CRS Spec Journal

[MABJ]

Hmm I never did get around to adding the fissidens that day, and the Hydro died on me.

But here's a pic of the cray. I'm kind of sad I'll be moving him. He has made a nice home here.



He always sits right in there while he's resting. When he explores, he explores everywhere.

[MABJ]

CRS will be here in three days. I will post picture updates very soon.

I got 14 shrimp from Nick. I'm not big on the SSS look anymore. My tastes have changed I guess, and I've decided on the three-line CRS and two-line CRS.

So in grading terms S and SS.

[MABJ]

Ok I made some big progress today. I patched what little of the small bottom slit was showing, so nothing will be getting in there ever again.

I pulled and moved some mosses, and I FINALLY glued down the Anubias.

The Don of this tank was captured and acclimated to his new home, and this is ready for the new inhabitants in two days.

As for the GH and KH, I'm not good at reading them, but KH was at 0-1 and the GH was at 4-5. PH was at around 6.2. Nitates near zero thanks to the floaters.


.

[MABJ]

Here are some pictures

[MABJ]

And the shrimp are here and in!! I acclimated them for 1 hour and poured them in. They're SUPER cute.

There are 13 three-band (S Grade) and two two band (SS grade)

I think they like the high current.

[lotuslullaby]

I see now why people build shrimp tanks. I love the visual balance in this tank too.

[MABJ]

Originally Posted by lotuslullaby

I see now why people build shrimp tanks. I love the visual balance in this tank too.

Thanks a bunch they're doing well so far. The tanks parameters have been steady, and there are zero tank shock deaths so far.




MABJ's iDevice used for this message :p

[MABJ]

Alrighty I JUST figured out my official GH and KH. I figured out the whole formula thing, and the whole test strip thing is in fact inaccurate. I previously thought I had 1 KH, 3 GH.

Since I finally read it right, I have:
5 GH
Less than 1 KH
150 TDS.
Roughly 6.2 PH

That is SPOT ON for CRS. I'm now super confident they're going to do well for me.

My nitrates barely register, ammonia and nitrites don't register of course.

The shells look great two days in

[MABJ]

Full tank shot



A few shrimpers



Not sure if that's algae or diatoms they're feeding on... Suggestions?



Same shot, different angle.



Several are always in the back munching

Well I hope you guys enjoy.

[Bananariot]

How'd they find their way into the sump already lol?
What nikon are you using?

[Mumford]

I love this little thing! Are you finding it hard to maintain parameters? And have you done any research on breeding? Supposedly they done very often in smaller tanks


- Mumford

[MABJ]

Originally Posted by Bananariot

How'd they find their way into the sump already lol?
What nikon are you using?

Well the sump has open bars, so they're just exploring. They can't get to the dangerous part anymore

I'm using the best Nikon cool pix.. It looks like a DSLR but isn't. In hindsight, I'd get a DSLR any day, but this does take good pics.

If I could find a reasonably priced camera and lens, I'd buy one probably.

[MABJ]

Originally Posted by Mumford

I love this little thing! Are you finding it hard to maintain parameters? And have you done any research on breeding? Supposedly they done very often in smaller tanks


- Mumford

Hey thanks a bunch!! I've also read breeding happens in smaller tanks.

I've read SO much on CRS. This was no impulse purchase. I trained for months to make sure I could keep their water, get their environment ready and finally get them from my man Nick.

It has been 150 TDS for about 2 months. I do not do partial water changes, I only top off. If I do partial water changes, I remineralize the water to 150 TDS that I'm replacing.

I just learned my true GH and KH but they were steady, I just thought they were a little different.

I suppose it is nice to have such a small volume of water. You see them really well, they have a chance to breed and food is always nearby.

As far as reading up on breeding, everything I read points to keeping params really steady and it'll all just kinda work itself out. That is my goal.

[MABJ]

Tiny update. I left these guys for a week for spring break. I've put them where they will be exposed to natural light each day.

Before I left, I made sure the water was 100% topped off and fed a large portion of something they IMMEDIATELY took to. I recommend ravengates's pumpkin chips to everybody with inverts.



Jamie said it doesn't disperse in your water like some compressed food, so I fed a little extra. There are plenty of ammonia sucking devices in the tank, so I'll rely on that and take the risk so they have a healthy dose of food for the 7 days I'm gone ...

[speedie408]

Looking real good bro!