AlexL's 3g+ "Shelf-ish" Shrimp Tank Journal

[AlexL]

For various reasons, I took down my 10 gallon planted shrimp tank from my dining room a few months ago. This meant that the only aquariums I had left were hidden away in my bedroom, and I wanted a tank that would be easily visible to the rest of the household again (including my housemate's two children). I realize that I could re-shuffle the books on my bookshelf (in the dining room) to make room for a small nano tank, so two days ago I started the:

AlexL's 3g+ "Shelf-ish" Shrimp Tank

The bookshelf space isn't ready yet, so the picture above is a UNS 3T 3.4 gallon tank temporarily residing in my bedroom. Since I don't have everything I want yet (temporarily using some ugly pipes I had lying around), I decided it's a good opportunity to cycle with the dark start method. The lighting was only on while I was playing with the hardscape and for taking the picture. The heater is also temporary, since cycling might go a little faster with warmer temperatures, and my plan is to go heater-less after cycling.

My initial plan was for this tank to go filterless, leaning on heavy planting and a low bioload. But I do like some flow in my aquariums, so I decided to hook up my spare Fluval 107 canister without any filter media. I was initially concerned that an oversized canister would provide too much flow, but dialing the flow lever down to about 50% made the flow seem reasonable. The canister also provides some extra water volume, bringing total water closer to 4 gallons, hence the "3g+" in the name. I'm eyeing something like the Aquario Neo Flow to replace the mismatched pipes.

The substrate is ADA Amazonia Powder. I originally wanted the regular Amazonia, but I made a mistake in the order. It was a lucky mistake because I now think the Powder size looks a lot better for a 3g nano. It's about 1.5 inches deep in the front, and 2.5 inches in the back.

It was hard finding wood pieces for this size aquarium, the ones at my local store were either too big or too small. What I settled on was two different types of wood, and I like how they go together, but I may still play around with them as the tank continues to cycle. There's a bag of Purigen in the filter to deal with the tannins.

I have an old Finnex Stingray 2 that I want to use to light it, so I'll either use my housemate's 3D printer to build some risers for it, or another way to raise the fixture to keep the lighting low.

My plant plans are still in flux, partly because it's hard to remind myself that I have to think smaller than usual for this tank size. I am thinking of attempting a low tech carpet in the front, like Micranthemum Monte Carlo or Marsilea. Some midground plants would include some of the smaller Crypts. There will be epiphytes on the wood, like one full size Anubias, plus some Bucephlandra and mini Christmas moss scattered along it too. I want some kind of tallish background plant, but I am still completely undecided, so suggestions welcome.

Of course, there will be Red Cherry Shrimp.

Edited January 16, 2023 by AlexL

[Guppysnail]

On 1/16/2023 at 12:37 AM, AlexL said:

The heater is also temporary, since cycling might go a little faster with warmer temperatures, and my plan is to go heater-less after cycling.

Awesome start, I love your wood scape. Shrimp tanks are fun. 
I do not want to quote him because I would butcher it 🤣 I remember @modified lung saying different strains of beneficial bacteria live at different temperatures. Changing after cycling may work against you but I’m not certain. 

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

I will always side with rhizones because they are so easy. In a small tank I've found Java Narrow leaf gets pretty tall and looks so nice- easy propagation too since the plant does the work for you. I can also suggest, if you're going stem, Bacopa Caroliniana - super easy stem, gets really tall (I have some as tall as my 20 high) but can also be kept short. Just cut and replant any stem and you've got more!

[AlexL]

On 1/16/2023 at 7:19 AM, Guppysnail said:

Awesome start, I love your wood scape. Shrimp tanks are fun. 
I do not want to quote him because I would butcher it 🤣 I remember @modified lung saying different strains of beneficial bacteria live at different temperatures. Changing after cycling may work against you but I’m not certain. 

Thanks regarding the wood scape! I feel like there's should be a rock in there, especially on the left side, I got time to decide / find something.

I found one of @modified lung's posts regarding temperature, and I think you're right. I just removed the heater, probably better to let it cycle with the ambient changes. Thanks!

 

On 1/16/2023 at 7:26 AM, xXInkedPhoenixX said:

I will always side with rhizones because they are so easy. In a small tank I've found Java Narrow leaf gets pretty tall and looks so nice- easy propagation too since the plant does the work for you. I can also suggest, if you're going stem, Bacopa Caroliniana - super easy stem, gets really tall (I have some as tall as my 20 high) but can also be kept short. Just cut and replant any stem and you've got more!

I'll keep the Java Narrow Leaf in mind, weirdly enough I've never had any of the Java ferns in any of my tanks. I got Bacopa monnieri in an existing nano tank and wondering if I like the look of B. caroliniana better for the background. I also got some Ludwigia 'Super Red' that I'm considering as well.

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

Java fern is wonderful. I love Narrow Leaf very much but Windelov has some lovely shapes and like I said very easy plants. Mixing the Bacopa with the Ludwigia (I have that one too) would look neat as long as the Ludwigia gets enough light since the Bacopa is more prolific. 

[AlexL]

My woodscape felt thin to me, so I've been playing with the arrangement and added a third piece of wood, and liking this one, and I got some ideas on how I want the plants arranged on and around it (maybe I'll sketch it out and share it). Another potential idea is adding sand on the left side to create some unplanted white space.

[nabokovfan87]

On 1/15/2023 at 9:37 PM, AlexL said:

I dig this layout.  If at all possible, especially for shrimp, I'd add a centerpiece rock.

[AlexL]

On 1/22/2023 at 11:30 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

I dig this layout.  If at all possible, especially for shrimp, I'd add a centerpiece rock.

Thanks! Yes, I was thinking that a grey-ish rock could be slightly left of center. I've always used wood in my aquariums and never incorporated rock into any of my hardscapes before, but this arrangement seems like it's asking for a rock.

[AlexL]

Here's a rough sketch of one vision of my tank. Not sure if Rotala is the right background plant I want, but it's there for now.

[AlexL]

So a couple updates:

First, it's been over two weeks and no sign of nitrites (but plenty of ammonia/ammonium), so the cycling is taking its sweet old time. I am using ADA Amazonia, which is notorious for leaching lots of ammonia and as I am now recalling the last time I used Amazonia (10 years ago!), it may take a long time to cycle as a result. This is compared to my planted vase, which also used ADA Amazonia, but I did frequent water changes (as well as being heavily planted from day 1), and it took one week for nitrites to appear and 3 weeks total to finish cycling. Taking that lesson, I started daily water changes on the tank to lower the ammonia, so we'll see if this helps the cycle along.

I don't mind the cycling taking a little longer, which leads me to the second update, I got the time to futz around the hardscape some more. While I did like the woodscape I did on Jan 22, it still didn't "feel right" to me in both appearance and how plants would look with it (the design seemed to be more inviting for epiphytes than substrate plants, which isn't my goal). So this is what the woodscape looks like today. I think I like this one a lot more, but I'm gonna think about plants and I'll make another sketch soon.

I think taking my time is a good thing, I feel like so many of my previous tanks were rushed in terms of design and planting.

[AlexL]

Here's a sketch. Definitely liking this aquascape design.

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

Design is one of the most fun things IME/IMO and it's often rushed because we want to get to the fish/shrimp/snail/inhabitant part. We know fish keepers are notoriously impatient. The tanks I've taken my sweet time designing/changing/waiting for are usually my favorite! You're doing it right! It's going to be awesome!

[AlexL]

On 2/6/2023 at 3:03 PM, xXInkedPhoenixX said:

Design is one of the most fun things IME/IMO and it's often rushed because we want to get to the fish/shrimp/snail/inhabitant part. We know fish keepers are notoriously impatient. The tanks I've taken my sweet time designing/changing/waiting for are usually my favorite! You're doing it right! It's going to be awesome!

Thank you! The urge to rush things is strong! This is definitely the most time I've spent playing around with the hardscape.

Some good news, I detected nitrites for the first time today, so the cycle is finally proceeding nicely.

[AlexL]

Big update, the tank is setup! But before that, I had some complications.

I had COVID, so housemate and I decided it was best/easiest for me to isolate away from the house to avoid exposure to him and his kids, and other awkward issues. So I left my tanks untouched for a while. I'm fully recovered now, although the first two days was the worst. By the time I returned, tank was completely cycled, no ammonia, no nitrites, some nitrates. It was done on a dark cycle, so it's planting time!

On Sunday I moved the tank to the dining room bookshelf, setup the equipment and planted it:

Christmas moss:

Hydrocotyle tripartita:

Anubias barteri var. nana:

Bucephalandra lamandau ‘Mini Purple’:

Anubias petite:

I don't expect all the plants to do well so I plant to make changes as needed. Here's the full plant list:

• Anubias barteri var. nana
• Anubias barteri var. nana petite
• Bucephalandra lamandau ‘Mini Purple’
• Christmas Moss
• Cryptocoryne parva
• Micranthemum ‘Monte Carlo’
• Eleocharis belem
• Hydrocotyle tripartita
• Ludwigia super-red
• Bacopa monnieri
• Rotala rotundifolia
• Echinodorus ‘Compacta’
• Red Root Floaters

Tank is on the third self from the bottom, while the Fluval 107 canister is on the first (bottom) shelf behind some books:

Here's the rest of the hardware list:

• UNS 3T tank
• Twinstar 30B LED light, with dimmer
• Meross smart power strip to act as a timer
• Fluval 107 canister filter set at about 50%, with Fluval's Bio-Max blue and white sponges, Eheim Substrat Pro, and Seachem Purigen
• Aquario Neo Flow pipes: Neo Inlet and Neo Reliever
• Fluval Mini CO2 kit (passive CO2 system, my intention is to run this as a "low tech" tank, but I wanted to test out a passive system temporarily to see how well it works)

I'm gonna let the thank run for about a month before adding some shrimp, although there's already snails in the tank.

[nabokovfan87]

Looks awesome.

I always enjoy anubias, hopefully the one you have does really well for you.  Moss looks great too and the placement is perfect.

Feel better.  I hope everything is ok with you and those around you.