Window film backgrounds are absolutely the best. No commitment as compared to paint, and a much better look than the tape-on films or paper. Lots of options too, frosted whites can be really great, and smoke tinted black can be really handy too, functionally like black but letting you see through if you get a flashlight behind - handy if you cant physically look behind the tank due to how its positioned.
@@GlassBoxDiariesThanks for the new upload , loaded with a lot of useful information! I have my original colony in a 40 gallon that just keeps getting better. I have never had any reason to remove any but I think it's a good time since I have been noticing more and more orange ones. They're fed every day and I have been doing 25% changes 3 X a month. Seeing them in the beginning was not a problem but ever since I added Guppy grass i can barely see unless I use my torch 😊 As long as they are happy I think that I will let it grow , at least until I think my aquarium silicone is starting to give 😮 I was just going to suggest that you prepare some Zucchini and hopefully they will enjoy it as much as mine
And wow, is that ever a dense tank! Love it! The irony i thinknis you could literally use that tank as a sump to filter a surprisingly large tank. Theres so much surface area!
Definatley mate, the shrimp are constantly grazing on algae and biofilm on the pearlweed and often ignore food pellets. The downside is removing low grade shrimp so its bad for a breeding setup.
I thought they didn’t sell it at LFS near me…turns out they are under another name 😅. Thanks to your video I can truly try the lush pearl weed tanks I’ve always wanted to build!
Another great video👍Excellent information showing how affordable this can be. A lot of other channels don't even bother to try to encourage anyone who are interested in the hobby, but aren't able to make a high monetary investment. What's up with that tiny sponge though😂
Cheers mate :) I cut the sponges down into 1/8th sizes as I find it easier to get into the corners of the tank to remove algae when cleaning. You can kind of do it with them at full size but it takes a lot longer, with the smaller cut up ones its usually one or two wipes and the algae is all hone :)
Thanks for the video Shaun, I’ve been waiting to see how you built your shrimp rack for a while now and the pearlweed forest was a great idea. I have no idea why Tropica lists it as an “advanced plant.”
Would you recommend an airstone if the tank has a glass lid? I want to put one on my tank to 1. Reduce evaporation and 2. I dont like the look of mesh lids
Sorry for the delay mate, only just seen this comment, an air stone will still work but you can get algae building up on it because of the splashing water but it only takes a minute or two a week to wipe off.
what water did you use for the tank? i've heard you can just leave the tap water out for 1 to 2 days and then it can be added in the tank. what is your opinion?
I use tap water, if you have chlorine in your tap water I think it will gas out of the water in 1-2 days but if you have chloramines then it wont and you need a conditioner product but I'm not 100% sure if I'm notest as I always use a conditioner.
You can use substrate :). I have used Fluval Stratum before without issue even though it lowers pH, I'm planning to use Ecocomplete in the next one as its inert and wont tweak the water parameters making things easier.
I'm really not sure mate. Theres different stuff in soil with the same name in the USA compared to Europe and some have far higher nutrients than others. If you are in the UK then I use the Westland Top Soil and it works well but most top soil products should work and I know a few people who use soil from their garden.
Window film backgrounds are absolutely the best. No commitment as compared to paint, and a much better look than the tape-on films or paper. Lots of options too, frosted whites can be really great, and smoke tinted black can be really handy too, functionally like black but letting you see through if you get a flashlight behind - handy if you cant physically look behind the tank due to how its positioned.
Totally agree mate, they are far cheaper than the very similar Aquascaping branded ones too :)
@@GlassBoxDiariesThanks for the new upload , loaded with a lot of useful information! I have my original colony in a 40 gallon that just keeps getting better. I have never had any reason to remove any but I think it's a good time since I have been noticing more and more orange ones. They're fed every day and I have been doing 25% changes 3 X a month. Seeing them in the beginning was not a problem but ever since I added Guppy grass i can barely see unless I use my torch 😊 As long as they are happy I think that I will let it grow , at least until I think my aquarium silicone is starting to give 😮 I was just going to suggest that you prepare some Zucchini and hopefully they will enjoy it as much as mine
And wow, is that ever a dense tank! Love it! The irony i thinknis you could literally use that tank as a sump to filter a surprisingly large tank. Theres so much surface area!
Definatley mate, the shrimp are constantly grazing on algae and biofilm on the pearlweed and often ignore food pellets.
The downside is removing low grade shrimp so its bad for a breeding setup.
I thought they didn’t sell it at LFS near me…turns out they are under another name 😅. Thanks to your video I can truly try the lush pearl weed tanks I’ve always wanted to build!
Glad I could help mate :)
Yea its a pain with some plants, they have a lot of different names, even their Latin names get changed!
Another great video👍Excellent information showing how affordable this can be. A lot of other channels don't even bother to try to encourage anyone who are interested in the hobby, but aren't able to make a high monetary investment. What's up with that tiny sponge though😂
Cheers mate :)
I cut the sponges down into 1/8th sizes as I find it easier to get into the corners of the tank to remove algae when cleaning.
You can kind of do it with them at full size but it takes a lot longer, with the smaller cut up ones its usually one or two wipes and the algae is all hone :)
@@GlassBoxDiaries great tip👍thanks
Thanks for the video Shaun, I’ve been waiting to see how you built your shrimp rack for a while now and the pearlweed forest was a great idea. I have no idea why Tropica lists it as an “advanced plant.”
I want to do a dedicated video on the setup of the rack but I want to escape a few tanks first and add some medaka to the tanks too.
Would you recommend an airstone if the tank has a glass lid? I want to put one on my tank to 1. Reduce evaporation and 2. I dont like the look of mesh lids
Sorry for the delay mate, only just seen this comment, an air stone will still work but you can get algae building up on it because of the splashing water but it only takes a minute or two a week to wipe off.
@@GlassBoxDiaries No problem, thank you!
what water did you use for the tank? i've heard you can just leave the tap water out for 1 to 2 days and then it can be added in the tank. what is your opinion?
I use tap water, if you have chlorine in your tap water I think it will gas out of the water in 1-2 days but if you have chloramines then it wont and you need a conditioner product but I'm not 100% sure if I'm notest as I always use a conditioner.
Is topsoil and gravel necessary or I can use substrate? Thanks for this, I want to start a low tech planted tank with Shrimps!!!
You can use substrate :). I have used Fluval Stratum before without issue even though it lowers pH, I'm planning to use Ecocomplete in the next one as its inert and wont tweak the water parameters making things easier.
@@GlassBoxDiaries Thanks! I might try an organic soil. Its cheaper lol.
IMPORTANT question but can any normal type of soil can be used for the tank?
I'm really not sure mate. Theres different stuff in soil with the same name in the USA compared to Europe and some have far higher nutrients than others. If you are in the UK then I use the Westland Top Soil and it works well but most top soil products should work and I know a few people who use soil from their garden.
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