tbrewer02 Posted August 5 Share Posted August 5 Hello! I have an established 10 gallon tank. I ordered some cherry shrimp and they came smaller than expected, so I decided to start a new dedicated shrimp tank (I now realize I should have done this from the start). The shrimp are currently in a breeder net in the established tank with java moss. I'm new to the hobby and unfortunately only have a HOB filter running in my established tank. I purchased a new sponge filter that I've been running in the established tank for a day or two now. I'm planning on moving this new filter over to the new tank when I'm ready to move the shrimp over. How long should I wait before the new filter is seeded? I've seen anywhere from 1 week to 3 months... I'm also planning on moving over some plants, substrate, and squeezing out the filter juice from my established tank into my new shrimp tank. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMC Posted August 5 Share Posted August 5 (edited) Let me start by saying I have not kept shrimp (but have too many scuds to count)… but have started tanks quickly using an established tank quite a few times 1) I would put the new sponge filter into the established tank as soon as you can. 2) I would siphon 2-5 gallons of water out of your established tank and put it into your new 10 gallon tank. Don’t be afraid to get some mulm out of the gravel 3) I would move the substrate and maybe a plant over to the new tank from the old tank and squeeze the HOB filter juice into the new tank. 4) Feed a quarter of what you think your shrimp could eat into the 10 gallon tank for a few days. (If you’re going to add snails and have them I’d recommend adding 1-2 small snail now) 5) After the sponge filter has been running in the established tank for at least 24 hours I would move it to the new tank. 6) 24 hours later I would test the water. If it test good I would move some of the shrimp over. 7) Keep feeding a smaller amount for a few days and then add the rest of the shrimp. 8 After a few days slowly start increasing your daily feeding amount. As I stated above I have no shrimp experience but this has worked for me with fish over a dozen times. Best of luck to you. Edited August 5 by JMC 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbrewer02 Posted August 5 Author Share Posted August 5 This is really helpful @JMC, I appreciate it! It sounds like I might be overcomplicating it 😄 I have the sponge filter running in my established tank now! This is a great learning experience though for making sure I keep an extra filter in a tank for faster cycling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMC Posted August 5 Share Posted August 5 After watching MEDAKA RICE FISH OUTDOORS on YouTube I have also started to keep ceramic rings on a ziptie in my established aquariums like this video shows at 7:47… That way if I need to jump start a new tank or tub (or restart a tank if I accidentally kill off the beneficial bacteria in a tank or tub) I am ready to go. For your setup it sounds to me like your sponge filter should already be seeded with beneficial bacteria, just be slow at increasing your food to the new aquarium to let the bacteria population grow enough to handle the bio load. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbrewer02 Posted August 5 Author Share Posted August 5 That's a really great idea, I'll have to check it out! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nabokovfan87 Posted August 5 Share Posted August 5 You should be fine with "just" the hang on back in the tank. You can take some of the media out of the baggie and place it in the new tank. I would use anywhere from a few pieces of media (5-10) or go ahead and replace the media bag in the HoB and place the entire media bag into your new tank to cycle. Just having the media bag in that tank with an airstone will get you going and get the bacteria going as well. Thankfully, shrimp do not have a big bioload and it's something where you can add them to the tank as long as it's setup for them with pretty minimal issues. One thing that's helpful as well is to keep the water is the same between the two tanks. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyxxl Posted August 5 Share Posted August 5 On 8/5/2024 at 3:26 PM, tbrewer02 said: This is really helpful @JMC, I appreciate it! It sounds like I might be overcomplicating it 😄 I have the sponge filter running in my established tank now! This is a great learning experience though for making sure I keep an extra filter in a tank for faster cycling. Most of us over think, but this hobby can be super simple. I have a bunch of plants coming purely to start a new tank of plants. Thinking about shrimp like you have. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbrewer02 Posted August 6 Author Share Posted August 6 (edited) On 8/5/2024 at 4:50 PM, nabokovfan87 said: You should be fine with "just" the hang on back in the tank. You can take some of the media out of the baggie and place it in the new tank. I would use anywhere from a few pieces of media (5-10) or go ahead and replace the media bag in the HoB and place the entire media bag into your new tank to cycle. Just having the media bag in that tank with an airstone will get you going and get the bacteria going as well. Thankfully, shrimp do not have a big bioload and it's something where you can add them to the tank as long as it's setup for them with pretty minimal issues. One thing that's helpful as well is to keep the water is the same between the two tanks. Sorry, what do you mean by "take some media out of the baggie"? Do you mean the bio rings? Unfortunately (maybe?) this filter just has cartridges. On 8/5/2024 at 6:15 PM, johnnyxxl said: Most of us over think, but this hobby can be super simple. I have a bunch of plants coming purely to start a new tank of plants. Thinking about shrimp like you have. I'm hoping to grow more plants in here than in my 10 gallon. I have some java fern, java moss, and an anubias plant in there now. They are doing alright but my light isn't too great. I bought the 10 gallon on a whim because my 16 month old likes watching fish swim around 😄 I'm trying to piece this 5 gallon a little better, which will include a better light. Edited August 6 by tbrewer02 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenman Posted August 6 Share Posted August 6 Shrimp have a smallish bioload so you won't need a lot of biofiltration to keep their water quality good. I've heard stories of freshwater shrimp shipped for fourteen days in a bag and surviving and no commonly used shipping bag holds five gallons of water. If the tanks are side-by-side, you can connect the two with a siphon tube and then use a small pump in one to move water to the other one. Then water from the other tank will flow through the siphon tube back to the tank with the pump. Think of it as adding an addition to a house. The addition (your five-gallon tank) uses the filtration, heat, etc. from the bigger tank and uses that biofiltration for its bioload. (Just be sure the tops of both tanks are even or things could get pretty wet.) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyxxl Posted August 6 Share Posted August 6 On 8/5/2024 at 9:10 PM, tbrewer02 said: Sorry, what do you mean by "take some media out of the baggie"? Do you mean the bio rings? Unfortunately (maybe?) this filter just has cartridges. I think they are referring to bio rings 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbrewer02 Posted August 6 Author Share Posted August 6 I went ahead and did this tonight. I think I may have squeezed a little too much out of the filter into the new tank. The water is pretty murky and there's a layer of brown over my sand (I forgot how much more shows with sand substrate), but I guess the good new is that there is definitely bacteria in the tank and also plenty of food for the shrimp haha 😄 Planning on adding the shrimp tomorrow if the parameters are looking good. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbrewer02 Posted August 7 Author Share Posted August 7 The shrimp are in the new tank and seem to be doing well. They're swimming, munching around, and look to be getting more of their red color back. Also found out one of them is pregnant so hopefully I'll have a few more soon 😄 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nabokovfan87 Posted August 8 Share Posted August 8 On 8/5/2024 at 6:10 PM, tbrewer02 said: Sorry, what do you mean by "take some media out of the baggie"? Do you mean the bio rings? Unfortunately (maybe?) this filter just has cartridges. AH! That's unfortunate. Please be sure to check out filter mod videos for your particular filter. There might be someone who has previously upgraded it in this thread as well or feel free to ask! On 8/6/2024 at 8:49 AM, johnnyxxl said: On 8/5/2024 at 6:10 PM, tbrewer02 said: Sorry, what do you mean by "take some media out of the baggie"? Do you mean the bio rings? Unfortunately (maybe?) this filter just has cartridges. I think they are referring to bio rings Yep! Barring the rings, I thing some people even take a scoop of gravel for a similar affect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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