Ron Posted October 1, 2014 Report Share Posted October 1, 2014 Hello, I sold off the majority of my shrimp collection about a year ago and have recently decided to enter the shrimpy waters again slowly. I am taking a different philosophy on my set ups this time around and spending more on them while keeping less of them. Right now the only ones on my radar are PRL and Aura Blues. I've never kept PRL but with the knowledge sharing of friends, I don't think it'll overly difficult. I haven't kept Aura Blues in years but I believe I remember their care being quite easy. First off my PRL tank; I custom ordered this at the start of the month and it was finished this past Sunday. It's 24" x 24" x 14" with Starphire glass in the front and sides. The back and bottom are float glass covered with black vinyl and it was mounted on 1/4" black acrylic. There is a 5" Starphire baffle that is 12" from the back. I chose black silicone and the edges were all polished...yes even the baffle. I used boyu UGF plates which worked out well as it was easy to make the Eheim installation kit work. I then layered Eheim Substrat Pro on top of the UGF plates and started to layer my substrate. My breeder keeps his PRL at lower pH levels than most, hence why I used ADA Malaya and Amazonia. I know you'll think I am a nut but I sifted all the substrate so my bottom 2" are a larger grain than my top 2". I guess I kind of separated out my own "powder". I did 2 layers of additives within my layer cake using Ebiken Kou, Ebiken Ei and Ebiken Han and one of the layers I added ADA Super Clear. Personally I don't like the layered look so I have Amazonia along the front of the baffle so Amazonia is all you can see from head on. No flash, tough to see.... Flash, still tough to see.... So time for the filtration; I chose to go Asian style with multiple canisters. I had these guys that weren't being used so why not, it was this or have a sump made. I am using an Eheim 2075 Pro 3 for mechanical and biological filtration and an Eheim 2076 Pro 3e for purely biological filtration.....can you tell I like Eheim . Originally the Eheim 2075 Pro 3 was only going to be for mechanical filtration but a friend suggested less mechanical and more biological. So there is now 1 level of Eheim Mech, 1 level of filter floss and 2 levels of Eheim Substrat Pro in the first canister. I think I went overboard on the biomedia; there is ~3 L layered in the substrate, 3 L in the first canister and 6 L in the second canister. That's more bio media than I had in my Eheim 2262 that was filtering a 250 gallon stock tank. I'll probably add the majority of my mineral balls to the last basket in the second canister and I was also thinking of adding a Benibcahi zero plate but I might add that to the tank cause I like the look of them. So here they are daisy chained together; sorry for the crappy pic, it's dark back there so I had to use the flash. So I filled the tank and ran it over night, I'm expecting the ammonia spikes so I planned to do a few daily complete water changes to get the ammonia to manageable levels before I add bacteria. I got my vials of Prodibio BioDigest and Glas Garten Bacter AE today. Thanks for looking, Ron Vicente Mcdonnell, Shrimpo, Tigori and 7 others 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ANBU Posted October 1, 2014 Report Share Posted October 1, 2014 Wow nice setup. Thanks for sharing Ron. Keep us updated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tigori Posted October 1, 2014 Report Share Posted October 1, 2014 Absolutely following this one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mamashack Posted October 1, 2014 Report Share Posted October 1, 2014 Looking forward to seeing your project progress, Ron! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woopderson Posted October 1, 2014 Report Share Posted October 1, 2014 Looks great, can't wait for the next update. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Posted October 1, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2014 Well my first update isn't a great one, got the system running and I believe the second canister started releasing some kind of scale in little flakes. Now I need to vacuum up these and disturb my nicely groomed substrate..... LOL. I guess it wasn't going to stay perfect forever. I cleaned out the filter well, I think the scale might have formed in the priming section of the head. I might replace the filter cause I can't have this happen when I have shrimp in the tank. I wasn't going to heat this tank either but it seems I might have to, I have a Hydor inline heater I'll install during the next full water change. I guess it'll be handy to be able to crank the heat during the cycle anyways. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
High5's Posted October 1, 2014 Report Share Posted October 1, 2014 It's awesome to see your level of dedication Ron, looking forward to see your progress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DETAquarium Posted October 1, 2014 Report Share Posted October 1, 2014 Fantastic beginning, I am looking forward to the progress. Glad you found your way back to shrimp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jumpsmasher Posted October 1, 2014 Report Share Posted October 1, 2014 Congrats Ron! This tank has been a long time coming Can't wait to see it full of Frank's PRL! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Posted October 3, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 3, 2014 I did 3 complete water changes with just RO/DI and today I filled up with remineralized water to get cycling. I also installed a Hydor 200 W inline heater between the second and third water changes so I could get this tank warm for the cycle. Once it got above 72°F, I added one vial of Prodibio BioDigest and a spoonful of GlasGarten Bacter AE. Now to start monitoring the cycle. I'll start adding in the breeding tubes and sponge filter once I decide on what kind and how many. I have a fairly large piece of driftwood covered in Java fern, not sure if I will add it though. ANBU 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DETAquarium Posted October 3, 2014 Report Share Posted October 3, 2014 Love the tank and setup so far Ron. Really looking forward to the progress, any ideas on lineage/type of PRL your planning to keep? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Posted October 3, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 3, 2014 Love the tank and setup so far Ron. Really looking forward to the progress, any ideas on lineage/type of PRL your planning to keep?Thanks, I appreciate all the kind words.I'll ask the breeder about lineage but I know he's been working with his PRL longer than I've been friends with him (5 years). He's had several lines in the past which I think included Ebiten an Crimson. DETAquarium 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merth Posted October 3, 2014 Report Share Posted October 3, 2014 Very nice setup...Im especially fond of the black silicone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Posted October 3, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 3, 2014 This should be my last update for a while. I was originally gonna go simple with my lights and maybe use a Finnex fixture but then I noticed Aqua Illumination was coming out with a new fixture. So I held off for a bit but then I decided to go bigger and buy an Aqua Illumination Hydra 52. I already have 2 of them above my reef tank and I have a controller that I can use to control all three so what the heck. I picked it up earlier this afternoon and voilà Not sure if I'll keep the big sponge filter but I am sure the shrimp will appreciate another place to graze. Thanks for looking, Ron ANBU and eozen81 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ch3fb0yrdee Posted October 4, 2014 Report Share Posted October 4, 2014 How is that rack at supporting. I was looking at a similar rack (it's the 78" rack right) that would hold a ton. I never had the space to put a 78" rack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Posted October 4, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 4, 2014 How is that rack at supporting. I was looking at a similar rack (it's the 78" rack right) that would hold a ton. I never had the space to put a 78" rack. So far so good, I don't overload it.....anymore . Before this set up I had a 250 gallon stock tank on the bottom rack, I noticed a little bowing so I added some support. The rack seems a little twisted now but still solid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Posted November 13, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 13, 2014 Tank is cycled, glass is covered in biofilm and PRL are gonna be arriving this weekend. I just added some mineral balls, and I'll add my Benibachi Zero plate the night before they arrive. I'll probably have to lower the light intensity and/or duration as I am still getting some hair algae. eozen81, woopderson and ANBU 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DETAquarium Posted November 13, 2014 Report Share Posted November 13, 2014 Love the tank Ron!! What kind of rack are you using? I am looking at a 3 shelf rack, maybe two of them. What PRL did you end up going with? Can't wait to see more pictures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odin Posted November 13, 2014 Report Share Posted November 13, 2014 wow now thats a tasty tank! i will be following this topic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Posted November 14, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2014 Here's a pic from tonight. I added a couple IALs and you can get a peek at my next project ANBU and Shrimpie 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ANBU Posted November 14, 2014 Report Share Posted November 14, 2014 What's your light schedule? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Posted November 14, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2014 My lights come on at 10:00 am and ramp up for an hour. They are on till 18:00 and then ramp down for an hour, so I guess they are on for 9 hours...sort of. ANBU 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Posted November 14, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2014 Sorry, double post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mayphly Posted November 14, 2014 Report Share Posted November 14, 2014 I think your gonna have a bunch of happy shrimp in that set up! Looks good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sbarbee54 Posted November 14, 2014 Report Share Posted November 14, 2014 Ron where are you from and who made your tank? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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