[TankPlanter]

Please help advise my plan for this tank (pic attached)! It's going into be for my son's preschool classroom and is moving this Wednesday, so needs low maint and the layout needs to keep the shrimp visible (no big rocks or huge plants).

Q: Dos the maintenance sound good, plant ideas, feeding sound good, etc??

Plants: floating Salvinia minima and small duckweed, Java moss, subwassertang, moss ball

Maybe: Anubias the small ones (nana petite?) - the leaves are turning yellow and getting algae. I'm frustrated, and not confident they'll make it. I've literally killed every Anubias I've tried. Ideas welcomed.

Plant ideas that are taller for background that don't need nutrient substrate and won't outgrow the tank? I stuck a couple things in, but (golden Charlie, ludwigia...) but they're not making it.

Parameters: 0/0/10, cycled tank, hard water with high pH, Fluval Spec III w stock filter (bio rings, purigen, lots of foam) and stock light, inert sand substrate.

Livestock: RCS from my other tank that have bred and done well despite the high pH water. Pond snails and Malaysian trumpet snails. Looking for one of the small nerites to add (e.g horned). The pond snail population is exploding, which hasn't ever happened in my tanks with fish- but it's not like I'm feeding any food right now that could be cut down...

Plan:
*other plant ideas? See above
* start with 10-15 RCS
* Every two weeks: water change 25% + test water params
* light on 6 hours/day
* add 0.5 ml Flourish comprehensive weekly
*feed shrimp twice a week, either one broken up mini Hikari algae wafer, or blanched veggies removed the next day
* other ferts (and how to mix them for this tiny tank)?
* livestock plan sound good?
* ignore exploding pond snail population as it'll sort out, or use lettuce traps?
* moving: drain half the water, move the tank, refill with treated water when I get there?
* add the rest of the shrimp once it's moved or before?
Thanks!

 

[Yukiharu]

Preschoolers might think the snails are neat, but in such a small tank I would worry about a snail explosion.
I would recommend small pellet or flake food for the shrimp, as teachers tend to have a lot to worry about already.

 

[TankPlanter]

Yes- thanks for the response- the problem is that the snail population (none of which were intentionally introduced) is exploding. And I don't feed the shrimp right now, they just forage, so I'm thinking about daily lettuce traps- but I've never had a small or fish-free tank before, so I'm wondering if it's just a new tank thing and the population will shrink?

Re food- I'll give her a bag of the quartered mini algae wafers to just throw in, I'm just wondering if one once a week sounds right? I've never actually fed the shrimp in my planted tank, but then there is fish and fish food daily so this is new to me.

How does the rest of the plan sound re water changes and ferts?

 

[TankPlanter]

Thoughts?