wes.crockett Posted September 29, 2023 Share Posted September 29, 2023 Hey all, A few months ago, I bought a Fluval Ebi (New in box) for about $25. It's sat for over six months. I got the itch to set this us as a shrimp tank on my desk. I am at the desk for 10-12 hours a day, so it'll be really awesome having it in my peripheral almost all day. I 3d printed a cool cave structure (can be found here). I smushed it to be sized right for this tank and printed it overnight. Yesterday, I added a bit more than 1kg of Fluval Stratum. Then, today, I stole some gravel from my 10 gallon community tank and headed to our LFS to get some plants. After talking to one of their associates, who coincidentally put together their most awesome nano-community tank in the shop, I settled on Sagittaria Subuleta and some Staurogyne Repens. I stole about 1/2 gallon from my 10 gallon tank (after doing a water change about 6 hours before) and filled the rest with fresh water (and some dechlorinator). I added a bit of Easy Green as well. Once the plants take hold and they establish their roots, I plan to get some Blue Rili or Blue Velvets for the tank. Let me know what you think, how I could improve it, and if you have any useful tips and tricks. Thanks! -Wes 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSwissAquarist Posted September 29, 2023 Share Posted September 29, 2023 That’s a really cool cave idea!! Staurogyne Repens is meant to be pretty hard to grow without co2….I’ve tried it in my shrimp & WCMM tank and it isn’t doing great. However I don’t use ferts so Easy Green might just give it that little extra edge. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wes.crockett Posted September 29, 2023 Author Share Posted September 29, 2023 On 9/29/2023 at 6:33 AM, TheSwissAquarist said: That’s a really cool cave idea!! Staurogyne Repens is meant to be pretty hard to grow without co2….I’ve tried it in my shrimp & WCMM tank and it isn’t doing great. However I don’t use ferts so Easy Green might just give it that little extra edge. Well now I want co2! lol. Think those mini Fluval Co2 Systems would do the trick in this tiny tank? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruud Posted September 29, 2023 Share Posted September 29, 2023 That 3d printed cave is really cool actually! Never seen it before. I have been playing with a similar idea.. having a little shrimp tank for my desk as like you I am working from home. Curious to see how this one goes, I am always a bit hesitant with these tiny nano tanks and worry there isn't enough water to keep a steady environment. WIll be following! Enjoy and good luck! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wes.crockett Posted September 29, 2023 Author Share Posted September 29, 2023 On 9/29/2023 at 9:51 AM, Ruud said: That 3d printed cave is really cool actually! Never seen it before. I have been playing with a similar idea.. having a little shrimp tank for my desk as like you I am working from home. Curious to see how this one goes, I am always a bit hesitant with these tiny nano tanks and worry there isn't enough water to keep a steady environment. WIll be following! Enjoy and good luck! With shrimp only, the tank should be fairly easy to keep stable as their bio load is minimal and they do a ton of the cleaning in the tank itself... ideally at least... I'll keep this thread updated over time. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wes.crockett Posted September 29, 2023 Author Share Posted September 29, 2023 I ordered one of those (cheaper) CO2 Generation systems on Amazon. Total of $120 with the tank, regulator, diffuser, bubble check, citric acid, baking soda, and everything else needed... I'm sure it'll be awful. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSwissAquarist Posted September 30, 2023 Share Posted September 30, 2023 On 9/29/2023 at 4:28 PM, wes.crockett said: Well now I want co2! lol. Think those mini Fluval Co2 Systems would do the trick in this tiny tank? I’ve never tried co2 (I’m more into breeding than aquarium aesthetics 🙃) but I’m told that Marsilea Hirsuta is basically like a dwarf baby tears without needing co2….if you’d consider replacing S.Repens with Marsilea? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wes.crockett Posted September 30, 2023 Author Share Posted September 30, 2023 On 9/30/2023 at 10:47 AM, TheSwissAquarist said: I’ve never tried co2 (I’m more into breeding than aquarium aesthetics 🙃) but I’m told that Marsilea Hirsuta is basically like a dwarf baby tears without needing co2….if you’d consider replacing S.Repens with Marsilea? Looks nice! If the Repens don't make it, I'll give these a try. So far everything looks pretty good Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wes.crockett Posted October 1, 2023 Author Share Posted October 1, 2023 We have (some) co2 baby! I picked this up. First fill up was a disaster as it reacted and came spewing out over the kitchen table... quickly lidded it and salvaged some of the reaction, though I'll likely need to refill it this week again. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wes.crockett Posted October 2, 2023 Author Share Posted October 2, 2023 I had shortsighted placement... The co2 releases right under the intake for the filter... I think most of it gets sucked in there. I ordered a new diffuser (much smaller glass one) and will place it on the right side of the tank, under the pumps spout. Should lead to much better diffusion of the co2. Otherwise, plants are looking great still. I plan to order my shrimp this week. Any suggested retailers? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben P. Posted October 3, 2023 Share Posted October 3, 2023 I use either aquahuna or lrb aquatics for shrimp 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odd Duck Posted October 3, 2023 Share Posted October 3, 2023 Buypetshrimp.com has decent quality shrimp at decent prices. I’ve never bought shrimp from AquaHuna but their fish are usually decent quality, very good prices, excellent shipping price and prompt shipping. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wes.crockett Posted October 5, 2023 Author Share Posted October 5, 2023 I found a semi-local breeder who I ordered 10 Blue Dreams from. They will be delivered today! I replaced the co2 diffuser with a MUCH smaller and better looking one. I am finding though that water is constantly siphoning up to my check valve. This makes it take way longer for the co2 to make it through the line (30-50 minutes after the time the co2 solenoid is turned on to the time bubbles appear in my tank.) Any suggestions on how to deal with that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wes.crockett Posted October 5, 2023 Author Share Posted October 5, 2023 The shrimp are here! looks like 1 dead and 1... not blue? I would love an explanation if someone knows what is up with the odd one... My plan is to just put that one in my other, community, tank so it can't breed. As a shrimp novice, how do these look? Ended up with 9, healthy looking, blue ones. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wes.crockett Posted October 5, 2023 Author Share Posted October 5, 2023 AAAAND they are getting to work! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllFishNoBrakes Posted October 6, 2023 Share Posted October 6, 2023 This little tank is rad! The cave you printed is awesome. I’ve never even had the thought to have an open space where you could fill in with hardscape. Super cool. I think the moving the c02 diffuser is a good idea as well. Hopefully the output pushes the bubbles downward to keep them in suspension longer. Do you have a drop checker? Shrimp look pretty nice! They remind me of the Blue Diamond Shrimp colony my girlfriend is working on. We bought 10 from the LFS, and of those 10 only 1 was female. Once I saw her berried for the first time I knew we were on our way. Those shrimplets were successful and are now about the size that the original 10 started at. She has since had more babies as there’s 2 different sizes of baby shrimp in the tank. It’s gonna be awesome when the colony is giant and one single lady will be responsible for starting all of it. Best of luck with this tank! I really dig it! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSwissAquarist Posted October 6, 2023 Share Posted October 6, 2023 On 10/5/2023 at 6:32 PM, wes.crockett said: I found a semi-local breeder who I ordered 10 Blue Dreams from. They will be delivered today! I replaced the co2 diffuser with a MUCH smaller and better looking one. I am finding though that water is constantly siphoning up to my check valve. This makes it take way longer for the co2 to make it through the line (30-50 minutes after the time the co2 solenoid is turned on to the time bubbles appear in my tank.) Any suggestions on how to deal with that? Try putting the check valve higher up, or make a horizontal segment of airline tubing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schuyler Posted October 6, 2023 Share Posted October 6, 2023 (edited) That cave idea is really cool. It looks pretty neat all put together like that. Maybe you could do baby tears, Monty Carlo, or micro swords to cover up the front rim without blocking the hole completely Edited October 6, 2023 by Schuyler Cave* not "came" 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wes.crockett Posted October 6, 2023 Author Share Posted October 6, 2023 On 10/5/2023 at 11:02 PM, TheSwissAquarist said: Try putting the check valve higher up, or make a horizontal segment of airline tubing. I removed about 7 feet of coiled tube and it seems to have helped a lot in terms of not needing to purge the line at all. On 10/6/2023 at 7:14 AM, Schuyler said: That came idea is really cool. It looks pretty neat all put together like that. Maybe you could do baby tears, Monty Carlo, or micro swords to cover up the front rim without blocking the hole completely Thanks! I'm really stoked with how it turned out. That would look great but there is only about 1/4" of space between the rim and the glass so not really enough room but flanking it may be good. Right now I've just placed rocks around the area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schuyler Posted October 6, 2023 Share Posted October 6, 2023 On 10/6/2023 at 7:26 AM, wes.crockett said: That would look great but there is only about 1/4" of space between the rim and the glass That's a good point... maybe it would spread into that area if you started off with it flanking. Or if it grew behind and started hanging down inside. Definitely a cool idea with lots of options... maybe it's time to get a 3D printer lol 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wes.crockett Posted October 6, 2023 Author Share Posted October 6, 2023 On 10/6/2023 at 10:14 AM, Schuyler said: That's a good point... maybe it would spread into that area if you started off with it flanking. Or if it grew behind and started hanging down inside. Definitely a cool idea with lots of options... maybe it's time to get a 3D printer lol Every 6, or so, months, 3d printers go through generational improvements... What you can get today for sub-$500 compared to 2 years ago is absolutely remarkable. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schuyler Posted October 6, 2023 Share Posted October 6, 2023 On 10/6/2023 at 10:17 AM, wes.crockett said: Every 6, or so, months, 3d printers go through generational improvements... What you can get today for sub-$500 compared to 2 years ago is absolutely remarkable. I'm lucky enough to have a retired dad who likes taking any chance to justify the time and money he put into his 3D printer so normally I go to him. If you're interested in breeding fish, Lowel's fish lab worked with Dean to come up with a fry tray that you can 3D print. It's pretty great. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSwissAquarist Posted October 7, 2023 Share Posted October 7, 2023 I’m a bit of a engineering nerd, so how do you code the printer? Is there a direct user interface or is it a sort of drawing thing? You’ve got me thinking about printing an uplift tube for a HOBB using my schools 3D printer…😅 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maximus Posted October 7, 2023 Share Posted October 7, 2023 Your pictures are great, do you have any tips on reducing glare? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nabokovfan87 Posted October 7, 2023 Share Posted October 7, 2023 On 10/7/2023 at 12:12 PM, Maximus said: Your pictures are great, do you have any tips on reducing glare? I was watching this yesterday and it talks a bit about handling and dealing with glare. Maybe it'll help. 🙂 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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