And now the wait!

[Coluber42]

I've got my tank all set up, and now the wait until it's ready for shrimp! It's a 2-gallon bow front tank, with sand on the bottom, a chunk of lava rock, and some rocks and a bunch of shells. The shells, rocks, and sand all came from a craft store. I rinsed them liberally, first with tap water and then with distilled water. Then they sat soaking in distilled water while I was out of town for a week.

Today I did one more rinse, mixed up the reef salt, put everything in its place, and added Mustafa's moss ball and macro algae. So far so good?

My few questions:
- When I came back from my trip, the tank smelled kinda funky. I'm assuming that was the result of residual organic matter in the shells decaying. I assume that is still going to be happening for awhile. So knowing that there's some additional funkiness to be cycled through, should I test for ammonia or anything else before adding snails and shrimp? Should I wait extra time? Can I just go by the appearance of algae and call it good?

- I soaked everything in the tank, but the tank wasn't full, so the water line left a sort of "bathtub ring" - not too visible, just a bit of accumulated dust or debris or whatever. I meant to wipe it off when the tank was empty, but I forgot. What is a safe method of cleaning the glass on the inside, whether it's algae growth or the residual bathtub ring?

- For the time being while the tank cycles, is it better to leave the light on a 12/12 hour timer, or leave it on for longer? Is there any benefit for growing algae faster if the light is on longer?

- Last question: Most of the decorations are sort of low for the height of the tank. Is there a benefit to filling some of that empty space with a piece of driftwood or something that can provide more surfaces and more cover? Maybe I'm just, uhhh, ophidiomorphizing (it's like anthropomorphizing, but with snakes instead of humans...) - this will be my first pet that isn't a snake. But snakes in general appreciate cover and having open space filled in with permeable visual barriers like branches or vines or whatever. Am I just way overthinking and making the silly assumption that it's good for shrimp because snakes like it?

I know, I know, everyone's in a hurry. But part of me is in a particular hurry, because we actually have decent shipping weather where I live, which is NOT normal for this time of year. But it's New England, and things can change quickly. By the end of January two years ago we had gotten a grand total of like an inch of snow the whole winter.... and by the end of February the snow piles in front of my house from shoveling the sidewalk were so high that I literally could not reach the top with the snow shovel - all I could do was hurl each shovel full as high as it would go and hope not too much of it would fall back down.
So it could theoretically be a long time before shipping is an option even once the tank is ready. But they say patience is a virtue, so I guess I gotta practice being virtuous!

[KenCotigirl]

Nice to have you with us. I checked my tanks which are cycled and I do not notice an odor. I would not rush and buy shrimp and wait till March. If the odor is due to cycling it will pass. Wipe the ring with your finger. Use an old credit card to scrape harder buildup. If your tank is plastic just use your finger so you don't scratch the surface. I like using pieces of fan coral to add height in the tank. I takes up no volume, the shrimp crawl all over it and you can see through it. If you are concerned about illegal harvesting I am sure there must be an artificial type. No branches, vines or driftwood.

Test the water if it makes you happy but only if you can restrain yourself from tinkering. Simple test kits are useful should you suspect a problem now or in the future. Not necessary if you follow Mustafa's directions.

Ken

[Coluber42]

The odor was in the (not yet salted) water I'd let everything soak in while I was gone. I dumped that out and gave everyything one more rinse before mixing up the "real" water and setting it all up, so there's no smell right now. I just assume that whatever it was that caused the smell is probably not 100% gone after just that bit more rinsing, so it will still have to run its course before I add shrimp, correct? In other words, if I am pretty sure there's a bit of dead stuff in there, that's going to make the ammonia rise for awhile, right?

Are there any natural materials I could use similar to fan coral ("spider wood"?) that aren't harvested from the wild? If not, maybe I'll use a plastic one. I just don't like the plasticky look as much.

Thanks!

[Varanus]

I suppose leaving the lights on all the time could speed algae growth, but I don't know to what degree. As for adding shrimp, it'd be better to wait. I get your weather concerns, but its best to at least have some visible algae growth (either the surface film turning greenish or algae visibly growing on the rocks/substrate) before you add shrimp.

Some things you can order right away though are Mustafa's snails as well as the macroalgae. The snails are tough and together with the macroalgae can help speed the cycling process. And not to sound cold, but if something is wrong with the water it will be better to have the snails tell you then to have the more expensive shrimp die.

[Coluber42]

Yeah, I'm not going to try and add critters right away... more just grumbling about the weather. The way this winter is going, I can probably order them any time I'm ready for it; although it would be just my luck to catch another arctic vortex or something and end up back under three layers of long underwear in April LOL.

I did put the macroalgae in already. Is there any benefit to putting in snails ahead of shrimp, aside from finding out if there's anything drastically wrong with the water and having some gastropods to watch until the tank is ready for shrimp? I figured I'd order them at the same time to save on shipping costs, but if it's beneficial to put in snails first I'll do that. Will they have anything to eat? Would I feed them?

Thanks for answering all my questions!

[Varanus]

I did put the macroalgae in already. Is there any benefit to putting in snails ahead of shrimp, aside from finding out if there's anything drastically wrong with the water and having some gastropods to watch until the tank is ready for shrimp? I figured I'd order them at the same time to save on shipping costs, but if it's beneficial to put in snails first I'll do that. Will they have anything to eat? Would I feed them?

Thanks for answering all my questions!

Well for me at least it made waiting to get the shrimp easier as it gives something to observe in the tank. I suppose the main benefit that could speed cycling more than just having the macroalgae in there is that the snail's waste would add some ammonia to the water for the beneficial bacterial to eat and build their numbers, plus adding the snails would mean adding some more of Mustafa's water and the bacteria in it.

As for food, Mustafa says that biofilm starts growing in most tanks within a few days, so there should be some for the snails to eat. I myself supplemented the snails with a piece or two of fish food early on, but they probably didn't need it (though they appreciated it).

But yeah, its not necessary by any means to order them before the shrimp. I think even just the macroalgae helps.

[Coluber42]

I guess my big question is, I strongly suspect that there's some small bits of decaying animal matter in there already, presumably from the shells. Would this be likely to harm the snails, or would the snails just eat it and help process it faster?

[Varanus]

I guess my big question is, I strongly suspect that there's some small bits of decaying animal matter in there already, presumably from the shells. Would this be likely to harm the snails, or would the snails just eat it and help process it faster?

Probably the latter, these sorts of snails are the kind that in most tanks are considered pests due in part to how hard they are to kill.

[Coluber42]

Well, I ordered snails, but the weather is back to being somewhat seasonal again, so it's probably going to be awhile. Maybe by the time it's warm enough again I can get some shrimp into the same package.

But the smell is gone, and the macroalgae look green and happy, so I'll just be patient!

[Mustafa]

Looks like you got some great answers here. Yep, just be patient and do nothing (which is hard, I know)...everything will be alright!