I started a thread not long ago where I was going to do a Mr. Aqua 12" cube Buddha tank. That's been placed on hold. After speedie408 unleashed his awesome Blue Diamond shrimp on us, I jumped at the chance to be one of the first to obtain these beautiful shrimp. In doing so, I decided that the 12" cube tank just wasn't enough real estate and I wanted to go with a more natural scape. So, I decided to stay frameless and being very happy with the first Mr. Aqua tank, I grabbed another. This time an 11.4g, 18.9" X 11.8" X 11.8" tank.
Plans for this tank include a large rock mound, maybe two filled with Eco-Complete and covered in moss/fissidens. There will be some other low light plants such as a handful of crypts I have on hand and some Hydrocotyle Japan hopefully to form a foreground carpet of sorts. I'll also be heavily planting my HOB filter and possibly going full riparium with the tank.
So here's the break down:
Equipment
Tank - Mr. Aqua 11.4g, 18.9" X 11.8" X 11.8"
Filter - AquaClear 50 HOB
Light - Finnex FugeRay-R Ultra Slim LED Fixture +RED boost, will probably upgrade to afugeRAY soon for more medium light
Scape
Locally collect rock and/or lava rock mounds
Eco-Complete
Critters
Blue Diamond neos
Possibly Super Tigers if the water parameters cooperate
Plants
Fissidens fontanus
Aluminum plant
Wandering Jew
Pilea cadierei
Fittonia argyroneura
Ludwigia Hybrid Red
Hydrocotyle Japan
UG - included in plant package I just grabbed from FS section, doubt I'll have the lights to make it work though. Might try to incorporate it into the planted HOB.
Got some goodies today. Got a riparium kit in from hydrophyte with a bunch of plants as well as an order of some nice looking red root floaters. I'll be working on that this evening and will take some pics along the way.
I think I posted it at the beginning. Off the top of my head I think they are:
pH 7.6
KH 2
GH 6
TDS 230
Using tap water
Temps around 70 or so. I have a small AC unit in the window of my "shrimp" room set on 65 but it isn't quite that cool in there.
Substrate is inert Eco-Complete.
They'd do fine in a 5.5g tank. They are just neos though I suspect they are a bit more sensitve due to breeding for their coloration. Similar to yellow neos. So if you are thinking about them, make sure to set your tank up at least a month in advance if not longer if you don't have the tank setup already. That way there's plenty of biofilm and the tank is nice a ready. I made the mistake of setting mine up litterally the night before my shrimp arrived. I can't say for sure if that's what caused my deaths, but I had 5 deaths out of 11 shrimp I bought from speedie plus a DOA.
I just went back and looks like I didn't post some of the parameters. I'll give them a check this evening and update that. I should check to see where things are at. I'd guess they are good considering a new batch of babies and two berried tigers. Lots of molts all the time so I'm assuming GH/KH is good and everyone is liking the tank well enough.
Here's a few shots of the rip kit. I just have them in there haphazardly at the moment. I just wanted to get the plants in the water and under some light. Everything seemed to make it through shipping just fine. I'll probably mess with the placement some more tomorrow.
The kit...
Front...
Top down. Can't see the red root floaters that well...I was using my phone.
I'll be removing the LED light and hanging a CFL up above the tank so all the plants get plenty of light. Things in the tank should be shaded plenty to maintain low light. Guess we'll see what happens over time.
Wow man, beautiful setup you got going there! I would be stoked about those beautiful shrimp having babies as well...heck I am happy that one of my whisker shrimp is berried...lol
Think I spied another berried BD! I'll try for pics later. Also, there might have been another small batch hatched. Unless there was more that have been hiding, I'm seeing several more babies today and they look a bit smaller than the others. There's at least 10 babies now. One is already black!
And sorry if this is off-topic, but I see you have a finnex fugeray-r ultraslim. How are they as far as lighting? How would one do over a standard 5.5 gallon? Good enough to grow most mosses?
I'm using Eco-Complete and I really like it a lot. All it is really is finely crushed lava rock. With a little searching I'm sure you could find it cheaper. But I love the look of it.
The light, yeah, it's a nice little light. It's doing a fine job with the plants I have in and on the tank. The stuff in my HOB has really grown a lot and things in the tank are doing well too. I do plan to change it out for a suspended CFL so that I can get light on all my new rip plants and I'll use the clip on with my other cube tank which I plan to setup soon for my PFR's. Eventually I'll get a different Fenix light to suspend over this tank but for now a CFL should work just fine.
I'm using Eco-Complete and I really like it a lot. All it is really is finely crushed lava rock. With a little searching I'm sure you could find it cheaper. But I love the look of it.
The light, yeah, it's a nice little light. It's doing a fine job with the plants I have in and on the tank. The stuff in my HOB has really grown a lot and things in the tank are doing well too. I do plan to change it out for a suspended CFL so that I can get light on all my new rip plants and I'll use the clip on with my other cube tank which I plan to setup soon for my PFR's. Eventually I'll get a different Fenix light to suspend over this tank but for now a CFL should work just fine.
D7000 is about $650-700 used. That's what I'd do. If not, the D5100/5200 for sure over the D3200. I only ever buy used. Never had a problem. You get so much more bang for the buck. Yeah, I'm a generation or two behind the current models, but the stuff still works fantastic is in all honesty is way more camera than 90% of people would ever need.
Just saw that update. Damn that's a good deal. >_____> if only I had saved for it already. In the planning stages of purchasing one. Was considering September/October as a buy date.
They'll likely be the same or less. Rumor has it the D400 might be announced sometime around Sept. If that happens, D300's and D7000 will drop in price like stones.
Dead shrimp. Not sure if BD or Tiger. I'm thinking couple Tigers might have a bacteria infection. Guess I'll try to do treatments and see what happens.
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