Blyxa Island

[Newman]

Equipment
20 Gallon Long Tank
50W Heater
AquaClear 30 Filter
20W LED Fixture
Amazonia Substrate

Flora
Blyxa japonica
Blyxa aubertii
Fissidens moss
Duckweed

Fauna
4 Chocolate Cherry Shrimp
6 Crystal Red Shrimp
4 Crystal Black Shrimp
1 Amano Shrimp

Thank you for any help and recommendations.

Current FTS

[magnum]

1. 10,000K would be the absolute highest temperature bulbs I would use, lower temperature bulbs would be better.
2. As for the filter, Aquaclear is a great brand in the HOB category.
3. Seems to be a window on the right side of the tank I'd highly consider some sort of blind.
4. Great start on the moss, looks promising

[Newman]

Progression:

[somewhatshocked]

An Aquaclear 30 or 50 would be perfect.

As far as substrate, since you're keeping limited plants, just getting a bag of Amazonia would be a-okay for your purposes. It's great stuff.

On my 20Ls, I use two different fixtures (depending upon the tank and its location). The 30" Coralife T5NO fixture is awesome for low-medium plants and is about $40 at most. Marineland's Double Bright LED fixture is also a nice choice but is easily $70-$80. I'd go T5NO all the way for sure.

[somewhatshocked]

P.S. I'd argue that my 6700K T5NO bulbs really make white shrimp pop:



About moss - do you plan to keep any in the tank? You definitely should if you plan to house shrimp. Moss is almost a necessity.

[Newman]

maybe I'll save some moss and tie it to DW...thanks.

So i should go with the Coralife 30" T5NO fixture and a 6700K bulb?
EDIT:they arent bei9ng made anymore or something? maybe i should just go with any T5 light that fits and as long as its not HO?

I should only get the Amazonia NEW soil? the 9L bag?

[somewhatshocked]

They're definitely being made. Here's a link to Ken's Fish (just as an example) - which sells a couple different kinds of T5 fixtures in the 30" length. I don't think you'll be disappointed with any T5NO fixture on the market at that length.

Yeah, definitely get Amazonia New. 9L should be plenty for a 20L.

[Newman]

ok I'll see what I can find....

ok i ordered the NEW amzonia soil 9L and the coralife strip light T5 30".
Now all i have to do is get me an Aquaclear30 filter from a local store and I should be ready to convert the tank.

Can someone help me with the conversion process, maybe walk me through it?
I am hoping i can sell most of my shrimp before i start to convert, but i want to leave roughly 5-6 of my PFRs to live in the new softwater tank that I will make. I realize i am going to be cycling the tank for a while, so i will need to move my PFR out somewhere for a few weeks... should i do that?
can they be put in a breeder net into my 40 gal community? or will my fish get at them through the net? i have a large angel that might damage them by trying to grab them through the net...possible?
advice?
thank you!

[somewhatshocked]

Yes, you should definitely move your PFRs to another tank for the month it's going to take to cycle with Aquasoil. They should be fine in a breeder net, as long as it's covered and they can't escape. You'll just need to be sure to feed them and maybe put some moss in the net with them.

If you can't find a good price locally for the AC30, Foster & Smith has them for $20.99 right now. Once you factor in shipping, though, you may be able to get them cheaper locally.

[Newman]

yes i noticed dr. foster's site's sale. likely cheaper locally with shipping this time though since i dont need anything else right now.

ok so i will place about 6 of my best PFR in a breeder net in my 40gal community and put some moss in there for them to hide. and an almond leaf or something. going to feed them of course lol.

I am excited to do this now. i have kept softwater shrimp before, but nothing more serious like this. I know i can do this correctly with patience.

The plan is to convert the tank, get it planted and cycled, then move the PFR back in to see how they do. after a few months, when its winter and temps are nice and manageable I'll sell off the cherries and get some variety of softwater shrimp

[somewhatshocked]

Sounds like a plan! I have no doubt you can handle it. I mean, just look at that Pico Reef of yours. It's stunning and a motivator for me to downgrade my 300gal reef to a 3gal - and I am literally doing just that.

Maybe you could keep the PFRs in there with the other shrimp? They add a nice burst of color.

[Newman]

I'll keep them in there for a while, but eventually would like to give the whole tank space to softwater shrimps.

Tomorrow I am buying a few things: an Aquaclear 30, and GH and KH tests. I'll update with a picture once I have that filter installed!

Thanks, I really like the pico reef I made.

[Newman]

now that i read more about it, is my coralife 30" fixture going to burn out very quickly?

[demonr6]

If it wasn't for you need to have the shrimp 'pop' under the lighting, a plain old shop light with 6500 T8's more than does the job in my 20L. It's a freaking jungle in there.

[Caleb19]

I believe the older fixtures (Coralife) branded do have problems which causing the fixture to fail. But the newer models branded (Aqueon) seem to have remedied the issue. At least that is my experience in the matter. Had my fixture burn out and contacted Coralife, who promptly replaced the fixture with a new one.