Arofanatics Fish Talk Forums - View Single Post - Common Topics on Shrimp Keeping (NEWBIES START FROM HERE)

globalcookie · 12-08-2011, 11:46 AM

To add on to the above. Here's a few shrimp tank gravel types and setting up new tank.

1. Gravel Types
1.1 Quartz
Typically made of plastic material. I had bad experience using potentially poisonous quartz. The quartz looks matt, instead of glossy.

Anyway, for quartz, it has no pH properties, thus doesn't raise or cause drop in pH level. It does not contain ammonia either.

1.2 Soil
Soil usually cause pH to drop drastically. A lot of commercially available soil contains ammonia, which helps in the cycling process.

During initial stages of setup, if the water turns cloudy, it can be caused by 'dirt', which settles down within a day. Most of the time, the cloudiness after the soil settles, are caused by bacterial boom, which is good, as it helps breaks down ammonia to nitrite to nitrate.

2. Setting up new tank (method I have tried)
2.1 Completely new setup, new gravel
If it is based on quartz, refer to above. There is a need to introduce ammonia into the new setup. Ammonia can be found from many source. Refer to previous post for example. Can be completed within days (a week) if the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate is handled properly.

Soil wise, refer to above as well. Typically, takes longer to setup, but process can be speed up with large volume water change (aged water, anti-chlorine/chloramine treatment to prevent killing BB). A normal cycling process can take weeks (4-6 weeks).

2.2 Setting up using used gravel (mixture of some soil with quartz) and water from mature tank
Water is taken from mature tank as it contains small amount of ammonia and BB. This can be easier to setup as there is a lower chance of tank crashes compared to new materials.

In this method, I add in fishes after a few days (day 3) to continue adding ammonia (bio load) to mature the filter. Approx a week later, I started adding small volume of shrimps. Why small volume? Tis is to prevent a sudden surge in ammonia (bioload) where the BB colony may not be able to handle, thus may cause ammonia spike, which can kill shrimps overnight.

Introduction of more shrimps shd take place gradually. This also depends on the tank size. During the early stages, add in smaller quantity per batch eg 10 shrimps, each batch introduced 1 week apart. Remember, adding large volume of shrimps can cause high bioload, where the bb cannot handle. Thus be patient!

There are of cos, many other methods, many other concerns. Fellow hobbyist, please share more info that have yet to be shared in the sticky.

12-08-2011, 11:46 AM	#14
globalcookie Dragon Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 1,446	To add on to the above. Here's a few shrimp tank gravel types and setting up new tank. 1. Gravel Types 1.1 Quartz Typically made of plastic material. I had bad experience using potentially poisonous quartz. The quartz looks matt, instead of glossy. Anyway, for quartz, it has no pH properties, thus doesn't raise or cause drop in pH level. It does not contain ammonia either. 1.2 Soil Soil usually cause pH to drop drastically. A lot of commercially available soil contains ammonia, which helps in the cycling process. During initial stages of setup, if the water turns cloudy, it can be caused by 'dirt', which settles down within a day. Most of the time, the cloudiness after the soil settles, are caused by bacterial boom, which is good, as it helps breaks down ammonia to nitrite to nitrate. 2. Setting up new tank (method I have tried) 2.1 Completely new setup, new gravel If it is based on quartz, refer to above. There is a need to introduce ammonia into the new setup. Ammonia can be found from many source. Refer to previous post for example. Can be completed within days (a week) if the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate is handled properly. Soil wise, refer to above as well. Typically, takes longer to setup, but process can be speed up with large volume water change (aged water, anti-chlorine/chloramine treatment to prevent killing BB). A normal cycling process can take weeks (4-6 weeks). 2.2 Setting up using used gravel (mixture of some soil with quartz) and water from mature tank Water is taken from mature tank as it contains small amount of ammonia and BB. This can be easier to setup as there is a lower chance of tank crashes compared to new materials. In this method, I add in fishes after a few days (day 3) to continue adding ammonia (bio load) to mature the filter. Approx a week later, I started adding small volume of shrimps. Why small volume? Tis is to prevent a sudden surge in ammonia (bioload) where the BB colony may not be able to handle, thus may cause ammonia spike, which can kill shrimps overnight. Introduction of more shrimps shd take place gradually. This also depends on the tank size. During the early stages, add in smaller quantity per batch eg 10 shrimps, each batch introduced 1 week apart. Remember, adding large volume of shrimps can cause high bioload, where the bb cannot handle. Thus be patient! There are of cos, many other methods, many other concerns. Fellow hobbyist, please share more info that have yet to be shared in the sticky.