FresH2O's Shrimp Tank

[tiger terror]

Sup Fresh....those prefilter sponges what you were looking for?
The red moss is cool!


sit in silence...

 

[Fresh2o]

Autumnsky - I made adjustments to the HOB outlet to create some turbulence. Surface looks pretty normal now. Good luck with the CRS!
Caliban - as in AquaSoil or similar substrate?
TT - orange looks nice. That would mimic ember tetras. I may do the thin EC layer and moss on screens. And yes, the prefilter sponges are working wonderfully. Small pores that trap a lot of stuff yet allow for decent flow. I plan on rinsing it out at least weekly.
On a side note, I tried a flocculant to clear some fine particulates in the water and after the initial milkiness, it appears to form very tiny gel like clusters that settle everywhere. I found that is why the red moss looked like it was covered in dust. Once stirred up it clouds the water. I plan on siphoning the moss directly and rinsing the prefilter again.
The jostling of the moss has dislodged several fronds of moss. Things are kind of a mess at the moment.
I really, really want to try the moss+yogurt blender paint on the rocks thingy. I have a spare CFL for lighting. I feel that it would provide true moss coverage verses the clumsiness from gluing fronds.


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[Caliban07]

Autumnsky - I made adjustments to the HOB outlet to create some turbulence. Surface looks pretty normal now. Good luck with the CRS!
Caliban - as in AquaSoil or similar substrate?
TT - orange looks nice. That would mimic ember tetras. I may do the thin EC layer and moss on screens. And yes, the prefilter sponges are working wonderfully. Small pores that trap a lot of stuff yet allow for decent flow. I plan on rinsing it out at least weekly.
On a side note, I tried a flocculant to clear some fine particulates in the water and after the initial milkiness, it appears to form very tiny gel like clusters that settle everywhere. I found that is why the red moss looked like it was covered in dust. Once stirred up it clouds the water. I plan on siphoning the moss directly and rinsing the prefilter again.
The jostling of the moss has dislodged several fronds of moss. Things are kind of a mess at the moment.
I really, really want to try the moss+yogurt blender paint on the rocks thingy. I have a spare CFL for lighting. I feel that it would provide true moss coverage verses the clumsiness from gluing fronds.


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Just good old regular earth. Dirt.


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[Fresh2o]

Just good old regular earth. Dirt.


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My last tank was not dirted but the amount of detritus suggested otherwise. Since I'm not doing rooted plants in this tank the substrate is more for aesthetics.


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[Caliban07]

My last tank was not dirted but the amount of detritus suggested otherwise. Since I'm not doing rooted plants in this tank the substrate is more for aesthetics.


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Ah I see what you mean.

Edit: I'm not familiar with any of the commercial substrates but I do agree a very thin layer of a fertile substrate covered in moss would be nice


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[pittbully13]

I believe you'll have a great deal of success with out substrate but you'll get bored and want to contrast the moss with something. Dave from ADU on YouTube told me to tell you to get on it or he'll come after you.

If the blasting sand is a no go, go with sand. Either way it's going to look great.


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[Fresh2o]

Bare bottom is fine but it won't hide the shininess of the SS mesh (until the moss grows over it). Thin layer of black sand should do. I could do EC but stuff (dirt, poop) can hide in the EC. Now I could substitute the SS mesh with black craft mesh: easy to cut, hides well but might be buoyant. A small piece of SS mesh glue to the bottom of it should keep it down.
Right now some of the moss is standing on end all proofed up like some bad 80s metal hair band.


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[Brookster123]

I like the Carib sea black sand, I also like the petco black sand.. petco black has some floaters but nothing major..

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[Fresh2o]

I like the Carib sea black sand, I also like the petco black sand.. petco black has some floaters but nothing major..

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Prolly leaning toward the Carib sea black sand. I bought the Petco black sand a year ago and found it odd that there was black sediment present after thorough rinsing. Then someone (Autumnsky? Corsair?) mentioned that it might be coated with something to make it consistently black. I do recall my hands getting a black residue on them, possibly from over handling it. It certainly is black and uniform. The bag has been sitting on my back porch and I've been meaning to throw it out. Maybe I will give it another go.


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[Fresh2o]

I think I've killed the red moss.
Yesterday I did a 95% WC to remove the flocculant and "dust". I did not remove the moss. Refilled with water that was probably 5-10 degrees warmer than usual though cooler water was added towards the end to balance things out. No dechlorinator was added. It sat all day with just floss running in the filter. I realized the heater was unplugged all that time so I plugged it in. Temp had dropped to 71F. Water was clear all day. I did add PPS Pro macros and micros at night. This morning I turned on the lights and the water was still clear. I just checked on it THREE HOURS LATER and there is a swirling milkiness in the water. Is it possible that the temp fluctuations (and lack of dechlorinator) affected the moss in a way that they are breaking down and releasing substances in the water? The red moss is orangish-whitish and not tomato red.
I find the cloudy water baffling. I've been using PPS Pro ferts for almost two years and have not see cloudiness after dosing. This has been a frustrating build. I might pull the moss from the stones and just do moss and DW with a thin layer of sand. Or I might give it a day or two to see if the water clears on it own.


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[tiger terror]

Did you forget to add or choose not to add the dechlorinator?

sit in silence...

 

[Fresh2o]

Did you forget to add or choose not to add the dechlorinator?

sit in silence...

Was in a rush and was working the bucket like I was putting out a fire. Did not think about it (Prime) until hours later. Could chlorine be that harmful to moss seeing as a bleach dip is sometimes used to kill nuisance algae?


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[Nils]

Was in a rush and was working the bucket like I was putting out a fire. Did not think about it (Prime) until hours later. Could chlorine be that harmful to moss seeing as a bleach dip is sometimes used to kill nuisance algae?


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Chlorine does kill stuff in water, so it is possible. I always dechlorinate water, just to be on the safe side.

 

[tiger terror]

Was in a rush and was working the bucket like I was putting out a fire. Did not think about it (Prime) until hours later. Could chlorine be that harmful to moss seeing as a bleach dip is sometimes used to kill nuisance algae?


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The prolonged exposure could've very well have done it..if chloramine is used in your tap it would prevented the chlorine from gassing off .

sit in silence...

 

[Brookster123]

I think that's most likely the culprit, think that red moss is a but touchy anyways..

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[Fresh2o]

The prolonged exposure could've very well have done it..if chloramine is used in your tap it would prevented the chlorine from gassing off .

sit in silence...

I pulled the moss you just sent and dropped it into planted tank to save it from all of the changes in the new tank.

I think that's most likely the culprit, think that red moss is a but touchy anyways..

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I fear you might be right. All day is not a dip. Kicking myself. Hoping the rest of the moss improves.
Out of curiosity, I placed a packet of activated carbon in the filter to see if there is any change in the cloudiness. Been a few hours and no change yet.


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[coralbandit]

Out of curiosity, I placed a packet of activated carbon in the filter to see if there is any change in the cloudiness. Been a few hours and no change yet.
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Got purigen?
Give a 100ml bag a try!

Some of the cloudiness could also be from large bacteria die off from the chlorine.
I may be inclined to test a few times in the next few days...

 

[Fresh2o]

Unfortunately I don't have Purigen on hand. Figuring things can't get worse (well, of course they can) I decided to go back to square one. Tank has been drained:

I moved the moss covered DW to the temp shrimp tank hoping they will recover. I stripped the remaining moss off the stones and tied them to SS mesh squares. Those went into the planted tank. Looking back at the condition of the moss two days ago, they had really gone downhill in the last 24 hours.
I'm going to give the moss some time to grow back and I might try a DSM approach with DW moss graffiti.
So (again) this thread might chill a bit. I appreciate all of the input and advice thus far.


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[tiger terror]

Lurk mode engaged.......

sit in silence...

 

[Fresh2o]

Meanwhile...here is some of the moss I saved on the DW in the temp shrimp tank:

The shrimp are grazing on almost every square inch of the moss.


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