So Many Questions!

[DavidZ]

Hello!
I have already bought my tank and substrate, and have a lot of questions about everything!
1:Is a 2.5 Gallon Tetra tank Ok? It says on the side "This product can expose you to chemicals including styrene, which is known in california to cause cancer. Is it safe for shrimp?
2:Is just plain old Topfin aquarium gravel ok?
3:Do i have to rinse everything (Gravel,Decor)
4:What material should decor be made from?
5:How deep should the substrate be?
6:Do I rinse with distilled/RO water? Or can I rinse first with tap water and then a little with RO?
7:Where can I find cheap limestone? Petco, petsmart, amazon?
8:where can I find small marine salt, as all the ones I see are like 15 lb?
9:Are the snails recommended for a more self sustaining ecosystem? how do they help?
10:Is the algae that sells on this site necessary? why cant I just use what grows in my tank?
Thank you all so much in advance!

[Varanus]

1:Is a 2.5 Gallon Tetra tank Ok? It says on the side "This product can expose you to chemicals including styrene, which is known in california to cause cancer. Is it safe for shrimp?

Not sure what to make of that warning, most any small aquarium should be safe for these shrimp.

2:Is just plain old Topfin aquarium gravel ok?

The only trouble with gravel is that it is harder to keep clean, since food, algae and waste will go down between the pebbles where shrimp can't get to it. Sand is thus preferred by many. Remember that ideally you want to never have to do a water change for these shrimp, so you won't be vacuuming the gravel the way you would most tanks.

3:Do i have to rinse everything (Gravel,Decor)

To be safe, yes. No need to go overboard, a few seconds of rinsing should be fine for things like decor.

4:What material should decor be made from?

Anything safe for aquarium should be safe for these guys, but many prefer lava rocks and such for authenticity and to create a lot more surface area for biofilm.

5:How deep should the substrate be?

An inch or less is preferred, especially if you don't have snails to aerate it. Deep substrate has no benefit for these shrimp.

6:Do I rinse with distilled/RO water? Or can I rinse first with tap water and then a little with RO?

I think you can rinse with tap water, so long as you add some water purifier to the tank afterward.

7:Where can I find cheap limestone? Petco, petsmart, amazon?

All of those can be potential sources, look for decorative rocks often called "holey rocks."

8:where can I find small marine salt, as all the ones I see are like 15 lb?

Instant Ocean comes in 3 pound boxes, but you're bound to have a lot of salt left over regardless with such a small tank (the 3 pound box has enough salt for a 20 gallon supershrimp tank).

9:Are the snails recommended for a more self sustaining ecosystem? how do they help?

The snails aerate the substrate, eat shrimp poo and clean places the shrimps can't get to. But they aren't vital.

10:Is the algae that sells on this site necessary? why cant I just use what grows in my tank?

They can, getting the algae on the site just speeds up the cycling by adding biofilm, good bacteria etc.

[Super Jess]

Varanus gave such an excellent and complete answer that I just popped in to add: California requires that cancer warning label to be on tons of everyday things. Last month a California court ruled that the warning has to appear on coffee, too, so Just pick the aquarium (or any glass vessel, really) you want and it should be fine.

[DavidZ]

Can the snails that this site sells bury under/live on aquarium gravel? or is it not sand-y enough?
I heard that nasty stuff grows under the gravel, and if i use like an inch, or less, can they bury under? or do I need to use a vacuum at some point?
Thank you all in advance!

[shrimpnoobie]

Can the snails that this site sells bury under/live on aquarium gravel? or is it not sand-y enough?
I heard that nasty stuff grows under the gravel, and if i use like an inch, or less, can they bury under? or do I need to use a vacuum at some point?
Thank you all in advance!

Ideally you do not wanna use super heavy gravel as the opae ula like to comb through it with their little hands, and the snails cannot go to the bottom. I don't know how fine your gravel is. Yes poop and gross stuff grows in there haha, I recommend thin substrate, but I cannot guarantee your snails will go to the bottom (-:

[shrimpnoobie]

10:Is the algae that sells on this site necessary? why cant I just use what grows in my tank?

Just make sure any plants you transfer can survive in Brackish because if not they will slowly die and raise your ammonia.

[DavidZ]

First, Thanks alot to everyone who is answering my questions.
Second: How fine should my gravel be? (as in what would be the maximum diamiter)
also, is there a way to make it finer? (or would physically smashing it into sand like substance cause too much dust?)

[DavidZ]

The gravel I bought is called Top Fin® Premium Quality Aquarium Gravel on petsmart.com, 5lb.
Thank you!

[shrimpnoobie]

First, Thanks alot to everyone who is answering my questions.
Second: How fine should my gravel be? (as in what would be the maximum diamiter)
also, is there a way to make it finer? (or would physically smashing it into sand like substance cause too much dust?)

I looked up your gravel and it looks craaaazy chunky. I would not use that, the snails won't be able to clean that very well and the shrimp cannot sift through it. I do not know if you can smash it. As for diameter, most people on this forum use Supernaturals sand (do not use any alive sand!).
I bought most of my stuff through Petco and they have an amazing return policy. Just call them and say you bought the wrong stuff. Even if it is open they will probably give you store credit which you can use to buy lava rock for your shrimps (-:

[DavidZ]

First, Thanks alot to everyone who is answering my questions.
Second: How fine should my gravel be? (as in what would be the maximum diamiter)
also, is there a way to make it finer? (or would physically smashing it into sand like substance cause too much dust?)

I looked up your gravel and it looks craaaazy chunky. I would not use that, the snails won't be able to clean that very well and the shrimp cannot sift through it. I do not know if you can smash it. As for diameter, most people on this forum use Supernaturals sand (do not use any alive sand!).
I bought most of my stuff through Petco and they have an amazing return policy. Just call them and say you bought the wrong stuff. Even if it is open they will probably give you store credit which you can use to buy lava rock for your shrimps (-:

Thank you so much, but I was thinking,
1: Which supernaturals sand, or does it not matter
2:Would it be more cost effective to use aragonite sand vs using regular sand plus limestone
3:Where is a good place to buy limestone?
4:Is lava rock for grilling ok? 5lb of lava rock for grilling is cheap on amazon, and in the Q and A it says thats its good for aquarium, but i wanted to double check, and do i have to boil it?

[shrimpnoobie]

First, Thanks alot to everyone who is answering my questions.
Second: How fine should my gravel be? (as in what would be the maximum diamiter)
also, is there a way to make it finer? (or would physically smashing it into sand like substance cause too much dust?)

I looked up your gravel and it looks craaaazy chunky. I would not use that, the snails won't be able to clean that very well and the shrimp cannot sift through it. I do not know if you can smash it. As for diameter, most people on this forum use Supernaturals sand (do not use any alive sand!).
I bought most of my stuff through Petco and they have an amazing return policy. Just call them and say you bought the wrong stuff. Even if it is open they will probably give you store credit which you can use to buy lava rock for your shrimps (-:

Thank you so much, but I was thinking,
1: Which supernaturals sand, or does it not matter
2:Would it be more cost effective to use aragonite sand vs using regular sand plus limestone
3:Where is a good place to buy limestone?
4:Is lava rock for grilling ok? 5lb of lava rock for grilling is cheap on amazon, and in the Q and A it says thats its good for aquarium, but i wanted to double check, and do i have to boil it?

It does not matter which supernaturals sand you pick, just pick one that is sand and not gravel or anything. Limestone is like dirt cheap so don’t think it would matter. I use an eggshell in my tank for calcium carbonate haha. You can see a pic if you look up “egg shell” in the search bar or you can look on my thread “lots of questions”. Limestone can be so many things, some people use shells from the beach etc. I would look up “limestone” in the search bar as well. There’s so many possibilities, but I settled with the egg shell because it’s so easy and cheap and safe. I use a grilling lava rock in mine and a pet store lava rock. I think everything is going well in there! I got mine from Home Depot (: Cleaning them, a lot of people boil but I literally just rinsed mine with distilled water and plopped them in. Overall I would recommend a full nights soak in distilled water.

As always you are welcome. This forum is super patient with all questions and it has so much info. Don’t hesitate to ask anything else.

[crittersni]

The only thing I would add is to not go cheap on the tank decorations if they're plastic. I bought some from a 99c store, and they leached into the water and were probably at least part of the reason a lot of mine died. My new (since Feb) has a lot of colorful, plastic, but I bought them at PetSmart and Petco. Still have nice, clear water and now some berried shrimp. Worth the higher price!

Yes, it's a bit gaudy, but there are a lot of textures and hiding places. I can't see all the shrimp because of the hiding places, but I did that deliberately to meet their needs instead of mine. I had berried shrimp in about 6 weeks. Still awaiting my first grandshrimp.

[crittersni]

Here are some pics with the shrimp there.

[DavidZ]

another few questions,I started cycling my tank about a week ago, and I was wondering if once i get the shrimp (In a few weeks), what household things i could feed them? can they eat rice? Also, to speed up cycling, would dropping in something speed it up? like a grain of rice or a small peice of an apple peel? Should I keep the lid open and my window open so that algae will grow quicker or does it not matter?
thank you!

[DavidZ]

Should i buy instant ocean reef accelarator?