New to aquariums

[MNshrimp]

Hi all!

I saw an ecosphere at a fair about 15 years ago. My parents wouldn't buy me one at the time, but I've been wanting one ever since. After doing some research about a year ago, I've decided to jump into it, minus the closed environment. I've never managed an aquarium, but it seems like opae ula are pretty easy. This forum has provided some awesome information, and I'm hoping to use this as an update thread! I've been lurking a while, but people here seem friendly and super knowledgeable.

I ordered the Anchor Hocking jar that some people recommended (1.5 gal) and little aquarium decoration, and plants, salt, substrate, calcium, rock, and snails from Mustafa.

Really excited to start cycling once the packages arrive! If I understand correctly, I can mix the salt w/RO water and add the plants right away and the snails in a week or two.

Just a couple minor questions:

• How do I need to clean the jar/non-petshrimp.com decor? Is rinsing in RO and drying enough?

• Do you recommend buying emergency food? It seems like there are a lot of posts here where people may be overfeeding, so I was not planning on feeding at all, but is it a good idea to have some on hand?

• How sensitive are they to sound/light/cold? It's fairly cold here (heated apartment obviously) but I'd like to have the jar by the window (not in direct sunlight). What about near the tv?

• From what I have read elsewhere, PLA 3D printed items are NOT safe for saltwater. What other materials are safe/unsafe? Ceramics? So far I've gathered: glass, resin, some plastics and many glues are safe, wood, paints are not safe.

[Super Jess]

Welcome to the club Looks like you're making a good start! You should be fine to just rinse your stuff thoroughly in tap water and let it dry before assembling your tank.

Feeding can be a fun way to see all your shrimp at once, but it will be such a tiny amount and they might not need it at all. If you buy some it will last forever. It would take a very long time for them to actually starve, and it's fairly unlikely in these setups, so no need for emergency rations.

The shrimp do like their environment quite still, but I'm not sure about the tv vibrations. They are ok in a surprisingly wide range of temps. How cold would their spot get?

As far as tank materials, if you stick with stuff made for aquarium use and stay away from organic stuff you should be ok. Natural shells and rocks are ok if they are uncoated and well cleaned. Food safe ceramics should be ok too. Post a pic when you get set up!

[MNshrimp]

Great, thanks Jess!

[MNshrimp]

Package arrived! I think they’re all ok, but hard to tell. I’m still waiting on my tank. Does anyone know, how long can the plants and snails stay in the bag they come in? It should be here next week, but I was going to wait a bit before putting the snails in.

Edit: 3-4 snails aren’t moving. It’s pretty cold here (30F) but the package was inside. Hope they are ok

[Super Jess]

Hooray! No worries, they can stay in the bag for weeks and weeks just fine.

[MNshrimp]

Tank arrived! Waiting a bit to add snails

[MNshrimp]

~3 weeks in: It looks like the algae I got from this site has been “spreading” (see photo). Trying to find the right spot for the tank—bright enough and quiet. It may have been too cold by the windows, snails seem more active away from it.

[Dch48]

I've had little pieces of the macroalgae break off like that but they always disappear after a while. I'm now 10 months in and my macro has grown very little.

[Vorteil]

The algae only grows based on the nutrients in the water. Without it won't grow. It's just like a plant. If all you do is water it it will sustain. That's all. If you fertilize it it will grow.

[MNshrimp]

It’s been about 9 weeks. I don’t have visible algae but the macro and ball I ordered are growing. There are also particulates floating in the water, although that might be dust or dirt or something.

I was worried my snails died, since I could only find two, and one was out of the water on the glass. I gently brushed him back in, and he seemed fine. I don’t see empty shells so hopefully they’re just burrowing.

Should I go ahead and order snails?

[Varanus]

You mean order shrimp? I say go for it.

[Super Jess]

Should be good to go! Your snails are probably fine—they tend to burrow during the day. Look for them later at night and you may have more luck spotting them.

[MNshrimp]

Shrimp arrived yesterday! They seem to be doing ok. I think I had one molt yesterday. I’ll see if I can get some better pictures

[MNshrimp]

Update! I haven’t been able to count all 10 at once, but I think they’re all doing well.

[skylorvivo88]

Nice! Yea everything just takes a lot of time. I had like 10 snails and could never find them. Now I have at least a hundred and there everywhere!