3g planted Iwagumi shrimp tank

[Mebbid]

First off, I would like to thank Kashif314 for making me want this tank with his recent planted nano tank.

Without further ado

It's cloudy from planting, but I'm too impatient to wait until tomorrow to take pictures.

Setup:

I had an old Marineland Silhouette 3g tank sitting around collecting dust.
The stock lights are garbage so I tried a few different options before settling on a DIY Led fixture (they are super easy to do) which cost only slightly more than a finnex fixture would have.


Lights: The shape of the hood is perfect for illuminating the tank with these.

Substrate: I used black diamond blasting sand previously and loved it. Had TONS of neocardinia shrimp and absurd amount of plant growth in this substrate. Figured it worked for me before why not again.

Hard Scape: I bought 10lbs of Dragon stone off of ebay. It's pricey but well worth it. It's my first attempt at an Iwagumi scape but I'm digging the placement of the rocks.

Plants: Right now I have Dwarf Baby Tears and Ludwigia Repens. The Star Repens died during shipping. I doubt the Dwarf baby tears will work but I wanted to try them out and I'm on the fence with the Ludwigia as I think there's plenty of red in the tank with the shrimp and stone.

 

[Fresh2o]

Nice. I was wondering when you were going to add some greenery to that tank.
I have boatloads of staur repens that would look fab in that tank. Plus AR mini for a touch of red if you have the space.

 

[Autumnsky]

Hey, nice to see a build thread. Hit Fresh up!!!

 

[coralbandit]

Nice set up !
Is it going to be a shrimp only paradise or are there other tenants arriving?

 

[Bert2oo1]

I’d split that MC up into smaller bunch’s, like 1/4 of the size and spread it more. You’ll get a much nicer carpet when it grows in. If it’s in large clumps it tends to grow in uneven with large ridges etc

Up to you but just abit of a planting tip [emoji106]

 

[Mebbid]

Nice. I was wondering when you were going to add some greenery to that tank.
I have boatloads of staur repens that would look fab in that tank. Plus AR mini for a touch of red if you have the space.

Sorry, been top busy for forums recently! It would be wonderful if you could send me some plants, just let me know how much

I’d split that MC up into smaller bunch’s, like 1/4 of the size and spread it more. You’ll get a much nicer carpet when it grows in. If it’s in large clumps it tends to grow in uneven with large ridges etc

Up to you but just abit of a planting tip [emoji106]

Yeah, I would but it's already carpeting all the area I want it to carpet

Nice set up !
Is it going to be a shrimp only paradise or are there other tenants arriving?

Nope, only shrimps. I might get some nerites if I can find them.

 

[Fresh2o]

Ah man, I just sold the last of the staur repens last night. I should have saved some. Only needed a fraction to replant my tank. In about 2 months I️ will be ripping it out. Someone got all this for $5

 

[Mebbid]

Ah man, I just sold the last of the staur repens last night. I should have saved some. Only needed a fraction to replant my tank. In about 2 months I️ will be ripping it out. Someone got all this for $5
View attachment 305178

Awww dang. Oh well, they probably needed it more than me anyways

 

[Fresh2o]

Awww dang. Oh well, they probably needed it more than me anyways

Maybe, maybe not. For your tank you will only need a few plants. It’s not like you have a lot of real estate to fill. Trim and replant. That’s how I increased the number of stems.