Day 1 new set up

[Whitesage66]

Of all the differences in this set up other set up I've ever done, no air stone or sponge filter is the hardest, lol. Added the whole bag of calcium rocks, seems a bit much and wondering if 1/2 inch of sand is enough for the snails?

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[JennyPenny]

I know what you mean, but simple is best for these guys.
1/2 inch of sand is fine, the calcium rocks are fine, and your tank looks great. More rocks will be more stability for your tank. If you want to add a bit more sand, go ahead. I think I have about 3/4 inch of substrate in mine.

[abc]

I started another thread on this, so sorry for the redundancy but not having a sponge filter running is also a hard thing for me to do. Why is it better?

[Varanus]

I started another thread on this, so sorry for the redundancy but not having a sponge filter running is also a hard thing for me to do. Why is it better?

Because these shrimp like calm water and have no need for a sponge filter. Having one won't necessarily harm them, but simplicity is one of the main draws of keeping these shrimp. No sponge filter means one less thing to maintain/worry about.

[Whitesage66]

I added a mangrove tree. It was sitting in my dwarf seahorse tank and looking a little droopy. I thought the half salinity in the shrimp tank would help and it's perked up. It should be fine in the shrimp tank right? Mangrove trees grow in any salinity or completely fresh. There is already some algae growing on the calcium rocks. The mangrove should help with aging the tank and I know copepods and shrimp love them. I thought about adding some brackish water copepods, cyclops, they eat detritus. I think I will have to add a small heater. All my tanks are in the sunroom which is quite cold now winter is setting in. Still planning on waiting until after the 1st of the new year to get in the snails and shrimp.

[sliphorn]

I added a mangrove tree. It was sitting in my dwarf seahorse tank and looking a little droopy. I thought the half salinity in the shrimp tank would help and it's perked up. It should be fine in the shrimp tank right? Mangrove trees grow in any salinity or completely fresh. There is already some algae growing on the calcium rocks. The mangrove should help with aging the tank and I know copepods and shrimp love them. I thought about adding some brackish water copepods, cyclops, they eat detritus. I think I will have to add a small heater. All my tanks are in the sunroom which is quite cold now winter is setting in. Still planning on waiting until after the 1st of the new year to get in the snails and shrimp.

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Others will chime in, but I say remove the mangrove tree. The only plants to use for a known successful outcome are the macroalgae and mossball available from this website. The opae ula are not like other shrimp. Follow the guidelines put forth by Mustafa and you will be good to go.
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[mike.d]

I wanted to try a mangrove too. But then I read that they excrete salt on their leaves and I was worried that would remove it from the water. I didn't want the hassle of testing and adding salt back to the tank. I was also worried about the light requirements. I don't have a sunroom.