Currently cycling w/ questions

[zombieluv]

Hello all

So I became smitten with these little guys after reading about them. I have always wanted a shrimp tank, but never set one up. I put a simple 5 gallon tank together 1/20/2020 "water volume of 3 gallon after sand and lava rocks". Even though, I live in the northwest "NY"and I was worried about the cold but I took a leap of faith and did not add a heater. I did run the stock filter with a pre-filter sponge and padding to polish the water though. I rinsed and rinsed my sand along with my spare tank, but it never seems to fail that I get some type of hair in my tanks "multiple dogs & cats"

So my questions are, the temp is holding steady at 64 degrees, from what I have read that is ok. My lighting is just the basic stock LED, which is not strong. I have the lights set up to run a 12h off and on cycle. I did order starter algea from another Supershrimp vender, which I'm kinda regretting now. I added it 2 weeks ago? It looked super green, but is now starting to fade in color. Not browning yet, but that's what it seems to be headed torwards. I was not sure if the temp is just too cold for the algea or if maybe it's the current due to filtration?

I will be removing the filter likely tomorrow, leaving the led light as the only thing running on this tank. I have been diligently stirring up my sand bed every few days to really polish that water "I know OCD here".

After the filter goes, should I wait a few more weeks and if my current algea does not improve, order a starter from here along with a special moss ball? I am not in a super rush as I do not plan on ordering my shrimp until at least spring due to my colder weather up here, but at the same time I want to make sure the tank can really feed the shrimp.

I also purchased some of those shrimp mineral stones that are white, am I assuming correctly, these will help with my calcium? I can also add a cuttle bone as well if that helps.

I did check my salinity and it's in the upper range for brackish water using the Instant Ocean sea salt brand. I used half distilled water and half spring water to start this tank, but will likely pick up more gallons of distilled to slowly change the water out. I've read both it's ok and it's not ok to use spring water. Did not do any other testing as it's mentioned it's not needed.

Thanks in advance

[sliphorn]

Hello all

So I became smitten with these little guys after reading about them. I have always wanted a shrimp tank, but never set one up. I put a simple 5 gallon tank together 1/20/2020 "water volume of 3 gallon after sand and lava rocks". Even though, I live in the northwest "NY"and I was worried about the cold but I took a leap of faith and did not add a heater. I did run the stock filter with a pre-filter sponge and padding to polish the water though. I rinsed and rinsed my sand along with my spare tank, but it never seems to fail that I get some type of hair in my tanks "multiple dogs & cats"

So my questions are, the temp is holding steady at 64 degrees, from what I have read that is ok. My lighting is just the basic stock LED, which is not strong. I have the lights set up to run a 12h off and on cycle. I did order starter algea from another Supershrimp vender, which I'm kinda regretting now. I added it 2 weeks ago? It looked super green, but is now starting to fade in color. Not browning yet, but that's what it seems to be headed torwards. I was not sure if the temp is just too cold for the algea or if maybe it's the current due to filtration?

I will be removing the filter likely tomorrow, leaving the led light as the only thing running on this tank. I have been diligently stirring up my sand bed every few days to really polish that water "I know OCD here".

After the filter goes, should I wait a few more weeks and if my current algea does not improve, order a starter from here along with a special moss ball? I am not in a super rush as I do not plan on ordering my shrimp until at least spring due to my colder weather up here, but at the same time I want to make sure the tank can really feed the shrimp.

I also purchased some of those shrimp mineral stones that are white, am I assuming correctly, these will help with my calcium? I can also add a cuttle bone as well if that helps.

I did check my salinity and it's in the upper range for brackish water using the Instant Ocean sea salt brand. I used half distilled water and half spring water to start this tank, but will likely pick up more gallons of distilled to slowly change the water out. I've read both it's ok and it's not ok to use spring water. Did not do any other testing as it's mentioned it's not needed.

Thanks in advance

..
What is your sand depth? It only needs to be a 1/2" or so. I'd leave the sand alone as things will settle in due time. Lose the filter. The mineral stones are fine and will buffer the water. I do not know about the spring water. If it is pure spring water you are probably ok. I have read about guys in Hawaii that use tap water with no ill effect but it must be free of chloramine. Your light is fine too. Others will chime in with their thoughts.
Good luck.
..

[ryangiggs]

There is no need to order “starter” algae nor using a filter to cycle the tank... i think letting it cycle naturally is the best way to keep the tank free from other contamination...

Given time... algae with start to grow in a week or so if u do 12H light cycle...i will typically add in nerite snails first when algae starts to form... and then by 3rd to 4th week i will add in the shrimps... although i did experiment on those small tanks regarding adding shrimps on day 1 without cycling... all the shrimps can survive... but i still recommend cycling for at least 3-4 weeks if ur tank is larger to be safe...

[zombieluv]

..
What is your sand depth? It only needs to be a 1/2" or so. I'd leave the sand alone as things will settle in due time. Lose the filter. The mineral stones are fine and will buffer the water. I do not know about the spring water. If it is pure spring water you are probably ok. I have read about guys in Hawaii that use tap water with no ill effect but it must be free of chloramine. Your light is fine too. Others will chime in with their thoughts.
Good luck.
..

oh no, way deeper then that about 2 inches. I'll pull some out when I pull the filter tomorrow.

[zombieluv]

There is no need to order “starter” algae nor using a filter to cycle the tank... i think letting it cycle naturally is the best way to keep the tank free from other contamination...

Given time... algae with start to grow in a week or so if u do 12H light cycle...i will typically add in nerite snails first when algae starts to form... and then by 3rd to 4th week i will add in the shrimps... although i did experiment on those small tanks regarding adding shrimps on day 1 without cycling... all the shrimps can survive... but i still recommend cycling for at least 3-4 weeks if ur tank is larger to be safe...

I was thinking of adding snails with the shrimp down the road as I was reading the system is more complete with them.

[Super Jess]

I was thinking of adding snails with the shrimp down the road as I was reading the system is more complete with them.

Remove the filter, reduce the sand depth, and order some petshrimp snails with your shrimp to do the work for you You can order your shrimp as soon as you see tiny spots of visible algae—Mustafa will ship when your forecast is safe for the shrimp (they can ship with heat packs in colder weather than you might suppose).

The glory of these shrimp is they thrive best when they and their environment are left undisturbed. Make sure you have a lid on your tank to keep stuff from falling in, then just sit back and enjoy.

[Mustafa]

Also, I would lose the "mineral stone" that they sell for freshwater shrimp. Nobody knows that "minerals" are in those and if there is even any calcium carbonate at all (I doubt it). So it's useless at best and possibly dangerous depending on the source of the stone. As for substrate depth...1 to 1.5 inche is usually more than enough. I have tanks with only half and inch to 3/4 of an inch of substrate. Two inches is unnecessarily deep. Can you post some pictures of your tank once you get a chance?