You will need to cycle the tank as you normally would for fish.
Will the tank be heavily planted?
Have you decided on the type of substrate?
-Active substrates tend to release ammonia and nitrates once submerged in water so a cycle cannot be avoided without suffering casualty.
The only substrates which i managed to shorten the cycle with is Eco-complete and FSS with plants and shrimp. This in part was due to using partial water/substrate and filter from an established tank (compulsory full disclosure).
Inert substrates will need time to cycle to develop the bed of beneficial bacteria. The formula for cycling is like cooking a perfect omelet. Everyone has a technique and method that works for them. I encourage you to do a quick search here. you'll likely uncover several journals which document how many of our tanks are started, from the intial cycle to the end results months later. These may even help inspire you to figure out how you want to design and tailor your plants to something more asthetically pleasing as shrimp only tanks tend to be pretty sparce (and kinda boring).
good luck!
Will the tank be heavily planted?
Have you decided on the type of substrate?
-Active substrates tend to release ammonia and nitrates once submerged in water so a cycle cannot be avoided without suffering casualty.
The only substrates which i managed to shorten the cycle with is Eco-complete and FSS with plants and shrimp. This in part was due to using partial water/substrate and filter from an established tank (compulsory full disclosure).
Inert substrates will need time to cycle to develop the bed of beneficial bacteria. The formula for cycling is like cooking a perfect omelet. Everyone has a technique and method that works for them. I encourage you to do a quick search here. you'll likely uncover several journals which document how many of our tanks are started, from the intial cycle to the end results months later. These may even help inspire you to figure out how you want to design and tailor your plants to something more asthetically pleasing as shrimp only tanks tend to be pretty sparce (and kinda boring).
good luck!
