Shrimp tank on study table :)

[sootz]

Hi all,

Here is my shrimptank for sharing (current look after 1.5months), it is on my study table

Equipment:
- Gex Slim 600 tank (60 x 17.5 x 30 height)
- Gex plant soil (green packaging) x 4kg
- Mosura Old sea mud & Mosura BT9 sprinkled in the substrate
- Gex Slim (L) filter (The 1 with 4 filter slots), filled with filter sponge in the inlet compartment and Biohome plus in the other compartments
- Lighting I only know is 2 feet and is ?T5?, comes in a pink box, next time I will check it out again at C328
- NO CO2 (Want to see what can be achieved without CO2)

Shrimps + Plants:
- 10? 12? rili shrimps
- 3? 5? sakura shrimps
- 3 orange shrimps
- 2 marimo mossballs
- 5 water lettuce
- Some Frogbit
- Java moss on a bridge (coconut shell)
- some unknown moss on a rock
- 1 piece of ketapang leaf left in there for ~ 1 month already
- Driftwood with cyperus haspan on it

Dosing:
- Borneowild Lush (1ml once a day)
- Borneowild Essence K (0.5ml once a day)
- Borneowild Ferrum (0.2ml alternate day)
- No Planteria powder (1/2 spoonful once every week)
- Mosura BT9 (1/2 spoonful 2? 3? times a week)
- Mosura Tonic Pro (1/2 spoonful 2? 3? times a week)
- Mosura Speciality Food (alternate day)
- Mosura Excel Flakes (1 spoonful alternate day)
- Mosura Eros (10-15 drops 2 times a month)

[sootz]

More pics

[sootz]

The water parameters:
- pH 7.5
- TDS: ~270
- Temperature: 26 (when on air-con) to 30 (daytime) degree Celsius
- nitrate was dropping from 120 to 80 last week I measured because of the floating plants I think
- nitrite I know is 0, KH is very low
- GH I know is not too high & not too low, details I will take note this weekend

and I'm using seachem Prime when doing water change, 0.1+ml for 4 liter of tap water, left overnight usually.

[venom]

hi, your ph seem too high while you using soil?

[Fujisasuke]

hi, your ph seem too high while you using soil?

Think he mentioned it in his first post,

- Gex plant soil (green packaging) x 4kg

[sootz]

the tap water pH is like 8.5, I do a 4 liter water change weekly, also a 1.5 liter of this Alpha brand pure water ($0.60 from NTUC) straight from the bottle. No casualties when I do this, so I stick to it.

Oh and I usually will dose either BT9 or Tonic Pro after the above.

Anyway the shrimp seems happy so it is fine for me. That is why I decided to go with a driftwood rather than rockscape. Over time, I will think the pH will drop with that driftwood inside

[Atham]

You have many different supplements for this tank. What are those round brown balls on first picture?

[sootz]

those are Azoo max bio balls

lets just say I won't be buying those again. Didn't see any effects. Still had casualties.

[seudzar]

Where do you stay? The pH of your water is really on the high side. I stay in punggol and the pH of my tank is around 6.5-7.

I been using ntuc distilled water to do refill for my sulawesi tank. 2 bottles for $1.05.

[Dodofish]

Where do you stay? The pH of your water is really on the high side. I stay in punggol and the pH of my tank is around 6.5-7.

I been using ntuc distilled water to do refill for my sulawesi tank. 2 bottles for $1.05.

By any chance do you have the water parameter for Ntuc brand?

[seudzar]

One thing which I am not sure if you take note. How do you do water change? Did you do dripping back to your tank or you just pour the water straight into your tank? Since your kH is low, your pH will tend to swing which is not very good to your shrimps. The green Gex soil I used before, it will bring your pH to 6.5 but for your case I really don't understand why your pH stay at 7.5.

[seudzar]

By any chance do you have the water parameter for Ntuc brand?

Last I measure its pH is 7 and Tds is less than 5 or even 0. Been using it for more than a year.

[Dodofish]

the tap water pH is like 8.5, I do a 4 liter water change weekly, also a 1.5 liter of this Alpha brand pure water ($0.60 from NTUC) straight from the bottle. No casualties when I do this, so I stick to it.

Your tap water ph is very high, is your ph meter calibrated?

I ever used gex, usually ph drop to 6-6.5 depending on other media you have in your tank.

[Dodofish]

Last I measure its pH is 7 and Tds is less than 5 or even 0. Been using it for more than a year.

I am not good abt this, but is full distilled water of such parameter good for sensitive shrimps?

[seudzar]

I am not good abt this, but is full distilled water of such parameter good for sensitive shrimps?

It is more for top up water due to evaporation and also for water change. For my sulawesi shrimps, I have to mix the minerals with the distilled water before pouring the water into the tank.

[Atham]

those are Azoo max bio balls

lets just say I won't be buying those again. Didn't see any effects. Still had casualties.

I see. Did you try to place a few of those balls in the filter. Maybe more effective as the water flow across it. I assume you de-chlorinate the top-up water. Some tanks may take more than a month to cycle. It will improve with time.

[sootz]

Where do you stay? The pH of your water is really on the high side. I stay in punggol and the pH of my tank is around 6.5-7.

I been using ntuc distilled water to do refill for my sulawesi tank. 2 bottles for $1.05.

Wow so many new posts, no email notifications over the weekend.

Anyway I stay at Serangoon. I will clean that pH meter nicely and remeasure everything again. Maybe really something wrong with the meter or the way I'm using it haha

[sootz]

One thing which I am not sure if you take note. How do you do water change? Did you do dripping back to your tank or you just pour the water straight into your tank? Since your kH is low, your pH will tend to swing which is not very good to your shrimps. The green Gex soil I used before, it will bring your pH to 6.5 but for your case I really don't understand why your pH stay at 7.5.

I usually pour around 2 liter of aged-overnight-primed water onto the filter exit (HOF), then 1-2hrs later, the other half of water (Another 2 liter).

[sootz]

I see. Did you try to place a few of those balls in the filter. Maybe more effective as the water flow across it. I assume you de-chlorinate the top-up water. Some tanks may take more than a month to cycle. It will improve with time.

The filter already super full of Biohome plus
no space

Those balls should be something that are good-to-have but not really essential. My opinion.

[seudzar]

Okay. For a start, biohomme media especially the red one will cause your pH to increase when it is brand new. Not to worry, these effect will wear off in times and it is not a permanent effect. Second. It maybe your handling of the pH meter that's give you the wrong reading. The glass tip of the pH meter you need to wash it with distilled water after used. And the tip has to kept moist when in the cap, usually there is a moist sponge inside the cap that keeps the tip moist. If that sponge is dry, add distilled water to moist it.