I have just placed an order. I subscribed to your account last week. Really enjoying watching your videos 😊. What is the best substrate for blue bolt's please I'm in the UK? Thanks Kelly x
Thank you so much Mark, I am a newbie to shrimp keeping and have bought a tank and sponge filter so far. Is akadama soil the best for a first time shrimp keeper?
Love watching your old videos as a reference , i'm currently doing this just now and enjoying the build, DAY 3: PH did go up but also came back down again and seems settled, ill give it another few days with tests , the wifes not happy the Akadama doesn't match the colour of the castle, so the castle goes, getting sick of it anyway , shrimp were starting to use the stairs , looked odd lolol
Howard Lieberman Great idea, they sell little 2 gallon shop vacs for about 20 dollars at Walmart. It's a handy tool to have in a fish room and the nozzles are easy to sterilize.
I love the long videos! Seriously such a nice way to end my day. I'll be ordering my shrimp in a couple weeks, got my lobelia, duckweed and moss in the mail and my s.repens is exploding. Was thinking I'd start with basic cherry shrimp, just in case I screw up. ❤️
Hello Mark. Great video as always. You give us all such good quality advice and information. I only have a tank of Cherry Shrimps but, you have given me the confidence to setup a couple more tanks with different shrimps. Thank you. Oliver-Dean.
This is right up my alley as i'm using Akadama, didn't know you used the stuff also Mark. I spent hours rinsing it through first though as it browned the water like crazy.
Excellent video Mark! Planning a nano riparium/paludarium with CRS and I thought of using some akadama i had around. Suffice to say I was really happy to see you have a video on it!
Always a thumbs up pal, picked up a few crystal reds and ended up with a red rili and a beautiful blue lol . Thanks for sharing friend have a great day brother man.
Great video full of very useful information! I will definitely watch it again before my next restart. Recently I had to do a restart of my 128 liter aquarium. I had about 1000 shrimps and lot of tiny shrimps there, they flew through the holes in my net. I didn't have net for shrimps then, so I had to suck them out with a pipette 🙈 It took me 2 days 😂
Really good watch mark. I am in the process of looking at upgrading my tank from 55l to 100l but I don't have the space for 2 tanks. After seeing this it's got me thinking how I will go about doing this.
Very very informative mark! I WILL be using this video in the future to help me redo my current cherry shrimp tank once I think it's time for a change. So far so good though. I'm in the positive about 15 more shrimp since last week (starting off with only 15). Great content!
just another great video...exactly the one I was looking for today...will you test your water for ammonia etc...and in akadama is cycling time shorter?
@@MarksShrimpTanks i did one straight out the bag with tap water (south africa) TDS about 60. one i rinsed with tap water and use tap water to fill the tank and TDS was about 40. it dose not matter how much rinse it you will still have soot .
Mark! I totally forgot, I have a question about my sponge filter. Its got an adjustable neck on it, and I'm wondering whether having it longer and closer to the surface creates more suction or if keeping it short and deeper in the water will make it suck more???
Just broke down my 10g and cleaned it up in preparation of starting up a shrimp colony again. I had a great colony of cherry shrimp before we had to move. It was my first time keeping shrimp and the colony absolutely thrived. I plan on trying blue bolts this time around so I'm slowly getting what I need. Got the akadama ordered up and found a place that sells the BorneoWild Enlive here stateside. I cannot find the other probiotic you used though. Any other products you might suggest as a substitute? Or would using just the Enlive be fine?
Thumbs up, akadama is awesome! I've got it too, and my crystal red's look amazing on it! regarding the shrimplet survival in this tank, do you have enough surface area in there? also do you use Bacter AE (or something similar), as it is awesome for biofilm buildup and shrimplet immune system buildup. Since you mentioned you don't use it underneath your substrate anymore... towel method is great btw, i used it on my old aquarium, and i eventually got every single grain of sand out XD
Giwan Verveen He uses Pure Nordic's NUTRIDUST, he showed it in a recent video and talked about how it creates biofilm and bacteria for baby shrimp to eat. He also uses his own brand of pollen there's a video on that as well :) Both of those are available to purchase in his shop.
Hi Mark, I am sure you will have mentioned this in one of your great videos, but I was wondering what the ideal water temperature is for breeding red cherry shrimp? Thanks for all of the help you give us through your videos. Regards.
Do you wash your akadama first? I tried to wash mine and its break down into small debris. What brand are the akadama you are using? Im using ibaraki brand akadama.
Acuarios Llobregat To raise my kh I added some crushed coral in a filter bag to my cannister filter. If you have soft water it will dissolve and need to be replaced every few months.
Hi Mark. Can you help me? I cant understand why my Akadama soil can't lower the PH lower than 6.5. I have 3 liters of soil in 30 liters tank. I use RO water with Salty Shrimp. Thank You!
Hi Mark..greeting from Indonesia i always love ur videos about ur shrimp tanks i have one question..can i use undergravel filter for my shrimp tank? Or its better just use bio sponge filter? Thanks 😊
i started a 37liters tank with akadama substrate and some minerals in the substrate. My question is. can i add mineralis/catapa leaves in it now? or let it cycle?
Awesome video my love watching your videos listen one question I don't know if it was already answered or not when you say that it absorbs but then it'll start leaching back into the tank how long does it last before you should really change it out
Hi mark, I started using akadama after watching you videos but doesn’t seem to be buffering the water to a lower ph? Is there a time frame to wait before noticing the effects? How long does it leach ammonia for? Thanks
hello Michael, make sure your ph meter is calibrated properly, I calibrate my more expensive one every single time I use it. I think the norm is around a 6ph on a 3cm bed of akadama, the more you add the more acidic it will get as for the ammonia I have never gotten ammonia reading from it, I always have to ghost feed the tank to get my cycle started then I wait two months.
from the substrate ist should be longer than a day, if the water is cloudy its because the filtration has started to work yet, with active soils they can take a few months to clear.
Hi mark. Just watched your vid on akadama and trying to find the Nordic pure dust here in uk or shop that will ship . Any ideas ? I’m drawing a blank. Cheers. And please keep up the good work. Richard
probably alot but the sponges need to be unclogged to work properly, just rinsing them like this wont strip them of bacteria totally though, ive had tests done on my hands before to see how much bacteria is left after washing with just water and its alot.
Hello Mark! I've been following a lot on your videos and learning very much so thank you for everything you share. What I am wondering about and not finding so much answer is whether it is important to clean the gravel7substrate in the shrim tank? I don't see any video you've shared about it. So is it necessary or not. I have tried onse and it is not easy. baby shrimps easy get traped in vacuum cleaner .. Do you have any tips...Sistek
Great video! I'm trying akadama for my twb tank, cycling it right now. Btw what is the PH of your akadama tank? Mine is around 5.5 or maybe lower, I'm wondering about the low PH, will the bacteria do well in low PH?
Hello sir ,The cycling time will only be a week or two with akadama even with just a pinch of food in there at the start to get things rolling. My tanks are all down to around 5.5ph and I have had alot of great batches of shrimp down at this range. Yes there will be less bacteria but less isnt a bad thing fro sensitive shrimp especially baby shrimp :)
Very interesting and educational video as always Mark I'm just doing a new 1 meter tank and it came with all the sponge filters and substrate. But now wondering if to renew the substrate ???🤔🤔🤔. But a very good video as always 👍🏻👍🏻
Thought this would be a good place to ask. ive had cherry and ghost shrimp together for almost a year. lately the cherry shrimp have started to die off. It gets hot in my room. and regulating the temp in the tank is an issue. its either too hot or too cold at times but stays around 73. thr ghost shrimp which are seen as more fragile are thriving and multiplying while the cherries are slowly dying off. Any ideas?
Heat will kill them for sure ,anything over 28 c for me and I start to see deaths ,see if you can get a fan and aim it at the tank on those hot days that will help.
Hello mark..have are you and have a good luck in year 2018..happy new year! I have one question it was i want turn my 2.5 feet tank to shrimp tank...my place here recommend me using under gravel filter..is that ok for filter my tank.?
@@MarksShrimpTanks does it take forever to get that big? I got some supposably but it has not grown in 4 months but everything else in the tank is thriving at 1000% lol
@@MarksShrimpTanks thank you so much for answering I have just started to build up my tank after months of research I ordered blue dream and cherry shrimps trying to build my tank before they get here i am super happy that i am finally doing this! 😊
@Marks Shrimp Tanks i used akadama for a while and i have to say it is not as good as i expected. In my opinion, the best soil is ISTA Shrimp Soil 5.5 ph it is little bit expensive but cost around 30 quid for 9L is worth to spend.
im duplicating this right now on 230 litre tank, got all tropica soil out and Akadama in, just heating it now until tanks 22c then ill transplant all my filters and wood, plants etc, TDS 140 PH6.4 but as mark said the Akadama will leach nutrients, so ill allow the tank to stabilize then recheck and adjust TDS, then ill wait a few days and do full parameters test, and when all is good then my Crystal reds and orange eyed tigers will surely be happy in their new home.
@@MarksShrimpTanks 230 litre has taken the 14L of Akadama and now ive had to order another 14L as PH is sitting around 6.8 TDS 140, more Akadama to give me a good thick substrate and good buffer zone, but i have enjoyed stripping the tank, i cant start rescaping until extra Akadama arrives, my assassins are pissed off in their temp 2 litre jug lol , now they know how i feel on lockdown lololol
Anyone experience ph raising during the startup using akadama soil? Day one the pH is 6,3 but after day three the pH is raising to 7,4.. I put nothing in the tank only sponge filter and using ro water, anyone can help? Should I WC?
Oh dear, good that they don't go raging mad after 1½ hours of PLOK! PLOK! PLOK! PLOK! from the falling drops of water during aclimation! :) It doesn't seem to bother them at all.
I once put a glass to the tank and placed my ear on it and jesus the noise was so loud from all the sponge filters hahahaha nowadays I run powerheads so there should be less noise :D
I guess in the wild rain would be worse and may last a lot longer? Good point though do Shrimps actually "hear" anything? or do they feel in a similar way to fish with their lateral line? Mark - Any idea?
It's really expensive here in the USA... I heard it's banned because they found something in the substrate that the FDA did not approve... But online it's pretty expensive.... Nice video though Mark!!
@@MarksShrimpTanks I live in a small town in the us, I looked at like local floral shops and in gardening sections of stores but cant seem to find it. the only way i could possible get it is online, But cant even find it there ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Marks Shrimp Tanks i guess it's just I recently got some and I don't exactly know how to look after them I mean I kind of know what they eat and what they like but I need help
they can last longer, it just depends on how many water changes you do and how hard the water going into the tank is , thing to measure is Ph once its starts creeping up you know its time to change.
success with taiwan bees = keep the ph at 6,5 and the wather that goes (water for water change) in needs to be at the same ph as in the tank so ph 6,5...its not the soil or something else...its the fresh water that goes in the tank, most people only checking the TDS/MS(µS) after remineralizing it and it works possible with other shrimps (your tanks looking good full with shrimps) but taiwan bees require the same ph parameters in the fresh water too...if you are using only the GH+ mineral salt/liquid use a SHOT/DROP of pure kh liquid (selfmade with balling salt from saltwater) only to push the ph a bit up if needed...in my way - im using the gh+ salt from salty shrimp and the kh salt from nyos (because i have 2 salty tanks i need that anyway) mixed 1liter kh liquid up (calculate(d) it down for my/your need!), my RO Water have a ph of 4,5 and after puting the gh+ salty shrimp in, up to 200MS(µS) (dont know it at TDS but i think it is 120-140?) i have a ph of 5,5 and now im droping only 0,5ml-1ml kh liquid in (its for a 10liter water change that amount of kh liquid) - et voila - ph is at 6,5 and kh is at 0,5 - 1 (it dont kill or harm them with 1kh) and now we are at 220-235MS (micosiemens µS) perfect for using it for the water change...possible you know that all but i thought i write my 3 words down here :). Happy Shrimp keeping guys! And yes my english sucks but i hope you guys get the point....
Not specifically talking about the setup phase in this video, continually adding in mineral powders like some folks do could depreciate the buffering more quickly. Personally i add it anyway because I think the benefits far outweigh having to change out substrate a few months earlier.
Struggling with shrimp? Watch this ua-cam.com/video/odokPU9Ajsk/v-deo.html
Link To My Shrimp Tank Setup Playlist ua-cam.com/video/YctSb4Cxq1k/v-deo.html
Dont forget guys you can check out my store here marksshrimptanks.ecwid.com/
Thank you for the support 😍
I have just placed an order. I subscribed to your account last week. Really enjoying watching your videos 😊. What is the best substrate for blue bolt's please I'm in the UK? Thanks Kelly x
you can use wet/dry shop vac to get the remaining small water volume, works well
Thank you so much Mark, I am a newbie to shrimp keeping and have bought a tank and sponge filter so far. Is akadama soil the best for a first time shrimp keeper?
You can't beat a full tank set up, thanks Mark always a pleasure watching your blogs especially full set up 👍
Thank you sir :)
Love watching your old videos as a reference , i'm currently doing this just now and enjoying the build, DAY 3: PH did go up but also came back down again and seems settled, ill give it another few days with tests , the wifes not happy the Akadama doesn't match the colour of the castle, so the castle goes, getting sick of it anyway , shrimp were starting to use the stairs , looked odd lolol
yeah you will notice the tds dropping for about a week or two as well as the tank settles.
I was just getting ready to upgrade my shrimp tank so this video came in handy. Thanks.
glad it was of some help :)
Love your video mark. Bought akadama will be getting my shrimp soon. I hope you can do a full akadama review.
Great video!! I learn a great deal from you channel. Just a suggestion - to remove the residual water and sludge, use an inexpensive wet/dry shop vac.
Howard Lieberman Great idea, they sell little 2 gallon shop vacs for about 20 dollars at Walmart. It's a handy tool to have in a fish room and the nozzles are easy to sterilize.
Hello Howard I actually have one but its just as fast for me to do it with a towel and then I dont have to clean the vac out later :D
Thanks Mark was just about to ask you a few questions about akadama. You've just covered them all here! Excellent as usual.
You are welcome sir :)
I love the long videos! Seriously such a nice way to end my day. I'll be ordering my shrimp in a couple weeks, got my lobelia, duckweed and moss in the mail and my s.repens is exploding. Was thinking I'd start with basic cherry shrimp, just in case I screw up. ❤️
Thats a great place to start :)
Hello Mark. Great video as always. You give us all such good quality advice and information. I only have a tank of Cherry Shrimps but, you have given me the confidence to setup a couple more tanks with different shrimps. Thank you. Oliver-Dean.
Thats what I like to hear Oliver :)
This is right up my alley as i'm using Akadama, didn't know you used the stuff also Mark.
I spent hours rinsing it through first though as it browned the water like crazy.
Its my favorite soil ,you dont have to rinse it by the way.
Once again, very good video. Its always scary to whirl a good running tank around and rescape it with new soil. Thank you Mark !
Excellent video Mark! Planning a nano riparium/paludarium with CRS and I thought of using some akadama i had around. Suffice to say I was really happy to see you have a video on it!
Always a thumbs up pal, picked up a few crystal reds and ended up with a red rili and a beautiful blue lol . Thanks for sharing friend have a great day brother man.
Cheers Eric :)
Great video full of very useful information! I will definitely watch it again before my next restart. Recently I had to do a restart of my 128 liter aquarium. I had about 1000 shrimps and lot of tiny shrimps there, they flew through the holes in my net. I didn't have net for shrimps then, so I had to suck them out with a pipette 🙈 It took me 2 days 😂
thats for that amount of shrimp it would take me weeks to do the same 😂
Very helpfull and fun to watch video Mark, thanks.
GREAT VID! It's a good tutorial for changing your substrate too. I had no clue how to do it, now I do ☺!
Its my least favorite thing to do in the shrimp room 😂
Really good watch mark. I am in the process of looking at upgrading my tank from 55l to 100l but I don't have the space for 2 tanks. After seeing this it's got me thinking how I will go about doing this.
Did you do a water change before putting the shrimps
What about SafeTsorb? Baked clay used to clean up oil spills in mechanic shops.
Nice video Mark, very interesting. Thank you for sharing. 👍👍👍
The plant dome looks intreresting. Maybe you could include in a video how to set up one.
I will, some people have asked me how it works so I will make a video for it :)
Very very informative mark! I WILL be using this video in the future to help me redo my current cherry shrimp tank once I think it's time for a change. So far so good though. I'm in the positive about 15 more shrimp since last week (starting off with only 15). Great content!
Cheers Rico glad you enjoyed it :)
just another great video...exactly the one I was looking for today...will you test your water for ammonia etc...and in akadama is cycling time shorter?
I do but I know already there is no ammonia in this soil ,I put the shrimp back in after a week and they are doing great :)
Ohhh thaz with a towel.. Just full a little bit water in and suck it everything out 😁
Is that green plant windelove?
Subwassertang :)
Mark. Where I can I buy that 8 in 1 bacteria and antibiotic. you put in as base. Please. Do you sell them.
Hi may i know how u shaped ur huge ball of subwassertang in the beginning? It looks nice
thats natural growth, the subwassertang is just tied to wood with thread and it grows that way.
@@MarksShrimpTanks can you make a video on how to tie it?
@@firestyt3440 www.google.com/search?q=how+to+tie+subwassertang&oq=how+to+tie+subwassertang+&aqs=chrome..69i57.6120j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#kpvalbx=_sKVeYeusBoyTrwTRjJ9g37
Oh forgot to ask Mark what do you have on the top of your subwassertang ropes. Are they the ends from artificial plants.
No they are real plants ,water sprite is one but I removed nearly all of that because its very very invasive it can take over a tank.
Do you use the akadama straight from the bag or do you clean it first
straight out the bag
@@MarksShrimpTanks i did one straight out the bag with tap water (south africa) TDS about 60. one i rinsed with tap water and use tap water to fill the tank and TDS was about 40. it dose not matter how much rinse it you will still have soot .
Nice video Mark thanks :)
Mark! I totally forgot, I have a question about my sponge filter. Its got an adjustable neck on it, and I'm wondering whether having it longer and closer to the surface creates more suction or if keeping it short and deeper in the water will make it suck more???
Keep it long but just under the surface :)
hi mark quick question do you rinse out the akadama first because ive just set up a crystal red tank and the water was really dirty
many thanks
No you dont rince this soil out , if you try it you will be standing waiting forever hahaha
Just broke down my 10g and cleaned it up in preparation of starting up a shrimp colony again. I had a great colony of cherry shrimp before we had to move. It was my first time keeping shrimp and the colony absolutely thrived. I plan on trying blue bolts this time around so I'm slowly getting what I need. Got the akadama ordered up and found a place that sells the BorneoWild Enlive here stateside. I cannot find the other probiotic you used though. Any other products you might suggest as a substitute? Or would using just the Enlive be fine?
enlive is one of the better ones, right now I am trying out Vins Storm range but its to early to see if anythings working.
Thumbs up, akadama is awesome!
I've got it too, and my crystal red's look amazing on it!
regarding the shrimplet survival in this tank, do you have enough surface area in there?
also do you use Bacter AE (or something similar), as it is awesome for biofilm buildup and shrimplet immune system buildup.
Since you mentioned you don't use it underneath your substrate anymore...
towel method is great btw, i used it on my old aquarium, and i eventually got every single grain of sand out XD
Giwan Verveen He uses Pure Nordic's NUTRIDUST, he showed it in a recent video and talked about how it creates biofilm and bacteria for baby shrimp to eat. He also uses his own brand of pollen there's a video on that as well :) Both of those are available to purchase in his shop.
ah, cool, thanks for the reply, I'll check out his shop ;D
Hi Mark, I am sure you will have mentioned this in one of your great videos, but I was wondering what the ideal water temperature is for breeding red cherry shrimp? Thanks for all of the help you give us through your videos. Regards.
Roughly 24c :)
Great video. Thanks.
can I use medium sized acadama or it has to be small size like yours?
yes you can use that too, I would if I had it here 👍
Do you wash your akadama first? I tried to wash mine and its break down into small debris. What brand are the akadama you are using? Im using ibaraki brand akadama.
no dont wash it or you will be washing it forever, I have used Ibaraki , double white line and triple red line all good soils.
Good restart Mark!! I.have akadama with red fire, and my kh is 0...any way for up kh?
Acuarios Llobregat To raise my kh I added some crushed coral in a filter bag to my cannister filter. If you have soft water it will dissolve and need to be replaced every few months.
Crushed coral is an excellent item to suggest :)
Great video as always! Why do you use several smaller sponges instead of fewer large sponges? Is this just for redundancy? Cheers!
Just for overkill and it means I always have a spare filter when I need it.
Hi Mark. Can you help me? I cant understand why my Akadama soil can't lower the PH lower than 6.5. I have 3 liters of soil in 30 liters tank. I use RO water with Salty Shrimp. Thank You!
6.5 is ok are you sure your ph pen is calibrated ?
Thank you. I used 2 different drop tests and ph pen which is calibrated. Are all your shrimps living in ph 6.5 ?
no mine all range from around a 5ph to 6.5 .. which reminds me my ph pen needs calibrated.
Hi Mark..greeting from Indonesia
i always love ur videos about ur shrimp tanks
i have one question..can i use undergravel filter for my shrimp tank?
Or its better just use bio sponge filter?
Thanks 😊
I like both so it just comes down to personal preference
Thanks for the response..appreciate
??? Looking @ this ver interesting video just wonding how does your sponge filters light up, and where can i purchase one that lights up. Thx
ah had to rewatch the video to see what you were talking about hahahaha they dont light up but it does look like it in the video
Great video!
Thank you Cathy :)
i started a 37liters tank with akadama substrate and some minerals in the substrate. My question is. can i add mineralis/catapa leaves in it now? or let it cycle?
Awesome video my love watching your videos listen one question I don't know if it was already answered or not when you say that it absorbs but then it'll start leaching back into the tank how long does it last before you should really change it out
I have akadama thats two years old and still not leaching anything this happens with all shrimp soils too :)
Hi mark, I started using akadama after watching you videos but doesn’t seem to be buffering the water to a lower ph? Is there a time frame to wait before noticing the effects? How long does it leach ammonia for? Thanks
hello Michael, make sure your ph meter is calibrated properly, I calibrate my more expensive one every single time I use it. I think the norm is around a 6ph on a 3cm bed of akadama, the more you add the more acidic it will get as for the ammonia I have never gotten ammonia reading from it, I always have to ghost feed the tank to get my cycle started then I wait two months.
Marks Shrimp Tanks noob question but how do I calibrate it? Thanks for the reply!
Hello Mark awesome work shrimp bro!!
Thank you Cicco :)
Hi mark. How long does it take for the water to be clear from cloudy? Thanks
from the substrate ist should be longer than a day, if the water is cloudy its because the filtration has started to work yet, with active soils they can take a few months to clear.
@@MarksShrimpTanks thanks so much. What's the lowest PH you got for this akadama brand?
Thank you mark for another fun video...^_^
Hi mark.
Just watched your vid on akadama and trying to find the Nordic pure dust here in uk or shop that will ship . Any ideas ? I’m drawing a blank.
Cheers. And please keep up the good work.
Richard
You can just use powdered flakes
@@MarksShrimpTanks
Thanks mark,
Tetra bio it is then 👍🏻
hi mark i am sory if asked before..how long wait to add shrimp with akadama ??some pleople says 3 month..how long you wait with new tank ??
2 months is what I normally do but I can see 3 months would be better
@@MarksShrimpTanks thank you so much
When you squeeze the sponges out like that, how much of the bacteria do you think you loose?
probably alot but the sponges need to be unclogged to work properly, just rinsing them like this wont strip them of bacteria totally though, ive had tests done on my hands before to see how much bacteria is left after washing with just water and its alot.
So could you used this water to seed another tank perhaps?
Hello Mark! I've been following a lot on your videos and learning very much so thank you for everything you share. What I am wondering about and not finding so much answer is whether it is important to clean the gravel7substrate in the shrim tank? I don't see any video you've shared about it. So is it necessary or not. I have tried onse and it is not easy. baby shrimps easy get traped in vacuum cleaner .. Do you have any tips...Sistek
no you dont have to ever clean the gravel with shrimp my friend:)
Thanx mate :)
What do you think about Dennerle Shrimo King Active Soil?
In a future video I remove it from my other tank ,I have no shrimp king soil now make of that what you will :)
Marks Shrimp Tanks so it's not good
Hi ， Really like your video... by the way, could you please tell me what is the name of the yellow gravel at the bottom？
Akadama my friend id the name:)
What model is the sponge filter and how big is the tank?
Hi Mark, does akadama soil also lower the pH as other aquasoils? Is it same as tha bonsai soil?
yes it lowers it down to roughly a 6ph and yes it is a bonsia soil
Great video! I'm trying akadama for my twb tank, cycling it right now. Btw what is the PH of your akadama tank? Mine is around 5.5 or maybe lower, I'm wondering about the low PH, will the bacteria do well in low PH?
Hello sir ,The cycling time will only be a week or two with akadama even with just a pinch of food in there at the start to get things rolling. My tanks are all down to around 5.5ph and I have had alot of great batches of shrimp down at this range.
Yes there will be less bacteria but less isnt a bad thing fro sensitive shrimp especially baby shrimp :)
Thanks! Great information!
How long before the soil loses its cathionic exchange abilities?
Very interesting and educational video as always Mark I'm just doing a new 1 meter tank and it came with all the sponge filters and substrate. But now wondering if to renew the substrate ???🤔🤔🤔. But a very good video as always 👍🏻👍🏻
just depends on the substrate,if you want to take zero risk then change the substrate ,you get akadama for like 14 pounds in Britain for huge bags.
Marks Shrimp Tanks yes thank you so very much Mark. I will buy new, better to be safe than sorry 👍🏻👍🏻
Can i use vermicompost subtrate plus akadama above it? Will it work?
Possible :)
Mark, what brand of Akadama soil did you use?
3 white line hard akadama ,you can also use double red line :)
my tank is like you...if i use undergravel i affraid the water will no move around the tank...if sponge better one is not enough right
Hi mark? What size of grain akadama you used? Love your vids. New shrimp keeper here☺️
5mm -7mm I think
You should sell the subwassertang ropes on your website, I bet people would buy them
Thought this would be a good place to ask. ive had cherry and ghost shrimp together for almost a year. lately the cherry shrimp have started to die off. It gets hot in my room. and regulating the temp in the tank is an issue. its either too hot or too cold at times but stays around 73. thr ghost shrimp which are seen as more fragile are thriving and multiplying while the cherries are slowly dying off. Any ideas?
Heat will kill them for sure ,anything over 28 c for me and I start to see deaths ,see if you can get a fan and aim it at the tank on those hot days that will help.
Can you do a "cardinia for beginners" 🥺
Can we use akadama as a planted substrates
oh yes its first use was as a bonsai soil
Marks Shrimp Tanks how much liter we need for planted aquarium my tank dimensions 90 x 45x60 in cm
Thanks in advance
One full 9 liter bag would be enough to give you a few cm layer I think .
Marks Shrimp Tanks thank you very much bro appreciate
Hello mark..have are you and have a good luck in year 2018..happy new year! I have one question it was i want turn my 2.5 feet tank to shrimp tank...my place here recommend me using under gravel filter..is that ok for filter my tank.?
Happy newyear, indergravels are good but I think all you really need is a good sponge filter :)
What kind of bush is in the tank before you redo it?
That is subawssertang :)
@@MarksShrimpTanks does it take forever to get that big? I got some supposably but it has not grown in 4 months but everything else in the tank is thriving at 1000% lol
Hello, great video. ;)
can i mix akadama soil with amazonia soil together?
yes i have in some of my tanks
@@MarksShrimpTanks thank you so much for answering I have just started to build up my tank after months of research I ordered blue dream and cherry shrimps trying to build my tank before they get here i am super happy that i am finally doing this! 😊
@Marks Shrimp Tanks i used akadama for a while and i have to say it is not as good as i expected. In my opinion, the best soil is ISTA Shrimp Soil 5.5 ph it is little bit expensive but cost around 30 quid for 9L is worth to spend.
You watch my tanks over the coming months ,they will be crawling with baby shrimp trust me :)
im duplicating this right now on 230 litre tank, got all tropica soil out and Akadama in, just heating it now until tanks 22c then ill transplant all my filters and wood, plants etc, TDS 140 PH6.4 but as mark said the Akadama will leach nutrients, so ill allow the tank to stabilize then recheck and adjust TDS, then ill wait a few days and do full parameters test, and when all is good then my Crystal reds and orange eyed tigers will surely be happy in their new home.
thats a nice mix, you know looking at all my tanks I actually fancy something like black fancy crystal or tibees if you want to call them that.
@@MarksShrimpTanks 230 litre has taken the 14L of Akadama and now ive had to order another 14L as PH is sitting around 6.8 TDS 140, more Akadama to give me a good thick substrate and good buffer zone, but i have enjoyed stripping the tank, i cant start rescaping until extra Akadama arrives, my assassins are pissed off in their temp 2 litre jug lol , now they know how i feel on lockdown lololol
No snail's we're harmed in the making of this video🐌
Snails awe ouw fwiends!
Anyone experience ph raising during the startup using akadama soil? Day one the pH is 6,3 but after day three the pH is raising to 7,4.. I put nothing in the tank only sponge filter and using ro water, anyone can help? Should I WC?
What is the grain size of the akadama
I think the stuff I have is the smallest they make 5mm -10mm
Love your videos! Do you have a place where I can ask you questions specific to my tank?
Yes ,best place hands down is to join my Facebook group Aquarium Shrimp Keeping ..if I dont answer lots of very experienced people will :)
Oh dear, good that they don't go raging mad after 1½ hours of PLOK! PLOK! PLOK! PLOK! from the falling drops of water during aclimation! :) It doesn't seem to bother them at all.
I once put a glass to the tank and placed my ear on it and jesus the noise was so loud from all the sponge filters hahahaha nowadays I run powerheads so there should be less noise :D
I guess in the wild rain would be worse and may last a lot longer? Good point though do Shrimps actually "hear" anything? or do they feel in a similar way to fish with their
lateral line?
Mark - Any idea?
May I ask which aquarium that is? Love the video by the way.
Its just a standard 60cm by 30 x 30 :)
Thank you for your quick reaction. Could you tell my which brand the aquarium is, please? :)
This was the listing but I think they have changed brand www.garnelen-tom.de/zwerggarnelen-shop/Aquael-Aquarium-RE-60-x-30-x-30-cm-54-Liter
Marks Shrimp Tanks; Thank you very much! I am going to look right away.
Anyone have luck with shrimpking active soil ? I want to know
14:13 can i have the name of that white power product
I think that was just a no named probiotic I got from someone
It's really expensive here in the USA... I heard it's banned because they found something in the substrate that the FDA did not approve... But online it's pretty expensive....
Nice video though Mark!!
Whats weird is normally its dirt cheap :D
Heya Mark, awesome video. BTW what's the tank size?
Hello Jared ,this tank is 190L
Gorgeous tanks Mark. I'm gonna start my tank soon, all based on your videos! Thanks for sharing!
👍
does anyone have a link for the substrate or a similar substrate that would work, cant find it anywhere online.
this is a bonsai substrate and you should be able to get it where you are, where do you live ?
@@MarksShrimpTanks I live in a small town in the us, I looked at like local floral shops and in gardening sections of stores but cant seem to find it. the only way i could possible get it is online, But cant even find it there ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Hey mark do you know anything about yabbies
I know what they are but I have no real experiences with them,they are crayfish right ?
Marks Shrimp Tanks i guess it's just I recently got some and I don't exactly know how to look after them I mean I kind of know what they eat and what they like but I need help
I heard i am supposed to change the soil in a planted shrimp tank after about 24 months, is this true?
they can last longer, it just depends on how many water changes you do and how hard the water going into the tank is , thing to measure is Ph once its starts creeping up you know its time to change.
Great thanks for the tip!
What to do when you can't sleep? That's an easy question to answer. Binge-watch old MST videos.
all though very boring walking the pup a lot helps me hahahahaha
First for the third time😂👍🏻
success with taiwan bees = keep the ph at 6,5 and the wather that goes (water for water change) in needs to be at the same ph as in the tank so ph 6,5...its not the soil or something else...its the fresh water that goes in the tank, most people only checking the TDS/MS(µS) after remineralizing it and it works possible with other shrimps (your tanks looking good full with shrimps) but taiwan bees require the same ph parameters in the fresh water too...if you are using only the GH+ mineral salt/liquid use a SHOT/DROP of pure kh liquid (selfmade with balling salt from saltwater) only to push the ph a bit up if needed...in my way - im using the gh+ salt from salty shrimp and the kh salt from nyos (because i have 2 salty tanks i need that anyway) mixed 1liter kh liquid up (calculate(d) it down for my/your need!), my RO Water have a ph of 4,5 and after puting the gh+ salty shrimp in, up to 200MS(µS) (dont know it at TDS but i think it is 120-140?) i have a ph of 5,5 and now im droping only 0,5ml-1ml kh liquid in (its for a 10liter water change that amount of kh liquid) - et voila - ph is at 6,5 and kh is at 0,5 - 1 (it dont kill or harm them with 1kh) and now we are at 220-235MS (micosiemens µS) perfect for using it for the water change...possible you know that all but i thought i write my 3 words down here :). Happy Shrimp keeping guys! And yes my english sucks but i hope you guys get the point....
Your English is fine and thank you for all that information :)
When is triop update
soon ,I might have to up the videos because I have alot of backdated ones now.
Marks Shrimp Tanks rip
one way to shorten the buffering life of substrate is adding all those mineral powders.
2 small spoons of minerals is going to shorten the life of 10kg of substrate is it ?
Not specifically talking about the setup phase in this video, continually adding in mineral powders like some folks do could depreciate the buffering more quickly. Personally i add it anyway because I think the benefits far outweigh having to change out substrate a few months earlier.
I add minerals with every water change my friend and some of my soil is 3 years old and still buffering ...not as good as it used to however :D
Marks ? y not using water from another shrimp tank to fetch bacteria ?
I am using the same filters
I'll be breaking down one of my shrimptanks to move them all to another tank but man, moving tons of baby shriumps is just a nightmare D:
it one of the worst jobs to do
hi mark
Hello Andrew :)