2.5g Shrimp Tank

[bevoholic]

Are you going to place some flourish tabs in the EC?

I'm not sure. Do you think I will need the tabs as well as Excel?

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

Well EC has only trace elements (miniscule amounts) and out of the bag it's not full of nutrients as let's say ADA Aqua Soil. It does have a high CEC that suppose to allow the EC to absorb nutrients over time to be feed to plant roots. But IME, i think flourish tabs in conjunction with EC makes for a killer combination from the start. My plants just love it and I've experience good growth. Excel is a different supplement all together. It's great for adding carbon and for spot treating some algae. I also use excel for preventing mold in my dry ferts mix. If you ever get into more comprehensive fertilizer dosing methods such as PPS-Pro or EI, it will come in handy. It also works great in low tech planted tanks where you don't inject co2. For now, you'd be set if you get Seachem Flourish Comprehensive, Flourish Excel, and Flourish Tabs IMO.

 

[bevoholic]

For now, you'd be set if you get Seachem Flourish Comprehensive, Flourish Excel, and Flourish Tabs IMO.

I will definitely be using the Excel in my 2.5g to help those plants along since there won't be any CO2 in that tank.

What is Flourish Comprehensive and what does it do? I guess I'll go ahead and pick up some Tabs as well.

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

Check it out... It's a pretty good liquid fertilizer.. It's good to start off with this stuff because it's easy.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00025696M?ie=UTF8&force-full-site=1&ref_=aw_bottom_links

But if you want to save money, it's better to learn how to mix your own ferts. You can buy the green ferts pack from GLA and make a micro and macro nutrient solutions. The upfront cost is a little more but with the amount of dry ferts you get, it would last a LONG time! You can jump into it now if you're ready and willing to do the research and learn.. Or wait and keep it in mind as an option when you want to take things to the next level..

 

[bevoholic]

So what's the difference between Flourish Excel and just Flourish?

 

[CorallineAlgae]

So what's the difference between Flourish Excel and just Flourish?

Excell is only a liquid carbon source. It's wonderful for tanks that don't use co2. Flourish comp has loads of minerals that plants need to grow new leaves and keep the ones they have healthier. Root tabs are needed for root feeding plants. In small tanks the Seachem line of fertilizers last a very long time and are pretty cost effective. In larger tanks it's far cheaper to make your own.

Excell is used every day, comprehensive is used weekly, and Flourish tabs are used about every 4-6 months. They're all very different products that work together well.

 

[Twoie]

Just curious, are all of those products shrimp safe? I have a 10 gallon for my RCS tank and I'm wanting to plant it real well, just wondering if I can use this type of stuff in there?

 

[CorallineAlgae]

Yep. Thousands of people use them with healthy breeding shrimp. I do too.

 

[bevoholic]

Here you go Brian. Pics like you asked.

Got everything set up with the Eco-Complete and my FugeRay finally came in. Such an awesome little light. I'll be ordering some Flourish tabs to help the PCS. The PCS that I thought was only one plant was actually two, so I put one in each corner.

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

Looks way better! The substrate makes the green pop in your plants! Glad you like the Finnex FugeRay.. It's awesome little fixture and practically uses no power due to the efficient high output LED's.

Are you going to put shrimp or a single betta in there?

Edit: perhaps a black background would look nice too.

 

[CorallineAlgae]

Great looking tank! I think I'll post a pic of my 5.5. It's not as nice looking though. It's kind of a spillover tank at the moment.

 

[bevoholic]

Looks way better! The substrate makes the green pop in your plants! Glad you like the Finnex FugeRay.. It's awesome little fixture and practically uses no power due to the efficient high output LED's.

Are you going to put shrimp or a single betta in there?

Edit: perhaps a black background would look nice too.

I'm going to try my hand at Red Cherry Shrimp. I've thought about doing a black background as well, but I figured once everything grows in you won't be able to see through the tank anyway.

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

Where were you planning on buying the shrimp? I find that, in a lot of cases, LFS have the lowest quality of RCS. I believe they're cherry and sakura grade (if you're lucky). I suggest finding a breeder in the classified section here in AA or in the Planted Tank Forums in which case they usually have Fire Reds or Red Rili Shrimp among others...

Check out the grades if you don't know what I'm referring to..

http://www.aquaticquotient.com/foru...-Grading-system-of-Cherry-to-Fire-Red-Shrimps

 

[bevoholic]

Interesting. Thanks for the tip. I've got my 20g almost up and running. No water in it yet.

 

[CorallineAlgae]

Interesting. Thanks for the tip. I've got my 20g almost up and running. No water in it yet.

Looking nice. You may want to consider sloping the sand lower in the front and thicker in the back, or even side to side. It gives the tank a more dynamic look right from the start. I have a 20 also. You can check out my build thread to see what I mean.

 

[bevoholic]

Looking nice. You may want to consider sloping the sand lower in the front and thicker in the back, or even side to side. It gives the tank a more dynamic look right from the start. I have a 20 also. You can check out my build thread to see what I mean.

Yea, I was already planning on doing that. I just wanted to get everything in there.

 

[CorallineAlgae]

Yea, I was already planning on doing that. I just wanted to get everything in there.

I forgot to do it on mine at first. Somebody had to remind me even though I had the old substrate sloped. -_- lol There's always so much to remember.

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

Interesting. Thanks for the tip. I've got my 20g almost up and running. No water in it yet.

Is this with the Truelumen Pro's on it?

 

[bevoholic]

Is this with the Truelumen Pro's on it?

No, I decided against the TrueLumen's. I went with a Ray2 from Finnex. I couldn't justify the price of the TrueLumen's. The actual light was the same price, but I would have had to buy a $40 power adapter just to get them power.

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

Oh cool.. I couldn't tell from the picture. Well the Ray 2 is a mighty fine choice. Can't wait to see this tank take off.