LJ's 15 column shrimp tank

Hello all!  So as some of you are aware, pokesephiroth and I are in the middle of a fight to the death for all that is good and holy, by each doing a 15 gallon column shrimp tank.  And being such an expert at [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.], I've decided to show you my battle plan.

So this is the tank, shot with my iPhone:
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With the success of my [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.], I decided to once again go with dirt and clay.  This time as a cap however, I decided to use black and white sand lars on picked up for me.  So I got all that in there, added a sponge filter BillHN gave me at the GSAS auction, and covered it with some rocks.  For plant coverage I'm using the marsilea minuta and the clover stuff (can't remember the actual name of it, marsilea quadrifolia maybe?) that I won at the auction:
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Next, the rock formation looked a little dull, so I added java moss and java fern to it that came from my 29 gal, and kinda lined the formation with some dwarf hairgrass.  Then added the manzanita wood, and replaced the HOB filter that came with the tank with a small internal filter:
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So as of now, the tank is cycling, in the middle of a bacteria bloom.  Will probably add moss to the wood, just deciding what type of moss to use for that.....

Suggestions welcome!

Looking good.

nice i like the way the branch cages in the rocks

What branch is that?

Thanks guys!

oobydooby wrote:What branch is that?

It's sandblasted Sierra manzanita branches

Looks good I want to try that

oobydooby wrote:Looks good I want to try that

I got a couple more pieces i'd be willing to sell or trade if you're in the Seattle area. The pieces are pictured in the first pic on this thread. I didn't use them cause the other ones I have just looked better to me for my intentions on this tank.

I'm a bit far from Seattle I do appreciate the offer though... Can't wait to see how your tank comes out

*shakes of fists in a torrent of fury*

Lookin' good, lookin' good.... we'll see who has the last laugh.
That rock formation looks sweet, I'll give you that!

*prepares solar beam attack* . . . ahem, what?
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manzanita wood reminds me of lighting bolts. Im living vicariously through your guys builds.

looks great LJ!

thanks Chad!

@PokeSephiroth: I'm sorry, what was that? I couldn't hear you over the sound of how awesome I am

Hahaha, round 1 to LJ I think

There are no rounds. It's winner takes all.

I say so. Cuz I'm the officer. =P

Yes indeed you are; I stand corrected, Officer.

Lamental Jester wrote:And being such an expert at [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.], I've decided to show you my battle plan.

Nice Sadly enough that word has been a permanent part of my vocabulary ever since that skit.

Tank looks good so far, by the way.

Update: Was getting white filmy stuff growing everywhere during the cycle, mainly on the wood, which can be normal (beneficial bacteria quickly forming and feeding on organic materials). So I got some MTS to feast on the white stuff. Now the white stuff is pretty much all gone, and the water has started clearing up.

Last night I tried my hat at DIY CO2, never tried it before:
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I have it running into the intake of the internal filter. It appears to be working, producing bubbles and whatnot, although maybe too many bubbles, I don't know, how many bubbles per minute would someone recommend for a 15 gal?

Next thing I need to do is find more moss for the wood, something other than java or xmas preferably, anyone can help me out with that?

Check your PH - if it's too low you have too many bubbles. Right when the lights come on is the best time to do this since the CO2 concentration will be highest then.

thanks pbmax! I think I have a PH tester laying around somewhere

Woo.. white slimey stuffs. I still have some on my madrona wood (the parts where I sanded some of the stubs down) . . . the manzanita one doesn't have any at all..which boggles me!

My shrimp are really digging the Riccia Fluitans on the wood though, it's fun watching them graze on it. I'm thinking of harvesting more MTS from my other tanks, I but about 15 of them in my 15 gallon..wouldn't hurt to have more. Once they start multiplying, I will have an army!

good work on the co2, Lamental Jester!

The white slimey stuff is the bacteria consuming a bunch of organic material from the wood. Your manzanita has probably been in aquariums before and been striped of that organic material. Sanding the parts on the madrona probably exposed some organic material, hence why you're getting white stuff in those spots. But that's just my guess.

Glad the Riccia Fluitans are working for ya, I didn't wanna go with them cause I here you have to keep re-tying them down cause they're natural floaters.

Haven't got any shrimp in mine yet, just some MTS, so I'm not too worried if I'm producing too much CO2 at the moment

Yeah, that's what I was thinking too, that the madrona hasn't totally "died off" yet, which explains why there's only colonies on those patches. They look kinda cool, now that I'm used to seeing them. They look like small teraformed bio domes... lol

The shrimp seem to be doing well. They're still dark (which I thought that their color would lighten up because of the light colored sand... thank goodness they haven't .......yet!)

Can't wait to see your finished tank!

@LJ : I wouldn't use a DIY CO2 in a shrimp tank. This system is hard to control and you may experience large pH swing especially if the kH is low.

@flo77: Thank for the advise. At the moment I don't have and shrimp in the tank. I'm gonna mess around with it first to see if I can come up with a method that's pretty stable. If I don't get the hang of it then I'll chuck it

I killed 7 of my rcs with co2 soo...

A PH controller is definitely the way to go with CO2. It'll spare your shrimp and all other inhabitants nasty fluctuations in PH. That kind of defeats the purpose of the whole "DIY" part, I guess.

bah, the whole point of DIY is so I don't have to shell out the $$$

CO2 is a slippery slope... that's why I avoid it now.

The reason I'm trying CO2 was because I wanted to avoid dosing with Excel (copper+shrimp= bad)

Unfortunately, that's just wrong.

Copper + Shrimp != bad

TOO MUCH copper + Shrimp == bad

I double-dose excel in a tank with malawa shrimp and they're breeding like crazy. I also dose normally in multiple tanks with red cherries and they're breeding like crazy too.

The Flourish plant products don't have enough copper in them if dosed per directions to harm your shrimp. I have managed to kill mystery snails by over-dosing excel... but the yellow shrimp in that same tank were fine ( and breeding ).

Really?!?! You made my day! I have a gallon of excel just sittin here not being used. Wasn't using it for the 75 walstad cause everything seemed to be growing fine without it.

Yes, really. There's a lot of fear-mongering going on about copper and inverts. They all need some copper to survive and the levels in aquarium fertilizers don't come close to toxic unless you way over-dose the stuff. In this case I think a person's inability to read follow simple directions is a much bigger issue than the inverts they'd kill

These days I dose 1ml / 10gal twice a week, though I've dosed 2ml / 10gal every day in the past - that's when I killed my mystery snails and didn't phase my yellow shrimp. From what I've read the "good stuff" in excel only really sticks around for 8 hours, but I'm not terribly confident in the accuracy of that statement.

yeah, 8 hours, that's what I heard too, which is fine, don't need it working while the lights are off anyway.

Because poke begged for pictures, here's what it looks like now:
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The clover stuff, which I found out was hydrocotyle tripartita, is doing awesome! Combined with the marsilea minuta, I'm really liking the carpet that's developing.

I just got in a bunch of weeping moss in the mail yesterday, however, after seeing how the phoenix moss is looking (gorgeous!), I decided to order more phoenix and just keep the weeping in an open tupperware container by a window for later use.

Still doing the DIY co2. Will continue to use it until I get shrimp, which should be in about a week, then I'll just dose with Excel. I also added a second LED strip, makes a huge difference. Had to remove the hood to get it to fit in there however, so I'll probably make my own hood for it (LEGOS!).

My apologies for the crappy phone quality pics. When I get off my lazy yet beautiful buns and charge my digital camera, I'll take some better shots. But until then here's a happy and jubilant Buster (apparently "one day earlier")
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Now how can that not brighten anyone's day?

You're welcome...

Nice growth!

:3 . . . .

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So niiiiiice... just. look. at. it. Mmmmm.... I wonder if it's possible to make a "weeping willow tree" thing with that weeping moss. It'd look all bonsai lookin' if it's possible (or does the moss grow upwards towards the light? Heh.)

Anywho, can't wait to see what your tank looks like once it has some shrimp in there!
I'm planning on putting some white cloud mountain minnows in mine. They're so cheap, and so tiny, I think they'd look neato in a 15 gallon tank

Clearly, my begging skills work. They have magical powers.
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Thanks binbin9!

@pokesephiroth: Pllleeeease, your powers are no match against the power of the dark side, I gave in only cause I was bored

Weeping moss is pretty much a compact version of xmas moss (flame moss is the stuff that grows upwards), so yes, it would make for an excellent tree effect. I'm thinking about creating a mini forest aquascape for my next project, which the weeping should do wonders for.

I saw some fish at Cory's shop he was keeping with his cherries that looked cool, can't remember the name of them, but I'll probably pick a few up next time I'm up there

You still gave in, regardless ;-)

Looks great LJ!

PokeSephiroth wrote::3 . . . .

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So niiiiiice... just. look. at. it. Mmmmm.... I wonder if it's possible to make a "weeping willow tree" thing with that weeping moss. It'd look all bonsai lookin' if it's possible (or does the moss grow upwards towards the light? Heh.)

Anywho, can't wait to see what your tank looks like once it has some shrimp in there!
I'm planning on putting some white cloud mountain minnows in mine. They're so cheap, and so tiny, I think they'd look neato in a 15 gallon tank

Clearly, my begging skills work. They have magical powers.
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Angelo shhhhh! The weeping moss tree is already being made in my home.xD

Sooooooo, I turned on the lights this morning, and notice something swimming in the tank:
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It's a baby! Ahhhhh! Where the heck did he come from?

Lol!!!!!!! Ninja fry!!!

What? U didn't put it in there!?!?!?

theChad wrote:What? U didn't put it in there!?!?!?

No, I didn't! It just appeared! I'm trying to guess how it got in there. Maybe there were egg(s) in the mosses I got from the GSAS auction? Which would be insane cause I think I left the mosses in the baggys they came in for at least a week until I put them in the tank! With I could find out what type of fish this is. Who put up phoenix moss and/or flame moss at the auction? Anybody?

Most likely came from an egg, that you got from the plants (most likely the moss)that you won from the auction... maybe a kilifish?

Or, could be the moss you recently just got. WOohooo!!

BillHN, WHOOPSIES!! lol. You gotta show me now that looks! =P

No, I didn't put any weeping moss i just got in there, and the extra phoenix moss I ordered isn't here yet, so then it's gotta be the auction mosses.

Ah. yeah, most likly from the auction mosses then. so it MUST be a kilifish... or... *shrug* I can't imagine a fish egg surviving that long, and whatnot, unless it were a kilifish egg. Hehehe

Lamental Jester wrote:

theChad wrote:What? U didn't put it in there!?!?!?

No, I didn't! It just appeared! I'm trying to guess how it got in there. Maybe there were egg(s) in the mosses I got from the GSAS auction? Which would be insane cause I think I left the mosses in the baggys they came in for at least a week until I put them in the tank! With I could find out what type of fish this is. Who put up phoenix moss and/or flame moss at the auction? Anybody?

Are you signed up with GSAS airstone email? You can join it without being a member. Its basically a forum through email. Its quite active! Just go to GSAS webpage and sign up. This would be a great question to ask on airstone and fun to figure out!!

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] <--- check it out

Thanks Chad! I just placed a post on airstone

I seen it! I found the person that entered some plants I picked up so hopefully someone will chime in.

I remember reading a story of someone buying a moss ball from Petco and then finding a tiny royal pleco in the tank.