RevolutionBoas Posted June 24, 2012 Report Share Posted June 24, 2012 Hey everyone, I was in my LFS today checking out their "getting out of Livestock" sale. I was just planning of getting some male guppies for my Dwarf SA Cichlid tank (needed some movement) when I got to the Fluval EBI they keep their shrimp in. I have been really wanting to get into shrimp for a while and what started as a guppy buy turned into a Red Cherry Shrimp buy and then turned into a new tank buy. I got a deal I couldnt resist on this tank and it followed me home. The review is simply my own opinion on my first experience with this tank. I hope you guys enjoy the review and follow along this en-devour with me. My initial impression on this tank was a good one. I had read a few reviews on the Fluval Ebi for keeping inverts and it is supposed to be one of the best on the market. It is a 7.9g semi cube tank that includes everything you need for shrimp (except live plants, decor, and a heater). One of the employees at the store mentioned he had this tank with some Red Crystal Shrimp (what I want to keep) and recommended this kit, along with seeing this on the box I had to give it a try myself The kit includes 1x 7.9g Semi cube tank 1x Glass Lid 4x Lid rests 1x Internal Fluval Nano filter with spray bar 1x thermometer with suction cup 1x bag Fluval shrimp substrate 1x Fluval PC light fixture 1x Fluval Light stand 1x Shrimp Net 1x 35g container Fluval Shrimp Granules 1x 60ml container Fluval Shrimp Safe 1x 60ml container Fluval Shrimp Mineral Supplement After you get it home here is what you see when you first get the box opened. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RevolutionBoas Posted June 24, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 24, 2012 (edited) The box is open, everything is unpacked, and this was my first look at all the contents. They all seem to be here and in good shape. So my first step now that everything was unpacked was to get the tank into the location I wanted it, this all starts with this foam pad for the bottom of the tank. At first I was pretty depressed to see the rough edges on this foam, this doesnt make for a very nice finished look. I was a little more relieved to see that the foam pad is slightly bigger than the aquarium; this means I can make a clean trim job. Here it is with the foam pad trimmed with a razor blade. Now that the tank was in its spot and the foam pad was trimmed step 2 was to get the substrate ready to go in the tank. This Fluval substrate is super fragile, it breaks down into dust very easy so you need to be gentle when handling and washing it. I read some reviews online and it says this is great for plants as well as a place for baby shrimp to live until they are big enough to venture out on their own. Once I got the package opened I put the substrate into a colander and just used a gentle stream from the faucet to rinse it, this worked really well for me but took a long time. I have no idea why some of the Fluval substrate is white Its actually a very dirty substrate, look at all the foreign material mixed in that shouldnt be there. But eventually I got all the big stuff out and the substrate rinsed off. Edited June 24, 2012 by RevolutionBoas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RevolutionBoas Posted June 24, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 24, 2012 Once the substrate was in the tank it was time for step 3, getting the filter in place. This is appears to be a good little internal filter for shrimp. It has guard bars to keep shrimp out, has a spray bar to spread out the stream and has a valve to control the amount of flow. Here is the 90 elbow with the flow valve, its a pretty simple set up to control flow. It does fit into the filter fairly tight so dont be afraid to use some muscle to get it to fit. The spray bar is the same way, pressure fit so dont be afraid to use a little muscle to get it to slide on. Just be carfeul your putting it on straight so you dont break any parts. To install the filter has 3 suction cups, 2 on the motor housing and one on the filter material housing. Wet the suction cups with water and just press the filter where you want it. I chose to put it in the back corner, the dark color allows it to kind of blend into the background so its not as "in your face". Make sure you leave 1/4" of space between the ilter and back ground so none of your shrimp get stuck! Ok so now the fun part, we are going to get stuff wet! Remember earlier I mentioned this Fluval substrate is fragile so dont just pour your water in. This will cause it to break apart and cloud the tank for day... or so I am told by the guy at the LFS. I guess he made that mistake. So I put a small plate in there and went to town. YOu have this tank filled with water and substrate now so im sure you want to see in there. Time to light it up! First pull out the bracket that mounts to the light and the tank, it is a clear plastic piece inside the box the light comes in. Attach this to the light first. To do this you will need to remove the screw and lock washer on the bottom of the light fixture. Slide the mounting bracket over the peg, slide the lock washer on, then put the screw cap back on. When finished it should look like this. To mount the light to the tank you undo all three screws until they are flush inside the channel, slide the aquarium back glass inside the channel and tighten all 3 screws with your fingers. Now these need to be tight but do not over tighten them or you will break the bracket. Finger tight is fine. Now loosen the screw on each side of the fixture and put the fixture into the position you want then re tighten the screws. Now that the tank is filled with water and your light is installed its time to put the lid on. You will see the the lid is much smaller than the footprint of the tank, this is where the lid rests come in. They are the clear "L" shape pieces of plastic strapped to the cardboard sheet with the net and filter. If you look close you will notice there are 2 different styles, one set is for the curved corners on the front of the tank, the other set is for the sharper corners on the back. These just slide over the glass sides and rest on the top then the glass top sits on these. Now I dont know if it was just my kit but either the tank isnt square or the top isnt square because the top will not fit on with all 4 top rests on the tank. I have to pull off one of the back corners to get it to fit. I will post some FTS in the morning when the light comes back on. I also wanted to mention this tank is located in the room I keep my reptiles. The room is heated to 80 degrees so this is why I didnt put a heater in the tank. Actual tank temps range closer to 78 than 80. I am looking forward to getting my shrimp but right now I am taking it slow. My next step is to find a nice center piece rock or driftwood and some plants. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperGuppyGirl Posted June 24, 2012 Report Share Posted June 24, 2012 OOOOO looking good, I just set up a 10G for my red cherry shrimp but have seen quite a few of these done up and tjougut it might be difficult, might have to start looking for a sale myself to get one as I want to eventually get some shadow panda shrimp and dont want to mix them with the cherries Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
425nm Posted June 24, 2012 Report Share Posted June 24, 2012 I'd recommend swapping the sponge in the nano filter for some bio-media and filter floss. Personally I feel that sponges don't provide a statisfactory amount of surface area for efficient biological filter. Of course since you're just keeping shrimp they don't put out as much waste as fish so its not as big a deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RevolutionBoas Posted June 24, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 24, 2012 SuperGuppyGirl I looked at a 5g and 10g kit but by the time enough substrate, chemicals, and other accessories were purchased this kit was still a cheaper buy. Even with all the problems the kit had (not being squared, foam pad cut rough) I would go this route again. Well worth the money! 425nm I was thinking the same thing about the sponge but had read a few threads where people tried the floss and it messed with the pump making it loud. I did see people use nylons to cover the intake to protect baby shrimp so I may try this. This substate seems pretty porus so I am not too worried about surface area for benificial bacteria, like you said its just for shrimp. I will definatley keep an eye on nitrate and ammonia levels just in case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RevolutionBoas Posted June 24, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 24, 2012 Got bored today so I picked up some stuff for the Ebi. Looks like a hitch hiker snail made it into the tank, I have no idea what kind it is yet. When I started After I was done. Check out the snail in the bottom right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJay Posted June 24, 2012 Report Share Posted June 24, 2012 (edited) Pretty sure it's an assassin snail. Score! Edited June 24, 2012 by DJay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RevolutionBoas Posted June 25, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 25, 2012 I didnt mention this but yesterday when I picked up my Fluva Ebi I also picked up 5 Cherry Shrimp and what I thought was the only Red Crystal Shrimp. The plan was to put them in my planted tank with my Electric Blue Rams and Apistos, the RCS I would put in a breeder net. I picked up 6 more Cherry Shrimp and another Red Crystal Shrimp we found while fishing for the Cherries. Both groups ended up in the breeder net awaiting the Fluval EBI to be ready and now I realize there are 3 different typed of shrimp in there. There are 9 Cherry, 2x Crystal, and 2 that are shaped and size like the Crystal but they are a Blueish grey with vertical stripes. Of course the breeder net doesnt allow pictures but I will post them up once I am able to get some good ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blink Posted June 25, 2012 Report Share Posted June 25, 2012 I'd like to mention something before you get too far along with this tank, take the styrofoam background out!! http://www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/386036-fluval-flora-disaster/ Not mine, but I've heard of this happening a bunch of times. My fiancee and I have got an ebi as well and I love it, it's a really nice size. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RevolutionBoas Posted June 25, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 25, 2012 Thanks for the link blink. I heard the first version had this problem but fluval fixed with with a different silicone. Have you heard this? I have a silicone/epoxy that cures underwater I could run across the top of the background to help secure it in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Little_One Posted June 25, 2012 Report Share Posted June 25, 2012 I actually did the same thing. Before I set mine up I put three extra beads along the top, sides, and a strip along the bottom. It's worked like a charm. The EBI is my favorite tank by far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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