jumpsmasher

While I have never done this myself I believe you can add ammonia to help determine if it is cycled. If it is the ammonia is consumed / converted to nitrites and than nitrates. You should see a slight nitrates spike and then it start dropping. When I redid a tank with fluval statrum using cycled filters and media, the ammonia and nitrites were negligible but nitrates remained fairly high for a few weeks.

In mainly do it for convenience.. Water changes are so easy when you when you just set it and forget it. For tanks outside my rack I still like using airline hose or my large water buffering bucket to do them as I don't like to disturb the substrate much (most of outside tank are fairly shallow).

been a while since I took any photos of my top breeding group . Of the three "graduates", one of them turned out to be a really looking male: Unfortunately the one female in that group passed away a few months ago. The third one turned out to be a male i believe but wasn't as nice as the one above so I ended up removing him from the group. Did add several more females for him though:

Hmm.. I always thought they were closer to trumpet snails. http://theaquariumwiki.com/Brotia_pagodula

That's what Shrimpkeepers Anonymous is for! :p

you're on your way!

Ya i was pretty sure the prefilter would remove any chlorine but i always added de-chloridator just in case :p I think Ron is better to chip in since he has the deluxe unit but main difference between the standard vertex RO/DI unit and the Deluxe unit is the addition of the booster pump and inline TDS meter. waste water ratio of 1:2.5 to 1:1. If you are paying for water there would be some savings in water usage and of course some time savings when it comes to filling up a reservoir. If low water pressure is an issue than getting the booster will also help. I just have the standard RO/DI unit without booster pump but i also live in a condo so I don't pay for my water

one of my friends asked me to take some photos of my "tier 2" PRLs today; thought I would share as I never posted any photos of them; the colors and patterns are not as nice as my top breeders but some of the juvies might "graduate" to my breeding group one day. These guys will be going into one of the sections on the top row of my new rack once those tanks finish cycling in a week or two. Adult male that didn't make the cut to my top breeders group

I just use the hagen one; Nutrafin AquaPlus I believe it is called. I think the RO unit remove most if not all the chlorine but i always add some just in case.

Thanks Caine! my living rooms tanks are always the most neglected ones so we will see how long this one last... lol

Did my first water change on the AquaStyle 35L yesterday and tested the water today. Day 13 test results: pH: 5.8 Ammonia: 0ppm Nitrites: 0ppm Nitrates: ~ 20ppm Looks like it has finished leeching ammonia but there is still some nitrates. The interesting thing is the pH level went up a bit; will be interesting to to see if how long the fluval statum will be able to buffering and how low it can maintain the pH from the base pH of the water (my RO water is around 6.4). I have to decide what shrimps i want as well. Thinking of moving some of my PRL / CRS culls but a bit concern about the temperatures. So far the temperatures is within range for the winter but they can get quite high in the summers. Might have to add a fan for the summer. Here is a updated photo of the tank:

Sorry forgot to mention that added some plants around the 5th day. The (seeded) biological media in both filters and UG will also lower the nitrates over time as well. Will probably do a water change this weekend and post some updated photos

np, MTS (multiple tank syndrome) is a very common issue with shrimpkeepers. If you have any more questions about setting up your new tanks or even need someone to show you feel free to ask. Most of the more shrimp specific products you can get either thru me (via Shrimpkeepers Anonymous - http://albertaaquatica.com/index.php?showforum=176)or thru Ron (via Ebi-Ken)

been a bit busy last while so haven;t been able to test the parameters regularly the past week. Did a do a top up with RO water on the weekend though and tested the water today: Day 10 test results: pH: 5.5 Ammonia: 0.25ppm Nitrites: 0ppm Nitrates: ~ 20ppm looks like the pH is holding steady at 5.5 and it is still leeching a bit of ammonia. Nitrates be going down slowly as well

I did something similar with my 20g Long rack; I originally partitioned the tank into 3 sections for selective breeding with plexiglass dividers but left an 1" space so my UG pipe could go thru. I also made 3 x 1 3/4" holes in the divider which i covered with a sponge. I only had the outlet in one partition because it was pretty tight for space on the top of the tank but if you want to do that you will have to leave around 1" on the top so you can secure the spray-bar (i tried siliconing the straybar in place along the trim but that didn't work too well) I also added a sponge filter in each partition for more flow. I eventually took out a partition so give myself a larger grow out section. For my new rack, the top row of tanks will be divided in a similar fashion; although the gap on the bottom is only at the back. I didn't end up using an UG filter in there but that is always an option if i ever decide to redo it. When i get a chance I will take some pictures of how i cover up the hole as several people have asked me about this as well. I basically cut up the sponge from my sponge filter (each of my came with a set of refills so I got tons of extra sponges).

The feeding dishes are mainly there to contain the food within the dish and for easy removal if needed. On my more established colony uneaten food is rarely an issue as the shrimps readily accept the food and is is usually gone within 10-15 minutes. I still use the dishes for foods like Barley pellets they tell to make a mess if not contained. For new shrimps or smaller populations the feeding dishes makes it easy to remove any uneaten food with something like a turkey baster. I try not to leave uneaten food for more than a day. You will find it might take a few weeks or longer sometime for shrimps to get settle in before they start eating all the food; same with new food so it is important to remove any old food to prevent fouling the water. I don't really worry too much about food falling into the substrate because I like to use a finer substrate as my top layer: ADA powder type for bee shrimps and fine sand / gravel for neos / tiger shrimps. Even if it does do down into the substrate it won;t get very far and the shrimps are constantly picking away at the substrate. Some of my favourite food break down into powder like Benibachi Red Bee Ambitious and Kale tablets; I actually perfer them over more solid food as they spread all over the tank and give all the shrimps a chance to get at it; usually when a "shrimp ball" forms, the younger / smaller shrimps have a very hard time getting in there to get the food. Also I like to think little bits of food all over the tank and in the substrate encourage their natural feeding behaviour. But that being said you will have to be careful with the quantity with powder type foods; it is something you learn from experience so I also encourage people to start small until you get a good gauge of who much your shrimps will eat in a short amount of time.

For Neo's they are more tolerate of higher temperatures so if you have a tight lid or glass top it will really cut down on the amount of water that is evaporating so it might make topping up unnecessary. Just make sure if you are using T5 or CF lighting that the lights are not heating up the water. For water changes I usually do around 10-25% weekly and let it drip in over the coarse of a couple of hours. I use a float valve with RO tubing and a control valve to do my water changes but easy way to do it is to drill a tiny hole at the bottom of a bucket and sit on your tank. You just have make some calculations and observe to make sure you don't overfill. Again, for neo's they are pretty tough so it probably won't make a difference but if you ever want to move up to bee shrimps it is good to get yourself into the habit of "best practices" Not familiar with the NLS shrimp stuff but if they small micro pellets like most of the NLS stuff is (~0.6mm) I would say around 1 pellet for every 2-3 shrimps. Most of the shrimp specific brands come in pads or pellets that you can cut up - with those, I usually recommend no more than 3mm for 10+ shrimps

These ones seems pretty good for the price - you will need two of them though for a 48" tank http://www.petsandponds.com/en/aquarium-supplies/c5813/c231289/p17721561.html I also heard good things about the Ecoxotic E-Series, but they are quite a bit more than the Finnex - around $300 US for the 48" version

np, I have helped several shrimp newbies over the last little while and once the tank is populate with shrimps it all comes down to the details; Overfeeding - like with fish, overfeeding is very common; shrimps require very little food as they feed off the biofilm in the tank Stable parameters: Have an active buffering substrate helps greatly Temperature: keeping them in range and avoiding any fluctuations i.e. heat from light sources (i.e. T5), seasonal (i.e. summer) Topping up with RODI water to compensate for evaporation & regular water changes (to keep nitrate levels low) Dripping in water slowly for top ups and water changes Keeping an eye out for bacterial infections Some people prefer to do no water changes and just top up for most people starting out I recommended regular weekly water changes to keep your nitrate levels down, at least for the first little while. One of the most common mistake (other than overfeeding) is that people do not account for evaporation when doing water changes so their hardness (gH) increases over time until they get too high and shrimps start to die off when they molt. To prevent keep your water level the same by topping up with pure RO or use less minerals for the new water so that the GH remain the same after the water change

FYI here is a photo of the two type of UG plates mentioned above: Eheim on the left (grey), OEM on the right (white) these came from the tanks on my first shrimp rack that I broke down recently

depends on what kinda of shrimps you are planning to keep; Most dwarf shrimps in hobby are divided into one of 3 main genus; Neocaridina, Caridina and Paracaridina with Neocaridina (neo's) and Caridina being the most popular. Neo's are fairly easily is that they can tolerate a while range of parameters; generally they do fine with tap water. The main thing about them is most of them are just different color morphs of the same species - Neocaridina davidi (previously Neocaridina heteropoda); Red Cherry, Painted Fire Red, Orange Pumpkin, Yellow, Chocolate, Rilli etc; the various names referinf to their color, quality and patterns. They will interbreed if kept together and most of the time this results in a not so nice brown-ish "wild" form. Caridina on the other hand is a very diverse genus; with the most common being the bee shrimp family (Crystal Red, Crystal Black, Golden Bee, Taiwan bees etc;). There is also other species such as the tiger shrimps, various wild types from India, and the sulawesi shrimps. Bee shrimps require soft water and lower ph than neo's. They also require cooler temperatures (26 C max) There are many ways to set up a tank from simple sponge filters to UG + Canister filters. A simple tank for neo's would be something like a sponge filter or a sponge prefilter hooked up to an HOB / canister with inert gravel. if you are keeping them with fish, even small, peaceful community fishes will go after a shrimp if they think that is food so you will need lots of plants and ground cover if you want them to thrive because you are basically hoping they reproduce faster than they are disappearing. As for Bee shrimps; I guess i will have to do an updated "how-to" one of these days but for now the above build journal of both mine and Ron's new tanks show most of the processes. There is also a couple of older threads from a while back that might be helpful my first shrimp rack from 3 years ago: http://albertaaquatica.com/index.php?showtopic=37999 Setting Up A New Shrimp (Specific) Tank - various techniques (a couple links might be dead though) http://albertaaquatica.com/index.php?showtopic=38042 As for the UGFs - I have tried all three; the DIY, the OEM plates and the Ehiem ones. DIY pipes : low costs (~ $5), but would require a bit of work finding adapters and so fore to fit your HOB / canisters. I like tot use larger size lava rock (~ 1") as the base layer between the pipes for better flow. OEM / standard UG plates - medium price ($10-20), because of their larger pipes, narrower pipes / hoses (i.e. 12mm ehien intakes) would require a bit of creativity to properly adapt. Ron mention the thicker pipes (16/22mm) works just fine. The modular ones that both me and Ron uses are harder to come by in N. America - most likely have to order it from Asia so it may takes a few weeks or longer to get in. Eheim UG kits - high costs ($35-50), made specifically for the eheim classic canister filters (12mm pipes) but is also plug-in compatible with their installation sets. As far as i know, they are not available in North America. I got mine from Germany and Ron got his from me :P I definitely prefer the UG as a prefilter vs a sponge filter as they are low maintenance (if setted up properly) and provide alot more surface area for biological filtration. the main thing with them have to set them up from the get go and can't really retrofit them on an existing tank. You also can;t use fine gravel with them like sand as these will just get pulled thru the UG filter. As for the tank setups; you only want the plates to cover around 1/2 or 1/3 of the back side. Add your biological media on top of the UG filter. For the part that is not covered by the UGF, layer the bottom with "old sea mud" / mineral powder and some bacteria additives, add 1/2 of the substrate, add some more mineral and bacteria powder and than the rest of the substrate. Let it run for 4-6 weeks until it is fully cycled and than add shrimps : )

Added some plants to the 35L the other day, nitrates continue to drop but looks like the amount went up a bit but my pH also dropped a bit today Day 3 test results: pH: 5.5 Ammonia: 0.50ppm Nitrites: 0ppm Nitrates: ~ 40ppm

depends on the filter, but most of the time I leave them in there as they are require to direct the flow inside the filter. But most of my standard canister filters are the older eheim classic 2213 (without basket) or 2215 which also doesn't have baskets. For HOB most of the ones I have are the Aqueon Quietflow as they came with my first few tanks; they work quite well as they already have 3 different sections that are partitioned vertically so I have access to all 3 section from the top And having the pump inside the tank and basically connected directly to the uptake stem of the UG filter helps with the flow and priming. Check the tank again tonight, water is much more clearer but parameter remained mostly the same. Nitrates might have a dropped a bit but still very high Day 2 test results: pH: 5.8 Ammonia: < 0.25ppm Nitrites: 0ppm Nitrates: ~ 80ppm

Thanks Vince0! Can't really take credit for it has been used by many shrimpkeepers in asian for some time now. Not sure how applicable it is for fish either. For a true zero maintenance filter you have to be very careful on which type of media you use and order you put them in. This is how I do my canisters 1) Eheim MECHpro - basically black plastic rings that last forever (unlike ceramic ones), but very light. Traps any substrate or dirt that gets thru the UG filter 2) Coarse Sponge 3) Eheim bioMECH - a hybrid biological / mechanical media that trap any particles that makes it past the 2 media and provide some biological filtration as well 4) Eheim SubstratPRO / Seachem Matrix The first three makes up around 1/4 to 1/3 of the filter and if I use a second prefilter unit they go in there. For HOB's I usually empty them out or mod them to hold as much biological media as possible. ideally 6.6 to 6.8. I still have an empty bag of Akadama; I don't think it buffers very long and in general do not create a very stable environment. I keep getting these weird hairline algae and last time i had neo's in them, they didn't do very well.

It has been approx. 24hr since the tank was set up and today the water is fairly cloudy - probably a bacterial bloom as I added a full dose of cycle last night after it was filled with water. It is also a lot lighter in the water, i would say it is comparable to Amazonia so perhaps the foil packing keeps moisture in better and results in the darker colour and less drier look. I just tested the water in the Aquastyle 35L and got some Interesting results: pH: 5.8 Ammonia: < 0.25ppm ( I would say it is barely over 0ppm) Nitrites: 0ppm Nitrates: 80-160ppm It buffer the ph lower than I would expected, remain to be seen how long it stays that way. As for the ammonia, nitrites and nitrates; I added the recommended dose of Cycle to the tank and the biological media as taken straight from the UF bed of one of my shrimp tanks that I torn down the previous. Plus, the stock ehiem filter was running right up to when i took the tank down to redo it so not sure what to make of it; either: 1) the new fluval stratum is leaching very little ammonia and the nitrates are from my old filter media 2) the combination of cycle and old media is converting the ammonia to nitrite to nitrates at a rapid pace 3) it leeches very little ammonia and the "nutrients" that this it is suppose to have is contributing the the high nitrates I guess I should have tested this with brand new media to control the variables but than again I rarely do so when setting up a tank. I have hoping the pH would be a bit higher as it it will fill a gap in my substrate lineup but for now the resulting PH is exactly the same as my Amazonia tanks. Will see how things settle down int he next few days