Doc4PC2

Yeah, I use a big 5 gallon Red bucket.

Yeah, that is similar to what I want to do in that photo Louie.

The bamboo is dry uncoated. But I heard that it will

leach, and rot if you don't clear coat it, but I don't know of

a clear coat that you can use that isn't harmful to fish or shrimp.

If it is okay by itself, I might just use the dry uncoated bamboo. I would

boil it, and let it sit in some RO water for awhile and see what happens.

What is this clear epoxy, James? 

Is there a clear coat sealant spray that is safe for fish and shrimp?

I would like to clear coat some Bamboo sticks so they don't rot or leach, but

I am not sure there is anything I can clear coat them with that is safe?

Read more in the Mr. Aqua Gallery.
 

This shows how I set this up to be easy to take care of. That is what I am trying to do anyway. Inert Substrate in containers, moss sheet, even plants in glass container, container for food and leaves, Malaysia drift wood, Penn Plax Cascade 500 Canister filter, three Tom's mini canister filters, three dual sponges, four air stones, one bubble wand, Danner air pump with four air slots, large HFM Filter with mini canister and sponge behind it, Colbolt Neo - Therm Heater, bare bottom, cup of alder cones, sliding glass top, and the ability to take anything out of the tank with ease and clean it in aquarium water at any time. Even if I vacuum the bare bottom floor, it goes into a big 5 gallon bucket, so if any shrimp or fry get caught, they just go right back into the tank. The water is crystal clear with setup and tank. Read more in the journal images.

This will house TB's, I have a bunch that are berried, and my CBS just has a ton of fry in a smaller tank right now. It is full of CBS fry. This tank is cycling right now. I use Colony, and have had good luck with it, the tank cycles in about 10 to 12 days and then the shrimp can go in. With the Colony, the fish are fine and are helping cycle the tank. It is RO water with Bee Shrimp Minerals GH+, Bee balls, and with the HMF, plants, filters, sponges, wood, etc. There will be plenty of biofilm for them. The only thing I will be adding is some drift wood branches and twigs for them to run around on.

Water parameters will be: PH - 6.4, TDS - 135 - 150, Temp 72, KH - 0, GH - 6, - I may add a low keys absorption board.

Anyway, I would love to get some opinions on the tank setup and what you think

I put five CBS that were berried in a small one gallon tank while I was working on the new Mr. Aqua 12 gallon tank, and they all had their fry, so I have cbs fry like crazy. It looks like there is a 100 fry easy in the tank. It just has a leaf bottom on bare glass with a sponge and mini canister and a air stone, but the tank is full of fry. The bottom has Indian almond leaf, mulberry leaf, oak leaf, alder cones and small plant and that's it, but they are munching on the leafs like crazy, plus I put in some baby powder. They are growing fast, and only a week old, but there is a ton of them. It is so cool!

See my new post in the journals on the Mr. Aqua 12 gallon setup. I love the clarity of the Mr. Aqua tank. It is crystal clear!

U could use the divider and get some ss fry proof mesh sheet from Han to put over the divider.

Thanks all, I did not know all of that. Some of the normal things you run into with a tank

that becomes established blows my mind. You can look at your tank and see these

tiny, tiny, microscopic things moving around the glass, some are so tiny, you can't even

see them with a magnifying glass, and some are just a normal part of having a established

tank.

I just hooked up and started the Penn Plax Cascade 500 Canister Filter today on my new Mr. Aqua Low Iron 12 Gallon Tank.

Plus it has three sponges, the HMF, three of the Tom's mini canisters and some air stones. I put a Tom's mini canister behind

the HMF too with the sponge filter.

The Penn Plax Cascade 500 was not as easy as it looks to start, but once you do get it going. You can't hear it at all, the

water flow on the output is nice, not too much. No leaks. But, wow, what a pain to get it started. Then it was so quiet, I

couldn't tell if it was going or not when it was already going just fine.  lol   I like though, I'll have to do a review on it.

Yeah, that is a bummer that ottos don't eat the bugs. The shrimp and fry are even safe with the otos, but

they don't eat the water fleas. I changed the water and sucked them up with a glass turkey baster. I think I

got them all, for now anyway.

It is amazing what can just "SHOW UP"  in water. I am one of those clean and organized type of person too,

so I bleached everything all around the tanks. Walls, counters, photos, paintings, anything near the tanks,

tools, you name it, it got cleaned.

I did clean everything with a toothbrush, and glass inside all the way around. Sponges and filters I rinsed out in aquarium water,

vacuumed the substrate. You name it, I cleaned it and changed about 65% of the water. The tanks looks good now. I think

what is happening, is the led light. I raised the light two more inches, and set it to go hour and a half of less daylight. All

water parameters are good right now.

I keep a journal of everything I do on all of my tanks, on a daily basis, so I can go back and see date, time, what was going on,

what I did, changes, etc.

Thanks for all of the great advice everyone.

I have a neon tetra, or a small yoyo loach, would they get rid of them and

Not go after the fry? I also have some ottos, but I didn't have any

Ottos with the fry.

Does anyone know how to get rid of water fleas?

Keep in mind, I have a bunch of under one week old shrimp fry.

They are so tiny, that even with a magnifying glass I can't really tell what they are, the are so microscopic.

They are in a small tank with five CBS, and lots of new born fry. There is no substrate in the tank, just leaves bottom. The water parameters are fine, and the fry seem fine, but there is no way to vacuum the floor of the tank because of the fry, and even a shrimp net won't catch them, that is how tiny they are.

Tank is 2 gallon, 6.4 PH, 0 KH, 6 GH, 150 TDS, 72 temp, RO water, and bee shrimp minerals GH+,

The bottom of the tank is Indian almond leaf, oak leafs, mulberry leaf, one small plant in it's own plant pot with a little substrate in the plant pot. It Is a very small plant.

There is stuff on the floor of the tank because of the leaf breakdown, of half eaten leaves. It has a sponge filter, and Tom's nano canister filter, and a air stone.

The tank has these flies that are so tiny, you can barely see them ,but they are there moving around the tank. Is there anyway to get rid of the flies without harming the new born fry.

Thanks Sbarbee, but I am not talking about just cycling, but overall water management too.

Do you use any of the products, or other products on a consistent basis in your water management?

Plus, when I do cycle, I use filters, and other media, plants, some substrate, and décor, wood from

other tanks that have been long established to help with cycling.

But the main thing, I wonder about is if I should be using some of these products I keep seeing on a

regular basis as part of my overall water management.

Has anyone that has started up a new tank tried the Benibachi Active Water, or Low Key Absorption boards,

 or Bacteria Bee, or Bio Culture? or products like that?

Are they worth checking into, or trying out, or helping to speed up the cycle?

I have used Colony successfully. It cycles the tank in about 10 to 12 days even with 0 KH, 6 GH, 6.4 PH, and 72 degrees.

Colony will cycle the tanks in about 4 days, if you use tap water, 77 degrees, higher KH, and GH, and around 7.0 PH,

but if you are using RO water and setting your water parameters for shrimp, then it takes about 10 to 12 days to cycle

a new tank using Colony from ATM.

I am just wondering if there is something better I should be using, or are some of the shrimp products that I see are good

to use on a regular basis.

I usually only use RO water, Bee Shrimp Mineral GH+, Borneo Wild Bee Balls and that's it, after a shrimp tank is cycled.

Other than leaves, drift wood, peat pellets, alder cones. I put ceramic's, bio balls, in my filters.

I am just wondering if I should be looking at using some of these products in my water management, or are they just

wasting money and no one know for sure if they are helping or not?

I want to produce the best water quality for my TB's, CBS, and CRS, but there are so many different products on the market

now, I have no idea what is good to use, and what is not. So honest opinions are appreciated.  

Nice!  and Welcome!

I grew some Stinging Nettles leaves in a large pot this summer. I cut some of the fresh leaves off,

and boiled them for 5 to 7 minutes, let them cool and put them in. They were gone by morning.

The Shrimp loved the Stinging Nettles leaves that were fresh and green. They were fairly small

as the plants have not grown in fully yet. I planted the organic seeds in May and they are just

giving me some small plants now in the very large flower pot. But the shrimp definitely like them.

Countryboy - Do you add peroxide right to your tank? or a mix or something.

How do you use the peroxide?     

Thanks!

How do u do it?

I just had saw planaria im my splotched carbon tank... I think thats why my number of shrimplets seem to be dropping. .. han is sending me no planaria to take care if them

let me know how it goes.

Bleaching your plants? Putting in Peroxide in your tank? 

I definitely need to know more about those two subjects.

Yeah, hydra will sting the shrimp and kill them. You do not want any hydra in your shrimp tank.

Good to know about the smashing too. But a little bit of Fenben does get rid of them quickly,

and it doesn't hardly take any of the Fenben to do it too. Just tiny pinch is all it took to get

rid of the hydra and did not seem to bother the shrimp at all.

Too much Fenben will though. So becareful

Welcome, you will love it here! Great people, lots of help, great information and research, and people are there for you when you need help. You can't beat this forum!

Yeah, I am going to monitor the lights better and change the timer on it.

I just went through a huge algae explosion with one of my 10 ten gallons, and I had to clean it up. Cleaned all the décor with a toothbrush,

vacuumed the substrate, cleaned the glass inside and out, changed about 65% of the water, rinsed the sponges and filters in the aquarium

water and put them back in, and now the tank is back to it's normal, "looks great tank look".    Pain in the butt, but once I was done, I was

happy.

Right now, I am starting from scratch with a Mr. Aqua 12 gallon, low iron, tank for my shrimp. It is a really nice tank. I am going with a easy to

clean and maintain setup up. Substrate in holders, dish for leaves, Penn Plax Cascade 500 canister filter, Tom's nano filters, sponges, and

a side HMF. I just finished making a sliding glass top for it, and a hanging light. I am making this tank, so that it will be easy to clean and deal

with. Everything in this tank is setup, so I can get to anything easily, simply, quickly, clean it and put it back. With the substrate in the containers,

and plants in little glass containers, bare bottom floor, with large dishes for food and leaves, the HMF, and sponges so there is still plenty of

biofilm and bacteria. I am hoping, this will put an end to things like worms, planaria, hydra, and the constant cleaning and dealing with the

tank. Obviously, I will have to do some, but I am trying to set this up, so everything is easier, quicker, with the ability to deal with bad things

much better and easier, but still have a great environment for the shrimp.  

That's the plan, and hopefully, it will go the way I want. I'll let you know. But like you too, sometimes, you just get a little bummed out with

the tanks. I have five of them, and I am slowly setting each one up to be much easier to deal with.