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Shrimp Rescue Tanks (3) - Journal-ish Thing (56K!) - New Pics 1/18/12

23K views 76 replies 20 participants last post by  Julie7778 
#1 · (Edited)
Shrimp Rescue Tanks (3) - Journal-ish Thing (56K!) - RIP

Okay, folks, here's the deal… I've been suckered into rescuing cherry shrimp from friends who have no clue what they're doing over the past couple months. Now that they're breeding like flies, I need a few temporary homes for them. Luckily, I had three 2.5gallon tanks in storage. Figure they might as well look as nice as possible so here goes.

I know the rock scape isn't perfect in either tank but they're my leftovers. Took a long time to epoxy them into position so all the bad portions of the rock aren't visible. Didn't have a lot to work with and didn't want to drop lots of cash on the ADG shop (stone selection in Louisville, Kentucky is next to zilch - other than horrible limestone).

Would love your input on plants.

These first two tanks have Fluval Shrimp Stratum and will be lit with 26W GE 6500K bulbs (temporarily lit with Fluval Clip-On lamps that came with the Ebi). Which tank should be 100% UG and which should get a row of DHG in the back with 90% HC?

Tank 1:



Tank 2:



Am thinking Tank 1 should be DHG & HC and Tank 2 should be UG.

The third tank isn't my favorite. Eco-Complete is the substrate. It'll be filled with DHG and glosso:



Not set on that scape but the rest of my leftovers are slim pickings (that's some UG from Dollface in the pic):



Also have these but they're not my favorite and are huge:



Dry Start Method for all three until filled in, then Osmocote Plus root caps and Macro & Micros with DYI CO2-- at least until I find a new 5lb cylinder and a nice dual-stage regulator with solenoid and such.

So… thoughts on the plants? They're the four I've got plenty of on-hand.

Am good on space for about 60 more days and then will have to move critters into those tanks or start RAOKing them like mad.

Thanks for checking it out and hopefully offering your thoughts,

Jake
 
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#6 ·
It's update time because the UG is finally planted. As you'll see below, I planted heavily and with thick clumps. There's probably enough in that 2.5gal tank to fill a 45-P but I want things to fill in more quickly.

Breaking up the clump:



First two rows:



Finished product from above:



FTS:



This is my first attempt at DSM UG and I hope it succeeds. It's currently got a 26w lamp, as mentioned in my first post, hung about 3-4 inches from the top of the tank. Tank's covered in plastic wrap with a couple slits cut in it so things don't overheat.

You folks think a 12-14hr photo period will suffice for DSM?

And just for giggles, look at the truckload (that's a 1.5gal rubbermade container) of salvinia I pulled out of my shrimp tank today! There's still 3x this much remaining. May have to RAOK it:

 
#7 ·
I'm resigned to the fact that I'm going to have to use Red Sea Nano HOBs or something similar on these things (ugh - just go ahead and gouge my eyes out now) because there won't be much of a bioload and flow won't be a serious concern. Sponges are out of the question because of size/scale. Unless someone has other suggestions?

But what the heck am I going to use for heat that isn't 100% obtrusive and hideous? I've got a couple Tetra submersibles but they'll likely be completely gross.

Anyone have suggestions or recommendations? I've been scouring these internets for a couple days on the hunt for solutions.
 
#10 ·
Guess you folks are right. I should consider going on the hunt for three Rapids Mini canisters.

This little project is already turnout out to be 10x more expensive than I'd anticipated. Oops.

In-line heat is a bit more than this project needs so I should likely just bite the bullet and deal with an ugly heat tube. Maybe I can find something slim that can be hidden amid hair grass or some such.
 
#14 ·
Oh my gosh, what have I done? My brain is melting. Just spent 10,000 hours planting the other two tanks.

Here's a shot of the UG tank (it's now 7 days old) along with the unplanted HC tank to the left (please ignore the bourbon collection and Flourish products beneath them):



Hair Grass in:



Finally!



The glosso tank:



Lesson learned: glosso is the WORST PLANT EVER to try to jab down into Eco-Complete. Would have been easier to use Fluval Shrimp Stratum, for sure.

Here's hoping these rigs turn out okay. Super-excited and exhausted.
 
#15 ·
Update Time!

It's update time!

Crazy what a couple weeks will do for some UG in Shrimp Stratum with nothing but super-high light, Osmocote gelcaps and some misting:





I think it's going to be a winner in a few weeks when things get flooded.

HC & DHG tank:





HC isn't doing so swell but the DHG appears to be turning the corner rather well. Have a bit of extra HC I'm hanging onto but hope I don't have to use it. Hope it turns around because it's such a beautiful carpeting plant.

I've read and read and read about HC and the DSM and it's still looking like that so any advice is obviously appreciated.

Glosso & DHG in Eco-Complete is doing amazing:





It's quickly turning out to be a favorite little foreground plant. All the nightmarish effort to get it planted in the Eco-Complete paid off. Here's hoping it continues its nice growth.

Got my hands on a few HOB filters for the tanks, some Hydor mini heaters that camouflage well, have tiny drop checkers and diffusers and will inject with DIY champagne yeast at the start. Hope to upgrade to paintball CO2 if I can find an appropriate manifold for splitting and Swagelok needle valves that can handle higher pressures. Also dosing EI with dry ferts kept diluted in 500ml solution bottles.

Excited for things to kick up a notch so I can move my hundreds of shrimp around a bit. And maybe house a few Rasboras that are currently living in a bucket… as their 20-year-old tank bit the dust.

Thanks for looking!
 
#16 ·
Very, very nice start. Great idea of growing the plants emersed first. :) The UG is starting to carpet nicely. Progress looks fantastic.
 
#18 ·
Guess it's update time!

Week three for the UG has been great. I'll be able to flood the tank for sure in another couple weeks:



It's developing a really strong root bed:



Week two was much better for the HC and DHG. HC no longer has gross mold/fungus (a bit of Excel misting did the trick) and I think it'll start to fill in nicely:



The glosso tank has also done well, as you can see:



It's grown like crazy with the dry start method, the hair grass has turned the corner, algae is starting to form on the rocks and at the edges of the Eco-Complete where there's too much moisture. Really excited for it to fill in over the next few weeks.

Still debating paintball vs. DIY champagne yeast and have all my equipment ready to go. Red Sea Nano filters w/Fluval sponges over the intakes, nano drop checkers from Nikki, Fluval nano thermometers, Hydor Mini heaters, adhesive black vinyl for the backs of the tanks. Will hopefully find some acrylic sheets I can cut into shape in the next few days. Gonna need something to cover these tanks for sure.

Hope you're enjoying my foray into itty bitty tanks. When things really start to grow in and I begin to flood, I'll pull out the DSLR and fancy lenses for sharing.
 
#21 ·
Google "utricularia graminifolia and shrimp" and you'll see it's never really a problem.

Traps are way too small for shrimp and shrimplets.

P.S. What you've "heard" isn't always based in fact or experience. I've heard a lot of things. For instance, I've "heard" that I can't keep shrimp without RO/DI water and that's clearly not the case.

Never had a problem with UG dry or wet. Have had some in separate tanks for 4-5 years at least with no issues beyond spreading.
 
#23 ·
The tanks are far too small for any filter larger than the Red Sea Nano, so that's what I went with.

Mini Hydor heaters are so thin they're barely noticeable when placed on a black background. Have been pleasantly surprised by the way they look and think I may be able to hid them behind the filter intake for even less distraction.
 
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