I've never kept tigers but I think your tap water is closer to their parameters than the water softener would provide.
Also I've had no problems with anubias and shrimp, I think that is a myth. I would recommend investing in an api master test kit for freshwater. Having nitrate and nitrite out of the tap could be a problem, but it could be that the test strips are giving a false reading(they tend to not be very accurate).
Shrimp are kind of fragile but once fully acclimated can adapt to the conditions in your tank. If you start with younger shrimp they tend to fare better than adults. The main thing to remember is shrimp thrive in stable parameters.
As for lighting, 2x 13w(might be 14w) 6700k cfl bulbs in the built in hood will grow most plants pretty well and keep you in the low/med light range. If you go t5ho I would recommend using co2, possibly diy or pressurized. I tend to stay away from co2 in my shrimp tanks.
Hc may be a bit difficult to grow in the light range though, it thrives in high light with co2 and fertilizers. I would also recommend fully cycling the tank and waiting for the brown algae bloom to go away before adding mosses, the brown algae tends to strangle the moss before it has a chance to grow. You can try to avoid that by adding some amano shrimp and nerite snails(ive had best luck with small ones like horned nerite, big ones sometimes randomly die), or you could clean it and wait for it to go away as the tank stabilizes.
http://shrimpkeeping.com/?attachment_id=110
Also I've had no problems with anubias and shrimp, I think that is a myth. I would recommend investing in an api master test kit for freshwater. Having nitrate and nitrite out of the tap could be a problem, but it could be that the test strips are giving a false reading(they tend to not be very accurate).
Shrimp are kind of fragile but once fully acclimated can adapt to the conditions in your tank. If you start with younger shrimp they tend to fare better than adults. The main thing to remember is shrimp thrive in stable parameters.
As for lighting, 2x 13w(might be 14w) 6700k cfl bulbs in the built in hood will grow most plants pretty well and keep you in the low/med light range. If you go t5ho I would recommend using co2, possibly diy or pressurized. I tend to stay away from co2 in my shrimp tanks.
Hc may be a bit difficult to grow in the light range though, it thrives in high light with co2 and fertilizers. I would also recommend fully cycling the tank and waiting for the brown algae bloom to go away before adding mosses, the brown algae tends to strangle the moss before it has a chance to grow. You can try to avoid that by adding some amano shrimp and nerite snails(ive had best luck with small ones like horned nerite, big ones sometimes randomly die), or you could clean it and wait for it to go away as the tank stabilizes.
http://shrimpkeeping.com/?attachment_id=110