[amp]

I'm going to give CRS another try, my last foray into them ended badly so Im going to do it differently this time. I'm planning to set them up in 5 gallon and use either an air powered sponge filter or a small internal filter and keep it fairly low light. I have a couple small bags of aquasoil and may use that or I might try shrimp stratum in order to skip the long AS cycle. Unlike the last time I tried this I'm going to use distilled or RO water and not the crazy hard tap we have here. Will I need to "reconstruct" the RO in some way or will aquasoil or shrimp stratum provide enough of a buffer? Also which one is more preferred; aquasoil or shrimp stratum or something else?

 

[HolyAngel]

i would do AquaSoil personally. the time it takes to cycle is about the time you want to wait for the tank and mainly, the biofilm they feed on, to develop anyways. And yes if you use RO/DI you will need to use something like fluval mineral supplement or mosura mineral plus, ect to bring the water up to where the shrimp need it. The soil will take care of the ph by itself.

 

[Moe]

I haven't had any problems with Aquasoil. Make sure your tank is fully cycled before adding your shrimp. The one thing I suggest is using a slightly larger tank, like a 10G
Your water parameters are more stable in the larger tanks. Not saying you can't keep them in a 5G, I have a 3G that have had CRS breed in before.