Opae Ula 29 Gallon Tank

[opaepuna]

I just got a cheap 29 gallon tank and wanted to use it for opae ula but was worried that it's too large. I'm worried about oxygen levels and if adding a small 60 gph pump would be needed (I understand that with opae ula no filtration is preferred). To build up the tank I plan on getting rough white sand from the beach along with black lava rocks then collect pipipi once the tank starts to grow some algae then add the shrimp after the tank has been cycled. Also plan on using reef salt from petco for the water.

I would appreciate any input, thanks.

[Dch48]

If you live near the ocean I would think you could just mix seawater half and half with purified or distilled water to achieve the desired salinity. I wouldn't use tap water.

[Varanus]

It's important to remember that the oxygen needs of the opae ula are very low, I recall people even keeping them in 50 gallon tanks without needing anything more than the oxygen that gets in the water from simple exposure to the air. Algae of course helps too.

[sliphorn]

I just got a cheap 29 gallon tank and wanted to use it for opae ula but was worried that it's too large. I'm worried about oxygen levels and if adding a small 60 gph pump would be needed (I understand that with opae ula no filtration is preferred). To build up the tank I plan on getting rough white sand from the beach along with black lava rocks then collect pipipi once the tank starts to grow some algae then add the shrimp after the tank has been cycled. Also plan on using reef salt from petco for the water.

I would appreciate any input, thanks.

..

I say go for it. A 29 is a nice tank. If you are concerned about oxygen levels you could anchor an air line, bleed off most of the air with a gang valve and set it to where it is producing one single bubble every second or thereabouts. That's what I do, not because I am concerned about low oxygen levels but because it breaks up surface scum.

..

[Dylan]

I have a 10 gallon tank, and is hard to see the shrimp at first, but once they start reproducing that no longer will be an issue. My current population is very high.

I do not think you need a pump regardless of size of the tank once you introduce the shrimp. Also the pump may stress the shrimp, which in the wild live in tidal pools.

[sliphorn]

I have a 10 gallon tank, and is hard to see the shrimp at first, but once they start reproducing that no longer will be an issue. My current population is very high.

I do not think you need a pump regardless of size of the tank once you introduce the shrimp. Also the pump may stress the shrimp, which in the wild live in tidal pools.

..
I could see a heavy air stream stressing the shrimp.....maybe. But not 60 bubbles per minute like I have. The pump itself is quiet and not in close proximity to the tank. I simply do not like surface scum. I suspect tidal pools have quite a bit of back and forth, suttle as it may be.
..