Nanosphere 9

[Ace]

Greetings all,

My name is: Ace

This aquascape is not finished but I want to share what I have so far.

I know that there is a section of this forum called: "members gallery" it has been inactive for some time now. It is my hope that here, in this post, you will show your aquascapes. Additionally, it is my hope for a conversation to open here regarding materials not commonly used in Opae Ula habitats. The Opae Ula "box" seems to be very limited. Let's think outside the box and see what we can come up with. There must be something more than the same or nearly-same set-up as we have all seen. There are many reasons, that many of us are quite familiar with, which leads to a very limited palette of options when creating a habitat for these extremely fascinating shrimp.

As many before me, I am on a quest for a green habitat. Through obsessively searching and reading it would appear that actual Marimos (from Lake Akan) do, in fact, grow in fresh water and brackish, all the way up to sea-water salenities. Unfortunately, I am not completely certain about the origen of the ones that I have used in Nanosphere 9. I was told that they were maintained in salt water but the salenity was not disclosed. The experiment is approaching a month now.

I love the sea fans that are frequently used with these shrimp and they serve a functional purpose by providing more biofilm area in addition to being very decorative. However, I have seen it a "thousand times" before. I have searched and searched gorgonians and I believe that I will be selecting black tree coral for this aquascape. It has a 3-dimensional form. I am going for the appearance of a green, sea side hill top covered in trees.

Shperes seem to be the best option for housing these shrimp and I am searching for something larger. I may begin a new project in the future with a completely different aquascape. I'm thinking lime stone and Thorny Nerites instead of the Horned Nerites that I have selected for Nanosphere 9 along with Mustafa's balls.

Please, share and let everybody see what you have.
And if you have any thoughts regarding materials or realistic tank mates, please share that as well.

[KenCotigirl]

Ace I do like your sphere and I have a sphere enclosure I have not started. Something about the shape of a sphere is intriguing. Glad you posted.

I am not sure exactly what you are looking for. Greater variety of plants suitable for H rubra? I hope you find them. The Marimo balls I believe are questionable. They are from fresh water lakes. I have read "Lake Akan the epilithic filament form of marimo grow thickest where dense salty water from natural springs flow into the lake." what does this mean. Constant salt water, occasional, salt at what concentration? Not helpful. In another article to encourage growth "A small amount of salt, up to 5 percent of total water volume, can be added to the tank to encourage growth, if it will not affect other plants and animals." and then continuing "discolored Marimo balls can be placed in a bowl with a 5 percent salt water solution and ice cubes for two to three hours." What is the 5%. 50ppt or is a decimal point missing so 0.5% or 5ppt. Maybe I am reading this wrong but it confuses me. My guess the marimo's will do well in fresh or slightly brackish water 1.002. Low for breeding the H rubra.

Ken

[Ace]

Plant wise, the only thing that comes to mind, other than what Mustafa has, would be caulerpa prolifera. There is also turtle grass but it requires a very deep substrate.

I am just tying to come up with anything that is different. For example, people usually use lava rock of which the usual red or black is selected. Red lava rock isn't such a good choice since the focus is a red shrimp. Black is much better. However, there are other colors of lava rock and there are other volcanic rocks too. I used pumice. It is a grey color with pale coral color veining. Another example, aragonite we know is a very good mineral to have. Well, why not do a carpet of aragonite crystals. That would be different. There are different colors, forms and shapes of aragonite.

[Ace]

Here are aragonite samples. With the inclusion of just one crystal, you could just about have any sand or rocks that you wanted. You could do away with all of the usual items that are used with Opae Ula. A carpet of all the same form and color of aragonite formations could be striking.

[Ace]

Here are a couple more examples.

[Cakelake]

Here's my tank so far! No shrimp in it yet. I'm having trouble getting it clear so I'll probably buy a filter to use for a few days.

[KenCotigirl]

Not to hijack Ace's post but cakelake I believe your substrate is too deep. A half inch should be fine.

Ace those are nice crystals. They would add to the tank but wouldn't they degrade over time. Green or pink would be very interesting.

Ken

[Cakelake]

Why would too much substrate be a bad thing?

[Cakelake]

Anyways wouldn't a deeper substrate be better for the snail since they burrow in it?

[Ace]

Ken

While the super sharp crystals look nice, you may eventually see some degradation. I don't know really. I'm just guessing. I wouldn't think there would be much degradation. It would be an interesting experiment.

CakeLake

Substrate depth is a controversial subject. There are pluses and minuses to both deep and shallow substrates. And yes, the snails will burrow in it. However, they don't go far. Perhaps, less than an inch. I will tell you that rot can happen under a deeper substrate. Since I have a bubble that is very round with a small bottom, I had to pile the sand in there to get floor space. My substrate level is nearly 3 inches high. That does not mean that it is alright. But I should be ok. The snails will prevent the rot from happening in the upper sand bed. Should you decide to keep your deep sand bed, be careful not to stir it up too deeply in the future as you can release the foul into the water and kill your shrimp.

I can understand the cloudy water. Mine is still not crystal clear like I want it to be. The aragonite sand I used made the water very cloudy even though I rinsed it for half an hour. :/ I've been struggling to not do a water change and wait to see if it will eventually become crystal clear. The shrimp really are best left undisturbed.

How long has your water been sitting? It is always best to wait until you see algae growth before adding the shrimp so that they will have something to eat when you put them in there. Additionally, the algae growth shows you that your water is in a good place and may even be cycled.

Good job on getting something that is round. The shrimp like to swim a lot and they will be able to go round and round instead of hitting a corner.

Thank you very much for sharing what you have.

[Varanus]

Indeed, if you're going to use a filter to clear the water then best to do it before you add shrimp. But that's what you seem to plan to do anyway so no worries.

[Cakelake]

Thanks for the info Ace! I don't think I'll ever rly disturb the sand unless I decide to upgrade to a larger tank in the future. Would using a filter when planning on moving the deeper layers of sand prevent the shrimp from dying? Also I've had a filter on my tank for a few days now and the water is crystal clear which is super exciting

[Ace]

That is exciting!

I wouldn't rely on a filter in that situation. It wouldn't be able to remove the toxins. But this shouldn't be an issue. You would surely have the shrimmpies out before disturbing the sand that far down.

[Ace]

Woohoo! Five babies. )

[SSpiffyShrimp]

I'm in Tucson right now and the Gem and Mineral Show is going on. I may just have to look for some Aragonite specimens.