Work desk jar - first opae ula attempt

[seuadr]

Thought I'd start a build thread for my first ever jar, first ever brackish and first ever supershrimp build!

I've been reading about these little guys since December and finally got around to collecting the stuff i wanted to use a few weeks ago.

No water yet - still have not finalized how I'm going to mount the light in the lid.

This is a 1.5 gallon jar with a 12" superbright led flexible white (they aren't kidding, it is super flexible!) It is rated at 110 lm which is probably a bit much for this jar, so i bought a pwm dimmer to adjust it as needed.

Then i got some barnacles and sea fan to help decorate and used some coral and holey rock that i had lying around from a reef build that I didn't use all (so it is "dead" rock that has already been boiled)

Substrate is argonite with chips of seashells mixed in.

This is my initial mock up prior to mixing and adding salt water.

Fortunately i have a bunch of supplies left over from my reef tanks so my total new investment in this jar was 10 dollars for the jar and 17 dollars for the light (i already had a 120-->12v dc power supply)

Next steps, get water in, let it cycle and then some moss and chaeto from here then shrimp and snails!

[Dch48]

I would have to say that the substrate is much too thick. You only need about an inch to inch and a half at maximum. Less gravel=more water=more swimming room=more viewing area. My one gallon tank has less than an inch of substrate.

[Super Jess]

I love those barnacles! Your arrangement is really nice. I do agree you should remove some of the substrate. If it's that thick it will trap debris in a very not good way that can allow dangerous gases to build up and harm the shrimp. The snails won't burrow that deep, so no help there.

Apart from that it's a really good looking tank!

[Vorteil]

Looks great but I would do the opposite. Buy the shrimp and snails first. Let the jar get established and then purchase the moss and chaeto. At least once the shrimp are in they can start to poop in there which will provide the fertilizer for the chaeto & moss. Just my opinion.

[Dch48]

When I set mine up, I put the macroalgae in right away and just put a few small pieces of fish food in every other day to kick start the cycle. I also put in a small piece of filter medium from a freshwater tank but I don't know if that did any good or not. I kept testing the water and in about 2 weeks, nitrites started showing. I kept waiting for them to go down and nitrates appear but it didn't happen until I put the small filter that came with the tank in and let it run for a day with no filter medium in it just for circulation. The nitrites disappeared and there was visible biofilm and algae growth present after about 5 weeks from setup. Then I ordered 10 shrimp and put a small horned Nerite snail in the tank.

Now, almost 9 months later, all the shrimp have survived and I currently have over 20 floaters bobbing around. The macroalgae has always stayed bright green and hasn't grown much but a little. The snail has grown some but does not completely clean the side walls of the tank so there is plenty of food for the shrimp. For substrate, i used plain coarse aquarium gravel and I put a piece of cuttlebone in when the last piece has shrunken to almost nothing. I used Instant Ocean sea salt mixed with distilled water at half the strength given on the box of salt. It works out to 4 tablespoons to a gallon.

[seuadr]

thanks all for the input - i've always been a deep bed kind of a guy i didn't' realize that the brackish nerites wouldn't burrow down as far as trochus do. of course, that is cause i'm still thinking in salt water terms i'm sure.

I thinned out the substrate and added the initial water i'll let it sit for a bit and then rescape to the "final" scape.

as far as when i'm adding stuff - i plan on letting the tank sit with high lights for several weeks, i'll probably even "feed it" to get the cycle going and wait until i start to see a bit of surface algae/diatoms before i worry about what and who is going in to the tank.

i've found in the past with both salt and fresh that slow and steady are usually the most sure way to make sure there aren't unforseen spikes or mini cycles. i know that these guys are a good bit more resistant to those sorts of issues than a typical invert, but i've got lots of time and no real good reason to stress them out unduely.

I also discovered that i need to re-work my lighting mount as the method i'd just finished and was so proud of puts the light a little too close to the water than i am comfortable with, i worry that sliding the jar around might cause an accidental dunk. the lights are water resistant not water proof and i'd rather not test just how much.

[Super Jess]

i've found in the past with both salt and fresh that slow and steady are usually the most sure way to make sure there aren't unforseen spikes or mini cycles. i know that these guys are a good bit more resistant to those sorts of issues than a typical invert, but i've got lots of time and no real good reason to stress them out unduely.

You hit the nail on the head. Slow is definitely the way to stability with these little guys, especially in a nano tank where tiny changes can have outsized effects. Mustafa's step-by-step instructions are still the best guide for foolproof success. Short term gains from tinkering are frequently followed by much longer recovery periods after conditions get out of whack. These shrimp like a quiet life, lol.

[seuadr]

So i finalized the light mounting last night - i used a jar from hobby lobby similar to the Anchor Hocking Montana Jar (maybe even is one) that happens to have a metal lid. the interior of this lid has a plastic insert with a non water-tight seal, which turned out to be the perfect diameter for the flexible LED rope light i bought from superbrightleds.

using some 2 wire to barrel plug adapters to a dimmer and to a 12v power supply i will be able to change any components out without any soldiering (which is good - because i won't be able to do that at my desk at work )

i used zip ties around the outside of the plastic insert to mount the flexible bulb and then simply reassembled it with the original hardware.

Finally, i snipped a slot in the lid for the cord, so that i can put the lid flat.

total light time - about 15 mins, total light cost jumped to 25 dollars - 17 dollars for the bulb and dimmer, , 7.50 for the connectors (thought i only used a couple and bought a pack of 6.) now i have a dimmable 6700k light that will go between 10 and 100% at 280 lumens so i can dial in the right level of light once everything is established.

minus the zip ties I think it looks fairly good, and there is a plastic lip protecting the bottom of the light from splashes. once the lid is in place there will simply be a little cord protruding out the back which isn't very noticeable behind the jar with the light on.

I fed the jar for the first time yesterday and will leave the lights on 24/7 until i start to see algae and diatoms, then start to back the light off and cycle it on a timer (ultimately it will be on a timer at work as well)

[Mustafa]

Looks great but I would do the opposite. Buy the shrimp and snails first. Let the jar get established and then purchase the moss and chaeto. At least once the shrimp are in they can start to poop in there which will provide the fertilizer for the chaeto & moss. Just my opinion.

In new tanks there is usually more than enough fertilizer for initial plant growth. The salt, the substrate, the decoration, etc. provide small amounts of nutrients. That's why algae grows out of "nowhere" in these tanks eventually. Given that the mossball and the macroalgae sold here are used to low nutrient environments, they do not need much in terms of nutrients at all to grow. The whole point of having plants in there first is for the plants to 1. provide beneficial microorganisms already present on the plants, 2. suck up some of the "bad stuff" along with other nutrients, thereby "filtering" the water.

Later on when the plants get bigger and the nutrients are used up, then feeding once in a while becomes important to keep the plants going. But that should not happen until you literally do not even see algae in the tank anymore due to lack of nutrients. As long as algae are growing on surfaces, there are enough nutrients for these plants too. If they plants are not thriving, there are usually other reasons for that.

[Mustafa]

The way you used the flexible light is a great idea actually. And it did not cost much money or take up too much work, so most people should be able to do it too! Do you have any updates? Any pictures of your tank with less substrate? (Yes, it was too much, as others have pointed out).

[seuadr]

Well here we are a year later - and my shrimp just arrived about 20 mins ago! i temp acclimated them in the tank and they are scouring the rocks and substrate for noms.

some of them regained color almost immediately, some are still clear, but they aren't being frantic or swimming to the top and the tank has been established for nearly a year (had snails in it for 6 months) so, i think they will be OK.

they really seem to like the barnacles i put in there. i think they like the hidey holes they provide.

[seuadr]

these guys are funny - they are even more animated than my amanos were, and they were pretty animated

[seuadr]

yay! i got a couple of baby snails!