live rock

[jonesinfershrimp]

im going to be setting up a supershrimp tank by the time the new year rolls around. most likely my 20H unless i get a 20L before then. can i put live rock in there? or will the salinity not be proper thanks in advance

[KenCotigirl]

My two cents. I would not spend the money on live rock. Buy base rock if available and if you like the look. I do not know if the critters on the live rock will survive in brackish water.

Ken

[mcdaney]

I agree with Ken. Live rocks contain organisms on it. Worse if they have bristle worms which can be aggressive towards your shrimp.
I tried using live rock before and mysteriously lost 1 shrimp. In the end I soaked the rock in ice water to "kill" it, then sun dried it for a few days.
It's now sitting in a small tank with green algae beautifully grown on it.

[Mech]

Don't use live rock in the brackish tank, you will get die off from all the living things that won't survive in the freash/salt mixture ratios that opae ula need to thrive.

It will start dieing off and flood your tank with ammonia which will kill shrimp very quickly. I would go with ocean rock (dead cured live rock) in the US they call it Texas holey rock, it's limestone and will buffer your PH correctly. If you take the live rock and scrub it clean and kill all the inhabitants then dry and clean it some more then you will just end up with 'ocean rock'.

Good luck.

[jonesinfershrimp]

thanks for all the feedback i will get some of that limestone texas holey rock then. i also have a piece of lava rock, would that be ok to put in there?

[Mech]

thanks for all the feedback i will get some of that limestone texas holey rock then. i also have a piece of lava rock, would that be ok to put in there?

Absolutely, if I could get some nice lava rock I would have some in with my ocean rock too but in the UK it's not so readily available at a good price.

[mcdaney]

Yep, I use only lava rock

[jonesinfershrimp]

alright, thanks guys! im gona get some lava rock. how much should i use for a 40B? and what substrate? could i use crushed coral?

[Varanus]

alright, thanks guys! im gona get some lava rock. how much should i use for a 40B? and what substrate? could i use crushed coral?

Crushed coral would help add calcium to the tank if you're not using limestone (unclear if you changed your mind about that).

Lava rock looks good too, but I love the limestone/holey rocks as in addition to the rock itself providing calcium their many holes serve the purpose of giving lots of hiding places if the shrimp desire them. In my tank I have two pieces of black lava rock with a big piece of holey rock between them. My substrate is mostly black sand mixed with some aragonite.

[jonesinfershrimp]

thanks for the feedback

im gona be using my 20H again. ive been doing some more reading and im gona use aragonite with lavarock and some dead corals.

im thinking about running a small sponge filter (CAF-10) and running it with a whisper 10 air pump, i know its not necessary but it would make me more comfortable having it.

[Mech]

thanks for the feedback

im gona be using my 20H again. ive been doing some more reading and im gona use aragonite with lavarock and some dead corals.

im thinking about running a small sponge filter (CAF-10) and running it with a whisper 10 air pump, i know its not necessary but it would make me more comfortable having it.

i felt the same way about the sponge filter, it helps the water stay very clear which i like also

[jonesinfershrimp]

i felt the same way about the sponge filter, it helps the water stay very clear which i like also

thats what im looking for! lol. algae can stay, but i want crystal clear water!

[Varanus]

Well I don't know if my example counts as my tank is only a few months old, but I haven't had any issues with water clarity despite not having a filter. I just ran one a fair while after first setting up the tank in order to get rid of the usual initial cloudiness.

[mcdaney]

No issue for me too. I started off running a hang-over filter for about a week (before adding the shrimps in) to get algae growth on the substrate/rocks. Water circulation aids that. I will then remove the filter when ready and add the shrimps in. My water has been clear since then. Remember to not overfeed.

Check out my tanks on my Instagram: http://instagram.com/opaeula

[Mustafa]

Yeah, you don't need or want a filter in general. The water will stay clear no matter what (and clear after being cloudy in the beginning) if you don't overfeed. The macroalgae or missals (if you finally have a ton of them) help in that department, too.