Advise needed for new tank setup....

[felix00]

I just recently upgrade to a 1ft by 1ft cube tank...boyu tank...then i have 1200 flowrate canister filter...for canister filter..then very 1st tray that water comes in i have put sponge then follow by coral chips then follow by ceramic rings...okies the output of the filter is a u-shape tube not a rainbar...then i have a air pump with 2 output...the rate of airpump not sure..old one from storeroom...then the stupid thing i do is act like pro..haha i went to bought an undergravel filter...haha i place the tray at the base of tank and add mousra soil and old sea mud... When i check internet,i realise UGF isnt use this way...haha.. So here comes my main question...i have 2 ferns,2 rocks,1 driftwood with xmas moss and a self made xmas moss wall...plus a float seaweed like ball and some frogbits..
I have added all those mosura item like bt9,sizhen etc...
Please share with me your experience as i am still inexperience to this..

[Neondagger]

1200flowrate for a 1 ft tank? U got try? Not like whirlpool? I using a eheim 2213 for my 2ft and already like whirlpool

In the process of learning. painful but fun!

[felix00]

Oh...i was considering future upgrade purpose... I control the output valve to the acceptable flow... initially when it is full blast my soil open up a BIG hole...haha... So bro, other than this any opinion??

[Ecalyte]

What is this setup meant for? And what substrate are you using?

[felix00]

hmmm this setup is meant for shrimp...thinking of keeping sakura and fire red as i don't have chiller...in the past i keep crs and bds before in office with aircon but now my house no aircon 24/7 so....ya.... sakura and fire red...
substrate = mosura soil...

[Ecalyte]

Then why are you using coral chips as the filter media? Don't you know that they will increase the pH and GH of the tank to values that is not suitable for sakuras and fire reds? Even worse that your choice of soil has only a mild acidity level and reported short life-span of this effect.. the coral chips will take over.

Also, don't anyhow just dump Mosura products without knowing what they do ok? It's not one of those "Throw in then ok" kind..

In your first post you said "So here comes my main question" but there is no question asked after that line.. what was the question you wanted to ask? I feel that you should have asked all these questions before setting up the tank. Now you have to reset the tank as there will be deposits in the water column and your gravel from the coral chip that will continue to buffer the water even after changing the media.

First thing's first. Google "Nitrogen Cycle". Thousands of websites telling you what it is. This step CANNOT BE SKIPPED AT ALL. Then figure out what you really want from this setup. If it's truly Cherries and Fire reds, then you need to find out what are the parameters that will be suitable for them. Mild acidity with low GH. Other parameters should be negligible if you truly read and understood the Nitrogen Cycle. Then it's a matter of upkeep with regular testing of the water to ensure they're consistent.

When you know all this, start to go google everything you want to put into the tank. Just by a simple google of "Effects of Coral Chips in an Aquarium" you will realize RIGHT AWAY that it's a NO-NO. Spend 1 hour to whack everything in without knowing what they do.. then spend months trying to figure out why your lifestock is dying. Spend 10 hours reading and making sure your setup is right the first time around.. then spend months admiring and enjoying your achievements, maybe even a slight headache as to how to stop them from breeding so much!

I don't think you have an act-pro syndrome. It just seems that you do things backwards. Usually you're supposed to read about what you wanna do before doing it.. but you did it and then read about whether or not you did it right...

Kill the tank. Reset. Re-do it. This time, do it right..

[felix00]

Ecalyte,
Yup read up the effects on coral chip... Definitely a no no for shrimps as it would increase the pH level...Nitrogen Cycle is somewhat similar to purpose of cycling tank...
I did did some read up before setting up,checking the parameters for the shrimp. Actually i am not sure what did i lack for...
Canister is the one i didnt read up. As i bought a 2nd hand canister, it come with coral chip so i just added ceramic ring and sponge.. I assume that is why coral chips is a mistake i had made. Other than that i couldnt know what i didnt do or what i did wrong... That is why i am searching for forum-er experience...
Just like when you had some experience with the mosura soil now then i know why you told me why is it so worse to use that soil with mild acidic with coral chip.

Right now i am reading up on media in canister.

Just sharing on what i learn;
Temperature 15 - 28 °C, optimum for most shrimps 23-25 °C
most freshwater shrimps do well at a pH around 7(for me i think mayb 6.4-6.8 will be good)
kH 1 – 15 degrees
gH 5 – 25 degrees
Ammonium (near) 0
Nitrite (near) 0
Nitrate as low as possible

The substrate has three major purposes. One is to support aquatic plants and provide nutrients. Another is to enable microorganisms to multiply and stabilize the environment of an aquarium. The third is to render a natural feel to a layout.
When gravel is concern it have the same function where natural soil have but do not have any nutrient or trace elements value in it
Currently have some question to ask.

1) I did some research on lowering the pH level naturally.. Peat moss and driftwood will be the best choice. Else RO/DI which is quite messy cause i still cant understand, in short use "LIFE" distilled water.. Problem face peat moss will caused water to turn slightly brown, driftwood due to space constraint and RO/DI too expensive for me.
Is there any other method to do it naturally without adding chemical??
Note* (RO stands for Reverse Osmosis and DI is short of De-Ionisation, both are ways of purifying, removing the impurities from, tap water so that it is suitable for use in a marine aquarium.RO uses a semi-permeable membrane which is fine enough so that essentially only water molecules will pass through it. As a result you produce about 3 times as much waste water as purified water. DI uses ion exchange resins, which exchange the ions in the water, such as iron, magnesium, copper for hydrogen and nitrate, sulphate, phosphate for hydroxide.)

2)I cant afford chiller and there isnt cheap mini fridge to do a DIY chiller plus any bro can assist me through making one if i am able to find a 2nd hand bar fridge..
Currently due to tight budget, is fan the only way to cool down water temperature? or is there other way??
*Note fan will lead to high evaporation of water which mean need to top up frequently which leads to danger of changes in water parameter..

[Ecalyte]

Coral chip is a NONO with any soil. Forget the pH level that it will increase.. GH will sky rocket. Especially since you're putting it in a canister filter and EVERY MICROLITRE of water is passing through the coral chip. It's worse than having it in the tank. Have you removed it? Remove it.

Nitrogen Cycle is not similar to cycling.. it IS. Cycling a tank is to let the tank go through the initial Nitrogen Cycle to allow the necessary bacteria to populate.

Not ALL freshwater shrimps will do well at pH 7. Don't make the mistake of generalizing it like that. There are literally hundreds of fresh water shrimp species, including the Sulawesi shrimp that require a high pH. Each and every species have specific parameter requirements. Even within the CRS family there are disputed favourable parameters for sub-species; King Kong and Wine Red. Hell, some people even go as far to say that there are different parameter requirements for lower and higher grade CRS even if they came from the same BATCH.

Ok, so now that we know you want to keep Cherries and Fire Reds.. I'll have to pass the baton to the other shrimp keepers here as I have very limited experience with cherries and fire reds. I have a grand total of 4 fire reds in my current 2ft tank that's at 5.8pH. They've survived for 1 week, but that's still too early to tell... The general consensus is that Cherries (Fire red are basically cherries, but higher grade) need mild acidic water.. around 6.5-6.8ish.. They are also hardier and they've been known to breed well at 30 deg. So unless you're reaching those limits, you're fine leaving it as it is.

I really believe that you should reset your tank. If you find that too troublesome then just remove the coral chips and keep doing 4.5L of water change (3 LIFE Bottles) every 3-4 days for a couple of weeks.. But removal of the coral chips is a MUST. You're heading in the right direction now.. Research before you put things inside your tank and not the other way around! Haha!

[marimo]

plus a float seaweed like ball and some frogbits..

i feel ... like . a float seaweed like ball ..in fresh water ... a marimo !
haha


Ecakyte is getting .. chi-ba-boom!

1. 1200l/hr canister filter .. 1fit cube about 27litres , x10 flow is 270litres/hr is relatively sufficient
You need to down tune to at least 4 times smaller of the maximum

2. Coral and ph down soil is self conflicting , both are ph buffer. Not mentioning the kh/gH for coral

3. You dont need a chiller for cherry/sakura. There's no chiller for 1 ft tank either.
Just get a fan (-3 to 4deg) type. It may bring the water 2-3 deg + fast evaporation. Top up with DI water every 2-3 days
But its for the plants to do well , not shrimps. The cherry can breed at room temp.

4. regarding commercial addictives, best to calculate the dosage
too much Bt-9 or shizen will have problems

5. Although cherry is hardy, still have to monitor GH. I believe 3-8GH still soft enough. Your 2 rocks remain unidentified that may contribute to GH increase

You need to piece all the info together for yourself
either you remove the mosura soil and change to sand + coral chip = sulawesi tank
or remove the coral chips totally and make sure its a tank good for neocardina tank

good luck