stormhawk's shrimp adventures

[Matt]

When the nitrite and ammonia are down to zero, I'll test with the snail. If there is something wrong with the water, it will coil back into the shell.

Nice idea but poor snail... You have to take note of the TDS, GH/KH and mineral contents. The emphasis is not so much on pH though it plays a part.

[stormhawk]

Navanod, thanks for the offer but I don't think I'm going to upgrade my 2026 anytime soon. I was intending to get a Pro 3 for my 4ft tank, but cost alone has made me change my mind. This soil is really small. Basically about the same size as lapis gravel or so. The grain size seems to be a little smaller than Mosura Red Soil.

silane, I thought they are fine with less plants? I took the videos on Youtube as a rough guide in planning for this tank. I might get some Java moss for this tank at a later date.

Matt, the snail will be fine once I move it to my community tank, so it's just a quick test. Many snails start to retract into their shells if the water quality is not to their liking.

[stormhawk]

Current tank parameters:

Measured with API test kits:-

pH 6.6
NH3 1 ppm
NO2 0 ppm
NO3 5 ppm

Measured with test pen:-
pH 6.7 (this one should be accurate)

Measured with Sera test kits:-
KH 2
GH 4
Chlorine - slight yellow tinge so it is either 0.01 ppm or 0.02 ppm (instruction sheet only says 0.02ppm if it turns yellow)

No plants in the tank yet but some fungus is growing on parts of the driftwood. Should not be a big issue. In fact I take it as a good sign.

I have to start with the coral chips in mesh bag soon, to push the pH up further. Getting a TDS meter tomorrow to check on TDS as well.

[Draka]

aye, the wood seems to be driving pH down curing. Don't let it dissolve too much of the coral chips!

[HeMan]

Hi stormhawk, wonderful setup. Hope to see shrimps in there very soon

[stormhawk]

I don't have any coral chips in there at the moment. Waiting for the fuzzy stuff to disappear and ammonia is a tad high at the moment.

HeMan, thanks. Hopefully by next week it should be ready. I don't want to rush too quickly and see everything go down the drain.

[crescebi]

Nice thread on your progress. What kind of snail will you be using to test the water?

[Matt]

Current tank parameters:

Measured with API test kits:-

pH 6.6
NH3 1 ppm
NO2 0 ppm
NO3 5 ppm

Measured with test pen:-
pH 6.7 (this one should be accurate)

Measured with Sera test kits:-
KH 2
GH 4
Chlorine - slight yellow tinge so it is either 0.01 ppm or 0.02 ppm (instruction sheet only says 0.02ppm if it turns yellow)

No plants in the tank yet but some fungus is growing on parts of the driftwood. Should not be a big issue. In fact I take it as a good sign.

I have to start with the coral chips in mesh bag soon, to push the pH up further. Getting a TDS meter tomorrow to check on TDS as well.

Bro, GH & KH looks low now, think you may either end up with quite a bit of Coral chips hanging in your tank You have any back-up plans should that be an eye sore?

[avex30]

hahaha mod stormhawk finally start to venture into shrimps have fun tank look nice.

[oiishi]

Almost miss this thread.
Nice tank.Hope to see more pics once completed.

[PupiPupi]

Yay! Stormhawk took the plunge! Anyhoo, agree with Matt on that it just lacks the greens. I have some lava rocks lying around. Let me know if you need them...

[PupiPupi]

Yay! Stormhawk took the plunge! Anyhoo, agree with Matt on that it just lacks the greens. I have some lava rocks lying around. Let me know if you need them...

Since we are on the topic of Sulas, and that Bro Matt has an MO going on, I thought I'd share this website I chanced upon for any newbies who are curious to see the different types of Sula shrimps and snails. It's pretty cool!

http://www.aristocratama.com/

I'm still checking my water parameters. Do my dismay, everything but the pH is high (pH now at 7.6). I am dutifully doing water change with distilled water bit by bit.

[mincedmeat]

Woah woah woah! Rare sighting to see mod stormhawk's tank! Glad that someone else also got bitten by the sulawesi bug!

[mincedmeat]

Yay! Stormhawk took the plunge! Anyhoo, agree with Matt on that it just lacks the greens. I have some lava rocks lying around. Let me know if you need them...

Since we are on the topic of Sulas, and that Bro Matt has an MO going on, I thought I'd share this website I chanced upon for any newbies who are curious to see the different types of Sula shrimps and snails. It's pretty cool!

http://www.aristocratama.com/

I'm still checking my water parameters. Do my dismay, everything but the pH is high (pH now at 7.6). I am dutifully doing water change with distilled water bit by bit.

Is 7.6 high? I would think it is alright for a Sulawesi tank, and I would personally like to see a pH 8 for my tank. Just to be safe.

[PupiPupi]

Is 7.6 high? I would think it is alright for a Sulawesi tank, and I would personally like to see a pH 8 for my tank. Just to be safe.

Hey Mincedmeat. I think you read too quickly. I wrote everything BUT the pH is high. Yeah. I'm waiting for it to go up to an 8. That would be great.

[stormhawk]

@Matt: Yeah the GH and KH are low, because I was testing to see if the lava rocks or the golden soil would affect the water parameters. To date, no change, so I have a feeling the rocks and soil are somewhat pH neutral. My tap water is naturally soft for some reason, and this finding was corroborated by a marine LFS owner I spoke to on V-Day while out on a dinner date. He told me that the water is above pH 7, but very soft on GH and KH. I have a bag of coral chips somewhere but I can't find it.

There's a small pocket behind the driftwood where I can dump my coral chips without disturbing the layout of the tank, but I may opt to place the chips directly in the Eden 501 for better effects.

To everyone else, thanks for the comments. I got bored with my current setup, and there is no way that I will convert my existing community tank to a Sulawesi tank because it's stable and my CPDs are growing fat. If I did convert the 4ft to a Sulawesi tank, I might have to deal with calcium deposits at the water line.

[mincedmeat]

Hey Mincedmeat. I think you read too quickly. I wrote everything BUT the pH is high. Yeah. I'm waiting for it to go up to an 8. That would be great.

Haha! My bad! I just realised the mistake I made after re-reading your sentence. How are you bringing up the pH?

@Matt: Yeah the GH and KH are low, because I was testing to see if the lava rocks or the golden soil would affect the water parameters. To date, no change, so I have a feeling the rocks and soil are somewhat pH neutral. My tap water is naturally soft for some reason, and this finding was corroborated by a marine LFS owner I spoke to on V-Day while out on a dinner date. He told me that the water is above pH 7, but very soft on GH and KH. I have a bag of coral chips somewhere but I can't find it.

There's a small pocket behind the driftwood where I can dump my coral chips without disturbing the layout of the tank, but I may opt to place the chips directly in the Eden 501 for better effects.

To everyone else, thanks for the comments. I got bored with my current setup, and there is no way that I will convert my existing community tank to a Sulawesi tank because it's stable and my CPDs are growing fat. If I did convert the 4ft to a Sulawesi tank, I might have to deal with calcium deposits at the water line.

I actually bought an underground filter (it has 2 pieces, each about 15cm in length) like thing and shoved pieces of coral chips in it before layering the coral sand and decorative rocks on top of it. I have added in the Mosura Old Sea mud and also Malawi pH buffer which brings it between 7.8 - 8.2 - which I really think is more than enough, yes?

[stormhawk]

That should be sufficient I think. I haven't tested with the Malawi buffer but I'll have a read up on it first.

[mincedmeat]

Not too sure how much of a read-up you intend to do, but here's the product information:

http://www.seachem.com/Products/prod...awiBuffer.html

[stormhawk]

Trawling the net for more info on personal views regarding this product, then I'll decide from there.

I might opt to use a single Minerock in there along with some coral chips to get my desired effect.