when can I start adding shrimps?

[sea-horsea]

I am setting up my tank tonight and I was wondering how long does it take for the tank to stablize for me to start introduce shrimps in it...its a 10 gal. low tech and I plan to have cherry, amano, yellow, ghost shrimps(not sure if i want to mix or pick a species). I will have the water from my 5 gal. but I am gonna use aquasoil substrate for the new tank....thank you for your help

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[lauraleellbp]

You'll need to keep testing your water parameters and see when your tank is done cycling. The ammonia and nitrIte readings need to stabilize at 0 and not budge.

I'd guess anywhere from a week or 2 to a month?

[sea-horsea]

the ammonia and nitrite is from?? new water? or....I am thinking about replacing the water frequently maybe every other day with RO water...does it helP?

[lauraleellbp]

Ok the AquaSoil will release ammonia b/c it's full of organic matter that will start decomposing in the tank.

Every new tank needs time for the nitrogen cycle to establish itself. Ammonia and nitrItes will also be produced by fish waste. Left alone, these substances are toxic to fish and can kill them in a matter of hours or maybe a few days.

However, a few species of nitrogen-fixing bacteria (N-bacteria) help us out by colonizing the filter and substrate in fishtanks. These bacteria will convert ammonia into nitrItes in one phase, and nitrItes into nitrAtes in the next. NitrAtes are much less toxic to fish than the first two substances, plus they are a needed nutrient that will be absorbed by the plants.

It takes time for these bacteria to colonize and settle into a stable population, however. This time period is what we call "cycling" a new tank. The ammonia, nitrIte, and nitrAte levels will go up and down, showing that the bacteria are starting to colonize, boom, then stablize in a tank. You don't want fish (or any other livestock) in a tank during this process- they are usually killed. Doing PWC (partial water changes) during this time typically makes the process take longer. (The only time I recommend PWC during a tank's cycle is if someone has already inadvisedly added fish; then you go into "save the fish mode" and try to keep the toxins at a manageable level.)

Shrimp are very sensitive to ammonia and nitrItes- you will need to wait until the tank is completely through cycling before adding them to the tank.

[phanizzle]

so mulm is the somewhat dirty stuff in your filter. Say AC50, the brown stuff on the sides is "mulm"?

[lauraleellbp]

Yup- many ppl make the mistake of "cleaning" their filters and removing all the N-bacteria! Bad Idea! You only want to make sure that there's not so much buildup that the water flow is hindered. I do make sure that the bearings on my HOB biowheels stay clean, however; otherwise the wheels don't turn as they should. (I don't clean the wheels themselves, just the bearings)

The easiest way for me to collect mulm is just do a good vacuum and suck it off the bottom of an established tank. I actually get most of mine from my fish-only 46gal that has a UG filter; I get the gravel vac sucking plenty of mulm out of the UG in no time!

[njoker]

If you don't want interbreeding between the yellow and cherry, then don't keep them together. I think they will produce a wild/brown/ugly type of shrimp(?). Anyway, it won't be pretty IMO. I don't know if ghost shrimp will interbreed with the others...

[phanizzle]

Originally Posted by lauraleellbp

Yup- many ppl make the mistake of "cleaning" their filters and removing all the N-bacteria! Bad Idea! You only want to make sure that there's not so much buildup that the water flow is hindered. I do make sure that the bearings on my HOB biowheels stay clean, however; otherwise the wheels don't turn as they should. (I don't clean the wheels themselves, just the bearings)

The easiest way for me to collect mulm is just do a good vacuum and suck it off the bottom of an established tank. I actually get most of mine from my fish-only 46gal that has a UG filter; I get the gravel vac sucking plenty of mulm out of the UG in no time!

so how would that work if i wanted it from my tank? ( AS still didnt come in and no word from ADG . If i Took out the Eco complete do i rinse out my tank and scrub it then add the AS? Or should I just dump in the AS? How would i take the mulm out of my AC50? So do i basically get the gunk of brown stuff and mix it in the water? Or no? Should I just let my filter run and that will help with N-Bacteria? Sorry If i make it more confusing than it is. Thanks for the reply!

[sea-horsea]

so adding plants will help the cycle?

[kenhuang6269]

yep~~~add some fast grount plants

[oblongshrimp]

why not just keep the eco? If you are using aquasoil i high recommend doing a bunch of large water changes for the first week or so. The reason for this is the aquasoil will leech out a bunch of ammonia in the beginning and by changing water you can remove this ammonia. I would suggest adding old filter media from an established tank to help jump start the tank.

[sea-horsea]

OK this is wut I did...I just set up the tank tonight...what I did since yesterday was I washed and rinsed the substrate for at least 10 times in an unused 5 gal. tank..then I filled up the tank with the substrate in it and let it sit for maybe a couple of hrs...then I changed the water and let it sit again..I did this for a total of 3 times on top of the initial rinse...today I washed and rinsed it again for 3 or 4 times...then I put them in the tank....

ok now the tank is cloudy and yes I will do maybe 1/3 water change everyday...how does it sound?

[lauraleellbp]

Sea- Don't do water changes, just run the filter. I'd personally keep a daily log of ammonia, nitrIte and nitrAte readings to help you understand how the cycle is going and when you're just about ready to add livestock. Every tank will cycle a little differently.

Phan- I wouldn't worry about scrubbing the tank after removing the Eco- there's no reason unless the tank had some health problems and you want to make sure you're killing parasites/germs or something like that.

If you're going to be running the same filter as before the substrate swap then just leave the filter entirely alone- yes, the N-bacteria in there should help give the AS cycle a little boost.

[LGHT]

Originally Posted by sea-horsea

OK this is wut I did...I just set up the tank tonight...what I did since yesterday was I washed and rinsed the substrate for at least 10 times in an unused 5 gal. tank..then I filled up the tank with the substrate in it and let it sit for maybe a couple of hrs...then I changed the water and let it sit again..I did this for a total of 3 times on top of the initial rinse...today I washed and rinsed it again for 3 or 4 times...then I put them in the tank....

ok now the tank is cloudy and yes I will do maybe 1/3 water change everyday...how does it sound?

Do you have any cycling fish in the tank or at least a cycled filter that already has a good load of bacteria? If not your either going to need either a cycled sponge (a sponge that has been in a well established tank for a few weeks) or you going to need to buy some bacteria by getting a small pouch of Bio-spira. Bio-spira when purchased should be found in a cooler or refrigerator to ensure that the bacteria is kept alive. Since it's a bag of living bacteria it will help you speed up the cycle in your tank. I've been able to cycle tanks in excess of 100 gallons with bio-spira and a few large goldfish. I believe there is a fish store on Valley in El Monte, right where the the strip mall stats and they usually sell bio-spira. I used to stock them with Angel fish several years back. I would allow a few weeks of cycling before trying to introduce any shrimp to the tank. Also once you add a source of bacteria don't change the water for a couple of weeks then do a big 80% w/c. This will allow the bacteria to seed your filter, and substrate in your tank. Also keep the temp a little higher around 78.