EbiBunBun Posted December 20, 2014 Report Share Posted December 20, 2014 I ended up getting a 15 gallon PetsMart kit. They put it out just before Christmas. I had a Fluval Spec V that turned out to be a dud, since this 15 kit was the same price I went with it instead. The parts seemed good enough to get me started. It has LED lights, a heater, and a corner filter. I'm wanting this to be more of a pretty community aquarium eventually. OK here goes. I found some decent off white gravel and put in a small clear container in the corner filled with lava rock, gravel and then black sand topping. I wanted to build a slope but keep it contained. The stuff on top is just live media from another tank. Next I made modifications to the filter for shrimp proofing etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyeGuy411 Posted December 20, 2014 Report Share Posted December 20, 2014 I don't understand? Where is the fiasco? And what is the purpose of all the different material in the container? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aquariumlover10 Posted December 20, 2014 Report Share Posted December 20, 2014 Looks cool, buts what the container for? Also for a community tank of fish or shrimp? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EbiBunBun Posted December 21, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 21, 2014 I don't understand? Where is the fiasco? And what is the purpose of all the different material in the container? Well as for the fiasco that's just me being clumsy, goofy and coming up with hair brained ideas something is bound to happen =) The container is to fill and keep the height of the slope stable so it won't sink and level out over time. In a 10 gallon, I had made a slope with larger chunks of lava rock and the sand is already sinking. The layering of larger rocks under is to prevent compacting of the sand making bad anaerobic pockets. Also to keep the to layer of black sand in that area only. I have a piece of cholla coming that will sit on top. Looks cool, buts what the container for? Also for a community tank of fish or shrimp? I prefer to stay with shrimp and other peaceful inverts only. I can't put any thing in there that I know might eat someone in the community. Right now I have 9 Blue Diamonds that will be the first in there. (My husband thinks that is hilarious, 9 shrimp in 15 gallons). I like to keep a snail or two and maybe some vampire shrimp in the future. And any others that might fit in. I'm still new to shrimping, so who knows what I discover along the way. Soothing Shrimp 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aquariumlover10 Posted December 21, 2014 Report Share Posted December 21, 2014 Oh ok, that makes sense, maybe make it a tank for a few dwarf orange crayfish, they aren't very aggresive, and if well fed won't eat plants, see my thread bout dwarf crays in other inverts for some info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyeGuy411 Posted December 21, 2014 Report Share Posted December 21, 2014 So the container is just to build up the substrate to make a mound. I thought there was a specific purpose with all the ingredients in it lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EbiBunBun Posted December 21, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 21, 2014 Filter modifications: The kit came with a simple submersible corner filter. I made some modifications to make it shrimp safe and usable until I get in a sponge filter. I used lava rock from another aquarium and the filter insert from another small filter. I also pulled out the motor part of the filter under the media basket and wrapped it in some filter material I had from another project and cut it to the size I needed. I held part in place with a zip tie and the rest I stuffed around it covering the intake grates at the bottom of the filter. The media was from a cycled tank so it just took a bit of time for it to settle in to its new environemnt. I also added a splash of TetraSafe start. LED lights: The hood comes with a tube LED module thing built in and a touch sensor light switch. When you touch it the light slowly comes on in small increments until it gets to full power. I hope that doesn't short out, it is a very nice feature to not traumatize the creatures inside. There is no indication of watts or lumens, the whole kit came with almost no instructions at all. Looks like more than enough light to keep low light plants. I put the 9 Blue Diamonds in a breeder basket in the tank for now as I finish the rest of the aquascape. This is kind of out of order. Should have the tank established etc. before shrimp go in, but I received some surprise shrimp (Blue Dreams) and they went into my 10 gallon. And since they can't be mixed, fiasco! LOL This is what I'm doing, but I know this isnt a good example of how one should do these things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soothing Shrimp Posted December 21, 2014 Report Share Posted December 21, 2014 As long as you have a seeded filter, and shrimp food, you should be fine while the biofilm is building. EbiBunBun 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aquariumlover10 Posted December 22, 2014 Report Share Posted December 22, 2014 Looks awesome. EbiBunBun 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EbiBunBun Posted December 27, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 27, 2014 Parameters have been: Temp: 74 - 76 Ammonia: faint .25 - 0 Nitrite: 0 Nitrate : very faint orange tint, not quite 0 but not 5ppm either Filter: Had to pull all the filter foam stuff out of the filter, it got to the point that it was barely flowing. Put stocking around outside instead. Flow is back to normal. Added new sponge filter in, it is a cube filter from Swiss tropicals. I have one in my 10 gallon and it works well. Had I planned this out better, I would have gone with a full HMF corner filter. I made a DIY fluidized/moving bed filter to go on top of the sponge filter. It is a baby bottle with holes drilled in it, foam to keep baby shrimp out of it and cut up straws as bio media. Flora: My cholla stump arrived. I boiled it and put it in for now as it is. I want to tie moss to it when I get the right kind. I have various ferns and anubias floating around that I havent anchored down. And subwassertang that keeps escaping/breaking out of the thread I tie it with. Might have to try gluing it. Fauna: 9 Blue Diamond Shrimp 1 Zebra nerite 1 Ivory Mystery snail (borrowed from my 10gal) These shrimp are so pretty! I can't wait to be able to get better pictures of them. Each one is different. They seem to be doing well, eating and molting. The last pic is before the final fill up and some more fiddling with rocks I did. This was partly inspired by a pic I saw on Shrimpy Daddy's blog of a bonsai type tree with a path. This is my low budget version Soothing Shrimp 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aquariumlover10 Posted December 27, 2014 Report Share Posted December 27, 2014 looks good EbiBunBun 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EbiBunBun Posted December 29, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 29, 2014 Finally had some concentrated time on this and everything is pretty settled in. Shrimps are are happily zipping around. There was one shrimpy funeral. It seems one had a bad molt. It was only half off and I guess he was stuck. Poor thing. I left him in to be eaten, Lunnete ate most of him. I got a little glue happy and built some little condos out of large straws and put moss on top. Finally glued down all the subwassertang and anubias. I have some more real plants and moss coming soon. My fairytale forest is coming together =) Parameters: Temp- 75 Ammonia - 0 Nitrite - 0 Nitrate - orange tint chibikaie and aquariumlover10 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soothing Shrimp Posted December 29, 2014 Report Share Posted December 29, 2014 The staw hide looks good! Love the baby bottle idea, and the tank looks great. EbiBunBun 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aquariumlover10 Posted December 29, 2014 Report Share Posted December 29, 2014 awesome, man those are big straws. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EbiBunBun Posted December 29, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 29, 2014 Thanx guys! Those are the straws for bubble tea. I got them at Kroger's. Most Asian markets will have them too. I glued lava rocks on the bottom to anchor them down. The smaller one I made for my 3 gallon keeps getting tipped over by the nerite when she crawls over it. This bigger one seems more stable. aquariumlover10 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EbiBunBun Posted December 30, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2014 Caught a couple shots of the riff Raff (as my husband has dubbed them) during last night's feeding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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