Shrimping Noob/New Tank Setup

[ukfan1976]

Greetings all!

I'm new to shrimp keeping and stumbled upon this forum. Looks like a lot of good info here, still combing through the posts to get educated.

2 days ago, I purchased the equipment for my first tank setup and would appreciate any advice you may have. Here's what I got:

-10 gallon tank
-Medium sized Bio Sponge filter
-10-20 gallon air pump
-Seachem Flourite Black Sand (10 lb bag)
-10 lb bag river sand (from pet shop)
-Water dechlorinator (i'm using Tap water)
-3 Crypt Parva plants
-1 Anubias nana
-Ball of Java Moss
-Fluorescent tank hood with Floramax Plant Growth bulb (made by Aqueon)
-Driftwood (loose pieces from pet shop)
-Couple of small lava rocks (loose pieces from pet shop also)

I started out by attempting to rinse the Flourite and river sand but I'm not sure i did a great job since the tank is super cloudy right now after adding the water (slowly). Next I arranged the plants in the tank and added the driftwood and rocks (after boiling the driftwood and leaching out the tannins). I then slowy filled the tank (with tap water), added the dechlorinator, and fired up the sponge filter. Its only been a few hours so the tank is still super cloudy (i'm assuming from the dust in the substrate that got stirred up). I'm hoping this will settle out in a few days.

Then, after watching a few videos on YouTube about "Fishless tank cycling", I added 2 small capfuls (maybe 10ml total) of household ammonia to the water, and also added a small amount of Biozyme (bacteria) to the water. After this I went out for Pizza and came home and did my first ammonia test, hoping the water would have time to "mix" properly and distribute the ammonia I added. I was gone probably 2 hours. The first test showed I was at least 8 ppm (possibly more since the color scale stopped there and it may have been darker). Now I'm worried I added too much ammonia. Should I give it a day or 2 and check again or should i just go ahead and do a water change? Also, how long does it typically take to cycle a small tank like my 10 gallon? I'd appreciate any info you have.​

 

[TL1000RSquid]

I shoot for 4-6ppm when I've done the ammonia method, not sure how the extra will play out a 25-50% w/c wouldn't hurt anything.

Cycling from scratch usually takes about 4 weeks +/- a week, in my experience cycling with plants seems to speed it up a bit.

 

[ukfan1976]

Thanks man! Now that some of the dust has settled out of the water column I'm gonna use a gravel vacuum/siphon to suck up some of the dust that is on my driftwood, etc. I'll take about 25% out and replace. Thanks for the help!

 

[FishFanMan]

Sounds like it'll be a nice shrimp tank! Biozyme should kick start the cycle, but I would do a WC to get ammonia level within the range of the test kit so you can see progress. I think you have to do daily dosing of Biozyme for a week? You might want to get Seachem Flourish comprehensive and dose sparingly for your plants. What kind of shrimp(s) are you going to get?

 

[SANDYBOTTOM]

you said you are using household ammonia?when you shake the bottle does it foam up?are there any other ingredients in the ammonia.you ideally want the janitorial strength ammonia from ace hardware,this does not have extra ingredients like soaps/surfactants and perfumes.it will not foam up when you shake the bottle..just want to make sure that you are using the right kind.did you get an adjustable heater for the tank?75f is an ideal temp.

 

[ukfan1976]

Sounds like it'll be a nice shrimp tank! Biozyme should kick start the cycle, but I would do a WC to get ammonia level within the range of the test kit so you can see progress. I think you have to do daily dosing of Biozyme for a week? You might want to get Seachem Flourish comprehensive and dose sparingly for your plants. What kind of shrimp(s) are you going to get?

Hey man! I changed out about 30-40% of the water today. Still has a pretty high reading so not sure. and yes Biozyme for a week. I bought the Seachem Flourite black sand which is supposed to be dosed for plants already, but do you think I need to dose more?

I'm planning on Cherry Reds, because from what I've read they are hardy and good for beginners and easy to breed. Do you have any other suggestions for another hardy type of shrimp for beginners? I checked out the cherry reds at the local pet shop and I wasn't especially impressed with the color but i'm sure it could vary from dealer to dealer. Is purchasing online a better way to go? They also had some blue ones that were cool but are they harder to keep? i've been doing research but still unsure on some of these topics.

 

[ukfan1976]

you said you are using household ammonia?when you shake the bottle does it foam up?are there any other ingredients in the ammonia.you ideally want the janitorial strength ammonia from ace hardware,this does not have extra ingredients like soaps/surfactants and perfumes.it will not foam up when you shake the bottle..just want to make sure that you are using the right kind.did you get an adjustable heater for the tank?75f is an ideal temp.

I got the janitorial strength, no detergents added. I had watched youtube videos prior to buying the equipment so made sure i got the right kind. and yeah i have a heater too

 

[ukfan1976]

Here's a pic of the progress so far (the sponges on the bottom are from my plants, I left in the tank to help get the beneficial bacteria started. Lemme know what u think!

 

[viviancoco]

It looks great! Can't wait to see your shrimps enjoying themselves in there.