New tank here as well. Suggestions are welcomed :)

[Edwin]

Dear all. It has been exciting reading on this forum. Previously I have bought a pre made tank with the opae ula. Now I think I would like to make and design a bigger tank myself. I'll be getting new opae ula for this tank as well. After I am sure this tank is fully established, I may consider combining this tank with my original. So I got myself a 30 × 20 × 15 cm tank.

This is what I have to add in the tank at the moment:
- 1 big, 1 medium and a few small pieces of dragon stones
- black shrimp powder soil
- LED light

At the moment, I'm soaking the rocks. Planning to add in soil and rocks tomorrow into the tank.

Just a few questions:
1) Do we cycle the tank in the brackish water?
2) I am missing plants/algae now. Are a few Marimo balls sufficient for this tank as the only plants/algae?
3) Is there any snails or living things needed to aid in the cycling of water?
4) Am I missing anything?

Thanks in advance for your contribution

[Ace]

I would take everything out of your existing system and put it into the new container and then fill it with your freshly mixed brackish water at half salt water strength. Just mix half the salt per gallon that the directions tell you. Use Instant Ocean but maybe not Instant Ocean Reef Crystals. I have read that Reef Crystals are more difficult to get dissolved in the water. Adding the things from your existing system will give you an instant cycle in the new container.

If you go with Marimo, get as much as you can and be aware that mixing it with any other green plants that grow faster will mean that the Marino will be out competed for nutrients. It would be best to keep Marimo without other plant species since they grow so slowly.

Snails are always good to have in your system. They help keep things nicer.

You may want to have something to put calcium in the water like a coral skeleton or an aragonite crystal. I used aragonite sand in my system.

I don't think you will be needing anything else.

What is the black shrimp powder soil?

[Edwin]

I will post a photo of the soil soon. It is from Japan and the packet said that no pre washed needed. I wanted a black soil substrate.

I will be putting in crushed corals as well which I forgot to mention in my first post.

I don't plan to mix my first tank since it's my first and I am very worried that if something goes wrong, I will kill everything. Or perhaps I will get 50% of the water from my first tank to be added into the second.

[Edwin]

Photo of the soil I will be using

[Varanus]

I find it likely that stuff is for freshwater shrimp, though I don't know if that would matter in this case.

[Edwin]

Just read a bit more about the soil and found out that it buffers pH downwards of a range from 5 to 6.5 what should I do if I can't refund the soil? Will putting in more crushed corals and egg shells work? Or adding in baking soda? Please advise!

[KenCotigirl]

Edwin do not use that soil. Use substrate for salt water tanks. Black is available. If your local pet store sells salt water creatures they usually have open bags available. A pound or two is all you need. Black is a great color for substrate but over time debris makes it look unsightly. Those two rocks look great!

Ken

[Edwin]

Thanks Ken.

Any normal sand will do then right? How about black onyx sand? Just felt black will allow the shrimps to stand out better

[Varanus]

Thanks Ken.

Any normal sand will do then right? How about black onyx sand? Just felt black will allow the shrimps to stand out better

It will indeed make them stand out beautifully, and yeah any sand meant for aquarium use will do.

[Edwin]

Finally , my tank is ready! Photos show the steps of my set up.

Took about 6 hours for the water to clear up. However there are a lot of air bubbles everywhere in the tank. Any idea why?

Should I put in marimo for cycling?

[Varanus]

There's some debate here about whether marimos should even be in a supershrimp tank at all (basically arguments over whether the kind sold for aquariums can handle brackish water long term or not) and regardless I don't think they are recommended for cycling. I'd go with Mustafa's snails and/or macroalgae if you want to speed cycling, as it worked fine for me. Otherwise just put in a tiny piece of fish food for organic fuel and wait for algae to grow.

A lot of bubbles are normal right after you fill a new tank. They come from air trapped in the sand/gravel or just the sides of the tank and will dissipate over time.

[Edwin]

Thanks for the quick replies Varanus. My country unfortunately is unable to order anything from Mustafa and hence I'll need to make do with what I have here's hoping the cycling goes well.

Anyway, bubbles almost all gone from the tank after another 12 hours

[KenCotigirl]

Your tank looks nice. Again a big fan or your rocks. Good luck!

KenP

[Edwin]

Thanks Ken!

I'm wondering what will happen if I put in the shrimps before any form of algae is formed but the water parameters is okay (e.g. zero ammonia and ph is around 8 )? Cos someone told me actually I can just put in the shrimps without any worries and his shrimps are surviving alright. Does that work?

[Edwin]

Almost one week of cycling for my tank. Just added more marimo yesterday which ended up making the water even more cloudy; the brownish matter in the core of those marimo (I believe them to be beneficial bacteria) spilled out when I tore them apart to decorate my tank. Very satisfied with the look of the tank right now and will not add any more things; hopefully the cloudiness drops the next few days.

Also have added a horned snail and zebra snail for some liveliness in the tank and for them to clean the tank glass walls.

Tested the water two days ago as well and pH was between 7.5 - 8 while ammonia is at least at 0.5 for now. Will test again next week.

Finally a photo of my tank