# Steve's Shrimp Pile - Planted



## Steve Smith (8 Apr 2013)

Hey folks. It's been a long time since I started a scape of any kind. I've not even had a tank set up for 12 months. Life has had other ideas lately.

As it stands I have limited space so I'm setting up a little tank which, most likely, will be a shrimp tank. It's an old clearseal 40x20x20 I have kicking about. I have a bunch of different equipment to choose from to put this together, but here's where I think I'll go.

40x20x20cm tank
9w/11w/13w compact light unit (several to choose from)
Filtration will be either a dennerle internal, an Azoo HOB or maybe an eheim 2213.
Colombo Florabase substrate

Hardscape will be manzanita, gravels and pebbles most likely.

Plants, I'm thinking mosses and Hydrocotyle tripartita (unsure how this will go). I want to create an overgrown look, so I'm not going for a traditional scape I don't think. It will be very simple, with the hydrocotyle occupying the top layer of the tank and probably growing both emersed and immerse. This is similar to a tank I had some years back (with a larger Hydrocotyle) and I want to recreate that overgrown jungle look.

Livestock will be cherries and perhaps a small group of micro rasbora.

This is the old tank that I'm harking back too, only this time I'll plan to do it a bit more controlled and thought out (from 2008):


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## mi casa (8 Apr 2013)

wow that tank needs a chop


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## Gill (8 Apr 2013)

I remember this tank well, your sparkling gouramies bred in this one.
I will have some Nice Hardscape material this week, as bought a Joblot of hardscaping material. And Still have that Lovely Twisted peice of Manzita from A1Matts scaping day. Oh and I will be looking for some of that Hydro as well, for a floating and trailing plant for my plans.


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## OllieNZ (8 Apr 2013)

Good to see you back Steve  All the best with your new scape. You might have a bit of trouble getting water to burn though


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## Steve Smith (8 Apr 2013)

I'll give it a try Ollie 

Spent forever cleaning out the eheim 2213, so I think that's decided the filtration.  I can whole heartedly say, DON'T leave external filters full of old tank water for 18 months!  Eugh


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## Steve Smith (11 Apr 2013)

Well, after some discussion and advice, I've decided what it is I want to do.  Hardware still all the same.  Stocking with lower grade Crystal Red Shrimp (on a budget unfortunately).  I'll be using Ebi Gold substrate and Salty Shrimp GH/KH+ along with RO.  I will be getting an RO unit next week from a friend as a freebie (as long as I can provide him with water for his marine setup - he's on a water metre )

Hardscape will be the same, but I might not be going down quite the jungle route.  We'll see.


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## Steve Smith (22 Apr 2013)

So I've been playing around with hardscape, on and off. First I had this:


IMG_7545 by Casa-Steve, on Flickr

Then I figured that wasn't really what I wanted. And so I'm currently pondering this:


IMG_7546 by Casa-Steve, on Flickr


IMG_7548 by Casa-Steve, on Flickr

Going for a woody pile look...

The plan is for a big bush of hydrocotyle sp "japan" in a dense carpet around the left, spilling over the rocks and around the wood, and then travelling along the rocks line toward the right. Then mosses on branches and between rocks, along with some coral pelia. Maybe some staurogyne or something small (but possibly looking bigger in this small tank) to the rear and to the right.


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## Ian Holdich (22 Apr 2013)

That first one has loads of potential mate! I love that layout.


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## sa80mark (22 Apr 2013)

Agreed the first one is brilliant and very similar to what I will be trying to achieve
Mark


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## thisisntmark (22 Apr 2013)

I'll chip in my two pence. I like the second one. More nooks and crannies 

What's lower grade shrimps? Bad genetics or something?


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## Alastair (22 Apr 2013)

Agreed the first one does have potential but has been done lots of times that style.  I like the second layout personally


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## NanoJames (22 Apr 2013)

thisisntmark said:


> What's lower grade shrimps? Bad genetics or something?


 It just means that the pigmentation in the colour isn't as strong. An A grade CRS won't have such bold colours as an SS grade CRS. Google them both and you will see an obvious difference!


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## Steve Smith (23 Apr 2013)

I say lower grade because they're less expensive but will give me a chance to prove I can keep them with good water conditions before moving onto more expensive grades.

I'm going to have another play around with hardscape tonight.  Still not quite what I want.  I can't quite pin down what I want to achieve as yet.


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## thisisntmark (23 Apr 2013)

SteveUK said:


> I say lower grade because they're less expensive but will give me a chance to prove I can keep them with good water conditions before moving onto more expensive grades.


 
That makes sense.


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## grathod (23 Apr 2013)

Just an idea, looking at the first scape, have you thought of banking up a slope of rocks and then having a select few pieces of wood come out through this pile, like an old tree that sent out roots through a stony hill? I think the hydrocotyle creeping through some majestic roots would look very natural IMO


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## Steve Smith (24 Apr 2013)

Placing a plant order shortly.  Anubias bonzai, mini java fern, Cryptocoryne amicorum plus the various mosses and Hydrocotyle I already have.


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## Steve Smith (26 Apr 2013)

Well, I gotta get this sorted out tonight, as plants arrived


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## Iain Sutherland (26 Apr 2013)

i can see this being really nice steve, not too sculpted with plenty of leaves, alder cones etc scattered around...
look forward to the imminent update now the plants arrived.
Feeling good to get your hands wet again?!


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## Steve Smith (26 Apr 2013)

Thanks Iain.  It's been frustrating!  I added some gravel the other evening to try it out and it completely didn't work.  I spent hours last night trying to get rid of it although it was a sort of mindless task so it was nice to switch the brain into idle while I picked gravel out.  It's still not clear but I don't think I can be bothered to sort it now.



Iain Sutherland said:


> Feeling good to get your hands wet again?!


 
Not there yet!


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## Steve Smith (28 Apr 2013)

I spent some time yesterday morning, playing with placement of things and pinned down roughly what I wanted.  Today I planted/tied moss etc.  Almost worked as a hangover cure  It's turned out OK but annoyingly one piece on Manzi has floated (rookie move!), so I'll have to wait for that to get water logged as it's throwing things off a little.  Thankfully it's not wrecked everything, and is only one end that's decided to float.

I'll leave photos for a bit as I hope the wood will sink. I'll let everything settle in and take some photos next weekend I expect.

I'm considering whether to dose this at all.  Thinking a small amount of TPN+ and EasyCarbo a couple of times a week.


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## charlie (28 Apr 2013)

Which layout did you go for ?


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## Iain Sutherland (28 Apr 2013)

sounds good steve, id skip the easy carbo for a shrimp tank and just keep it simple.  I only dose my bee tank on waterchange day with 2ml TPN+ and all seems well, for now at least.
Seems that EC reduces breeding which is never a good thing, however ady seems to have a nice balance with  ferts , EC and shrimp.  No shortage of life in that tank!


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## Steve Smith (28 Apr 2013)

charlie said:


> Which layout did you go for ?


 
Sort of similar to the first layout, but I'd like to think better 



Iain Sutherland said:


> sounds good steve, id skip the easy carbo for a shrimp tank and just keep it simple. I only dose my bee tank on waterchange day with 2ml TPN+ and all seems well, for now at least.
> Seems that EC reduces breeding which is never a good thing, however ady seems to have a nice balance with ferts , EC and shrimp. No shortage of life in that tank!


 
Good to know.  I'll perhaps dose EC a couple of times in the initial stages and stop before I stock the tank.  2ml TPN+ sounds like a plan also!


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## charlie (29 Apr 2013)

I really liked the first layout, so will be looking forward to this one.


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## Steve Smith (29 Apr 2013)

Thanks 

I've set the initial photo period to be 4 hours, hopefully that will work out OK.


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## fish fodder (29 Apr 2013)

Piiiiiiiics pleeeeeeease


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## Steve Smith (29 Apr 2013)

Bare in mind, the wood to the right is floating out of position... (Phone photo)


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## Martin Osmond (29 Apr 2013)

SteveUK said:


> Bare in mind, the wood to the right is floating out of position... (Phone photo)


 

Really like that mate, i don't know how you lot make it look so simple! Think this will look really nice once its grown in. Are you adding more plants? Does it really need the other piece of wood?


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## Steve Smith (29 Apr 2013)

Its pretty crowded in there, from a wood perspective. The floating piece will eventually be arched down to the substrate. I'm thinking about some staurogyne at the rear right. There a steel mesh with some creeping moss back there though.

As for up front, its not as deep as it perhaps looks. The two mesh pieces are Taiwan moss left and coral pelia right. I'm going to grow them on and plant them elsewhere. Hopefully the hydro will creep and cover the front but there will be catappa leaves in there for the shrimp at some point too


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## fish fodder (29 Apr 2013)

Martin Osmond said:


> i don't know how you lot make it look so simple!



I would imagine it took many frustrating hours to get the layout right. lol


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## sa80mark (29 Apr 2013)

It looks great very deceiving in size only the filter and light give it away as a small tank

Mark


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## Steve Smith (29 Apr 2013)

Just got onto my PC and looking at that photo, it's pretty awful!  Just snapped a few with my DSLR...


40cm Shrimp Pile by Casa-Steve, on Flickr

Better idea of the width:


40cm Shrimp Pile by Casa-Steve, on Flickr


40cm Shrimp Pile by Casa-Steve, on Flickr


40cm Shrimp Pile by Casa-Steve, on Flickr


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## plantnoob (29 Apr 2013)

love the branchy  wood . is it more than 1 piece ?


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## Steve Smith (29 Apr 2013)

Yes, it's actually 4 pieces. 3 pieces on Manzinita and the skinny one is redmoor I think.


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## Steve Smith (29 Apr 2013)

Can anyone who's used 1-2 grow Staurogyne suggest how many pots to buy?  I think I'd need to cover an area of about 10cm x 4cm max.  2 pots?


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## LondonDragon (29 Apr 2013)

Nice to see you getting your hands wet again Steve  nice looking tank, where is the CO2?


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## fish fodder (29 Apr 2013)

SteveUK said:


> Can anyone who's used 1-2 grow Staurogyne suggest how many pots to buy?  I think I'd need to cover an area of about 10cm x 4cm max.  2 pots?



I would say 2 yes, I bought one pot and was very surprised at how much you get in them. Had about 15 plantlets but I spread them out quite a bit


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## Steve Smith (29 Apr 2013)

Paulo has very kindly offered me some cuttings, so got this sorted   Donation to UKAPS made


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## fish fodder (29 Apr 2013)

I know you got some now but here's to show you how much you get in a pot.... To get an idea of scale the area in the photo is about 35cm


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## Steve Smith (29 Apr 2013)

Pots seem to be quite generous then.  I've bought potted staurgyne in the past and I recall getting 5 - 10 stalks at most.


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## Steve Smith (30 Apr 2013)

Ordered a set of these:



Fed up of mechanical timers and I've read others on UKAPS are using these happily.


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## fish fodder (30 Apr 2013)

You got a link?


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## Steve Smith (30 Apr 2013)

Here you go:

 HE220S Home Easy Remote Control (HE200) Plus 2 x HE202S Dimmable Plug Sockets | eBay


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## Steve Smith (1 May 2013)

So my wood has sunk, just   Also, fist signs of growth.  Sadly, it's white fungus on one of the bits of manzanita   I noticed a few bits of hydrocotyle uprooted this evening, so replanted those.  Other than this, not much to report as yet.

Lighting is on for 4.5 hours at the moment and nothing really showing signs of melting as yet.  Still dosing a little liquid carbon every other day and so far one 5ml dose of TPN+.  I should probably do a water change soon.  Best fire up the RO unit again!


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## LondonDragon (1 May 2013)

SteveUK said:


> Fed up of mechanical timers and I've read others on UKAPS are using these happily.


I just went from digital to mechanical, too many issues with the digital timers, reliability is the issue for me!



SteveUK said:


> Ordered a set of these:


Wonder if these work when the batteries from the remote control run out? Assume its the remote that turns them on and off and without it nothing will work, correct?


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## Steve Smith (1 May 2013)

I think the remote sets them up but then they're autonomous?  Perhaps I'm wrong.  I'll find out I guess!


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## dw1305 (2 May 2013)

Hi all,


LondonDragon said:


> I just went from digital to mechanical, too many issues with the digital timers, reliability is the issue for me!


Same for me, mechanical all the way. I'm using the standard £12 Grasslin and Lumii ones now and they are both reliable.

I've thrown away £100's (and possibly £000's) worth of digital timers. It doesn't seem to matter how much they cost, or where you got them from, the LCD displays always fail and you have to throw them away.

The best one was when they replaced the 100% functional analogue timer sockets for the glasshouse lighting with new digital "IP67" ones. I expressed some concerns about HPS discharge lamps and electronic timers, but was assured (by the company that fitted them) that it wasn't a problem.

Ten minutes later the lights had come on and fried them.

cheers Darrel


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## Steve Smith (2 May 2013)

At least with these, a new remote unit is about £10.  No screens on the plug unit.  Heck, if it doesn't work out it's £15 and I've got a bunch of analog timers still.


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## Steve Smith (3 May 2013)

Hmn.  This is a bit annoying.  The timer plugs turned up today, and don't seem to work with my 11w light unit.  They're dimmer plugs which I assumed would be OK, but it appears that when you switch them on they fade in.  Annoyingly this only seems to work with incandescent lighting.


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## Steve Smith (4 May 2013)

First water change done. It's taken a while as I've been trying to find a suitable water container for my RO. As I only need about 5 litres and with my limited space I came up with an ingenious solution. A folding 15 litre camping water bag/bottle thing.

It was a bit of a comedy getting it sorted out. Man handling 15 litres of water (I so I've got enough for another change later this week). I had a moment where I was trying to figure out GH+ quantities and the bag/bottle started to collapse, causing me to flinch and throw GH+ everywhere, but it's done now. I'll figure out a way of doing it better next time 

Just ordering the correct timer plugs now. Hopefully I'll have them for the end of next week.


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## Steve Smith (7 May 2013)

Moving along slowly 


40cm Shrimp Pile by Casa-Steve, on Flickr


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## Gary Nelson (7 May 2013)

Very nice Steve, when the moss takes off on the wood it will be a beauty! It's planted just right for that wood too.


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## Steve Smith (7 May 2013)

Yeah, the weeping moss that was 1-2 grow has really changed colour this last week   Lovely lush green instead of pasty yellow 

I've upped the lighting by an hour to 5 1/2 hours as of the other day too.  Should probably look to do another water change soon!


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## tim (7 May 2013)

like this a lot really nice flow to the hardscape  look forward to seeing the srimp in.


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## DanMac (8 May 2013)

I have to jump in here, I have a 24 watt t5 unit ( its has 2 light sockets but i only have 1 tube in it ) is they're a suitable light dimmer for me?, a timer is not important but would help.


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## faizal (8 May 2013)

Nice one Steve. I just read the journal. The tank's looking lovely. I'd love to see it progress.


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## Steve Smith (9 May 2013)

Renamed the journal   Also, I now have a black backing for the tank which I think makes it look a little better.  Need to try attaching it to the glass instead of the wall behind though, as I'm getting some reflection.


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## Steve Smith (11 May 2013)

So I was in my local Pets at home the other day and spotted a really poor grade black CRS.  After looking more closely I spotted 5 or 6 CRS shrimplets and another adult too.  I walked out of there with the 2 adults, which he charged me less for, and all the shrimplets he could get out for free (about 6).

I acclimatised them last night and they're in now.  I haven't seen any of the shrimplets since, but they'll appear soon enough


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