[Dina-Angel]

Alright, tank has been set up now... That was exciting and exhausting, but i got it done... Unfortunately 2 of the driftwood pieces are floaters right now, destroyed my aquascape but i guess they will sink eventually, if not i gotta work on that...

Details

20 Gallon Standard
Light: (Standard Light, nothing fancy)
Substrate: (about 35 pounds of Black Diamond Blasting Sand 20/40
Filter: TopFin 75 gallon HOB with prefilter sponge to save shrimps and shrimplets

Decoration:
3 pieces of Driftwood (2 mopanis)
several River Stones
2 half Coconut Houses

Flora:
Anubias Nana
Dwarf Hairgrass
Anubias Afzeli
Java Fern attached to wood and coconut house
Christmas Moss (attached to cocnut house
Hornwort (floating atm)

and Bulbs Aponogeton, Water Onion and Water Lily

Added several root tabs and a dose of Flourish Excel as some Prime.

That's about it so far... Of course it looks horrible right now, filter is runnung and we will see when it will start to clear up.

I didnt soak the driftwood prior because i don't plan on adding Shrimps to the tank within the next month, so it has time to cycle and to get rid of tannings...

Here some pictures

If you have any suggestions, tips and so on, let me know

 

[Dina-Angel]

No it's not fun at all... How long may it take to sink by itself? Would it help to drill some holes?

Thank you for the hint with the hair grass, i will do that tomorrow... So what you think, separate the portions i have right now into quarters?

 

[Dina-Angel]

Alright, took a few minutes and separated the hair grass... That should work now... If i make smaller pieces it doesn't stick nice in the sand

 

[Dina-Angel]

How long should I give the wood to sink by itself?

 

[Dina-Angel]

I will think about that, kinda like the bushy look

 

[Dina-Angel]

Would it help to drill holes into the wood to help it sink? If yes how many and where? Or doesn't matter? I don't really have a chance of boiling it or getting heavy stones

 

[Dina-Angel]

Well, I pulled it out the day after I set the tank up, so 4 days ago and have it in a bucket. Keys see how long its gonna take. Yesterday the tank wad much clearer, but white mold everywhere which is normal I guess? Should I just leave it alone? I changed 25% of the water, nothing else. Will upload another picture later when I'm home. And my test kit arrived yesterday so I will have some parameters too

 

[Dina-Angel]

Readings are
Ph 7.6
Ammonia 2 ppm
Nitrite 0-0.25ppm
Nitrate 0
Kh 4 drops
Gh 10 drops

 

[Dina-Angel]

Here more pictures from Day 4, 5 and 6 (day 6 is today)

 

[Dina-Angel]

Picture from day 8. I added a heater 2 days ago, because in my opinion he water was freezing when i was working inside the tank.

How long should i expect the white mold to be around? And since i have 2 more driftwood pieces i will add as soon as they sink or as soon as i get them attached to something heavy, do i have to expect more molding coming from them? Does that happen because it is a new tank? Never had that happening in my 55 gal

And if i want to get Slate Tiles for the wood, where would be a good place to buy them and do i have to soak them first or just rinse them off good enough?

 

[Dina-Angel]

I have Mopani...

Right now i don't think i should put anything in there to speed it up, doesn't seem safe lol... It has been up for 8 days now, so it is still brand new...

But thanks for the input how long you had been dealing with the fungus, since i had no idea at all how long it might take and if there is anything i can do to get rid of it faster without destroying the cycling process... I rinsed the wood a few days ago, now it is almost all grown back again and i just swiped over it with my hand before doing a water change today so i could get rid of some stuff...

 

[Dina-Angel]

I don't really know yet if i want to go snail free or not. So far i have been lucky that i never got any snails, even tho i saw a few baby snails a few days ago, but they disappeared since in my 55 gal.

I am still debating if i should put some in with the shrimps or not, but that will be decided in time. If it is a benefit for the shrimp and the tank itself, i might consider getting some.

Right now i am just waiting for the tank to clear up and clean up and for the other 2 wooden pieces to finally sink

Thank you for your infos, i really appreciate that!

 

[Dina-Angel]

How often would you guys recommend a water change right now and how much? Tank has been set up for 11 days now...

 

[Dina-Angel]

how many snails and what kind would you recommend for that tank? And when should I add them roughly? How often should I test the water?

 

[Dina-Angel]

I'm not adding any ammonia, wanted to let the tank run for about 4 weeks before I do anything. Any snail choice better for shrimp than other? I kinda like the nerites
Testing the water daily seems like a waste of the water test or am I wrong? I mean I know its not ready yet anyways..

 

[Dina-Angel]

i will start with red cherries since they are more forgiving to possibleistakes and because I really like their bright coloration. I know all shrimp are sensitive, that's why I want to give the tank time to cycle to prevent further problems if possible. Since I can't boil the wood, I guessi have to wait for the mold to leave ny itself. The other 2 pieces are still in a bucket and still not sinking, considering now the slate...

 

[Dina-Angel]

Thank you all for the advice!

Tried to drill some holes into the wood today and they look like cheese now Which is okay, since i have more choices now to stick mosses in the holes to cover it up. They still don't sink tho, so i put them again in hot water and hope they will sink since water comes through the holes... Last resort will be the slate or i might try the boiling thing with the turkey pot (hidden from my hubby, he wouldn't be too happy about that lol)

I've got now by an accident a few snails in my 55 gallon, i guess they are pond snails (?), little round brownish ones and i pulled 2 out and tossed them into the shrimp tank. I also added a pinch of flake food or algae wafer since last week in there, don't know if that really speeds up the cycling? Thought it might... Guess i will check the water in a few days and see, what types of snails i can find around here and add some. Or i just go with the little ones i have and keep the population under control... I will see how it goes... The plants seem to be ok, saw some getting tiny new leaves, so i assume they are happy. Tried to pull some of the mold of today, it looks much better now

 

[Dina-Angel]

Weeeee! I got wood number 2 sinking now and added it to the tank. 1 more to go. I also ran some tests again, here the readings compared to the last time

Readings (7-23-13)

pH 7.6
Ammonia 2 ppm
Nitrite 0-0.25 ppm
Nitrate 0 ppm
KH 4 drops
GH 10 drops

Readings today (8-6-13)

pH 7.6
Ammonia 0.25 ppm
Nitrite 5 ppm
Nitrate 5 ppm
KH 3 drops
GH 10 drops

I also added some more Hornwort to the shrimp-tank, stuck it into some of the drilled holes in the wood, let's see how that will turn out.

It still needs big filling plants and more moss, but unfortunately i don't have the budget right now, so i still keep an eye on RAOK's and just wait.

Here a new picture as of today, Day 19:

 

[Dina-Angel]

Looks like things are coming along nicely.

You'll definitely want to keep adding ammonia. Since you'll only be stocking shrimp, you could aim for 1.5-2PPM daily. I.E., your tank should be able to process that much ammonia in a 24-hour period.

That allows you to build a strong bacterial colony to process waste and to develop lots of goodies for the eventual shrimp that will inhabit your tank.

Stupid question from my side: How do i add ammonia? Never did such a thing, so that is completely new to me. Was thinking about to move some of my Ghost Shrimp over, but i guess with those water parameters they would be doomed to die right now, right?

I could move some fish from my 55 over if that would help to speed up the process? And then i could move them back when ever the tank is ready for the shrimp?

 

[Dina-Angel]

Ok, i will take that into consideration! And if i would decide to go without that, it would just mean that the cycling progress will take longer, do I understand that right?