[somewhatshocked]

I am trying to lower nitrates with WC while feeding the plants with Tropica Specialised Nutrition at 2ml/week and 1 ppm ammonia/day

...

Is it safe to introduce shrimps in a few days when nitrates are lower then 20 ppm?

No, it's not safe to add shrimp (plural, any/all shrimp species) to a tank if you're adding ammonia every day. Unless you're adding ammonia to cycle a tank. And if that's the case, you'd only add shrimp after the tank can process a fixed amount of ammonia (roughly 2-3PPM) in less than 24 hours without nitrite. Then you'd do a 100% water change the day of or day prior to adding shrimp. You want your tank to be as mature as possible before adding shrimp, so many people like to run their tanks with additional daily ammonia dosing for 2-3 weeks (or more.)

Does anyone know what this rust like material is?
Could it be precipites from the fertilizer? (I am new to fertilizer)

Could you share photos of what you're talking about? It's tough to see anything that looks like rust in the photo you've posted.

Have you compared whatever it is you're seeing to photos of diatoms to see if that's what you're experiencing?

 

[leaf]

my rule for shrimp is I don't introduce them until I see biofilm on the glass and life in the substrate. Also the water should have the slight taste of apples.








Of course I'm just joking about that last part. 😁

 

[A&A]

I am going to assume the “rust” material is diatoms. When I went through the early bloom I remember a visitor asking me why there is so much rust in my tank.

 

[PiDo]

No, it's not safe to add shrimp (plural, any/all shrimp species) to a tank if you're adding ammonia every day. Unless you're adding ammonia to cycle a tank. And if that's the case, you'd only add shrimp after the tank can process a fixed amount of ammonia (roughly 2-3PPM) in less than 24 hours without nitrite.

My tank has been cycled for 5 days. I add ammonia to 1 ppm/day after 45% water change. This tank was eating 4 ppm ammonia in less then 3 hours before it was cycled.
So, maybe I am wrong but, 0.25 ppm ammonia after a water change will keep the bacteria alive until my water change lower the nitrate to a safe level

Then you'd do a 100% water change the day of or day prior to adding shrimp. You want your tank to be as mature as possible before adding shrimp, so many people like to run their tanks with additional daily ammonia dosing for 2-3 weeks (or more.)

I will continue to dose at 1 ppm for a few weeks while lowering nitrates

Could you share photos of what you're talking about? It's tough to see anything that looks like rust in the photo you've posted.

Have you compared whatever it is you're seeing to photos of diatoms to see if that's what you're experiencing?

OK as you suggested I looked at photos on the net. Conclusion: this is diatoms. Now searching how to get rid of it without having to re-cycle the tank.

Thank you so much for the info

my rule for shrimp is I don't introduce them until I see biofilm on the glass and life in the substrate. Also the water should have the slight taste of apples.

I'm in trouble, my water tastes like bubbly strawberry water








Of course I'm just joking about this. 😁

I am going to assume the “rust” material is diatoms. When I went through the early bloom I remember a visitor asking me why there is so much rust in my tank.

Well, your visitor would say the same thing if he was here.


Cheers!

 

[somewhatshocked]

So, maybe I am wrong but, 0.25 ppm ammonia after a water change will keep the bacteria alive until my water change lower the nitrate to a safe level

You'd want to continue dosing ammonia at a concentration a bit larger than all of the livestock you plan to add. So if you planned to add shrimp, I'd still dose to 2-3 PPM. Same for a group of tiny fish. Probably 4-5 if you wanted to fully stock a tank with all of your livestock at once.

Are you planning for this to only be a shrimp tank? If so, you'll want to remove the heater. Shrimp are cool water species and a heater is not necessary - even in cold climates.

Now searching how to get rid of it without having to re-cycle the tank.

They're common in new setups and will dissipate over time. You can gently siphon some of them off, use a brush or other means and then siphon them with a bit of airline tubing. But they'll go away.

 

[PiDo]

You'd want to continue dosing ammonia at a concentration a bit larger than all of the livestock you plan to add. So if you planned to add shrimp, I'd still dose to 2-3 PPM. Same for a group of tiny fish. Probably 4-5 if you wanted to fully stock a tank with all of your livestock at once.

Are you planning for this to only be a shrimp tank? If so, you'll want to remove the heater. Shrimp are cool water species and a heater is not necessary - even in cold climates.



They're common in new setups and will dissipate over time. You can gently siphon some of them off, use a brush or other means and then siphon them with a bit of airline tubing. But they'll go away.

I aim to get 6 or 12 shrimps (sold by 6 or 12)
I made a 95% water change to lower nitrates after cleaning everything the best I could
I will continue to dose ammonia but I won't add fertilizer

Thanks again for all the help

 

[somewhatshocked]

but I won't add fertilizer

You still likely need to add fertilizer. Otherwise your plants could begin to suffer.

bubbly strawberry water

Now I have to add strawberry sparkling water to the grocery order. Mmmm.

 

[PiDo]

Now I have to add strawberry sparkling water to the grocery order. Mmmm.

LOL