Downsizing to Nano Tank

[PhilipS]

A few years ago I upgraded the perfectly stable rimless 3G to a 50 breeder, full of lace rock and some plant rocks. 3 current-USA satellite+ 6500K striplights. Shallow zoomed lowboy frag tank.

I miss being able to see the shrimp in action and both shrimp and Pipipi snail babies abound. They all just hide most of the time. The sole dwarf hermit crab roams aimlessly through the first of macro algae and the nerites keep the glass clean. I just top off every few days. Some coralline algae is growing. Borderline brackish.

In planning the rimless 12G Tall nano tank with a 360 degree view, should I:

A- Use one massive black lava rock or

B- Build a center mountain of plant rocks.

The lava rock could be drilled through with a hole saw to create caves.

Maybe you can post some of your nano tanks here.

Thanks in advance.

[attygirl]

PhilipS - before I upgraded my vase tank to a 5.5 gallon tank, I spent a lot of time reading old posts for set-up ideas. I saw some cool set-ups where people glued together landscaping lava rocks to make a large mound or tower. So, have fun and be artistic and build your own large center piece using landscaping lava rocks.

In my original vase tank, I had no lava rock until June 2020 when I added one with a hole - thinking I needed it for breeding. When I upgraded to a 5.5 gallon tank in late August, I looked around for a lava rock tower of sorts and found some, but did not want to spend more on the rock than I spent on the tank . I felt lucky to find the larger rock now in my tank really cheap and the shrimp graze on it. But, I kind of wish I would have broken it up into smaller pieces and created something more unique and open instead of being so “solid” where there is no flow-through.

Just my thoughts - let us know what you decide to do and post a photo or two .....

[PhilipS]

Thanks for your reply.

I re-watched the anchialine pool utube videos and decided to stick with the black lava rocks in the 50 lowboy anchialine tank.

Every one of this natural pools can be bare black lava or cemented in coralline algae (cca) or a mix plus weeds. You can do anything you want and it’s right.

I was able to remove the biggest black lava rock and start the aquatop 12 GT starfire aquarium with old water of course. One limpet and a few Pipipi snails, too. There’s one more black lava Boulder in the big tank under the macro algae so like you will cleave it to fit.

I may have a buyer for the extra lace rocks. All the shrimp are under the rocks. Specific gravity is 1.016 so I am able to keep macros like halimeda and caulerpa prolifera (instead of turtle grass). I’ll post a pic one day soon.

[PhilipS]

How long to quarantine new shrimp before adding to colony?

[Vorteil]

No need to quarantine. Add them right in. These don't have any known diseases,

[Bluemonk]

Do you do a float of the new shrimps in a bag or something? If you don’t need to acclimate and quarantine?

[PhilipS]

Do you do a float of the new shrimps in a bag or something? If you don’t need to acclimate and quarantine?

Do not float a breather bag.

The shrimp arrived in a breather bag. So, I checked salinity and dripped in a gallon of diluted water from the main tank. I use airline tubing to acclimate.

Few days later did an 80% water change in the quarantine tank. Happy shrimp.

[PhilipS]

I sourced some black lava rock locally and picked the flattest most stable three for the base. It’s a narrow tank so not much more I can do to blend the Boulder into the aquascape. At least it’s up into the top third of the rule of thirds. The Boulder must sit this far away or you can’t get your hand or tools around it.

Im sure it’ll look better with algae and macros. Maybe some coralline.

I have tons of shrimp for adoption.

Picture is in full moon phase while drip refilling. Fluval Sea 3.0 LED.

[Bluemonk]

You do? Maybe I can see if you’re local. I’m in jersey.

[PhilipS]

I'm in AZ. Winter just arrived the other day. Won't be shipping anything live for a while. PM me.

[PhilipS]

Hi:

I’d like some feedback on this aquascape.

It’s a narrow tank so I cannot rotate the main rock. I can move it right and eliminate the smaller rock to try to get the ‘handle’ near the right third line. I do plan to add proper black sand and epoxy the rocks eventually.

It still looks like a boulder on baseballs.

Perhaps when the macros grow back in, the eyes won’t be so critical.

Plankton hovers above the handle, and I removed the loaner peppermint shrimp today. I got it to eliminate any stowaways on the extra plant rocks before selling the rocks. No one wanted it so in the shrimp tank it went. I fed it frozen crab.

Opae Ula are very relaxed without it and occupying all crevices.

Thanks in advance.