How to Set Up a Shrimp Tank & Shrimp Necessities
- 6 years ago
This tutorial is based on a set-up guide by Graham McDonnell, an admin of All Things Shrimp, a European-based Facebook group for sharing shrimp knowledge with over 10,000 members. (Ive added a few things and changed the order of one of the steps.)\r
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Graham McDonnell – All Things Shrimp\r
1. Add BW Minerax (Mineral Powder) liberally on the base.\r
2. Add BW Enlive (dormant beria).\r
3. Add BW Bebi (powdered food) – helps to mature substrate and will rapidly produce biofilm, an essential part of the shrimps diet.\r
4. Add substrate.\r
5. Fill with RO H2O mineralized with SS GH+ (or other remineralizer).\r
6. Set TDS to ~150 because it will drop about 120 ppm over the first week as soil matures\r
a. Aiming for 130 TDS, which gives a gH of 5\r
7. Add hardscape/décor, plants, and filter. (This was at the end, but Ive placed this before adding other things.)\r
8. Add minerock – helps with molting and keeping a constant supply of essential minerals that are very slowly released into tank.\r
9. Add 1 bee ball for every half gallon of H2O (or 2 bee balls for every gallon). 10 Gallon = 20 BB\r
a. Helps to purify water. Can last up to 2 years.\r
\r
From personal experience.\r
\r
Good hardscapes for shrimp tanks:\r
- driftwood\r
- spiderwood\r
- lava rock\r
- ohka stone\r
- ornamental decorations\r
\r
Preferred shrimp filtration: Sponge filter (single, dual, HMF, etc.)\r
- You CAN use any other types of filters as long as they are made shrimp-proof.\r
\r
Plants that do best with shrimp:\r
- mosses\r
- anubias\r
- floaters (help with nitrates)\r
\r
**You DO NOT need ALL of the products listed in the video. That is just how I followed this set-up process. The MUST-HAVES are listed below, so if you are on a budget, these are the only things you really need to purchase.\r
\r
Shrimp Essentials:\r
- substrate\r
- shrimp-proof filter\r
- leaf litter (Indian Almond Leaves/Catappa Leaves, Mulberry Leaves, Banana Leaves, Amaranth Leaves, etc.)\r
\r
Highly Recommended (You dont have to buy these, but shrimp do best with these in the environment):\r
- any type of aquatic moss\r
- cholla wood\r
- alder cones\r
\r
Completely Optional (You really dont need these, but it may take longer for your tank to cycle/mature if you dont have some of them):\r
- Borneo Wild products\r
- mineral rock\r
- bee balls\r
- hardscape/decor\r
- plants
\r
Graham McDonnell – All Things Shrimp\r
1. Add BW Minerax (Mineral Powder) liberally on the base.\r
2. Add BW Enlive (dormant beria).\r
3. Add BW Bebi (powdered food) – helps to mature substrate and will rapidly produce biofilm, an essential part of the shrimps diet.\r
4. Add substrate.\r
5. Fill with RO H2O mineralized with SS GH+ (or other remineralizer).\r
6. Set TDS to ~150 because it will drop about 120 ppm over the first week as soil matures\r
a. Aiming for 130 TDS, which gives a gH of 5\r
7. Add hardscape/décor, plants, and filter. (This was at the end, but Ive placed this before adding other things.)\r
8. Add minerock – helps with molting and keeping a constant supply of essential minerals that are very slowly released into tank.\r
9. Add 1 bee ball for every half gallon of H2O (or 2 bee balls for every gallon). 10 Gallon = 20 BB\r
a. Helps to purify water. Can last up to 2 years.\r
\r
From personal experience.\r
\r
Good hardscapes for shrimp tanks:\r
- driftwood\r
- spiderwood\r
- lava rock\r
- ohka stone\r
- ornamental decorations\r
\r
Preferred shrimp filtration: Sponge filter (single, dual, HMF, etc.)\r
- You CAN use any other types of filters as long as they are made shrimp-proof.\r
\r
Plants that do best with shrimp:\r
- mosses\r
- anubias\r
- floaters (help with nitrates)\r
\r
**You DO NOT need ALL of the products listed in the video. That is just how I followed this set-up process. The MUST-HAVES are listed below, so if you are on a budget, these are the only things you really need to purchase.\r
\r
Shrimp Essentials:\r
- substrate\r
- shrimp-proof filter\r
- leaf litter (Indian Almond Leaves/Catappa Leaves, Mulberry Leaves, Banana Leaves, Amaranth Leaves, etc.)\r
\r
Highly Recommended (You dont have to buy these, but shrimp do best with these in the environment):\r
- any type of aquatic moss\r
- cholla wood\r
- alder cones\r
\r
Completely Optional (You really dont need these, but it may take longer for your tank to cycle/mature if you dont have some of them):\r
- Borneo Wild products\r
- mineral rock\r
- bee balls\r
- hardscape/decor\r
- plants