank. Seems like a couple of importers are bringing TB's at $30 a piece! Mischlings are also tempting. 

I really need to stop copycatting you......not trying to but it seems like I became obsessed with these type of dimensions a month after you....all started cause of my 12 gallon long.....


----------



## somewhatshocked

Could get some female Mischling and BKK/Shadow males. That's in fact what I'm doing with this little tank. Maybe. If I can do it without the other half finding out.


----------



## Bananariot

I just picked up this tank today............contemplating creating a small ugf with this thing attached to a ac20, dunno if it's possible with the small height though. 

It's gonna house red tigers


----------



## Geniusdudekiran

Hey Jake, what was the LFS where you got this? I might try to stop by next week and pick one up if it's on the way...


----------



## somewhatshocked

Not sure an under gravel filter is ideal for a tank like this. Especially with the small amount of substrate you'll have in it. Probably not worth the effort.



Bananariot said:


> I just picked up this tank today............contemplating creating a small ugf with this thing attached to a ac20, dunno if it's possible with the small height though.
> 
> It's gonna house red tigers


----------



## Bananariot

somewhatshocked said:


> Not sure an under gravel filter is ideal for a tank like this. Especially with the small amount of substrate you'll have in it. Probably not worth the effort.


hmm sounds like truth lmao. Yeah I was looking and meh I'm too lazy and it's too hot outside to go to home depot. 

I'm feeling cheap and I was wondering if you think a deep blue t5 will be too much for this tank. I can get one of those at the LFS for $20. I was contemplating just putting it right above the tank.

Did you end up getting a cover for the tank?


----------



## somewhatshocked

You definitely can't do T5 unless you raise it up 6-8 inches above the tank.

No cover, though the tank comes with one and several dividers that can also be used as covers.


----------



## Bananariot

somewhatshocked said:


> You definitely can't do T5 unless you raise it up 6-8 inches above the tank.
> 
> No cover, though the tank comes with one and several dividers that can also be used as covers.


Dangggg maybe I can stick a piece of paper in between the bulb and the acrylic cover? lol 

How much and where did you get your led?


----------



## somewhatshocked

I think my lighting decision started around post 13 or 14 of this journal. Just a standard BeamsWork Single Bright fixture for something like $35 on eBay.

For a tank that's so short, it's really easy to go overboard with the lighting.


----------



## Bananariot

somewhatshocked said:


> I think my lighting decision started around post 13 or 14 of this journal. Just a standard BeamsWork Single Bright fixture for something like $35 on eBay.
> 
> For a tank that's so short, it's really easy to go overboard with the lighting.


Yeah my focus won't be on lighting at all. It's just so I can see into the tank and grow some moss.....so even low light is fine....trying to find a cheap option...maybe something at walmart or home depot even.

Did you use an intake strainer along with the u tube for the ac20? or did you just stick the sponge onto the u tube. I tried it with the strainer intake tube and it's a bit too long.....did you jack it up somehow?


----------



## somewhatshocked

From post 45:



> You'll likely need to cut the intake pipe with a Dremel tool or hacksaw but that's the only real modification necessary. I also cut part of the intake strainer down so I could pull the sponge up a bit higher.


The tubes are cheap so you can cut them down to size easily.


----------



## somewhatshocked

Did a little trim today and removed a literal pound of floaters. Now they're everywhere:










One more moss trim session and the wood will look amazing. Really happy with this little tank.

Tank stand is looking empty with the Ebi retired:










Will be placing a piece of wood on the top and a 45-F will go there.

And I won't lie. I kinda want to buy another one of these 3gal tanks to put on the bottom shelf. Guess I need to sell a bunch of shrimp food before _that_ happens.


----------



## RayT

I've thoroughly enjoyed reading through the 8 pages of this journal, thank you. The tank looks great and is a very unique shape.

Question on the fixture, seems like a good deal price/light wise, would you suggest it for use on a 5.5gal? Currently just have a CFL in the stock hood and having issues with light reaching all parts of the tank.


----------



## somewhatshocked

Definitely not. It's only suited for this tank because it's so shallow. It's still really low light.

There are tons of fixtures that would work with a standard 5.5gal tank, though. 



RayT said:


> Question on the fixture, seems like a good deal price/light wise, would you suggest it for use on a 5.5gal? Currently just have a CFL in the stock hood and having issues with light reaching all parts of the tank.


----------



## acmarauder

I really appreciate you being so generous with the advice and attention to detail in your threads. I just picked up a Spec 2g and have already ordered some fluval shrimp stratum and will be starting my own tank - learning a lot in the mean time from your posts. It's great you're not far from me, I can see making a trip down in a month or so to pick up some shrimp and food to help fund another one of these tanks for your collection -haha.


----------



## somewhatshocked

Ha! Many thanks.

I figure it's best to share as many details as possible in a tank journal. That's the best way for others to learn - especially when I make mistakes.


----------



## somewhatshocked

Major surprise. Floored.

I check this tank every day. Multiple times per day. And I thought all the shrimp in it were the same gender. But. Uh. Well…


































How could I not see a berried shrimp in such a tiny tank? Exciting!


----------



## jeremyTR

woohoo! that's great news. Your tank is great, the footprint is perfect for a shrimp nano tank.


----------



## somewhatshocked

Thanks!

I discovered the babies while doing a moss trim. Will have to finish it up at a later date, I guess.


----------



## dubels

I really hope the $54 price tag on the ones at see at my LFS include the light they are displayed with. Because this thread is making me want one so bad right now. I don't room for the 12 Long I want but this might hold me over.


----------



## somewhatshocked

For $54 you could almost buy two of these tanks. Or one of them and pay for express shipping.


----------



## simplechamp

Glad to hear the BeamsWork light is turning out to be a good purchase. I purchased a small 9x1W one for my Evolve 2, kind of on impulse as well. My initial opinions of it are good, but I wasn't sure if it will last 10 years or burn out in a week!

Very nice tank by the way. Love the spindly driftwood.


----------



## somewhatshocked

Another look at two of my Golden/Snow White babies:


























For size reference? The substrate granules are about a quarter the size of regular ADA Aquasoil or Fluval Shrimp Stratum.


----------



## dubels

[STRIKE] I think its $54 for the 5 gallon long (Similar to the bettaplex 5)[/STRIKE] I check again today and its made by Aqua Aquarium, they have to different models. The one selling for $34 dollars with light fixture tops and dividers is around 6 gallons according to the LFS calculations based on the measurements. Which would make the one for $54 with light and dividers around 12 gallons.


----------



## somewhatshocked

DBP unfortunately doesn't make a 5gal long.


----------



## sayurasem

Nice I love goldens! Btw do they breed true?


----------



## somewhatshocked

No shrimp breeds 100% "true." 

If you're asking if all of their offspring are Golden? These so far have all produced Golden/Snow White offspring.


----------



## somewhatshocked

A look at a young Pond Snail from my $4 iPhone macro lens:


----------



## somewhatshocked

Looks like the babies:










Are going to color up to be more white than the adults:


----------



## Geniusdudekiran

I think you've changed many peoples' opinions regarding Snows/Goldens. For that, I commend you! roud:


----------



## somewhatshocked

I'm not sure why people wouldn't enjoy Goldens/Snow Whites. A little selective breeding and they can be gorgeous.


----------



## Gris

Are those shelves from Target? I have a 20L I am waiting to set up, and a stand is one of the things I'm waiting on. I have some wire frame shelves from target that look identical to the shelves in your picture, I thought they wouldn't support that much weight though.

Edit: My bad! I just saw a comment I skipped over saying they were from Home Depot. Thanks for giving me an idea for a stand!


----------



## somewhatshocked

Found some ugly new Golden babies today:










Then another berried lady:


















And all kinds of seed shrimp:


----------



## bacon5

Wow love the goldens! I think this is what I am gonna stock my 2.5 gallon with


----------



## moosenart

Just bought myself one of these for my male betta.


----------



## SpecGrrl

moosenart said:


> Just bought myself one of these for my male betta.


*still jelly*


----------



## sanguineillusion

I just got one for my work betta as well. Gonna try to set up a christmas moss tank with maybe 1 or 2 ghost shrimp as well.

Word to the wise, you can get these on allpet for 25 bucks right now
http://www.allpet.com/detail.asp?product_id=523100

Their site isn't great looking but my order came through fine and was really really well packaged. Best deal I'm aware of for this tank.

Do note that the canopy is just 1 piece of glass, No room for HOB filters or anything. However I found you can use 2 of the dividers on the top and that will leave you about 4" of open space, so you could fit in a tiny filter. I'm hoping I can fit a little Azoo Mignon filter in there.


----------



## somewhatshocked

Here's a blurry cell phone shot of the dozens of Golden babies in the tank:










They're turning out to be super-white little critters. The older they get, the whiter they seem to get.


----------



## Thedirtybubble

I just got one of these tanks. I have my betta in it!


----------



## loucas6290

I have one of these DSMing as we speak!


----------



## SpecGrrl

I don't need on. I don't need one. I don't need one. I don't need one.


----------



## Overgrowth

My stupid petland never seems to have these 3G longs :/


----------



## Geniusdudekiran

Wow! I love how those goldens look in a group like that. Such contrast!


----------



## somewhatshocked

They've grown up a bit since then and there are more babies.

I'll try to take a proper photo sometime this weekend. Am guessing it's almost time for me to sell some of them off.


----------



## Geniusdudekiran

Nice! Did you end up purchasing those macro rings?


----------



## MABJ

They're beautiful! Sorry I never even noticed the bees they're so white. 

What water do you keep them in? Awesome job. Very jealous of this tank. I may just say screw it and buy one lol. 




From MABJ's iPhone
2G Fluval Spec ~ fauna and flora in the works!


----------



## somewhatshocked

Thanks.

Water parameters and such are scattered throughout the journal.



MABJ said:


> They're beautiful! Sorry I never even noticed the bees they're so white.
> 
> What water do you keep them in? Awesome job. Very jealous of this tank. I may just say screw it and buy one lol.


----------



## somewhatshocked

Yep. But also got a couple new macro lenses that I'm itching to try out. The rings do a pretty good job, though. Especially for tank stuff.



Geniusdudekiran said:


> Nice! Did you end up purchasing those macro rings?


----------



## MABJ

somewhatshocked said:


> Thanks.
> 
> Water parameters and such are scattered throughout the journal.


Found them. Awesome. Your ph is so low. I wish I could get my ph that low . 

You're a real genius with this tank. I'm following!


From MABJ's iPhone
2G Fluval Spec ~ fauna and flora in the works!


----------



## somewhatshocked

Genius? HAHA! Hardly. But thanks for the kind words. 

I just stuck a leftover piece of wood in there. The only thing I did was smear glue on it and rub leftover moss on it. The whole thing was put together in no time flat with very little cash. 

I think I'm going to test parameters tomorrow during water change to see how the pH is holding. Haven't checked it in a hot minute and it'd be nice to know.

One tip I have for a tank like this: definitely go with smaller grain substrate.



MABJ said:


> Found them. Awesome. Your ph is so low. I wish I could get my ph that low .
> 
> You're a real genius with this tank. I'm following!


----------



## MABJ

Why do you like smaller grain? I've been using Fluval shrimp stratum lately. Just experimenting. I want to try a cool scape soon  but it is a slight bit harder to work with


From MABJ's iPhone
2G Fluval Spec ~ fauna and flora in the works!


----------



## somewhatshocked

It's a small, shallow tank so smaller grain size seems to keep with the scale. Definitely wouldn't go larger than Fluval Shrimp Stratum.

My advice is just to find a nice, twiggy piece of manzanita and glue on a bunch of fissidens or other moss. Easy, near-instant scape with little maintenance.


----------



## MABJ

somewhatshocked said:


> It's a small, shallow tank so smaller grain size seems to keep with the scale. Definitely wouldn't go larger than Fluval Shrimp Stratum.
> 
> My advice is just to find a nice, twiggy piece of manzanita and glue on a bunch of fissidens or other moss. Easy, near-instant scape with little maintenance.


Yes. Yes. Yes. I can't find any good wood though! I might even have to turn to some stones for scaping. 


From MABJ's iPhone
2G Fluval Spec ~ fauna and flora in the works!


----------



## somewhatshocked

Hit up Tom Barr (plantbrain) in the For Sale/Trade section. He has tons of wonderful manzanita. He'd be more than happy to sell you a box of it for a nano tank. Cheap, too.

A tank like this would look cool with pool filter sand and larger black lava rock with moss on it.


----------



## MABJ

somewhatshocked said:


> Hit up Tom Barr (plantbrain) in the For Sale/Trade section. He has tons of wonderful manzanita. He'd be more than happy to sell you a box of it for a nano tank. Cheap, too.
> 
> A tank like this would look cool with pool filter sand and larger black lava rock with moss on it.


I will do just that. . I messaged him earlier, but I couldn't find a good example of what I was looking for. 

I'm also possibly going to pick up some seriyu (can't spell it lol) stone. Not sure. Maybe lava rock . 

Rock you can change with a hammer. Driftwood just kinda is what it is. 

Thanks for your help!


From MABJ's iPhone
2G Fluval Spec ~ fauna and flora in the works!


----------



## somewhatshocked

He typically will ship you a box full of twig-like stuff (big enough for these tanks) for a set price. There's always enough to put something nice together.

And remember that it's easy to put moss on whatever you choose. Just smear on some super glue gel and then toss on the moss.


----------



## MABJ

somewhatshocked said:


> He typically will ship you a box full of twig-like stuff (big enough for these tanks) for a set price. There's always enough to put something nice together.
> 
> And remember that it's easy to put moss on whatever you choose. Just smear on some super glue gel and then toss on the moss.


Never thought of superglue for moss. I just stuffed around and what stuck stuck. Good idea!

And I'm not a huge fan of the skinny twig appearance. I like stuff that's thicker at the base with an interesting shape forming upwards. If you were me would you recommend Mopani, Malaysian or Manzanita?


From MABJ's iPhone
2G Fluval Spec ~ fauna and flora in the works!


----------



## somewhatshocked

When I say "twig"? It's a twig in maybe a 75gal sense. A "twig" looks like a full-on branch in a tank this small.

I'd go with Manzanita all the way. It's about the only thing with scale that's appropriate.


----------



## MABJ

somewhatshocked said:


> When I say "twig"? It's a twig in maybe a 75gal sense. A "twig" looks like a full-on branch in a tank this small.
> 
> I'd go with Manzanita all the way. It's about the only thing with scale that's appropriate.


You have been instrumentally helpful lol. Thanks so much, jake. 

Mark


From MABJ's iPhone
2G Fluval Spec ~ fauna and flora in the works!


----------



## somewhatshocked

Couldn't get the babies to come to the front of the tank for photos. Will try again later today.

In the meantime, here's a shot of some seed shrimp checking out an almond leaf skeleton:


----------



## MABJ

Oh how neat....this is with an iPhone?... How


From MABJ's iPhone
2G Fluval Spec ~ fauna and flora in the works!


----------



## somewhatshocked

They're still not cooperating but I snagged a couple of some babies:


----------



## MABJ

Heres an FYI for those interested, and I know A LOT said they were. 

$25 + shipping. 

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00804LQA6...e=asn&creative=395105&creativeASIN=B00804LQA6

Apparently they do know it isn't five gallons, they just were referring to the five compartments. Happy shrimping >8)


----------



## somewhatshocked

Just a note: With shipping, the tank is still affordable. It's likely about $8-$10 in the continental United States.

I'm beginning to see them in my local shops more often and they're coming down in price. Picked up another $21.99 last night.


----------



## Bluek24a4

You got that tank for $22? That's a great price. The few times I saw them they were in the $40 to $50 range.


----------



## somewhatshocked

The one in this journal was about $30-$35, I think.

The one last night was $21.99.


----------



## somewhatshocked

Still too lazy to turn on the DSLR, so some cell phone shots:


















As you can see, the juvies are super-white and all the little white specks are babies that are also crazy white.

Moss is in desperate need of a trim.


----------



## FisheriesOmen

This has come a long way while I was gone.


----------



## somewhatshocked

I end up doing a heavy trim about once a month and constantly notice new shrimp and new growth.


----------



## QQQUUUUAADDD

The moss looks pretty cool!


----------



## somewhatshocked

Highlight of the evening. Finding yet another berried mama.


----------



## somewhatshocked

The time has come for me to set up my spare 3gal long like this.

Now debating substrates. Here's what I've got on hand:


Safe-T-Sorb
Pool Filter Sand
Azoo Plant Grower Bed
Akadama (too large for a tiny tank)
UP Aqua Shrimp Sand (the micro kind)
Fluval Shrimp Stratum

Or should I order one of the varieties of Aquasoil in powder form? Africana and Malaya are quite attractive.

I'm leaning toward UP Aqua with driftwood, fissidens and a bit of other moss. Plan is to keep some F1 Mischling to breed with other Crystals and Bees.


----------



## bostoneric

for smaller tanks I really like the up aqua shrimp sand, but i've never seen the micro version.

if you need some fissidens let me know. I have tons for sale and will happily give you a great deal since you provide for the community.


----------



## somewhatshocked

You're probably right about UP Aqua. Its scale is about right for this tank and it does look great, as that's what I'm using in my current 3gal.

It helps buffer (pH) really low and that's a good thing for Bees.

I probably will have to buy some more Fissidens in a week or so. Not sure I have enough to harvest from other tanks just yet.


----------



## somewhatshocked

Here are the two small pieces of driftwood I've got:


































They're roughly 10"-12". Scaled perfectly for this tank.

Also ordered a box of wood from Tom Barr and will see what kind of cool stumpy things he sends along.


----------



## somewhatshocked

Tank is in serious need of a moss trim:










A baby:










Some juvies:


























More seed/clam shrimp:










Getting excited to set the other one up.


----------



## somewhatshocked

Forgot to note that lighting for the new tank will be 5050SMD LED strips. 

Extremely budget-friendly.


----------



## Bluek24a4

You're not going with another Beamswork?


----------



## somewhatshocked

Already have several meters of LED stock. Figure I should use up what I've got before buying something new.



Bluek24a4 said:


> You're not going with another Beamswork?


----------



## ren

This is one dope tank! I've been meaning to drop a line, but always forget. I have to say I saw this tank at a petland and could believe its it was only 3ish gallons. Did you ever see the mini LED that Deep Blue has? What are your thoughts on it?


----------



## bostoneric

What substrate is in the above pictures?

My up aqua shrimp sand doesn't have those flecks in it.


----------



## somewhatshocked

ren: Thanks. 

Their small LED fixture unfortunately won't cut it for even low-light plants.

bostoneric: It's this stuff, from the first couple posts:










UP Aqua Shrimp Sand.


----------



## bostoneric

not to side track this thread but whats the granular size vs the up aqua shrimp sand(s)?

and has it broke down since you started using it?


----------



## somewhatshocked

The substrate I'm using _is_ UP Aqua Shrimp Sand.

Take a look at the most recent photos I've posted. Holds up quite well.


----------



## bostoneric

strange, my up aqua shrimp sand does not have the flecks in it.


----------



## somewhatshocked

Some has montmorillonite flecks in it and some doesn't, it seems. Much more visible in the finer grain.

Some of the older Shrimp Sand didn't contain it and it's possible you have some old product.


----------



## bostoneric

thats interesting...is it more visible in the micro version?

wonder if there is any advantage to having one with vs one without.....


----------



## bostoneric

....


----------



## somewhatshocked

Yep, there are tons of benefits. Calcium, negatively-charged ions, aids in molting, helps polish water a bit.


----------



## bostoneric

well wtf... now i have to hunt down the montmorillonite version!


edit: just checked all the bags I have. they say all montmorillonite addition, but dont have the flecks. good stuff!

thanks for the help


----------



## somewhatshocked

Check Amazon.

Though, I still maintain this product is absolutely not worth the price unless you just need a small bag and don't plan to keep any plants.


----------



## bostoneric

somewhatshocked said:


> Check Amazon.
> 
> Though, I still maintain this product is absolutely not worth the price unless you just need a small bag and don't plan to keep any plants.


agreed, but its an investment for high grade shrimp in smaller tanks.
I like how hard it is and doesnt break down like most other substrates.


----------



## somewhatshocked

ADA Aquasoil is a better buy and is even cheaper. 

UP's product is just nice for those who want something quick or when AS isn't available in the states. But I like it well enough.


----------



## somewhatshocked

Got some new wood from Tom Barr today for the 45-F I'm working on:


























I'll have a ton left over that I can also use for the new 3gal.

Excited!


----------



## somewhatshocked

Working on some hardscape ideas for the new 3gal.

These are just ideas, nothing is set in stone. Ignore all the kitchen stuff. The other half wasn't home so I took over (shhh)!

Kind of boring:










Meh - even if I changed out the center piece of wood for something more interesting:










Much more to my liking:










The thought is to put fissidens on the green parts - both on the small piece of wood and on small black lava rocks in front of the larger pieces of driftwood:










Maybe mini xmas moss clumps along the tallest piece of wood.

There are countless other options. Just need to play around a bit with all the wood I got from Tom. 

Decided to use some leftover UP Aqua Shrimp Sand and plan to house F1 Mischlings.


----------



## bostoneric

Looks good now get it cycling!

You need some fissidens. Let me know. 
Cover shipping and I'll send you some!


----------



## somewhatshocked

It'll be a couple weeks until I finalize a hardscape and get a light fixture built for it. 

Probably going to use some aluminum c-channel and 2-3 SMD5050 strips. It's either that or use a spare 24" Marineland Double Bright I've got.


----------



## somewhatshocked

Decided to add more support/weight spread to the shelving unit with my tiny tanks.

Before & after:










Putting one on each shelf to better distribute the 26lbs per shelf for the 3gal tanks (rated for something like 270 per shelf) - including under the tank that's already there.

It's MDF that I primed, sealed twice and then coated with foamy rubber non-slip grippy bits.

No, I wouldn't do this with heavier tanks.

But I enjoy the new aesthetic of my three-tier tank rack with these new additions.

Gonna put a 45-F on top (or maybe a custom acrylic frag table I've got - 10" x 20" x 6" rimless).


----------



## Green_Flash

This is gonna be great! Following!


----------



## MABJ

Is this thread encompassing the entire rack now? 


MABJ's iDevice used for this message


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## somewhatshocked

Something like that!


----------



## somewhatshocked

Allow me to complain for a moment... making decisions can be tough! (Not really)

Can't decide whether I want to use a spare AC20 I've got on the new 3gal or use one of the many little Red Sea HOBs around here. Guessing I should go with the AC20 so I have more flexibility with media.

Or maybe I should snatch up a Zoo Med canister.


----------



## MABJ

I stuck two Azoos on mine and I really like the flow/dual surface movements. 

Do you think the 20 would be too strong? 

I think the canister would be cool!


MABJ's iDevice used for this message


----------



## somewhatshocked

Currently using an AC20 on the 3gal that's running. It's turned all the way down and shrimp seem to enjoy the flow.

2 Red Seas could work. Have a couple of them in storage. 

Kinda want to use the spare AC20 I've got to set up a 5.5gal for Endlers and Cories. 

Maybe I'll buy another AC20. Only time will tell!


----------



## MABJ

somewhatshocked said:


> Currently using an AC20 on the 3gal that's running. It's turned all the way down and shrimp seem to enjoy the flow.
> 
> 2 Red Seas could work. Have a couple of them in storage.
> 
> Kinda want to use the spare AC20 I've got to set up a 5.5gal for Endlers and Cories.
> 
> Maybe I'll buy another AC20. Only time will tell!


Well cool  do you like the AC20? Did you mod it at all? 


MABJ's iDevice used for this message


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## somewhatshocked

Cut the intake pipe down a bit so it wasn't so tall and stuck a Fluval Edge pre-filter sponge on it. That's it. 

You indirectly pointed something out for me. The bit about modding reminded me that parts are super-cheap for ACs. Guess that's the route I should go.


----------



## MABJ

I'm glad I could indirectly help!

I wish I could modify the outflow on them to be a spraybar and keep the intake tube. 


MABJ's iDevice used for this message


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## somewhatshocked

You could run a small external pump to solve that problem. Pre-filter sponge over the intake, spray bar as the outflow. 

I've contemplated using a larger AC with a small impeller. That way there's more surface area being hit as the water leaves the filter but with a reasonable amount of flow.


----------



## bostoneric

hard to beat an AC. parts are cheap, tons of space for different media types, easy to mod, edge sponge, etc etc.
I have more then a few ACs NIB just waiting for duty!


----------



## somewhatshocked

Time to update with tank progress. Ignore my fancy plaid pajama pants in the reflection!

I'm a brainiac, so, naturally… I randomly had a debit card in the shot that had to be blurred:










Had a little helper keeping watch:










Not bad:










I think it'll look nice once it all grows in:










The piece of wood on the far right is covered in Fissidens.

Temporarily using a 24" Marineland Double Bright fixture. Will switch to an 5050SMD fixture once I find time to cut down some aluminum c-channel.

Plan to flood later tonight. Just have to mix the water and cut some stuff to fit in the AC20.

Now off to the LFS to see what kinda goodies I can round up.


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## somewhatshocked

For those doubting cheap SMD LED strips, here's a look at three 18" 5050SMD strips:










Perfect for shallow tanks.

Can't wait to get some new aluminum to create a simple fixture. Flooding the tank in just a bit and am seeding it with some old filter floss.

The same amount of lights on a 10gal:










Leads me to believe I could definitely keep low light plants in even a 10gal with these little LEDs if I just add another strip or two.

The 10gal Deep Blue I've got is going to be set up this week for crypts and Pygmy Cories. Probably Cherry Shrimp, as well.

Now back to 3gal work!


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## somewhatshocked

Flooded:










Now just have to wait 5-6 weeks for a nice "cycle" to complete, bacteria to grow in and moss to grow out.

I'm running low on Mischlings at the moment so here's hoping someone has a bunch of F1s when the time comes.


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## MABJ

It looks good. Nice black background. I like how simple it is. 

You seeded it with media, but you're waiting 5-6 weeks? Is that for extra safety measures? 


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## somewhatshocked

Thanks. The other 3gal started as just a piece of manzanita. Now it's a moss jungle. This one will grow out over the course of a few weeks. Fissidens should bush up pretty nicely and the Xmas Moss from Han is super-healthy and should grow quickly.

pH with RO and this substrate is pretty low. So it takes a good 3-4 weeks to be safe. I almost always run things longer to develop a nice environment for shrimp. The more goodies growing on surfaces, the better.



MABJ said:


> It looks good. Nice black background. I like how simple it is.
> 
> You seeded it with media, but you're waiting 5-6 weeks? Is that for extra safety measures?


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## MABJ

Hmm well that makes me a little nervous. I only waited about 2-3 weeks, but I do have a decent nitrate readout.

However I only have two shrimp and two Crays, and I feed them every 2-3 days. 


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## somewhatshocked

Beware keeping crayfish with shrimp in such a tiny tank. The shrimp could become tasty snacks.


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## MABJ

somewhatshocked said:


> Beware keeping crayfish with shrimp in such a tiny tank. The shrimp could become tasty snacks.


Oh I know. As bad as it sounds, I'm not real worried. If they get eaten, it is how it would be in nature. Having a predator I mean. 

They've learned not to stay around the Crays too much, and they look healthier than ever. 


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## andrewss

looking good 


shrimps are fast lil guys I doubt a cray can get em normally... my CPO will try if they get close to him but I have never seen him even seem to get close to catching one of em


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## somewhatshocked

New tank is already processing half a milliliter of 10% ammonia per day. Since the cycle isn't going to take long, I'm excited. Means I'll be able to grow all kinds of goodies in the tank over the next month or so.


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## bitFUUL

Are these tanks that much fun? I'm seeing more people nabbing them.


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## somewhatshocked

I think I started a bit of a shrimper trend, maybe. Heh.

I do enjoy the footprint.


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## kruzerman

bitFUUL said:


> Are these tanks that much fun? I'm seeing more people nabbing them.


Yes. Yes, they are. 


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD


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## MABJ

bitFUUL said:


> Are these tanks that much fun? I'm seeing more people nabbing them.


Love mine. Never will look back. 


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## bulalo

what is your opinion for this light: "AL-H18DS: Finnex RAY II High Output Unibody Ultra Slim LED Fixture - 18" Daylight" I plan on just using stones and carpet plants. I like the light since it spans the whole length of the tank, I am also open to other suggestions if you can help?


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## somewhatshocked

Check out my journal and the journals of other people with this tank. Lots of discussion on fixtures.

Finnex fixtures are great but they will provide a ton of lighting. You will have to raise the fixture extremely high above the tank and will still have to use pressurized CO2 and EI fertilizer dosing.



bulalo said:


> what is your opinion for this light: "AL-H18DS: Finnex RAY II High Output Unibody Ultra Slim LED Fixture - 18" Daylight" I plan on just using stones and carpet plants. I like the light since it spans the whole length of the tank, I am also open to other suggestions if you can help?


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## bulalo

somewhatshocked said:


> Check out my journal and the journals of other people with this tank. Lots of discussion on fixtures.
> 
> Finnex fixtures are great but they will provide a ton of lighting. You will have to raise the fixture extremely high above the tank and will still have to use pressurized CO2 and EI fertilizer dosing.


yeah i read your journal regarding the fixture and all, might just be me but while i was searching i can only find your journal for the 3 gallon


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## somewhatshocked

Change your search terms a bit. Easily five or six that have been started in the past month.

Lighting reality for this tank: it is shallow. After substrate is added, you're looking at just 5-6 inches from the top of the tank. So even low-powered LEDs can end up providing tons of light.

It's a good idea to refer to the Finnex sponsor forum to check out PAR data and to review the lighting stickies in the Lighting forum that discuss PAR.


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## somewhatshocked

Tank #2 update time: Still no Nitrite spike but the tank is definitely processing ammonia. Adding it every day and it gets eaten.

Hoping to add shrimp in about a month.


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## somewhatshocked

Photo update time!

Moss growth in my older 3gal is nice and fairly compact:










Appears we've had a duckweed disaster with the Fissidens:










And the new tank?










Tannins galore. Considerable moss growth, though.


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## LyzzaRyzz

Love the wood in the new tank..it's great! As are all of your tanks!!


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## somewhatshocked

Thanks!

I think my tanks are all pretty simple and truly aren't on the scale of greatness when it comes to real aquascapers. Just try to use the nicest stuff I can get for cheap.


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## somewhatshocked

Finally - a Nitrite reading on the new tank. It's been processing ammonia but this is the first time I've caught Nitrite. Looks like it's really going to be where I want it when the time comes to add shrimp.


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## somewhatshocked

Young Goldens love to hang out near the filter outflow:










Christmas Moss from Han seems to be exploding in the new tank:










Seems the tannins are, as well.

And that Fissidens log? It's looking less gross now, with new growth:










Algae and U. gibba had taken over for a bit but I nearly have it under control.

Now, if only I could keep the gross things off the silicone in the corners.


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## Green_Flash

What is on the silicone in the corner?


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## somewhatshocked

Just some fun things that come along with having a new tank.


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## Green_Flash

Can you be a little more specific ? I think I see those on my tank and am looking for an ID.


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## somewhatshocked

They're a form of diatom, if I'm not mistaken, and are a symptom of new aquariums during the "cycle" process.

They'll go away on their own pretty quickly.


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## somewhatshocked

Wait a minute... why did no one tell me I should be using this new tank to selectively breed my PRLs?

I feel like Captain Obvious this morning after realizing that's what I should do. Mischlings tend to be less than attractive so I should keep them hidden away upstairs, anyway.


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## somewhatshocked

It's Om Nom Nom time!


















Time for another trim this week:










Still waiting on the other 3gal to finish up so I can move over some PRLs.


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## MABJ

Jake what floaters do you use? I don't think I like the look of *my* DWL on these tanks. 

Yours looks a lot better


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## somewhatshocked

A couple types of Duckweed and Salvinia in the Golden/Snow tank. Frogbit and Dwarf Water Lettuce roots get way too long for a tank this shallow.


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## MABJ

somewhatshocked said:


> A couple types of Duckweed and Salvinia in the Golden/Snow tank. Frogbit and Dwarf Water Lettuce roots get way too long for a tank this shallow.


I really dislike the small duckweed. It gets everywhere. I like larger leaves and slower reproduction. 

That's why I loved the DWL but the roots are way too much. They're killing my scape. 

What would you recommend?

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## somewhatshocked

If you can get Duckweed to stick together in a thick grouping, it ends up looking pretty cool. Especially the bigger stuff.


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## MABJ

somewhatshocked said:


> If you can get Duckweed to stick together in a thick grouping, it ends up looking pretty cool. Especially the bigger stuff.


It looks amazing, but are there different larger leaved varieties around?

I feel like salvinia stinks... It didn't take off the last time I had it. 

How about red root floaters? Never tried those


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## somewhatshocked

Yep, there are a few different varieties/sizes of Duckweed within the hobby. 

People tend to harp on the smaller varieties because it gets everywhere but I love it in shrimp tanks. Added security of sucking up nitrate.

Salvinia needs decent lighting and typically needs a good amount of nutrients in the water column. Not sure how I'm making it work in this particular tank but it continues to grow.



MABJ said:


> It looks amazing, but are there different larger leaved varieties around?
> 
> I feel like salvinia stinks... It didn't take off the last time I had it.
> 
> How about red root floaters? Never tried those


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## MABJ

Hmmhmmhmmmm time for a little research on larger varieties. 

Thanks very much!


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## bacon5

Wow really nice tanks  Sorry if you already mentioned this, but do you use heaters in these tanks?


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## somewhatshocked

Thanks.

These are shrimp tanks, so heat is not required.



bacon5 said:


> Wow really nice tanks  Sorry if you already mentioned this, but do you use heaters in these tanks?


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## peter_w

Great tank, nice dimensions for nano scape. Long tanks just looks much nicer than tall tanks, especially for small tanks.


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## belphegor

Hello! Your tanks are great! 
I was wondering how did you get the moss to stick on the driftwood on page 15? Did you use yarn or some type of string to tie it down? And are you adding any ferts in these tanks? What substrate are you using?

LOL I'm sorry for spamming you with questions. 

I'd be very grateful if you could answer. Thanks!


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## somewhatshocked

Thanks!

I used Super Glue gel to attach moss.


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## belphegor

Super glue gel? Is that safe for shrimps? O: 
Do you have the specific brand that you use? 

Are you dosing with ferts and what substrate are you using? 

Sorry for the spamming if questions. LOL


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## MABJ

belphegor said:


> Super glue gel? Is that safe for shrimps? O:
> Do you have the specific brand that you use?
> 
> Are you dosing with ferts and what substrate are you using?
> 
> Sorry for the spamming if questions. LOL


Yep! It certainly is. 

Dollar store superglue goes on wet surfaces and dries in like 20-40 seconds. Afterwards it can go in the tank immediately. 

I used this method to attach pellia and mini Christmas moss. The pellia bounced back quicker than the Christmas moss. 


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## somewhatshocked

As MABJ mentioned, super glue (the ingredient you're looking for is cyanoacrylate) is perfectly fine. I use gel because it gives me more working time - usually a minute or two.

The brand I use - because it's cheap at the local hardware store - is Super Glue. Usually about a dollar for two tubes.

No ferts. It's UP Aqua Shrimp Sand - if you scroll through the journal a bit, you'll see some information about it.



belphegor said:


> Super glue gel? Is that safe for shrimps? O:
> Do you have the specific brand that you use?
> 
> Are you dosing with ferts and what substrate are you using?
> 
> Sorry for the spamming if questions. LOL


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## Sakuras

Updates?


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## somewhatshocked

Nothing has changed, really, as these tanks are still the same.

Will likely update once I add livestock to the new one.


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## ikuzo

after looking this i'm gonna find me some duckweed 
i saw some lemna gibba scattered inside some ditches otw to work a few weeks ago


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## somewhatshocked

Whoops, forgot to mention that I moved some higher grade PRLs to the new 3gal:


























They've been cleaning up the tank the past couple days.


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## somewhatshocked

Can you spot the sneaky Goldens? 










Cleaned 19 of them out of the AC20. Guess they're getting in by climbing up.

Still need to trim moss and some Fissidens:










Om Nom Nom feeding time:










The PRLs in the new tank seem to be doing well:


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## binbin9

great journal I'm looking forward to hearing more about the PRLs


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## somewhatshocked

Thanks.

Feel free to check out my other journals to see PRLs.


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## Warlock

hey.. i have been gone for awhile.. how many of the DEEP BLUE tanks you have set up now?? still just the one??


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## somewhatshocked

This thread documents two of them.

I've got a few more but only have these two set up at the moment.



Warlock said:


> hey.. i have been gone for awhile.. how many of the DEEP BLUE tanks you have set up now?? still just the one??


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## Warlock

somewhatshocked said:


> This thread documents two of them.
> 
> I've got a few more but only have these two set up at the moment.


ahh ok..

it seems its working pretty good for you


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## somewhatshocked

Guess who still hasn't trimmed that moss in the Golden/Snow White tank:










This little tank can clean up an Indian Almond Leaf in just a week or two:










Couple more shots:


















PRL tank is growing in nicely:










Maybe I'll trim it when I get to the Golden tank.


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## Couesfanatic

Now thats some moss growth, looks good.


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## LyzzaRyzz

Wow! Whatre you gonna do with that extra moss? I cant stom making moss rocks...every trim...though mine is just java moss, i cant get enough! Slow grower though.


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## Rob in Puyallup

*Re: Jake's New 18"/3gal Nano Shrimp Tank*

Lol! Looks a lot like my Ebi and crystal bookshelf until I went crazy with them last week. 

After the trim (and a massive thinning of floaters) I found about a million tiger and cherry shrimplets I wasn't aware of! 

(Still gobs of crystal shrimplets, they tend to hang closer to the bottom of the tank, though.) 

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S III using Tapatalk 2


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## somewhatshocked

Couesfanatic: Thanks. It looks way better when trimmed. Hopefully I'll trim it some day. Every time I decide I've got 15-20 minutes to devote to trimming, I decide I don't want to mess with removing lighting and digging around in their with a scissor. 

LyzzaRyzz: Use it in some of my other tanks.

Rob: Yep, moss/plant trims are usually when I try to get a handle on babies, as well. Looking forward to that part.


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## somewhatshocked

Finally did a moss trim!

Some rough cell phone shots:


















Still need to do touch-ups and remove errant pieces of moss. Also gotta get in there to trim the Fissidens soon.

Removed a bit of Christmas Moss from the other 3gal but didn't take a photo, as it doesn't look much different.


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## Green_Flash

Simply sweet!


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## somewhatshocked

Golden FTS:










Om Nom Nom:


















PRL FTS (ignore the sleepy pants in the reflection - I'm home alone!:










Feeding time:


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## shrimpnmoss

golden gardens!


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## somewhatshocked

Every time I turn around? There are about 10,000 new babies. Gardens, indeed.


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## shrimpnmoss

somewhatshocked said:


> Every time I turn around? There are about 10,000 new babies. Gardens, indeed.


You ever going to cull these eventually? Looks like you have enough to pick out 10 premium goldens to start a new tank to work towards perfect snow whites.


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## Rob in Puyallup

*Re: Jake's New 18"/3gal Nano Shrimp Tank*

The shrimp and tank are looking great Jake. 

I've never had a Golden... 

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S III using Tapatalk 2


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## somewhatshocked

I remove less desirable shrimp and sell them on a regular basis.

Have been selectively breeding every once in a while with a breeder box. Probably should work on it a bit more.


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## Rob in Puyallup

*Re: Jake's New 18"/3gal Nano Shrimp Tank*

I'll be watching for a Golden sale then. I  

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S III using Tapatalk 2


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## Bananariot

How's it been going? Jesus everytime I look at this tank....it looks like a 20 long lol.


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## somewhatshocked

Which tank? There are two in this particular thread.


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## Bananariot

somewhatshocked said:


> Which tank? There are two in this particular thread.


Both the goldens and PRL. Everytime I compare mine to yours Im like why does mine look smaller lol


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## somewhatshocked

Ha - thanks.

Though, I think my tanks are proof that it doesn't take much effort to make something look semi-decent.


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## somewhatshocked

Moss in the Golden tank just won't quit:










Don't let anyone tell you the cheapy BeamsWork fixtures are bad for this tank - check the algae out:










Need to add more floaters to dim things.

Also time to ditch the Fissidens log, as it's not looking so swell these days. Maybe time to add some lava rock with Riccia all over it.


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## somewhatshocked

Been a couple weeks since I last updated but nothing has changed. Think it's nearly time for shrimp breeding to begin, though.


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## gnod

somewhatshocked said:


> Finally - a Nitrite reading on the new tank. It's been processing ammonia but this is the first time I've caught Nitrite. Looks like it's really going to be where I want it when the time comes to add shrimp.


just caught this but was wondering if you can clarify the specific reasoning for this observation? where do you want your readings to be by the time you add shrimps?


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## somewhatshocked

Not sure what you're asking.

Are you asking why it took a while for Nitrites to show up? If so, it's because they weren't in abundance enough to be read by my test kit.

I've already added shrimp - that was a comment in November. You shouldn't put shrimp in a tank until there's zero ammonia, zero nitrite and until you have nitrates below 10 (ideally as close to zero as possible). My remarks weren't about 'readings' when it came to adding shrimp. They were about the whole environment within the tank - biofilm, microcritters, algae, all the good stuff that comes with having an aged tank that can support sensitive shrimp.



gnod said:


> just caught this but was wondering if you can clarify the specific reasoning for this observation? where do you want your readings to be by the time you add shrimps?


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## gnod

nvm, found my answer.


anyways, gonna go pick up another one this weekend ever reading your thread again. i initially sold my first one because i was looking to keep my addiction under control but...nope. not happening.


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## Warlock

been gone for awhile.. 

came back for a visit.. looks great!!


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## kribkeeper888

Warlock said:


> been gone for awhile..
> 
> came back for a visit.. looks great!!


+1, being someone who can never get moss to grow I truly appreciate it haha.


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## andrewss

holy moss those tanks are sweet


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## somewhatshocked

If you can't get moss to grow, it's usually something to do with temperature and flow.

Keep temps low and flow nice and it'll happen if you give it time.


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## somewhatshocked

Tank one is in need of another moss trim:










Riccia has exploded, as well:










And let's just say the Christmas Moss is not growling slowly in the least:










Gotta do a major trim and clean up the front glass.


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## gnod

Super nice! I am done setting mine up now. Hope my mosses get like that soon. What is ur tanks temperature normally?


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## somewhatshocked

All my shrimp tanks range from 68-72ish. Room temperature is usually around 67-68, year round.


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## somewhatshocked

Berried mamas everywhere. 

Looks like I'm going to have to thin the Golden/Snow White herd a bit by moving some to other tanks.


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## Couesfanatic

How's this going


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## somewhatshocked

Both tanks are chugging along and look pretty much the same, save berried females everywhere. Have done a couple moss trims and now, mysteriously, both tanks are packed with moss. Gonna have to do a major trim this week.

Guess I should take some photos for updates, as well.


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## somewhatshocked

Just trimmed the tank a couple weeks ago. Look how crazy it already looks:










Have no idea how moss ends up on the substrate like that, either.


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## mjbn

I seriously love the dimensions of this tank... Doubt it's being sold anywhere locally Your tanks look awesome though, really inspiring me to set up something similar if I can find a tank like it:O


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## MABJ

mjbn said:


> I seriously love the dimensions of this tank... Doubt it's being sold anywhere locally Your tanks look awesome though, really inspiring me to set up something similar if I can find a tank like it:O


Check out our club in our signatures.


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## somewhatshocked

Thanks. I think they look fairly decent when I keep the moss trimmed. Just grows way too quickly for me to keep up lately.

As mentioned above, there are quite a few places to source the tanks. Any local shop that carries Deep Blue Professional or can order DBP will be able to hook you up. If it's just the dimensions you're after, Mr. Aqua produces a similarly-sized rimless tank (for 2-3 times the price).



mjbn said:


> I seriously love the dimensions of this tank... Doubt it's being sold anywhere locally Your tanks look awesome though, really inspiring me to set up something similar if I can find a tank like it:O


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## mjbn

Even with an untrimmed tank, it looks amazing to me. lol MABJ & yourself have convinced me to get my own 3G long in the very near future. Just gotta decide on what filter (zoo med 501 or AC20) and substrate to use (black diamond sand?) and I'll be somewhat set Gotta keep a low budget on this tank.


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## MABJ

Hmm I should have suggested that you in my PM that you talk to Nubster. He has a low to the ground tank with an AC20. 

I think if you boil some black diamond sand you will be fine. But I seem to recall a thread bouncing around in the past 24 hours that had to do with black diamond sand. You might find that.


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## mjbn

Jake seems like to like the AC20 in his 3G long so that's what drew me to that. But you're drawing me to the Zoo Med. lol Choices, choices, choices. Rightnow I think I'll go AC20 for price. 

If anything, I could use turface again, but it's ugly. lol I was looking at substratesource's black lava rock and sands but idk if I can pull another $23


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## MABJ

Yep! I appreciate the Zoomed. I know Jake likes his for smaller tanks. 

AC20 will take some modification, but we can always help.


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## somewhatshocked

I like ZooMed stuff just fine. But for the price? AC20 beats it every time. And replacement parts are super-cheap and easy to find. The ZooMed works well if you have space beside or behind the tank to stash the filter. 

If I was going to use a canister on this tank, I'd get an Eheim 2211 because it's not much more expensive in the long run and flow is adjustable.

If you go with the AC, you'll only need a Dremel cutting tool or a cheap hacksaw blade to cut the U tube down to size. Replacements just cost a buck or two so you can easily pick up a backup tube if you're worried about messing up.


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## somewhatshocked

One of the tanks in the midst of a messy moss trim:










Tons of fun.


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## Chimo

The tank looks great! Shrimps as well! What's your secret on how you get your moss to grow like this?


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## somewhatshocked

Thanks - it looks much better now that the water has cleared up and I've removed the random moss bits. Will snap a few photos later.

Secret? There's no secret. Just super glue a bunch of moss to a piece of wood and put it in your tank. Trim it when it gets to be too much for the tank. The least complicated aquascaping I've ever done.


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## somewhatshocked

Some updated photos:










Still have a bit of moss cleanup work to do.

This one just molted:










Digging holes:










Hiding beneath an Indian Almond Leaf:


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## bacon5

Awesome tank! Do you have any tips on how to keep goldens happy and breeding in such a small tank?


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## somewhatshocked

Thanks - both of the tanks in this journal are fairly easy to maintain.

With any kind of shrimp, stability is key. Keep parameters where they need to be, don't allow evaporation to become an issue and thin the herd when necessary.

I find auto top-off kits to be a handy tool. Since I don't have ATOs on these two tanks, I just do top-offs every day with RO.


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## bacon5

Cool! Thanks for the tip! I I also imagine that temperature stability might also be an obstacle. Do you have any advice on that. Thanks for the help by the way. I want to set up a 4 gallon cube but also want to be able to breed shrimp in it so I need to get all the advice I can


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## somewhatshocked

Best advice I can give is start reading through the Shrimp section of the forum. Start with the sticky.

Depending upon the shrimp you keep, temperature may not be an issue. But if it is, cooling fans are a cheap way to go.


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## somewhatshocked

This tank continues to make me happy:










This one, while not neglected, doesn't receive the attention it deserves:










Thinking about moving the second tank to a tank rack upstairs so I'll be able to look at it more frequently. I originally created the scape to be viewed from above, as the tank is just a few inches off the floor. But I'm thinking it would look better if it were eye level.


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## MABJ

I'm almost shocked a cardinia species is breeding for you in a 3gal tank. They still look great though.


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## somewhatshocked

Water quality/parameter stability = key.


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## MABJ

somewhatshocked said:


> Water quality/parameter stability = key.


They probably won't breed in my spec because the params fluctuate too much for my liking. 

I will say I don't think I've seen them breed in anything smaller than 3G though.


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## somewhatshocked

I've got PRLs breeding like roaches in 2.11gal cubes. 

Really do think it boils down to environment. I run my tanks for ages before adding shrimp, always have tons of moss and keep things stable.

Forgot to add this: If you run a Spec, that's the PERFECT tank for using an auto top-off system because it can be hidden in the back of the tank. Have you thought of adding one?


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## somewhatshocked

Just got the long tweezers out to remove what I thought was a deceased Golden.

Grabbed for it.

BAM!

A very much alive shrimp popped out of the shell.

That was a close call.


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## somewhatshocked

Om Nom Nom time!










Babies are all over the place:


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## somewhatshocked

Finding lots of babies in both tanks:


































Wasn't expecting them in the PRL tank.


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## CL

Nice looking shrimp, Jake. I may have to purchase some of your culls in the future :thumbsup:


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## mosspearl

What kinds of moss do you have in those pics? They look great.


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## somewhatshocked

mosspearl: Which tank? One has Christmas Moss, one has Fissdens, Java, stringy, et al.


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## somewhatshocked

You know what it's like when you're having a lousy evening because the dogs, say, ate half a pizza? And you decide to check on your tanks during feeding to try to forget about the mess? Sometimes it turns out pretty great.

This just happened:










I knew there were some babies but wow! Had no idea there were that many Goldens/Snow Whites.

Several groups of several dozen babies all over the tank.


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## meppitech

Sweet redemption. Glad your day had a turn for the better. Hope the dog feels ok too.


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## somewhatshocked

Ha! Those guys could probably eat straight limestone gravel and not get sick. 

But the shrimp were a great surprise.


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## I<3<*))))><

Oh wowza babies! They're goreous as well! Huge congrats on them!

Bad bad doggies, teach you to leave Pizza unattended. lol


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## mjbn

Seeing your tank is making me want snow white/goldens in one of my 3G's. I didn't really have a liking for them before seeing this journal.


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## somewhatshocked

I think SWs/Goldens may be one of my favorites. 

So much unexpected diversity amongst shrimp one typically thinks of as boring and white.

On the plus side, very few people seem to enjoy them these days so they're different than the standard Taiwan Bees or Pure Red Lines.


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## somewhatshocked

Maybe I underestimated the number of babies in the Golden/Snow White tank:










The scary part is that there are currently at least four berried mamas.


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## mjbn

If you ever wanna get rid of some of those babies, you can always send them my way:hihi: 

But awesome seeing the amount of success you're having with them in such a small tank. Hopefully my TT's get happy and breed for me, too. Deciding if I should jump the gun on SW/Golden's for the second 3G Long or if I want something else, stillD:


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## somewhatshocked

More Snow White and Golden babies:










Spotted a few more berried females, as well.


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## somewhatshocked

Favorite Golden at the moment:










Some babies:


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## Duck5003

Awesome pics! Never get tired of seeing swarms of shrimp


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## mayphly

I enjoyed reading your thread over the weekend. I broke down and bought the same tank and ligth set up. I ended up getting the 10,000K 300 lumens light. They were out of the 6500K one. Your shrimp and moss look awesome! Great thread.


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## somewhatshocked

Thanks! These two little tanks are tons of fun. Getting ready to rescape one of them sometime in the next month. Really looking forward to the challenge.


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## Stingray13

Because of seeing your shrimp,I have decided to try and do the same. I am going to go with my first real shrimp tank (I have had cherries). Do you have any tips for a first timer? Is there anything I should do for my shrimp that you think makes a great difference in their health? I just really wanna try and get it right the first time.


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## somewhatshocked

The best advice I can give: go to the Shrimp section of the forum and read the sticky a dozen times. Read everything in it a dozen times. Then read, read, read on the forum.


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## somewhatshocked

Just shut down the 3gal PRL tank and am dripping those shrimp into one of my 20Ls at the moment.

Planning to restart the tank once I'm in the new house. Not sure about the scape but am leaning toward black lava rock or some smaller stumpy, rock-like pieces of wood that I've got on-hand. Lots of options!


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## water-kitties

Oh man, you're making me want some of these beautiful shrimp! I'm not sure in summer if I could keep the cool enough though! Congrats!


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## mjbn

Any updates Jake?:O


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## somewhatshocked

The Golden/Snow White tank is just as great as it ever was. Still working on a new scape for the other tank and hope to have it running here in its new home sometime soon. The move just zapped me of time and energy for a while.


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## pink4miss

the golden snow shrimp are very pretty!


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## somewhatshocked

Imagine the surprise (shock?) when I looked into the Golden/Snow White tank earlier this evening to discover THIS:


























Because I've never mixed these guys with Taiwan Bees or other Crystals. In fact, this particular tank consists only of the offspring from five Goldens I obtained from Liam and added on May 3, 2012. So this tank is easily on its millionth generation by now.

Needless to say, I'm quite excited and can't wait to move it in with some of my BKKs to see what happens.

Will try to snap some better photos tomorrow.


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## MABJ

Mutation for the win. Congrats.


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## maxwellag

Are you 100% sure it didn't somehow hitchhike? I've had baby CRS move from tank to tanks as I move plants and things around. IME it's almost impossible for such a sudden and drastic mutation. Mutations generally occur gradually, not all of a sudden.


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## somewhatshocked

Not possible to have hitch-hikers. Nothing has been added to the tank in two years. Hasn't even been in the same room with the same species of critter.

As I posted, it was the opposite of sudden. Took at least 20 months. Probably longer, because there's no way to really know just how long this particular colony has ben going. Liam had them for at least a couple years before I picked them up. The five I received were giant adults.

So far in this tank, from which I constantly thin the herd, there have been nearly 40 berried females that I've witnessed/paid attention to. They've bred like crazy. And now that I know things like this are popping up? Looks like I'll be hanging on to them for much longer than planned. Was thinking about shutting the tank down for a makeover just last night. Funny how quickly my plans changed - ha.


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## mjbn

Lol what a nice shot of luck in getting that bolt. Congrats man


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## somewhatshocked

Definitely luck. Goodness knows I haven't tried to do much of anything with the tank but let it do its own thing.


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## MABJ

Is that just loose moss on the substrate or is it actually growing on the substrate and attached to it? If so, how lol.


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## somewhatshocked

Just loose moss. Some is kind of attached but most isn't.

That's what happens when tiny bits of moss get left over after a trim. It ends up growing into a bush all around the tank if you don't remove every last bit. But every time I go to remove the leftovers, there are too many babies for me to mess with it.


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## MABJ

I've had this issue, but no babies to hinder my progress. Sad face.


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## Buu

This tank still running?


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## somewhatshocked

Which tank?

Both are still running. Just haven't updated in ages. Actually have several more of these tanks because I love their footprint for shrimp.



Buu said:


> This tank still running?


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## Buu

somewhatshocked said:


> Which tank?
> 
> Both are still running. Just haven't updated in ages. Actually have several more of these tanks because I love their footprint for shrimp.


Where's the FTS at? lol

Yeah I fell in love with the footprint too... Saw these at a lfs last week and came home with 3 tanks.


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## jaliberti

somewhatshocked said:


> I've got a fancy new tank:
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Have you ever used the dividers? I'm curious to know the difference in temperate between the 1st/5th compartments vs the center compartment if a heater were to be used in the center without any filtration/aeration.


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## somewhatshocked

These tanks have been sitting idle for about a year and I just dug them out of storage today. Time for a resurrection. Also time for me to update this entire thread so my old photos are visible - working on that later today/this weekend.

I moved into an actual tiny house (condo) in September and it's taken me ten months to figure out exactly how things should work in everyday life. And by tiny, I mean for real tiny. 300 square feet tiny. One of those people on TV kind of tiny. Only going to be here a couple years, though, as I'm slowly converting some shipping containers into my off-grid forever home. 

As a result of this tiny life, nearly all of my tanks have been in my office and I'm only now beginning to shape my at-home setup. It's pretty exciting for me and I'm planning to bring in all new shrimp to diversify my existing bloodlines. Probably going to order all new moss and plants, as well, because I haven't started from scratch in _years_.

In autumn/winter, I'll have more free time on my hands and hope to set up a new gorilla rack to house all of my tiny tanks. A new 33gal long, my three 20cm cubes, 25cm cube, 30cm cube, ADA 45-F, a couple 10gal tanks, bow-front, et al. Probably going to part with my trusty 12gal long, though. Until then? I'm going to focus on keeping things simple at home. For now, I'll just run these two tanks and a Fluval Spec V that I plan to order in the next week or so. It's all this thread's fault. Just waiting to see if there are any decent deals on Prime Day.

Not sure what I'll keep in the Spec (maybe super-red Crystals?) but for these two tanks I'm going to bring in some new CRS for one and a few BKKs in the other. I think. That's the plan for now, anyway.

My only real difficult decision is settling on substrate. With so many options already in my possession, I just don't know. Maybe someone else will have some thoughts? Here's what I've got at my disposal:



Aqua Soil Amazonia (Normal & Powder, I think)
Controsoil (Extra Fine)
Azoo Plant Grower Bed
Up Aqua Shrimp Sand
Tons of Akadama that I've hoarded since the importation ban several years ago
Quartz pool filter sand
Turface & Safe T Sorb

Leaning toward Amazonia and Controsoil but haven't fully settled. Controsoil is something I've only used a couple times in the past and I'm interested in seeing how it does long-term. These two 3gal longs will be primarily moss and whatever decent Crypts I can find, so I'm not too worried about plant growth potential. Only the buffering and initial ammoniasplosion to make cycling easy.

I've got a few totes filled with random driftwood and black lava rock and will try to photograph some of that soon.

If anyone has thoughts or suggestions, don't hesitate to yell my way. I'm all eyes and ears because it's rare for me to start tanks over from nothing.


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## Discusluv

Really looking forward to following your upcoming set-ups and seeing some photos!


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## somewhatshocked

Just manually updated photo URLs for this thread, @Discusluv.


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## Discusluv

somewhatshocked said:


> My dumb butt used up all the slate last week so I had to attach this to black lava rock:
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> 
> I can neither confirm nor deny that I fell asleep sitting up in a chair but I *can* tell you that I won't be attaching moss til tomorrow. I've got a decent amount of Java/Xmas/Singapore/Peacock and a literal pound of Willow Moss.
> 
> Love the way mixed mosses have grown in another tank of mine:
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> But think the more messy look of Willow Moss could be interesting with such a small tank.
> 
> Another mission for tomorrow: see if I can get a glass shop to notch out section for my AC20 or if I have to get crafty with a glass cutter and silicone on my own.


Love the mossed branches. Im gonna steal this look. No, not steal- emulate to the best of my ability. :wink2:

Bump:


somewhatshocked said:


> Had one DOA but five are alive and well. Decided to just go ahead and put them all in the tank.
> 
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Ohhh, these are attractive little guys.


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## Discusluv

somewhatshocked said:


> Hit up Tom Barr (plantbrain) in the For Sale/Trade section. He has tons of wonderful manzanita. He'd be more than happy to sell you a box of it for a nano tank. Cheap, too.
> 
> A tank like this would look cool with pool filter sand and larger black lava rock with moss on it.


 Sorry for flooding you with likes and comments- that's what you get for sharing. :grin2:
Im learning alot here...


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## Discusluv

somewhatshocked said:


> Check out my journal and the journals of other people with this tank. Lots of discussion on fixtures.
> 
> Finnex fixtures are great but they will provide a ton of lighting. You will have to raise the fixture extremely high above the tank and will still have to use pressurized CO2 and EI fertilizer dosing.



I just put a Finnex Planted + on the 30 gallon shrimp tank today--- thinking I wasnt getting enough light with the other fixture. Maybe I should reconsider that. Just seemed like I was getting no growth in plants.

Bump:


somewhatshocked said:


> Guess who still hasn't trimmed that moss in the Golden/Snow White tank:
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Wow this moss is extraordinary. I need some. :surprise:


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## Discusluv

somewhatshocked said:


> I think SWs/Goldens may be one of my favorites.
> 
> So much unexpected diversity amongst shrimp one typically thinks of as boring and white.
> 
> On the plus side, very few people seem to enjoy them these days so they're different than the standard Taiwan Bees or Pure Red Lines.


 I want these for the 10 gallon Im going to set up. Beautiful.


Finished.
Thank you. A joy to read and see pictures of.


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## somewhatshocked

Thanks! I've updated a couple of the other journals in my signature, as well. Four more to update tomorrow morning.

Goldens are terrific shrimp. I traded my colony for some LEDs but updating these photos makes me think I should get some more. I'll see what I can come up with.

Also thinking about some Mischlings to go along with BKKs/Taiwan Bees.



Discusluv said:


> I want these for the 10 gallon Im going to set up. Beautiful.
> 
> 
> Finished.
> Thank you. A joy to read and see pictures of.


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## Discusluv

somewhatshocked said:


> Thanks! I've updated a couple of the other journals in my signature, as well. Four more to update tomorrow morning.
> 
> Goldens are terrific shrimp. I traded my colony for some LEDs but updating these photos makes me think I should get some more. I'll see what I can come up with.
> 
> Also thinking about some Mischlings to go along with BKKs/Taiwan Bees.


 Thanks for doing it, it really is very helpful for us that are learning. 



So far, the Goldens are what have most caught my eye. Simple color, but striking. 

I 'm not sure what Mischling's are--- I remember reading it in the thread; but, passed quickly over it because didn't know what you were referring to.


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## somewhatshocked

Mischlings are Crystals x Taiwan Bees (like Black King Kong). I've got a few colonies going but am focused on starting new with these tanks.

Just updated all of the other threads in my signature so the photos are now visible.



Discusluv said:


> Thanks for doing it, it really is very helpful for us that are learning.
> 
> So far, the Goldens are what have most caught my eye. Simple color, but striking.
> 
> I 'm not sure what Mischling's are--- I remember reading it in the thread; but, passed quickly over it because didn't know what you were referring to.


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## somewhatshocked

Decided to start bringing some hardscape material home to play with while sourcing plants. Time to hit up the For Sale/Trade section to see what kind of mosses, fissidens, crypts, anubias I can get my hands on. Trying to keep my build budget as tiny as possible is going to make this an interesting challenge. Definitely going to have to work out some trades.

Five totes of random rock:










Like this medium/large black lava rock:










Those white spots are old bits of superglue that'll eventually be scraped off or covered up when in use. Just need to spend some time coming up with a few options. Maybe something like my old 5.5gal but on a smaller scale:


































Despite living tiny, I've got a decently sized sunroom (really just a porch that's been enclosed) for plants during the warmer months. It's sticky humid this time of year, so it's great for random plants I have trimmed from my vivariums. I added a ceiling fan for circulation shortly after moving in and it's allowed me to keep everything from bromeliads to moss.

Snapped some cell phone pics while tinkering around this morning. Some of the large & dwarf Tradescantia I need to get around to RAOKing to other viv, terrarium and emergent growth folks:


















Terrestrial mosses:










Spanish moss that's blooming:










The previous owner was apparently a disgusting mess and left stain all over the place when they installed the enclosure:










Nothing gets it off. Absolutely nothing. Not exactly fun for a neat freak. As you can see, I'm working on getting that covered up with plants:










Broke a frame some time ago and decided to hot glue in a coated wire grid instead of tossing it. Closer look at some Tillandsia I'm growing out:










Have a large box of random driftwood, including some previously used pieces on top of it, to consider for my tiny new scapes:










Guess I was using "spiderwood" (rear right) way before it was trendy? The tall piece (rear left) is something I've saved for five or six years. Plan is to stick it in a 30cm rimless cube once I have a rack installed. Patience is everything in this hobby and sometimes it takes years for all the puzzle pieces to come together. The older I get (late 30s - hey, kids!), the more fun planning becomes.

Those cork+bark things are DIY plant stands I use from time to time when growing epiphytes out.

Time to start work on a lava rock puzzle...


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## Thelongsnail

A tiny house filled with tanks and a tiny porch for plants sounds like the absolute dream.

Really love your tanks and the way that they're geared towards the inhabitants.


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## somewhatshocked

Tiny life is fulfilling for me. More than I ever thought it could be. Having an 8ft x 14ft/112sq ft (2.4m x 4.3m/10.3sq m) enclosed space certainly helps when you're a plant hoarder. 

Gearing tanks toward inhabitants is the only way to go. It's easy enough to do but it tends to take a ton of time figuring out how to make things look attractive.


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## Discusluv

Your Tradescantia and Tillandsia are amazing--- 
Great idea putting on the broken frame. I really like the look of it with the gridded wire. 
I have one tillandsia that I bought a few months ago. I'd been admiring them for awhile at a local nursery, but was unsure if I could keep one alive. Tillandsia's (along with succulents in general) are huge at this nursery and they have a lot of different types to choose from. 
It seems to be doing well, increasing at the base with a "garlic-clove-like" bulb-ette at base. Since Ive been able to keep one healthy- I plan to get some more. ~ My one tillandsia looks nothing like yours... it looks like an "ugly-cousin to yours."


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## somewhatshocked

Thanks! I find they're all relatively easy to care for - both Tradescantia and Tillandsia. Good air flow tends to help, though. Only difference is Tradescantia is an unstoppable weed that just won't quit.


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## Thelongsnail

somewhatshocked said:


> Tiny life is fulfilling for me. More than I ever thought it could be. Having an 8ft x 14ft/112sq ft (2.4m x 4.3m/10.3sq m) enclosed space certainly helps when you're a plant hoarder.


I'm pretty sure that's twice the size of my kitchen!

Back on topic though, would you recommend any of those terrestrial plants below for less humid set ups? I really love the look of the first one, but it would be in a window that gets quite chilly in winter.


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## somewhatshocked

Both varieties of the Tradescantia I've got grow like weeds regardless of circumstance. Humidity, temperature, lighting - they do well regardless. They do best, of course, in a tropical situation. 

But they grow well in most homes - to the point that regular pruning is a necessity. I like to trim and replant it in the same pot until it's packed.

They'll probably be relatively easy to locate in Edinburgh. Cheap, too.



Thelongsnail said:


> would you recommend any of those terrestrial plants below for less humid set ups? I really love the look of the first one, but it would be in a window that gets quite chilly in winter.


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## somewhatshocked

Did some work cleaning up the tanks today and trying to source another one. All of my other 3gal longs (I think there are 7 total) are tucked away in storage about 600mi away. So might as well try to buy a third for home.

Also realized I have some decent wood for the Spec I'm planning:










Really should have used a better background when snapping the photo.

Tank planning is really enjoyable. I'd forgotten this part of the hobby a bit, I think.


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## somewhatshocked

Caved. Ordered the Spec. Couldn't hold out for a better deal.

Also ordered more Controsoil from Pet Zone.

Now to go about finding all the moss, fissidens, anubias and crypts I want/need for the Spec and these tanks... and maybe a third 3gal if I can get my hands on one (it's okay. I have MTS under control, mostly, thanks to CBD)...


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## Discusluv

somewhatshocked said:


> Caved. Ordered the Spec. Couldn't hold out for a better deal.
> 
> Also ordered more Controsoil from Pet Zone.
> 
> Now to go about finding all the moss, fissidens, anubias and crypts I want/need for the Spec and these tanks... and maybe a third 3gal if I can get my hands on one (it's okay. I have MTS under control, mostly, thanks to CBD)...


 Yeah!! Looking forward to following your new shrimp set-ups. Just think of your MTS as instructional journals for bringing new shrimp-keepers to the hobby. You are doing a public service. :grin2:


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## somewhatshocked

Just ordered all the plants (I think) I'll need to get started. All are tissue cultured, save the Buces.

*Bucephalandra:*
Bukit Kelam
Mini Boyan
Mini Dark Melawi
Narcissus
Titan Round
Velvet Wide Leaf

*Moss*
Christmas Moss
Java Moss
Fissidens fontanus

*Crypts:*
Cryptocoryne beckettii
Cryptocoryne wendtii 'Bronze'
Cryptocoryne wendtii 'Green Gecko'
Cryptocoryne parva

*Other:*
Hydrocotyle tripartia 'Japan'
Anubias barteri var 'Nana Petite'

I finally feel comfortable buying Bucephalandra now that a few smugglers have been arrested in the United States and Canada. Happy to say TPT helped bring them down by working with APHIS and CBP for a couple years. They were nearly directly responsible for unimaginable habitat destruction in Borneo. They repeatedly tried to push off their super-cheap (sometimes less than 25 cents - insane), smuggled plants on the forum. It was a mess. But no more!

Tissue culturing Buces has also helped stop habitat destruction. Though, I'm not sure it'll ever be back to what it was a decade ago. Looking forward to seeing how things go. 

Not sure what will end up in each tank but I know it'll all be split between these two 3gal longs and the new Spec V (need to start a new journal) that's scheduled to be here by the end of the week. I think I would like these two tanks to be primarily moss with a few Crypts here and there - similar to their previous state. Will add more as time goes on.

Impatience got the better of me and I couldn't wait for trades and all that. May also bring home some of my other plants to use but want to try to avoid that if possible.


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## somewhatshocked

Since I'll likely be running these tanks for several weeks after the initial ammonia release from substrate, I have to do some math and maybe bang my head against the wall.

After 16 years, I've finally run out of Ace ammonia (!) and there's none to be found in the city at the moment. Fortunately, I've got a pound of Fritz Aquatics Ammonium Chloride that I've used for cycling larger tanks and ponds. Fortunately, right? Right?! Ugh. If only.

4.5 *grams* of this stuff brings 100 gallons of water to 4+ PPM. Which means 45mg brings a gallon to 4 PPM. Do you have any idea how tough it is to measure even if you have a gram/mg scale? Not exactly the easiest thing to accomplish with this particular product. Just breathing on the scale causes it to fluctuate 50mg. 

Why not buy a bottle of Dr. Tim's and call it a day? Because I already have this stuff and I refuse to be defeated by it. Gonna be fun making sure I hit my ideal targets in these tiny tanks. Woo!

Or maybe I'll spend all weekend figuring out a how to make my own Dr. Tim's-style solution through trial and error with RO/DI water...

Edit: Just so I'm clear - I don't plan to cycle with 4 PPM ammonia. I typically do about 3 PPM with shrimp tanks. Was just easier to do the math in my head as it was presented. But seriously... I'm gonna figure out a liquid solution so I can dose mLs instead of this. heh.


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## Discusluv

somewhatshocked said:


> Since I'll likely be running these tanks for several weeks after the initial ammonia release from substrate, I have to do some math and maybe bang my head against the wall.
> 
> After 16 years, I've finally run out of Ace ammonia (!) and there's none to be found in the city at the moment. Fortunately, I've got a pound of Fritz Aquatics Ammonium Chloride that I've used for cycling larger tanks and ponds. Fortunately, right? Right?! Ugh. If only.
> 4.5 *grams* of this stuff brings 100 gallons of water to 4+ PPM. Which means 45mg brings a gallon to 4 PPM. Do you have any idea how tough it is to measure even if you have a gram/mg scale? Not exactly the easiest thing to accomplish with this particular product. Just breathing on the scale causes it to fluctuate 50mg.
> 
> Why not buy a bottle of Dr. Tim's and call it a day? Because I already have this stuff and I refuse to be defeated by it. Gonna be fun making sure I hit my ideal targets in these tiny tanks. Woo!
> 
> Or maybe I'll spend all weekend figuring out a how to make my own Dr. Tim's-style solution through trial and error with RO/DI water...


 If math is involved in the least I run for the hills and hide. 

I still have a bottle of Dr. Tim's for cycling the 10 gallon shrimp tank. Perfect for the number-phobic.








My R/O system came today. (thumbs up)


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## somewhatshocked

Have a feeling that RO/DI system is going to change your life.

Tank water, houseplant water, cleaning water, essential oil diffuser water (for air freshening - not any of the crazy pseudoscience reasons), et al. You'll likely never regret the purchase. I certainly never have. Made 50 gallons today so I'll have enough on-hand to do tons of water changes during the 'cycling' process.



Discusluv said:


> My R/O system came today. (thumbs up)


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## Discusluv

somewhatshocked said:


> Have a feeling that RO/DI system is going to change your life.
> 
> Tank water, houseplant water, cleaning water, essential oil diffuser water (for air freshening - not any of the crazy pseudoscience reasons), et al. You'll likely never regret the purchase. I certainly never have. Made 50 gallons today so I'll have enough on-hand to do tons of water changes during the 'cycling' process.


I never thought about all those other options that I will have now for the R/O system. That is wonderful.  Now I can try some exotic indoor plants and be more successful. I have an antirrhinum plant that Ive had about 5 years that I baby-- Im sure the R/O water will be appreciated.


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## somewhatshocked

Turns out I'm not as think as I dumb I am. Figured out that roughly 35mg per gallon of water will yield the right-ish ammonia PPM for my purposes. 

I've got a leftover 120ml glass bottle with dropper that's perfect for this. I figure 0.5ml per gal to bring me up to my ideal 3ish PPM is a convenient measurement. Would certainly make it easier than measuring with a scale every time I want to dose a tiny aquarium. 

So... 120ml of RO/DI water. 35mg per 0.5ml of liquid. 35 x 2 = 70 x 120 = 8,400mg or 8.4grams of Fritz Aquatics. Perfect. Having half a mL of liquid to work with will make it easier to dose smaller amounts when necessary.

Update: Tested the solution and it works perfectly. Guess I need to come up with a calculator to help people figure out how to make their own solutions using RO/DI.


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## Desert Pupfish

somewhatshocked said:


> Both varieties of the Tradescantia I've got grow like weeds regardless of circumstance. Humidity, temperature, lighting - they do well regardless. They do best, of course, in a tropical situation.
> 
> But they grow well in most homes - to the point that regular pruning is a necessity. I like to trim and replant it in the same pot until it's packed.
> 
> They'll probably be relatively easy to locate in Edinburgh. Cheap, too.


Weeds indeed. Several tradescantia species are banned as noxious invasive species in many parts of the world. Tradescantia pallida--the common purple "Wandering Jew" our grandmothers all grew--thrives in full desert sun & 120F heat as long as you keep it watered. Doesn't mind cool temps either--though a frost will kill actively growing tips, but it bounces back quickly. The more sun it gets the deeper the purple color, and it produces pretty pink flowers several times a year. Makes a nice contrast to silver/grey/blue desert plants. And you can't kill the stuff no matter how hard you try


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## somewhatshocked

Even if it's not listed as a noxious or invasive species where someone lives, I would still recommend being extremely careful with it. It's an indoor and container-only variety of plant for me. 

But I _have_ found a way to kill it. Mostly. Let it completely freeze - preferably in water. I'd say 95% of it won't come back.



Desert Pupfish said:


> Several tradescantia species are banned as noxious invasive species in many parts of the world.
> 
> ...
> 
> And you can't kill the stuff no matter how hard you try


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## EdWiser

Hey saw the Louisville pic in the thread thought I would say hi. I am a Louisville shrimp and planted tank keeper also keep saltwater. Hope to meet up some time.


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## That70sfishboy

I can't wait to see how these turn out. I remember reading through this thread years ago when I wanted to get serious with shrimp but didn't have the funds. I'm stoked for it. Good luck, Jake!


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## somewhatshocked

@EdWiser: Great to hear from you.

@That70sfishboy: Thanks!

Got a bunch of plants in and have more coming this week and next. Planning to include more Crypts than in the tanks' prior lives. 

Probably finalizing the hardscape tomorrow.


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## somewhatshocked

Had some idle time on a conference call earlier and decided to see what I could do with the lava rock I've got at home.

Here are some blurry cell phone shots (tough to take while on a call, unsurprisingly):


















Too large for these tanks, unfortunately. 

White spots are super glue, which will wear off eventually. Or I'll scrub it off with some elbow grease.

Maybe I should silicone this into place and use it somewhere down the road. It's a little decoration-y, like it was in my old 5.5gal tank, but it may be nice in an Opae Ula/Halocaridina rubra tank. Have always wanted to do a larger tank with them instead of the tiny little tank I've had running for 6-7 years. Someone motivate me!


----------



## Discusluv

There was someone recently that did a lava rock scape glued together with addition of petite anubias. Cant remember who. It looked really nice. 
Make it a concept tank-- one to spark that creativity of yours. Which I know you have in abundance.


----------



## somewhatshocked

Got them about 50% finished yesterday.

Tank1: 











Substrate is leaching about 3.5 PPM of ammonia per day at the moment and the tank is eating about 2.75 PPM of it. No nitrite yet.

I think ammonia is being processed so quickly because the wood I used in this tank has been sitting in a sealed plastic bag - wet - for a long time. The moss also came from a well-established tank.

The AC 20 on this one has a rattling impeller that I'm gonna have to clean before my brain melts. It's quiet-ish at the moment but you can tell it won't be for long.

Tank 2: 











Lava rock will come out once the wood is more waterlogged. 

Weirdly, the substrate in this tank is leaching 7-8 PPM per day and is processing about 1 PPM. Came from the same Controsoil bag. Guess I just hit a particularly fertile clump when filling this tank.

Added some Dr. Tim's One and Only to both tanks today.

Scapes are pretty similar to the original because they worked so well for shrimp. Moss, moss and more moss keeps those little bugs happy.

Much like my Spec, water temps in the tanks have been about 75-76. So I removed one of the three glass panels I was using as a cover on each tank and increased the flow a bit. Also had to remove some filter floss from each AC20, as I had it packed too tightly.

I love these little tanks so much.


----------



## somewhatshocked

Realized I have some cooling fans to use on these tanks like I did today with my Spec V but have decided against them for the time being.

Mostly because I want to try other solutions first. First step was removing the glass panels I was using as covers (the dividers that came with the tanks). Then remembered that the LED fixture on Tank 1 is a bit different than the one on Tank 2. It produces more heat and is significantly brighter. So I raised it up a couple inches:


















May have to raise it another inch or two if algae becomes an issue or if the water temperature doesn't drop by tomorrow. Floating plants or some fiberglass window screen are additional options I'm glad to have at my disposal.

Tank 2's fixture is definitely low light and I'm hoping that just removing the glass panels will drop the temperature within a day:










If not? Fans it is. Maybe some small 40mm units I have in my hit.

I'll add the glass panels back this winter because I keep it about 65 during the day and 60ish at night. Would use the full-tank glass lids that originally came with the tanks but there's no way I want to try cutting them to accommodate the filter.

Tank 1 is eating about 2 PPM ammonia per day but there's no easily measurable Nitrite. 

Tank 2 surprised me today by showing 0.25 PPM Nitrite. Assumed Tank 1 would be first. Regardless, it's welcome news and tells us the tank is well on its way to developing into a tiny shrimp habitat.

Some of you newcomers may not be familiar with all of my weird tank tips. Here's one of them: that giant syringe (there's no needle) you see in the photos is a 60ml tool I keep beside all of my tanks to make parameter testing easier. Can rinse & fill test tubes so much quicker than using a small pipette. Convenient for small RO top-offs, as well. 

More soon.


----------



## Discusluv

The 30 gallon is running at 77 degrees. Not good. 
The air-conditioning is set to 75 degrees, but the light must be heating the tank up a couple more. 
A Fan is definitely in order. Thanks for the tips.


----------



## somewhatshocked

Okay. I'm pretty much _over_ Tank 2 leaching so much ammonia every 24 hours while my other tank of the same size and same amount of substrate from the same bag does nothing of the sort. It's fine, really, I just wanted to do fewer water changes and that's why I went with Controsoil over Aqua Soil. Water gets used for other plants so it's not going to waste and I'd be using the same amount anyway.

Changed 50% of the water from that tank. In doing so, I thought it'd be a good idea to show you how I do this sort of thing quickly. Took no time at all and I didn't have to worry about disturbing substrate or messing anything up.

I've mentioned elsewhere on the forum that I use enema buckets (yes, really - no sense in getting grossed out) for tank filling and water changes. 

It sits on top of my shelf like this:











Hose comes down like this:











Placed the end on some hardscape and used the clamp to kind of prop it up on the edge of the tank:











Ignore the nightmare of cords and gadgets everywhere. It's just part of initially getting tanks set up. It's probably good for newcomers to see, anyway, because many people on the internet try to curate everything to look perfect. Initial tanking can be messy and far from attractive. It's only temporary.

Thinking about covering those old pieces of tongue and groove boards with dark contact paper or shelf liner. Didn't need anything fancy, on top of not wanting to spend money, so it made sense to use what I had on-hand. Just wanted a more smooth surface than the wire shelving offered. Prevents light spills and gives me a flat surface to work with during maintenance and water changes.

There are two thermometers (temporary) in each tank, yes. Not for any technical reason but because one I can only see if I get down in the floor. The other I can see while seated at my desk. Will likely remove them both once I have a better sense of operating temperatures.

Expecting an expensive plant delivery today but the local post office conveniently can't find the package despite it being scanned in their system. Gonna be a fun weekend, it seems.


----------



## Desert Pupfish

somewhatshocked said:


> Even if it's not listed as a noxious or invasive species where someone lives, I would still recommend being extremely careful with it. It's an indoor and container-only variety of plant for me.
> 
> But I _have_ found a way to kill it. Mostly. Let it completely freeze - preferably in water. I'd say 95% of it won't come back.


It's listed as a noxious weed in warm humid places like New Zealand, Queensland, etc. Here in the desert all you have to do is stop watering something and it dies--quickly. A hard freeze will kill it, I was referring to the mild frosts we sometimes get every few years that will kill the foliage, but allow it to grow back from the roots. 
\


----------



## somewhatshocked

Lucky! You get that wonderful dry heat, @Desert Pupfish.

We're currently doomed with unreal humidity and 102.


----------



## somewhatshocked

Added new buces, crypts and red root floater to both of the tanks today.

Tank 1:











































Tank 2:



































The buces are just in the tanks to grow out because I had a ton of extras.

These tanks may be my favorites because of their size. So, so nice for shrimping. Can't wait to see how these tanks look in a few months.


----------



## somewhatshocked

Nearly three weeks in and had to do 50% water changes on both tanks today because ammonia was plateauing at around 4PPM. The substrate is _still_ leaching. 

Goal is to get these tanks to process about 2PPM per day because they'll only house 5-10 shrimp and some snails. Here's hoping.


----------



## Jamo33

I cannot believe the disparity in leaching ammonia between your experience and mine.


----------



## somewhatshocked

It's kinda wild. The Controsoil in my Spec is from the same bag. Not much, if any, leaching going on in that one. Really makes me appreciate the consistent nature of Amazonia.

At least the mosses and crypts are doing well in these tanks. Need to post some updated photos later in the week.



Jamo33 said:


> I cannot believe the disparity in leaching ammonia between your experience and mine.


----------



## xjasminex

Looking forward to your updates, I also have the same tank and might set it up in the future. Your threads are good inspiration. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## somewhatshocked

Get it going! They're perfect little tanks for this side of the hobby. 

I keep hoping someone will set one up as a Micro Crab habitat.



xjasminex said:


> Looking forward to your updates, I also have the same tank and might set it up in the future. Your threads are good inspiration.


----------



## xjasminex

somewhatshocked said:


> Get it going! They're perfect little tanks for this side of the hobby.
> 
> I keep hoping someone will set one up as a Micro Crab habitat.




Now that would be cool! Maybe I’ll think about it and do some research. I just happened upon a 30 gallon frag tank that’s drilled with in tank over flow and the sump. BEAUTIFUL tank. I have all sorts of ideas for it and just bought 100 dollars of mopani wood for it. Planning for a riparium setup but maybe I need a side project....


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## somewhatshocked

You've come to the wrong place if you're looking for someone to talk you out of it.

I highly recommend a side project. Bonus? It's small _and_ cheap.



xjasminex said:


> Now that would be cool! Maybe I’ll think about it and do some research. I just happened upon a 30 gallon frag tank that’s drilled with in tank over flow and the sump. BEAUTIFUL tank. I have all sorts of ideas for it and just bought 100 dollars of mopani wood for it. Planning for a riparium setup but maybe I need a side project....


----------



## xjasminex

*Jake's 18&quot;/3gal Nano Shrimp Tanks*



somewhatshocked said:


> You've come to the wrong place if you're looking for someone to talk you out of it.
> 
> 
> 
> I highly recommend a side project. Bonus? It's small _and_ cheap.




Ha ha, true. You are a fan of multiple projects. I’d be worried that my skill level is not quite up to par for those crabs though. I’ll keep reading about them though. I haven’t really kept many shrimp I did a long time ago but nothing recent. 

Maybe I should set it up for cherries instead and go from there. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## somewhatshocked

That's 100% what you should do. Start with 5-10 Cherries and you'll have more than you know what to do with after a few months. 

You can do a simple hardscape - either wood or rock. Wood will be cheaper and take up less overall volume. Easy to attach moss and the like.

Go with a simple substrate like pool filter sand, black sand, Caribsea Peace River sand/gravel. Something cheap ($5ish or less for the whole tank), inert and attractive. 

Could go reeeeally low-tech and only have moss in the tank. Maybe Anubias. Maybe a Buce. Maybe Crypts. Just something cheap, hardy and low-maintenance. I would go with moss and add other stuff later if you want.

If you can figure out what your water parameters are, you can figure out shrimp. And you clearly can because you've been on this forum a long time. It's as simple as keeping things... simple. Feed a couple times per week. Do a small water change each week. Watch them do their thing and take pictures along the way.



xjasminex said:


> Maybe I should set it up for cherries instead and go from there.


----------



## xjasminex

*Jake's 18&quot;/3gal Nano Shrimp Tanks*

Thanks for your advice! 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## somewhatshocked

Did 100% water changes and will keep doing them (while adding my own ammonia if necessary) for a few days. Hopefully the substrate will stop leaching ammonia sometime this year.

Mosses are growing well:



















Plan is to move all the buces (along with the three clumps in my 25cm cube) to a small buce & moss tank sometime later in the year. These tanks will be overgrown with moss soon enough and the buces probably won't even be visible.

Excited for all of the crypts to grow in and make the tanks look less strange. Glad I added them despite initially leaning against it.


----------



## somewhatshocked

Tank #1 ate about 2PPM of Ammonia over an 18-hour period and is showing roughly 0.5 PPM Nitrite.

Tank #2 has plateaued again and is processing Ammonia much slower. No Nitrite reading in quite some time.

They'll eventually get there. Just takes a long time with low temps, low pH/kH/gH.


----------



## Jamo33

somewhatshocked said:


> Tank #1 ate about 2PPM of Ammonia over an 18-hour period and is showing roughly 0.5 PPM Nitrite.
> 
> Tank #2 has plateaued again and is processing Ammonia much slower. No Nitrite reading in quite some time.
> 
> They'll eventually get there. Just takes a long time with low temps, low pH/kH/gH.


Thought about heating to let bacteria grow faster? Then dialing back the temp for the shrimp?


----------



## somewhatshocked

I've found that it's best to wait and allow bacteria to grow in the temperature range the tank will ultimately be in so there's no die-off. It may not be noticeable but it's still something I don't like to do with shrimp tanks.

I never add shrimp this early anyway. Just impatiently waiting for the tanks to be able to process ammonia like champs.



Jamo33 said:


> Thought about heating to let bacteria grow faster? Then dialing back the temp for the shrimp?


----------



## somewhatshocked

Had to move some Anubias and more Buces into the tanks temporarily:



















Plan is to use them in another tank I've got in the works but didn't have room for them anywhere else at the moment.


----------



## somewhatshocked

Tank 1 is loaded down with Nitrite.

Tank 2 is finally eating Ammonia again and Nitrite is slowly creeping up. 

Not much of an update but figure I should track it here.


----------



## somewhatshocked

07/18:











Just now:











No one can tell me moss is complicated, slow to grow or confusing. All you need is some random driftwood pieces, super glue gel, smash some moss chunks down on it. Instant shrimp tank scape.

Still working on another project for those Buces. In the meantime, they're scattered throughout several tanks like this.


----------



## somewhatshocked

Nitrite is dropping after a week of high levels. Both tanks appear to be nearing habitability.

Now I need to decide whether I should cave and use shrimp I already have or try to bring in new bloodlines.


----------



## somewhatshocked

The 'cycle' is complete in Tank 1. Only took, what, 55 days?

Tank 2 is still lagging on the amount of ammonia it can process. Sooooon.


----------



## Jamo33

somewhatshocked said:


> The 'cycle' is complete in Tank 1. Only took, what, 55 days?
> 
> Tank 2 is still lagging on the amount of ammonia it can process. Sooooon.


Well then 4 more weeks? 
I'm finding the fish less cycle quite elusive at the moment. It eating 2ppm one day, 1ppm the next...hmmm


----------



## somewhatshocked

These low kH, low pH, low temperature tanks always take forever.


----------



## somewhatshocked

Tank 1 still processes ammonia like a champ.

Tank 2 is back to *releasing* ammonia. Was 0.25 PPM yesterday. 1.25 PPM today. There's nothing decomposing in the tank. The wood is fine. Filter is fine. No random plant bits. No dead snails. 

If ammonia increases again this week and isn't stable-ish by next week, I'm going to scrap the Controsoil, switch to Aqua Soil or Shrimp Sand and start over.


----------



## Discusluv

somewhatshocked said:


> Tank 1 still processes ammonia like a champ.
> 
> Tank 2 is back to *releasing* ammonia. Was 0.25 PPM yesterday. 1.25 PPM today. There's nothing decomposing in the tank. The wood is fine. Filter is fine. No random plant bits. No dead snails.
> 
> If ammonia increases again this week and isn't stable-ish by next week, I'm going to scrap the Controsoil, switch to Aqua Soil or Shrimp Sand and start over.


 Thats just craziness! 

But, it makes sense now, not so crazy now that you mention the low KH, pH, etc...

Hope this next tank cycle doesn't give me fits. No fooling me this time- thats for sure.
I liked the Controsoil so much that is what I ordered for the Fluvel Spec V.


----------



## Jamo33

Seriously beginning to question everything about fishless cycle and using substrate that releases ammonia. I cant even keep up with my tanks state at the moment. 2ppm dosed and processed in 24 hours. Next day only .5ppm processed of the two. Up down up down. Make up your mind cycle (or substrate). 
I am too timid to place anything in my tank until I see at least a week of solid and predictable bacterial processing.


----------



## somewhatshocked

Aqua Soil has always been bulletproof in terms of cycling. None of this nonsense. This stuff is just annoying. 

Maybe I'll do water changes every day for a week or something. Pretty much over this particular batch of Controsoil.

Really happy with how both tanks have turned out aesthetically despite this b.s. And once I'm able to use up the Buces and Anubias I've temporarily housed in them, they'll be perfect.


----------



## somewhatshocked

Have been keeping an eye on these tanks' parameters and monitoring growth. Tank 1 is still fine. Tank 2's ammonia dropped to about 0.25PPM. Gonna have to start trimming moss this weekend because it's getting unruly. 

Removed the Frogbit because roots were growing into the substrate (ugh). Salvinia has done well, though:











Snails seem to enjoy the airline tube I use as a floater corral:











They've laid eggs in it twice so far. You can see a smaller one about 5cm to the left of the entrance. Oh, almost forgot... I caved and brought home some Pond Snails from my other tanks. Couldn't resist.


----------



## somewhatshocked

Some of the Buces I've got temporarily in these tanks have started to bloom:










Kind of that snail to EAT THE DANG FLOWERS before I ever get to see them, isn't it? Really nice of them.


----------



## Discusluv

somewhatshocked said:


> Some of the Buces I've got temporarily in these tanks have started to bloom:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Kind of that snail to EAT THE DANG FLOWERS before I ever get to see them, isn't it? Really nice of them.


Prime delicacy right there. :grin2:


----------



## somewhatshocked

No one can tell me moss is difficult or slow to grow and make me believe it.

See?


















Need to do quite a bit of trimming soon and eventually find a place for those Buces and Crypts. Thinking the Crypts may get moved to my Spec V. Anubias nana 'Petite' will be moved to the Flex sometime soon.

Once all the plant extras are moved, the two driftwood pieces in the second tank will be spread out a bit and the tank will look a lot more balanced.


----------



## Discusluv

somewhatshocked said:


> No one can tell me moss is difficult or slow to grow and make me believe it.
> 
> See?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Need to do quite a bit of trimming soon and eventually find a place for those Buces and Crypts. Thinking the Crypts may get moved to my Spec V. Anubias nana 'Petite' will be moved to the Flex sometime soon.
> 
> Once all the plant extras are moved, the two driftwood pieces in the second tank will be spread out a bit and the tank will look a lot more balanced.


 My moss doesnt grow like that! Look at that- seriously, crazy growth there. 

I was all happy the other day by my millimeters of growth on my moss... you should have laughed at me and posted this picture.


----------



## somewhatshocked

Can almost guarantee you're trying too hard with it.

I just glue it down in tiny patches and let it do its thing. No heater, decent flow (for a shrimp tank), average lighting, no real ferts to speak of. Just neglect it for a couple months.



Discusluv said:


> My moss doesnt grow like that!


----------



## somewhatshocked

It's been a while since I've updated this journal. Figure it's a good time to do so now that I'm planning a re-scape for one of them. 

I'm in the midst of a cross-town move, just spent a couple days in the hospital with pneumonia (WOO! talk about an unexpected whirlwind) and have a bunch of down time on my hands. Time to plan, right? 

This is the tank I'm kinda tired of:











Gonna use the moss in another tank, pull the Controsoil - which I've grown to dislike, move the Crypts to my Spec V. Have decided to use black sand or crushed lava rock as a substrate and have a bunch of driftwood and random rock to pick through. The tank will ultimately have some different moss and a few basic Anubias and Buces I've got on-hand. Just simple and dark. I'm thinking Tangerine Tigers or yellow Neos for livestock. Open to suggestions.

Something about the tank has been 'off' for me since the day I set it up and I think it has to do with scale. So I'm pretty excited to redo everything in a few days.


----------



## Discusluv

somewhatshocked said:


> It's been a while since I've updated this journal. Figure it's a good time to do so now that I'm planning a re-scape for one of them.
> 
> I'm in the midst of a cross-town move, just spent a couple days in the hospital with pneumonia (WOO! talk about an unexpected whirlwind) and have a bunch of down time on my hands. Time to plan, right?
> 
> This is the tank I'm kinda tired of:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Gonna use the moss in another tank, pull the Controsoil - which I've grown to dislike, move the Crypts to my Spec V. Have decided to use black sand or crushed lava rock as a substrate and have a bunch of driftwood and random rock to pick through. The tank will ultimately have some different moss and a few basic Anubias and Buces I've got on-hand. Just simple and dark. I'm thinking Tangerine Tigers or yellow Neos for livestock. Open to suggestions.
> 
> Something about the tank has been 'off' for me since the day I set it up and I think it has to do with scale. So I'm pretty excited to redo everything in a few days.



I have already sent you well-wishes -- so Ill get to business, lol!


With the controsoil, have you grown to dislike it because of the KH issue (low to no kh)? Or are there other issues with it I should know about considering I have it in 3 of my tanks. 


Im loving my yellow neo's-- especially with the blue shrimp. Makes a nice contrast.


----------



## somewhatshocked

Nothing like that at all with the Controsoil. I just prefer Aqua Soil Amazonia (not Amazonia II or Amazonia Light) because it provides a ton more nutrients for plants. This Controsoil was pretty much spent within a month. Buffers pretty well but that's about the extent of it. I certainly won't miss it in this tank. 

For my money, Amazonia is just better overall. Initial ammonia levels are predictable, it's better for plants and seems to buffer just a bit better.

Since it's already "cycled", I'm gonna move part of the existing Controsoil to a container I'll use for quarantining Caridina shrimp. Some will also go into an HOB breeding box I'm gonna stick on other tanks to have for berried females. That'll add about 3/4 of a gallon of water volume to my other 3gal long if I use it on that tank.

It's been a while since I've had really nice yellow Neos. And every time I see the Tangerine Tigers that Blue Ridge Reef has, I feel the urge to get some of them. So I think I will. 

Filter and some of the hardscape (along with the tank itself) will have plenty of beneficial bacteria, so it should only take a week or two to be ready for shrimp. 

The more I think about it all, the more excited I am to finish moving so I can tackle this tank next week.



Discusluv said:


> With the controsoil, have you grown to dislike it because of the KH issue (low to no kh)? Or are there other issues with it I should know about considering I have it in 3 of my tanks.
> 
> 
> Im loving my yellow neo's-- especially with the blue shrimp. Makes a nice contrast.


----------



## Streetwise

My initial idea is that you should take half of that plant life, plus the wood, and put it in a pico cube with snails and run it like a wet house plant.


----------



## somewhatshocked

Honestly, that's a great idea. I have a couple unused 8-inch cubes (Marina - the Betta kind that aren't large enough for a Betta or any other fish) that would be perfect. Some how forgot about them. I've even got some nice stumps and such to use in them. 

Definitely gonna move the plants over to one of those. Maybe use one of them to grow out my Hydrocotyle trimmings around a stump that's sticking out of the water. Perfect for snail tanks.

Already do something similar with some vases and this idea is a no-brainer. I'd initially planned to use one of them for H. rubra but I like this idea better.



Streetwise said:


> My initial idea is that you should take half of that plant life, plus the wood, and put it in a pico cube with snails and run it like a wet house plant.


----------



## Streetwise

That is basically what I did with my pico cube. I threw in a little dirt, a little sand, a scatter of gravel, and then two pieces of driftwood from my gemini picos, and as many plants as I could fit, plus one of my small internal filters, so that I could re-do my substrate depth in those other tanks. I intended to put everything back when I was done, but I just couldn't do it!

Now I have one tank where I don't mess with a single thing. Since there is barely any room for shrimp or fish, I'm just not tempted to change anything. I never thought I would feel that way about a tank!










Cheers

PS, I also reverse the Plant Nano L bracket to get better light height. The locking screw in the back is tight, and the L bracket sits on it.


----------



## somewhatshocked

I think when I set mine up, I'll add air stones on a timer or maybe DIY a tiny sponge filter just so there'll be a bit of water circulation. 

Thanks for pushing me in the direction of setting up some tiny(er) cubes.



Streetwise said:


> That is basically what I did with my pico cube. I threw in a little dirt, a little sand, a scatter of gravel, and then two pieces of driftwood from my gemini picos, and as many plants as I could fit, plus one of my small internal filters, so that I could re-do my substrate depth in those other tanks. I intended to put everything back when I was done, but I just couldn't do it!
> 
> Now I have one tank where I don't mess with a single thing. Since there is barely any room for shrimp or fish, I'm just not tempted to change anything. I never thought I would feel that way about a tank!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Cheers
> 
> PS, I also reverse the Plant Nano L bracket to get better light height. The locking screw in the back is tight, and the L bracket sits on it.


----------



## somewhatshocked

Welp, I broke the housing on one of my AC 20s. Move went well. Everything in the tanks = perfect. Bacteria in the filters even survived several days. 

Then? Bam! Somehow smashed the housing on one of the filters while setting things up. Had it hanging on the edge of a 5gal bucket and it got squashed.

Now I'm planning to use an old Red Sea Nano HOB (really small filter - may end up using two of them if flow isn't what I want) until I can get new housing/case for the AC. Honestly a better deal to just buy a new filter entirely and keep everything else for parts. 

Yay, I guess? Yay breaking stuff *after* you get it all moved.

On the bright side: this has given me time to better consider the substrate I plan to use. I've got a bit of Activ-Flora left over and a good amount of Flourite Black Sand, so I think I'll mix the two in order to bring out the best coloration of whatever shrimp I bring in.

I'm not a fan of using tap water for shrimp but at the moment, tap here is ideal for Tigers and I think I'm going to take advantage of it for the time being.


----------



## That70sfishboy

Hey Jake, do you have any updates on these? I'm looking to setup a rack this week, and I'd like to add one of these to my collection since my LFS has a few.


----------



## somewhatshocked

One is still chugging along. The other is in the midst of a rescape so I can house a different variety of shrimp. I really should take new photos and update my journals.

If they're available in your local shops, definitely grab a couple. One of my all-time favorite tanks.



That70sfishboy said:


> Hey Jake, do you have any updates on these? I'm looking to setup a rack this week, and I'd like to add one of these to my collection since my LFS has a few.


----------



## Discusluv

I got all excited because I thought there was an update. 
No such luck.


----------



## That70sfishboy

somewhatshocked said:


> One is still chugging along. The other is in the midst of a rescape so I can house a different variety of shrimp. I really should take new photos and update my journals.
> 
> If they're available in your local shops, definitely grab a couple. One of my all-time favorite tanks.


Yes, you should! I'm hoping to get one going for my tanks on my rack as they get setup. I only have a 2.5 gallon with a young CPO in it right now. And my 20 Long Neolamprologus Multifaciatus tank.


----------



## somewhatshocked

@Discusluv: I don't know how everyone isn't completely exhausted 24/7. I know I am. Maybe gonna snap photos this week, though. Just got some new RO/DI filter inserts and need to do some maintenance.

@That70sfishboy: If you have the room and the cash to spare, get two of them. Even if you have to store one for later. They've made great shrimp breeding tanks the past 8-9 years for me. Find myself using them for target breeding and as really cool quarantine tanks because they're easy to scape and maintain. Would make for a nice CPO tank upgrade.


----------



## Discusluv

somewhatshocked said:


> @*Discusluv*: I don't know how everyone isn't completely exhausted 24/7. I know I am. Maybe gonna snap photos this week, though. Just got some new RO/DI filter inserts and need to do some maintenance.


I hear you, Jake. We are living in some exhausting times. Take care.


----------



## That70sfishboy

somewhatshocked said:


> @Discusluv: I don't know how everyone isn't completely exhausted 24/7. I know I am. Maybe gonna snap photos this week, though. Just got some new RO/DI filter inserts and need to do some maintenance.
> 
> @That70sfishboy: If you have the room and the cash to spare, get two of them. Even if you have to store one for later. They've made great shrimp breeding tanks the past 8-9 years for me. Find myself using them for target breeding and as really cool quarantine tanks because they're easy to scape and maintain. Would make for a nice CPO tank upgrade.


We went and looked at them yesterday. The ones the lfs has said they were like 2.6 or something, but it was similar dimensions. The GF said she'd get me one for Christmas. I want two for my rack, so I'll get one in a week or two, and have her get me one later on. Now I just have my old Aquatop cube setup with a few blue dreams in it, and my 2.5. I'm hopefully gonna be writing up a journal here soon.


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## somewhatshocked

Manufacturer is wrong about the volume of the tank. Somewhere in this thread I break it down but don't remember it off-hand. 

Couple nice things I don't think get mentioned much: it comes with a solid glass top that covers the entire tank. It can be easily cut down or drilled. Also includes glass dividers for use as a Betta show tank. I use those dividers as tank covers - two of them will fit on top with an AC20 filter and I place a third sorta hanging over the edge and resting on the other glass to cover the area in front of the filter. Doesn't look clean and svelte but gets the job done when you're a tank nerd.



That70sfishboy said:


> We went and looked at them yesterday. The ones the lfs has said they were like 2.6 or something, but it was similar dimensions. The GF said she'd get me one for Christmas. I want two for my rack, so I'll get one in a week or two, and have her get me one later on. Now I just have my old Aquatop cube setup with a few blue dreams in it, and my 2.5. I'm hopefully gonna be writing up a journal here soon.


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## That70sfishboy

somewhatshocked said:


> Manufacturer is wrong about the volume of the tank. Somewhere in this thread I break it down but don't remember it off-hand.
> 
> Couple nice things I don't think get mentioned much: it comes with a solid glass top that covers the entire tank. It can be easily cut down or drilled. Also includes glass dividers for use as a Betta show tank. I use those dividers as tank covers - two of them will fit on top with an AC20 filter and I place a third sorta hanging over the edge and resting on the other glass to cover the area in front of the filter. Doesn't look clean and svelte but gets the job done when you're a tank nerd.


That's good to know.

I think I'll actually be getting it sooner than I expected. Our petco has had strangely healthy shrimp for the past few weeks, and this week they got some yellow neos in. I've always wanted yellow neos, so I believe I'll be getting a 3 gal for them this week. However, I did get some more RCS for my 8 Gallon cube from Petco. They honestly look way better than any RCS the LFS here sell.


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## Disher

Do you still have this tank going?


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## somewhatshocked

Disher said:


> Do you still have this tank going?


I have both tanks from this thread still running. Just reeeeally need to update my journals. Quite possibly my most favorite tank dimensions ever for shrimp.

Both are about to get major rescapes sometime soon.


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## Goodwood

I have some tank shuffling/dismantling to do as part of a bargaining deal for my new project. I am contemplating moving my Cherry Shrimp from a 4 gallon AIO to my 12 long. This discussion may have sealed the deal for the 12 long, it desperately needs a complete do-over, Green Hair algae EVERYWHERE. I look forward to seeing the new rendition! I am patient, I know what its like to be exhausted after work and have little motivation to anything more than sit.


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## Disher

somewhatshocked said:


> I have both tanks from this thread still running. Just reeeeally need to update my journals. Quite possibly my most favorite tank dimensions ever for shrimp.
> 
> Both are about to get major rescapes sometime soon.


Looking forward to seeing updates!


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## buggyInteger

Excited for updates, your threads are very inspirational! 😄
Pics seems to be broken in all your threads, though?


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## somewhatshocked

buggyInteger said:


> Pics seems to be broken in all your threads, though?


Because I need to update my SSL certificate that expired today. I'll get around to it sometime soon, though. Edit: Thanks for the nudge. I've been receiving an email reminder for at least 2 months to prepare for a new SSL. YET HERE WE ARE! ha. Bought a new one just now and all that's left is installation. Let's hope that doesn't take me 2 months.


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## LidijaPN

This is the sort of tank I’d want one day for my second. 

Update update? ⭐


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## somewhatshocked

LidijaPN said:


> This is the sort of tank I’d want one day for my second.
> 
> Update update? ⭐


They're both still chugging along. Just haven't photographed or updated anything in ages. At this point think it's probably best to wait until I redo both of them. Which should happen pretty soon.


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## LidijaPN

What sort of shrimp do you have in them?


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## somewhatshocked

LidijaPN said:


> What sort of shrimp do you have in them?


A bunch of Goldens/Snow Whites in one and Blue Bolts and Red Bolts in the other, which popped up in the white tank. 

The Bolt tank has been shrimp-free a few time since 2020 but that's what's in it right now. Right now I'm leaning toward some kind of Neocaridina when I redo that one. Bolts are going to eventually move into a larger tank that also contains Bolts that popped up from an entirely separate group of whites.


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## LidijaPN

What does a golden shrimp look like?!? That’s caridina?


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## somewhatshocked

LidijaPN said:


> What does a golden shrimp look like?!? That’s caridina?


There are normally visible photos in this journal but I need to install a new SSL certificate on my server. So they're gonna be invisible for a few more days.

They're essentially solid white Caridina shrimp. Like CRS but just white. And depending upon lineage, some have a more golden hue. They're like white Blue Bolts, kinda.


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## LidijaPN

I just googled some, they look pretty cool!! 

Have you ever kept Sulawesi shrimp? I find them by far the most beautiful out of all species...... They look like sea creatures.


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## somewhatshocked

LidijaPN said:


> Have you ever kept Sulawesi shrimp? I find them by far the most beautiful out of all species...... They look like sea creatures.


Have a couple tanks of them now. One of my new setups (not these tiny tanks) is gonna be for them - Seachem Onyx substrate, bunch of dark gray stone or lava rock, probably not much in terms of plants, if any, but maybe a few. Just want to consolidate the two tanks I have into one. 

Really like them all but enjoy Caridina like standard CRS and wild-type or super red Neos most. Greatly prefer having all kinds of plants, no heater, all that goes along with regular shrimp.


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## LidijaPN

Yeah that's a fair point, with Sulawesi it's largely just them....... but still so pretty ❤


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## somewhatshocked

LidijaPN said:


> Yeah that's a fair point, with Sulawesi it's largely just them....... but still so pretty ❤


One of the reasons I like H. rubra is because no heater is required. Pretty much a must-have for most Sulawesi. At least in my house where I keep things cool.


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