David W

I am setting up a 20 gal long for cherry shrimp. I am currently planning a species only tank. They will likely have some snail friends, hitchhiking on the plants. I received my CO-OP plant order today. I got them planted and moved some plants from my other tanks. Everything came a day early and was very healthy. I have been running a sponge filter in an established tank for about two weeks. In my research, I have read and seen on respected YouTube videos that shrimp should go in to a well established tank. I know that this tank is going to take a little while to get there. Without the bio-load from live stock, I have a hard time believing that there will be enough going on to get the tank established enough for the shrimp. I am not in a hurry and plan on letting the plants do their thing for a while. So the questions. How long should I wait before moving the sponge filter? Should I move it soon and start feeding the tank with ammonia or food? Will the plants do better if I move it over to give the tank a little flow? I have a new sponge filter I can put in for now and swap it out later with the established one. Would it be a good idea to put a mystery sails in the tank or some fish I can move over to another tank before adding shrimp? Am I making a mountain out of a molehill? Should I just get a good cycle going, let the plants get established, and then throw in the shrimp? Thank you, all advice is appreciated.

Thanks Ken and Dave. I’ll keep going with the extra pump of easy green, see how it goes over the next few weeks. I’m probably going have to start taking some duckweed out during water changes. I’m amazed at the exponential growth. There is a lot going on in there, a long way until a balance is reached. I’m determined to be patient, and stick to a maintenance routine. Keeping impulsive human variables out of the mix should go a long way.

Thank you in advance for any advice. This is a 10 gallon tank, with a betta and nine neon tetras. There are a number of small ramshorn snails. The substrate is Seachem flourite. It has been set up for 4 months, so more time needed for a good balance. 30% water change weekly. 2 pumps of easy green after the water change. Lights are on 8.5 hours. Currently no signs of algae. Current water parameters Ammonia - 0 ppm (API Liquid Test) Nitrite - 0 ppm (API Liquid Test) Nitrate - 30 ppm (API Liquid Test) PH - 7.8 (API Liquid Test) KH - 60 ppm ( API test strip) GH - 80-100 ppm (API Test Strip) I have a liquid kh/gh test kit on the way. I'm not feeling the test strips. I have three weeks ago added Pothos and let some stow away duckweed do it's thing. I had some staghorn algae which went away about a week later. Recently the Pogostemon Stellatus Octopus started developing pin holes in some of the leaves. From the deficiency charts I'm inclined to think it is a Potassium deficiency. Does that seem correct? I surmise that the pothos and duckweed are sucking up too many nutrients. Right now I am trying to up the easy green to three pumps a week. I started on Saturday, and will keep an eye on over the next few weeks before making another change. Any thoughts on this diagnosis and approach? Would root tabs be more appropriate?

It's really Medina Ohio which is pretty close to Cleveland. It seems like there are lots of Clevelanders and Ohioans frequenting the forums. Growing up in the 80's my Dad had a few fish tanks. Some community tanks and the quintessential 55 gal Oscar tanks. I always loved watching the fish and ended up doing most of the care. As an adult, I realize that we had no Idea how anything was supposed to work and got a lot of bad advice from the LFS. It wasn't quite as easy to research as it is today. A few years ago I decided to give it a try again. I attempted an Mbuna tank. I researched a bit, had an understanding of the Nitrogen cycle and basic needs of the fish. I did have a good grasp on managing the aggression. I upgraded tank size, tried a few different stocking combinations, but it eventually turned into another bad Highlander sequel, "There can only be one". Fast forward to 2020, I decided to try again, but with more friendly easy going community. I spent much more time on you tube and forums learning this time. I have a much better understanding of water parameters, and determining what fish and plants would work well for my water and me. Since July, I have moved the lone Yellow Lab to a 40 gallon tank, where he hangs out with a Pleco, Got a 60 gallon planted tank with Murry River Rainbows, Ottos and Corys and a 10 gallon with a Betta and some neons. My wife thinks I'm nuts, but she has spent more time in the basement looking at the fish, than she has for anything else in the past 8 years. My next adventure is a cherry shrimp tank. It is so much fun planning hard scape and plants. The familiar looking sponge filter in the picture is being seeded for the shrimp. I wanted to say thank you to Cory and the community here for providing great information. You have all helped me transition from a guy with a fish tank to a fish keeper.