SuperProofer wrote: ↑Mon Nov 13, 2017 9:16 pm
Here's an updated picture. As you can see the larger tank has a crap ton of ugly algae and the smaller has nothing. Blarg.
Then you should transfer some of the ugly algae to the smaller jar, this way it'll populate both.
Try it!
Actually, before I do that... *IF* the water parameters are correct, even with the lack of visible algae, does anyone think it would be safe to put shrimp in there? I'm just wondering if the fact that there isn't visible algae that it hasn't cycled. And if that's the case, I don't want it to start cycling once shrimp are in there. Alternatively, if it's already cycled, I'd hate to sit around waiting and waiting for algae that may never come. Is it possible that a tank can be cycled but not have visible algae?
If you introduced the shrimp there and fed them with spirulina powder (it can be for human consumption also), they would produce ammonia whith poop.
So, you’ll see patience always pays off. If you put them too early they could die, be careful.
Mustafa has noted that generally once algae starts growing the tank is ready for shrimp and they can handle whatever ammonia may be present, just don't feed until the algae has decreased substantially. Course your tanks are very small so that general rule may not apply.
As of last night it does look like the larger tank is going down. It's closer to the 0.25 mark now. So I think I'll give it to after Thanksgiving and check again. I took some of the water from that tank and put it into the smaller one in the hopes of kicking it off. Worst case I'll just keep the big one and abandon the smaller. I'm hoping to to get an even larger (maybe half gal or gal) once we get settled in the new house. Maybe that will work out better. But that won't be until after the new year.
I'm pretty sure your tanks are ready for shrimp. From your pictures it looks like they are in a fairly dark location, so that may be the reason why you are not seeing much algae growth. Even your big tank doesn't have much actually. But, as Varanus said...once you see algae you're good to go. I don't even test for ammonia or anything else really. My system is pretty much foolproof.
Yeah, sorry the pictures was dark. They sit by an open window everyday with indirect sunlight, but these pics were taken at night and I didn't use my flash. Lol
Well, if you think the are ready, maybe I'll give it a shot! I've been waiting forever!
How did it go after you introduce the shrimp? I just transferred one of my ecosystem shrimp over to the new home (after observing brown algae), so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. By the way, if you do decide to feed your shrimp in the smaller jar, I highly recommend a wafer or something you can remove. I crashed my ecosystem once because of overfeeding with spirulina powder (too difficult to dose in such a small jar) but now I supplement with shrimp wafer sand just remove it after 3 hours with a tweezer. Would love to hear an update!
