My First Shrimp-only Tank Journal

Newjohn · Post by **Newjohn** » Sun Sep 10, 2006 2:08 pm

The Fisherman
Sorry for side tracking this Thread

Wetpets
In Mustafa article he says

Hence, I am now advocating the use of slow growing plants only. Plants such as java moss and java fern are idea plants for the shrimp tank. Java moss (or any other similar moss) is especially well-suited for the shrimp tank as it provides both the adults and the hatchlings with ample grazing opportunities and hiding spaces. In fact, java moss seems to be a "microorganism factory," as shrimp seem to always be able to find food in a java moss thicket.

I believe that is why,
and with my own experience,
as The fisherman already stated.

Java Moss is a slow grower.

John

WetPets · Post by **WetPets** » Sun Sep 10, 2006 2:20 pm

Must be doing something wrong then, as I said, been growing it for years.. and every article I have read states its a medium or fast grower, but never once reads its a slow grower... odd, but I guess it would depend on your water and light conditions... but everyone has opinions I guess.

zapisto · Post by **zapisto** » Sun Sep 10, 2006 4:02 pm

i would say like badflash.
everything is relative.

depend on the condition you have your java moss, it will grow faster or slower.
i have tank in the same fishroom who have different water param and ligth param.
in one of them i have problem with javamoss, in the other one, if i am not cuting them almost every week or two, i will not be able see my fish.

so... all of you is rigth

WetPets · Post by **WetPets** » Sun Sep 10, 2006 4:33 pm

Exactly, I know, i'm pulling out handfulls weekly on my java moss otherwise it looks very dense. It helps after the java moss takes root, and to do that, spread it out really thin...after that, add several hours of light, and get ready to start pulling every week or so.

wendyjo · Post by **wendyjo** » Sun Sep 10, 2006 6:35 pm

Ack - I was hoping to learn alot from this thread and instead it's a debate about java moss. Boo.

Newjohn · Post by **Newjohn** » Sun Sep 10, 2006 6:40 pm

Wendyjo

It started out, on track.

Do some searching in the old threads.
There is alot of good information.

The articles section is a great place to start. If you have not done this already.

John

wendyjo · Post by **wendyjo** » Sun Sep 10, 2006 6:59 pm

Thanks! I have been on this site all day reading up on stuff. Wasn't till a few hours ago I decided to join and ask some specific questions. I'm sure I'll be on here alot the next few weeks until I feel confident with my new RCS. Hope ya'll are tolerant of Newbies

The Fisherman · Post by **The Fisherman** » Sun Sep 10, 2006 8:30 pm

Haha, yeah this thread did get pretty off track. I guess it was a good disscussion though.

Welcome to the forum Wendyjo!

Unfrotuneatley, nothing to update on today.

Maybe tomorrow.

-John (AKA: The Puffer Ninja)

WetPets · Post by **WetPets** » Mon Sep 11, 2006 7:10 am

Yeah, sorry about that

The Fisherman · Post by **The Fisherman** » Mon Sep 11, 2006 10:29 am

Haha, no worrys WetPets.

I think it did turn out to be a good discussion in which things can be learned.

I should be updating tonight.

-John (AKA: The Puffer Ninja)

The Fisherman · Post by **The Fisherman** » Mon Sep 11, 2006 5:15 pm

9/11/06 : Maturing The System

Water params, 3 days after setup:

NitrAte: 15 ppm (from the natural nitrates in my well water)
NitrIte: 0 ppm
GH: 150 ppm
KH: 180 ppm (and thats after diluting with several gallons of RO)
Ammonia: 0 ppm

I added 1/2 ML of Ammonia solution.

15 mins after I added the Ammonia, I tested again and the Ammonia was somewhere between .25 and .50 ppm, although it was hard to tell on the color strip, because the color was a little different...

I am doing a fishless cycle, using Ammonia solution, adding slightly more Ammonia each time until I get my biological filter to handle a certain amount of bio-load.

I seeded one of the sponges with a filter cartridge from another tank, so this should speed the process along.

I should be updating each day with new water parameters.

-John (AKA: The Puffer Ninja)

Newjohn · Post by **Newjohn** » Mon Sep 11, 2006 9:00 pm

I have never tried , putting Ammonia in my tanks to cycle them.

Is this how you always cycle a tank ?

I have always had a few extra sponge filters in tanks to start them.

You can learn something new every day.

Keep the updates Comming.

NewJohn

The Fisherman · Post by **The Fisherman** » Mon Sep 11, 2006 9:44 pm

NewJohn,

I don't use this method to cycle ALL my tanks, usually I just transfer an extra filter onto the tank.

Sometimes I use chunks of rotting food/plants to cycle too.

This time I am doing a combination of jumpstarting with a filter cartridge, as well as the ammonia.

I'll keep this updated on my progress. I want to get the bacteria to be able to "eat" a few PPM of Ammonia in around 24 hours, if I remember correctly. Then I will add the shrimp, plants, and leaf litter. I'll boil some rocks tomorrow if I have time.

-John (AKA: The Puffer Ninja)

Neonshrimp · Post by **Neonshrimp** » Tue Sep 12, 2006 12:30 am

Interesting technique

So how long does this process take to cycle a new tank?

bulrush · Post by **bulrush** » Tue Sep 12, 2006 9:48 am

badflash wrote:Java moss is not a fast grower no matter what you do, but s the ideal plant.

Java moss grows quite fast for me in my 10g tank. In fact I had to cut my light down to 12 hrs per day it was growing so fast. Right now I take out about 20% of the java moss every 2 months so it doesn't overtake the tank.

I use a cheap CFL in a cheap metal base for this tank.

Also, I find light blue or light green gravel really contrasts nicely with red cherry shrimp.