Help starting 1 gallon tank

Torchwood~Mindfreak · 05-01-2010, 04:37 AM

Well I'd like to put my old one gallon tank to use. I've never had a planted tank before but would like to try one with some shrimp and maybe a snail. Do i need a special kind of substrate or will sand be fine? How many shrimp can I have in there and what are some good small begginer plants? What kind of cycleing would it need? It currently has no heater and an undergravel filter. I'm willing to get a little filter if nessecary, any ideas? And will it need a heater? The tank lid says this on top 1-120v7w60hz not sure if it pertains to the size and or light but thought I'd include it incase it could be relevant.

Darkblade48 · 05-01-2010, 05:24 AM

You can use sand fine, or you can also use a specialized substrate. For beginner plants, I would stick with the Anubias nana var. 'Petite' and some moss (Java, Fissidens, Flame, etc).

For shrimp, it depends. What kind of shrimp were you planning to keep?

As for cycling, you will need to be careful and cycle the tank properly, as shrimp are sensitive to ammonia and nitrite.

Regarding the filter, you will need some sort of filtration. For a tank this small, I wuld recommend the Red Sea Nano Filter. For the heater, it depends on how cold your house gets. I would imagine since you are in Texas, even in the winter time, it is not too cold, so you may not need a heater.

Finally, the canopy specifications that you have indicate that you should be able to use a CFL bulb (under 7W) to light your tank.

Torchwood~Mindfreak · 05-01-2010, 06:02 AM

I was thinking just ghost shrimp because they are easily available to me. I saw some places say that if it's just for shimp and is planted that you don't need a filter, is that true? (But that filter's cheap enough for me to get if I need to.)

Darkblade48 · 05-01-2010, 07:26 AM

I would go with a filter; without one, you may not get adequate circulation within the tank (especially if you intend to plant it)

Torchwood~Mindfreak · 05-01-2010, 08:07 AM

So once I get it set up and planted how should I go about cycling it?

Darkblade48 · 05-01-2010, 07:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Torchwood~Mindfreak

So once I get it set up and planted how should I go about cycling it?

You can go about using the standard methods (i.e. fishless cycle, look for an ammonia source such as fish food, a cocktail shrimp, or even pure ammonia, etc) or you can plant very heavily from the get go and use the silent cycling method.

VincentK · 05-01-2010, 07:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Darkblade48

You can go about using the standard methods (i.e. fishless cycle, look for an ammonia source such as fish food, a cocktail shrimp, or even pure ammonia, etc) or you can plant very heavily from the get go and use the silent cycling method.

Don't mean to hijack or anything, but what is a cocktail shrimp?

Captivate05 · 05-01-2010, 09:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VincentK

Don't mean to hijack or anything, but what is a cocktail shrimp?

The kind you get at the store to eat

Torchwood~Mindfreak · 05-02-2010, 03:24 AM

How much fish food should I use if i go that route? and should i put it in like a bottle cap or something to i can remove it when I'm done?

Torchwood~Mindfreak · 05-02-2010, 06:30 AM

Well here's the hardscape and yes that filter is huge in there XD

I love the rock I found for it it's perfect now to decide what plants to use hmmm...

Torchwood~Mindfreak · 06-03-2010, 06:29 PM

Well all's goin good with this tank except for algae It doesn't bother me to much but it's not pretty. I originally had 4 ghost shrimp in there but the biggest one killed two of them. The big one has been white for over a week now. He molted yesterday but is still white so I figure he'll die soon. I hope to get cherry shrimp whenever possible. Will these take care of the algae because the ghosties sure don't. Or can I keep an Otto in here to?

05-01-2010, 04:37 AM	#1
Torchwood~Mindfreak Algae Grower (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: May 2010 Location: Fort Worth TX Posts: 12	Help starting 1 gallon tank Well I'd like to put my old one gallon tank to use. I've never had a planted tank before but would like to try one with some shrimp and maybe a snail. Do i need a special kind of substrate or will sand be fine? How many shrimp can I have in there and what are some good small begginer plants? What kind of cycleing would it need? It currently has no heater and an undergravel filter. I'm willing to get a little filter if nessecary, any ideas? And will it need a heater? The tank lid says this on top 1-120v7w60hz not sure if it pertains to the size and or light but thought I'd include it incase it could be relevant.

05-01-2010, 05:24 AM	#2
Darkblade48 Moderator (View User Tanks) PTrader: (3/100%) Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Toronto Posts: 7,036	You can use sand fine, or you can also use a specialized substrate. For beginner plants, I would stick with the Anubias nana var. 'Petite' and some moss (Java, Fissidens, Flame, etc). For shrimp, it depends. What kind of shrimp were you planning to keep? As for cycling, you will need to be careful and cycle the tank properly, as shrimp are sensitive to ammonia and nitrite. Regarding the filter, you will need some sort of filtration. For a tank this small, I wuld recommend the Red Sea Nano Filter. For the heater, it depends on how cold your house gets. I would imagine since you are in Texas, even in the winter time, it is not too cold, so you may not need a heater. Finally, the canopy specifications that you have indicate that you should be able to use a CFL bulb (under 7W) to light your tank. __________________ Anthony A Primer to Pressurized CO2 and A Primer to Planted Tanks Eheim Pimp #362 - Eheim 2213 x2, Eheim 2028, Ehein 2217, Eheim surface skimmer and Eheim autofeeder. Victor Pimp #33 - HPT272-125-350-4M

05-01-2010, 07:26 AM	#4
Darkblade48 Moderator (View User Tanks) PTrader: (3/100%) Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Toronto Posts: 7,036	I would go with a filter; without one, you may not get adequate circulation within the tank (especially if you intend to plant it) __________________ Anthony A Primer to Pressurized CO2 and A Primer to Planted Tanks Eheim Pimp #362 - Eheim 2213 x2, Eheim 2028, Ehein 2217, Eheim surface skimmer and Eheim autofeeder. Victor Pimp #33 - HPT272-125-350-4M

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05-01-2010, 06:02 AM	#3
Torchwood~Mindfreak Algae Grower (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: May 2010 Location: Fort Worth TX Posts: 12	I was thinking just ghost shrimp because they are easily available to me. I saw some places say that if it's just for shimp and is planted that you don't need a filter, is that true? (But that filter's cheap enough for me to get if I need to.)

05-01-2010, 08:07 AM	#5
Torchwood~Mindfreak Algae Grower (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: May 2010 Location: Fort Worth TX Posts: 12	So once I get it set up and planted how should I go about cycling it?

05-02-2010, 03:24 AM	#9
Torchwood~Mindfreak Algae Grower (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: May 2010 Location: Fort Worth TX Posts: 12	How much fish food should I use if i go that route? and should i put it in like a bottle cap or something to i can remove it when I'm done?

05-02-2010, 06:30 AM	#10
Torchwood~Mindfreak Algae Grower (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: May 2010 Location: Fort Worth TX Posts: 12	Well here's the hardscape and yes that filter is huge in there XD I love the rock I found for it it's perfect now to decide what plants to use hmmm...

06-03-2010, 06:29 PM	#11
Torchwood~Mindfreak Algae Grower (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: May 2010 Location: Fort Worth TX Posts: 12	Well all's goin good with this tank except for algae It doesn't bother me to much but it's not pretty. I originally had 4 ghost shrimp in there but the biggest one killed two of them. The big one has been white for over a week now. He molted yesterday but is still white so I figure he'll die soon. I hope to get cherry shrimp whenever possible. Will these take care of the algae because the ghosties sure don't. Or can I keep an Otto in here to?