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steveno

Member
Joined
11 Oct 2013
Messages
454
Location
Manchester
Hello all,
With my other current scape (‘my new half Iwagumi scape’ – should prob. rename thou!) taking shape, needed a new project, it took quite a bit of persuading the misses but today my new nano tank arrived, hooray!:)

Dennerle 30l nano tank – Complete set (which complete with pretty much everything you need to start including substrate and filter etc..)

Yz4etKx.jpg


I can’t wait to get started but unfortunately tank arrive damaged :arghh: , small chip on back corner mainly superficial, but annoying nonetheless. I contacted retailer ‘Charterhouse Aquatics’ and to their credit they offered me a replacement straight away and even allowed me to keep the damaged tank... even better 2 tanks for the price of one, now that’s service!:lol:

sGBoR0q.jpg


I am planning to set this tank up as a low tech shrimp only tank, this will be my first shrimp tank so have been following up all recent shrimp tank journals, and already been given some great advise, thanks Nathanial & Rolymo.

I visited the Green Machine the other day in anticipation, to pick up some hardscape and also have a look at some of Jame’s recent scapes.

I picked up a nice piece of redmoor root wood (currently being soaked) and some small pieces of Yamaya Stone, which I’m told shouldn’t affect the chemist of the water. I also pick up a small bag of ADA Aqua soil (Amzonia) and small bag of ADA congo sand.

The Dennerle complete set actually come with two boxes of Deponitmx which I was going use under the aqua soil, as I would like to bank up the substrate quite high, can these two substrates be used together?

While first and foremost this tank will be to keep shrimp i would like the opportunity to try my hand at some techniques I never done before, so certainly will be a voyage of discovery for me. :nailbiting:

I’m planning a DSM, partly as I never tried this technique and would like to try and partly to allow a HC carpet to get a foothold. I know HC and low tech don’t necessary go hand in hand but have seen work in some low tech tank while trawling the internet, is there an alternative that looks similar and will carpet that would be more suitable in low tech?

Also do i still need to cycle tank after DSM, considering i using ADA soil?

I also want to give the moss and yogurt technique a go with some coral moss which i current have in my main tank and perhaps some Fissidens, a technique that George showcased on his amazing ‘TMC Signature’ scape, thou am not looking forward to the smell, lol.:hungover:

I would also like to introduce some Cladophora which seem to be quite popular now, and looked fantastic in Mark’s equally amazing 'Convalescence' scape. I also might introduce some ferns and some Limnobium laevigatum or Salvinia natans (both floating plants) which should help absorb some of the excess nutrients in the water and offer some shade which shrimp should appreciate. I shoub prob. introduce some stems plant initially as well, need to do some more research.

I would like to keep mainly mosses but should prob. plant some more leafy plants for shrimp, any suggestion for plants that would be suitable for low tech shrimp tank would be welcome.

I’ll be starting with some easy shrimp first such as Cherry shrimp, and will ensure water parameters are stable and before added any live stock. My ultimate goal is to be able to keep cardinal shrimp, these babies are marvellous, they apparently really hard to keep alive and have very particular water and heating requirements, and pretty expensive.

Thanks for taking the time to view, please don’t hesitate to offer you opinion and advise.:D
 
Hello mate,

Sounds like you've got it all sorted in your head! And it's all sounding good.
You will need to cycle tank once you fill it still for at least 4 weeks but more if you can.

Shame about tank being chipped, but like you say, you shouldn't have a problem filling it too! Just bang a bit of clear silicone over the chipped area on the inside as a failsafe.

LondonDragon aka Paulo keeps/has kept Cardinals with good results I believe, so he may be able to help out if you want to try them.

Good luck,
Nathaniel
 
Hello mate,

Sounds like you've got it all sorted in your head! And it's all sounding good.
You will need to cycle tank once you fill it still for at least 4 weeks but more if you can.

Shame about tank being chipped, but like you say, you shouldn't have a problem filling it too! Just bang a bit of clear silicone over the chipped area on the inside as a failsafe.

LondonDragon aka Paulo keeps/has kept Cardinals with good results I believe, so he may be able to help out if you want to try them.

Good luck,
Nathaniel

Thxs Nathaniel, guess i will have to wait a little longer before i add any shrimp then... will also be popping over to my local B&Q to pickup some clear silicone, better safe that sorry...
 
Hello All,
Quick update, here is a quick photo of my proposed scape currently with no substrate other that the stockings filled with the gravel that came with the tank, this will allow me to mound the substrate up quite high without having to use a lot of ADA aqua soil which quite expensive. I have put the gravel in some black stockings to prevent mixing.

gQOteuM.jpg


Apologies for crappy photo take on my phone camera, really need to get a proper camera.

I planning on a section of sand to the front of scape, which i hope to use a feeding area for shrimp. Any thoughts on layout?

The wood is redmoor wood which I have used in my previous scapes in my larger tank, i’ll actually brought some wood from TGM to use in this scape but felt that this piece of redmoor work quite well. I had planned to boil wood but haven’t got a large enough pan so will be soaking wood in some Potassium Permanganate solution which will kill any rouge snail eggs that may have carried over.

As suggested the plan is to tried and attached moss (coral moss) using DSM which i hope will eventually complete cover wood, DSM should also allow HC I'm planting at the base of the stump to get a foothold. Once tank is flooded i plan the back of the tank to be heavy planted using aquatic ferns and may also use some anubias nana petite & perhaps some Hydrocotyle tripartita in the foreground, plant which hopefully are suitable for lowtech setup.

I am also planting using Cladophora which has been wrapped around smaller prices of slate wedge in gaps in the wood, but was wondering if this should be done after DSM, as not sure Cladophora will survive DSM, can anyone advise?

Regarding DSM, I have seen in a youtube video, somebody using a humidifier for DSM, the humidifier has been modded with a hose that ran directly into tank, and connected to a timer to come on for 3 minutes every 4 hours. The water in the humidifier was mixed with liquid fertilizer and ADA green gain. The guy seems to have gotten go results, has anyone tried this method?

Eitherway I just brought myself a cheap mini humidifier and will give this method a go, finger crossed.

As always, thanks for taking the time to view, please don’t hesitate to offer you opinion and advise.:D
 
Steveno
I used one of those cheap plastic large round basket things with 2 handles from B&Q to submerge the wood in boiling water. To force it down I rested something heavy on top. For me it was a spare plank of wood which lent against the wall. Every morning I would fill it up with boiling and hot water.
 
Remember to use some substrate supports as shrimp will shift all of your substrate down hill. Also remember that your contrasting sandy area will also become covered by your other substrate as the shrimp move it all. Moss stones around the edge of the sandy area can help but won't stop it entirely.
 
Steveno
I used one of those cheap plastic large round basket things with 2 handles from B&Q to submerge the wood in boiling water. To force it down I rested something heavy on top. For me it was a spare plank of wood which lent against the wall. Every morning I would fill it up with boiling and hot water.

Thxs for the suggest Rolymo, wood is current in bucket of hot water with something holding it down nevertheless since i had some Potassium Permanganate the wood had a bath earlier today best to air on the side of caution when snails are concerned:twisted:

Remember to use some substrate supports as shrimp will shift all of your substrate down hill. Also remember that your contrasting sandy area will also become covered by your other substrate as the shrimp move it all. Moss stones around the edge of the sandy area can help but won't stop it entirely.

Hello Idcgroomer, will do, i'm planning a that a full carpet of HC is established before introduce livestock given teh nightmare time i'm have on my main with the Amano's uprooting everything... hopefully this will provent to much mixing of substrate.
 
Good morning rolymo, did that person try dsm to let hc get a good foothold first? I read that the only way in lowtech... Thou as I am considering using cladaopharo (moss balls) wrap around bit of slate perharp I could creat a carpet using this only, i recently seen this done... this would have the added benefit of being also very low maintenance.
 
Steveno. It was Iain Sutherland who comments in this thread, a couple of posts after you comment, he mentions that he did not get HC growing even in DSM. Worth a chat to him a reckon.
I have the mandatory moss ball in mine, but not let it carpet at this point. Interesting cool look though.
R
 
Hello rolymo, I must have missed that post, will check. Nevertheless I think I talked myself into doing a moss ball carpet now... Thou still going to doing dsm for moss...

Can't wait to get started, but still waiting wood to sink.

Thxs again...
 
Frustrating day today, i finally set up tank, but in neglected to check everything that came with tank and only notice damage to tank, and have now found both the glass lid and lamp are smashed, so not need to contact Charterhouse again and hopefully as with the tank get replacements sent out!!!:mad:
 
Hello All,

Thought I would post a quick update, apologies for another crappy photo.

yXhTScO.jpg


As you can see the all the hardscape is in position, wood has been tied down as suggested by Lindy, using some very fine fishing line, weight is buried into substrate.

Initially i had planed a carpet of HC but following Rolymo advise I have ditched this idea and created a carpet of Clado by ripped up a few moss balls and tying around small pieces of slate also using some fine fishing line, hopefully line become invisible as moss fills out. I hoping the pebbles of Clado will eventually merged together to form one seamless carpet, thou tbh I kinda look the uneven look at the mo.

While I wait for plants and mosses to arrive I have filled tank to begin cycling process. Initially water was very cloud but after quite few water changes, water finally started to clear up, I have also added a 100g bag of purigen into filter, which I’m sure has contributed.

I have the following plants and mosses on order:

Hydrocotyle Tripartita SP
Mini Pellia/
Fox moss / Fissidens SP

Mosses will be attached to wood via DSM using yogurt and water method. The Hydrocotyle Tripartita SP (Japan) will be planted both under trunk and also to the right side of trunk during the DSM process. I will need to keep on top of the Hydrocotyle Tripartita as I know this plant can become quite invasive if left unchecked but as going with lowtech route hopefully should reduce speed of grow to something more manageable.

I had planned on planting some java ferns behind wood or some other kind of aquatic fern which would also help hid filter, but I am aware that fern roots will rot if buried so should be attached to wood or stones, unfortunately due to tank size not sure there is sufficient space at back of tank to install more hardscape. I like the idea of something tall and thin such as Eleocharis sp but am not sure if this would complement the wood or provide sufficient plant coverage for shrimp.

Any plant suggestion would be appreciated...

As always, thanks for taking the time to view, please don’t hesitate to offer you opinion and advise.:D
 
Hello all,

Quick up date... I have now entered the second phase and started operation DSM... I have mixed water with alittle Greek yogurt and blended together with mosses, which has been liberally pasted on to wood.

I planted Hydrocotyle Tripartita SP, into substrate, which wasn't easy... Given there aren't roots as such.

I will mist tank twice a day with a solution of water, with a little feats and Ada green gain, all I need to do is sit and hope it attaches... Fingers crossed
 
You could tie some java fern mini to the top end of the wood? Also hygrophila pinnatifida can be kept compact by trimming and can be tied to wood or planted in substrate.
 
Thxs sanj... I look into insert some Perspex in between substrates, I had hoped that with the clado carpet that any mixing of substrate would be minimal, but I guess you can never be to careful. Actually Lindy (idcgroomer) did mention suggest that shrimp tend to move substrate as they please, this was also part of of the reason I did a clado carpet.

Hello Lindy, I decided not to plant any have fern as think the Hydrocotyle Tripartita SP I planned should provide sufficient coverage alone, and if left abit can get some height. Thou I do want to keep abit more compact inthd front. I will also be putting some floating plants in once flooded.
 
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