Fantastic video. I discovered this method a few months ago. Gone are the days of 100 day cycles on ADA Amazonia. I can also reset tanks every few months without much of a fuss.
The new room is coming along nicely! I appriceate you adding in plant names, very helpful! I'd also love to watch a restart step by step guide at some point.
Nice simple setup with very healthy green walls! I need to try to use rice barn too instead of bacterial powder. If it has the same result why pay more for powder?!
Thank you! I'm glad you liked the setup. Using rice barn instead of bacterial powder can definitely be a cost-effective alternative. Give it a try and let me know how it goes!
This is a great video. I love these kind of videos. This was so perfect. I love your your channel am a number one fan you’re great and your contact is even better. Thank you for being a great channel.
Thank you for your amazing support! It's comments like these that motivate me to keep creating content. I'm grateful to have such awesome fans like you!
It was 2018, when I was attracted to Dwarf Shrimp very casual, and I started to use UA-cam to gain knowledge in this field. The first channel that UA-cam introduced me, was you, Mark. And, from 2018, I have been frantically following all your posts. good luck
Hey mark, nice video I have a question if you don't mind. I heard cycling at low pHhtake forever, is there any way to get around this? Like a cycled media filter or will the low ph cause them to go dormant/die. Thanks!
Thank you for sharing but few Questions: what are the water parameters? what are ur RO water parameters and what did you add to your water for bringing up General hardness(gh) and (kh)?
Hi Mark so you have completely scapped the old method eg bacteria power and cycle 3 months? Also do you have any problems with food decaying in your tanks with all soil bottom?
Thank you for your comment, Yes, I have indeed moved on from the old method and have found better ways to maintain my tanks. And thankfully, I haven't encountered any problems with food decaying in the tanks with soil bottoms.
@MarksShrimpTanks Thanks for the reply Mark. I have a thin layer of soil so hopefully no decaying I use a feeding plate. Also do you find your driftwood raises your tds at all?
Hi mark. Newbie to the shrimp world. Very basic question for you. What substrate would you recommend for reds. Thank you. I take it the set up your showing ie to acidic for cherrys . Or can I replicate? Cheers Rich
Hi Rich! Thank you for reaching out and welcome to the shrimp world! For red shrimp, I suggest using a substrate that maintains a neutral pH level like sand or gravel, This will help create the perfect conditions for them to thrive.
Mark I set up the same way but I use dsp powder from shrimp affair, I guess the pro biotics ect will be pretty much the same? Starting to use your magic potion on Monday 😊
That's great to hear! I'm glad you've set up your tank in a similar way. The probiotics and other additives should have a similar effect on your shrimp. Good luck with your magic potion!
Was looking for some advice i did the rice bran and the substrate over the top and light on for 8-10 hours a day, just noticed the substrate is turning brown. Is that a good thing?? What do i do next??
Hello friends, I need help, I have exactly the same set up and I end up with a PH of 4.5 with this soil... (Maybe it's normal, the professional way to breed ? ) Was this also the case in this aquarium and/or in yours? Thanks in advance
It depends on the tank really, all tanks need a kick starter, with this type of softwater tank amonia isnt an isue like you get with nutral pH tanks this is because the amonia is converted inot its less toxic form amonium but the amonia is still available to plants and bacteria to uptake, thats why in this tank the glaas goes so green.
Hey Mark, Just saw that you tried out the invital japanese substrate (you used the bag to fill the water), any insights on it? Do you think it is a good substrate for shrimp?
Hey mark I’ve been keeping neocaridina for a few years but would love to try some of the fancy caridina. My question is without RO water supply do you think it’s possible to keep them using rain water? Cheers
It's always great to hear that people appreciate the effort I put into creating informative content. I'll keep working hard to bring you more quality videos.
No actually this one didnt go like green water first, but I have had other tanks get green water then clean, the water and the walls go green from just to much nutrients.
You certainly seem to know what you are doing, good job. ... there is a reason I stay away from bee shrimps ... I am far too lazy for all those hoops to make them happy and consistently breeding. ;D My breeder tanks for Neocaridina and crayfish run stable for ages without changing water/special substrate, and they certainly look nicer thanks to a lot more and diverse plants which I also sell fairly often :P. Not that i wouldnt try bee shrimps in the future, if I ever find the space.
I have no idea what you guys all doing with your tanks. I have my tank 30 Liter over 400-600 K11 Cardina schrimps in for now over 8 years. Never changed the soil which is 3 cm thick because the snails clean it and ieat it, never cleaned it the tank-ground, i only refill the water.
So in theory as long as the soil is good quality you can keep caridinaa without having to change soil? Do you only top off with distilled/RO water? And do you remineralize it?
@@MarksShrimpTanks Alright :) Will be interested to learn about it! I’ve primarily been keeping fish, so I’ve never needed to reset. Is resetting something you do for the sake of growing new biofilm? Or is it a process that makes it easier to achieve a whole set of specific beneficial parameters?
Resets are done because the soil loses its nutrients making it less fertil, it also loses its ability to lower the ph and clean the water. Active soils kinda like have a negative charge so they atract impurities in the water like polution.
@@MarksShrimpTanks Interesting, seems very wasteful, but fair enough - as a horticulturist, I recognize the necessity to change soil if using traditional substrates. I long since switched to inert mineral substrates for all but my most sensitive plants, but I guess just replacing active soil with a buffer and some activated charcoal won’t give the same benefits.
Even though that substrate you're using has a lifespan of two weeks why does that matter I understand that certain substrates offer a pH buffer but let's say you were to go beyond the two weeks wouldn't that just make the substrate inert? Could you not just keep using this tank and definitely the way it is as long as you keep up with the water parameters?
@@MarksShrimpTanks I understand that but what I'm saying is what if you just kept it in wouldn't it just become inert? Couldn't you just maintain it even after 12 months
@@MarksShrimpTanks Hey mate - just a question on this. Do you know why the PH wouldn’t fluctuate after a water change for a tank like this compared to a UGF? I’m just asking as I’m really torn between having a thick layer of master soil or a UGF filled with master soil for my shadow pandas
Did the set up and not a week in, got a huge ph spike up to 7.8 from 6.3, guess I just water change?! Haha I’m new but this definitely going different than my planted set up. Thank you so much for responding I’m having a great time learning from you!
Have a fantastic weekend, if you have any questions drop them below. Happy Shrimp Keeping! ♥
Thank you Marks, you are a treasure trove of knowledge for us. Your ideas are amazing. Good health, my friend.
Editing and everything looks great. Love having new setup videos!
Thank you so much for your kind words! I'm glad you enjoyed the video and the new setup.
great video- maybe i missed it, but what are some good alternatives for soil besides Amazonia 1?
Fantastic video. I discovered this method a few months ago. Gone are the days of 100 day cycles on ADA Amazonia. I can also reset tanks every few months without much of a fuss.
Wow, that's awesome! So glad you discovered this method and it's working well for you. No more fussing with tank cycles and resets. Keep rocking it!
The new room is coming along nicely! I appriceate you adding in plant names, very helpful! I'd also love to watch a restart step by step guide at some point.
I'm glad you found the plant names helpful. I'll definitely keep your suggestion in mind for a restart step by step guide.
Nice simple setup with very healthy green walls! I need to try to use rice barn too instead of bacterial powder. If it has the same result why pay more for powder?!
Thank you! I'm glad you liked the setup. Using rice barn instead of bacterial powder can definitely be a cost-effective alternative. Give it a try and let me know how it goes!
Im in south africa and cant get rice barn😢😢😢
This is a great video. I love these kind of videos. This was so perfect. I love your your channel am a number one fan you’re great and your contact is even better. Thank you for being a great channel.
Thank you for your amazing support! It's comments like these that motivate me to keep creating content. I'm grateful to have such awesome fans like you!
Thank you for this video Mark. I started 2 cubes with this method now and iam really excited how it will work.
I am slowely but surley switching mine over to this as well.
@@MarksShrimpTanks Yes seems to be a nice and easy handling.
Looks like a great setup for dwarf crayfish.
It was 2018, when I was attracted to Dwarf Shrimp very casual, and I started to use UA-cam to gain knowledge in this field. The first channel that UA-cam introduced me, was you, Mark. And, from 2018, I have been frantically following all your posts.
good luck
Well, I'm glad UA-cam introduced us in 2018! It's been a whirlwind of Dwarf Shrimp knowledge ever since. Thanks for being a dedicated follower!
@@MarksShrimpTanks It is my pleasure
Thanks Mark GREAT video! 🤓🧐💯💥👍🏾
Thank you so much for your kind words! I'm glad you enjoyed the video.
I Always learn something from MST .Thanks Mark !
BTW could you just blend up brown rice to a powder and use that ?
Thx
Absolutely! Blending up brown rice into a powder is a great idea and can be a convenient way to incorporate it into your tanks.
Hey mark, nice video I have a question if you don't mind. I heard cycling at low pHhtake forever, is there any way to get around this? Like a cycled media filter or will the low ph cause them to go dormant/die. Thanks!
Very nifty. I bet plant likes it too
Yes the Nurii will grow like the clappers in this setup.
Thank you for sharing but few Questions: what are the water parameters? what are ur RO water parameters and what did you add to your water for bringing up General hardness(gh) and (kh)?
RO water has no paramters its pure water, I add salty mineral GH+ to a conductivity of around 200uS.
Hi Mark so you have completely scapped the old method eg bacteria power and cycle 3 months? Also do you have any problems with food decaying in your tanks with all soil bottom?
Thank you for your comment, Yes, I have indeed moved on from the old method and have found better ways to maintain my tanks. And thankfully, I haven't encountered any problems with food decaying in the tanks with soil bottoms.
@MarksShrimpTanks Thanks for the reply Mark. I have a thin layer of soil so hopefully no decaying I use a feeding plate. Also do you find your driftwood raises your tds at all?
Hi mark.
Newbie to the shrimp world. Very basic question for you. What substrate would you recommend for reds.
Thank you. I take it the set up your showing ie to acidic for cherrys . Or can I replicate?
Cheers
Rich
Hi Rich! Thank you for reaching out and welcome to the shrimp world! For red shrimp, I suggest using a substrate that maintains a neutral pH level like sand or gravel, This will help create the perfect conditions for them to thrive.
Mark I set up the same way but I use dsp powder from shrimp affair, I guess the pro biotics ect will be pretty much the same? Starting to use your magic potion on Monday 😊
That's great to hear! I'm glad you've set up your tank in a similar way. The probiotics and other additives should have a similar effect on your shrimp. Good luck with your magic potion!
Was looking for some advice i did the rice bran and the substrate over the top and light on for 8-10 hours a day, just noticed the substrate is turning brown. Is that a good thing?? What do i do next??
Hello friends,
I need help, I have exactly the same set up and I end up with a PH of 4.5 with this soil... (Maybe it's normal, the professional way to breed ? )
Was this also the case in this aquarium and/or in yours?
Thanks in advance
yes its fine
Hi Mark
Can we feed the rice barn to the Caridinia shrimp as well??
Yes you can, just treat it like any other food.
Ima give this a try!
So a month or so before the reset ill need to have another tank ready to move all the shrimp into. Hmmm 🤔
Do you have access to brightwell shrimp soil? It doesn't leech ammonia like others so is really good for breeding.
I want ammonia.
@@MarksShrimpTanks oh, why?
Biulding blog of life in a tank, Ive tried a few with no amnonia and they struggle to provide the same enviroment.
@@MarksShrimpTanks ah I see, I thought the goal was to avoid ammonia I guess I wasn't looking at it right.
It depends on the tank really, all tanks need a kick starter, with this type of softwater tank amonia isnt an isue like you get with nutral pH tanks this is because the amonia is converted inot its less toxic form amonium but the amonia is still available to plants and bacteria to uptake, thats why in this tank the glaas goes so green.
Hey Mark, Just saw that you tried out the invital japanese substrate (you used the bag to fill the water), any insights on it? Do you think it is a good substrate for shrimp?
To be honest I cant remember 🤣
Hey mark I’ve been keeping neocaridina for a few years but would love to try some of the fancy caridina. My question is without RO water supply do you think it’s possible to keep them using rain water? Cheers
Yes absolutly as long as you filter it with something like polly wool to get the solids out of it, i would try it.
Cheers Mark I’m trying this in the new year. Have a great Christmas.
I wish you a wonderful Christmas and all the best with your goals in the new year!
Wowww, Mark, Awesome Video Brother.✌️👏👏👏👏🦐🥳🦐🥳🦐🥳🦐🥳🥬
Glad you enjoyed it
@@MarksShrimpTanks It's nice that you share nice and informative videos.✌️🥳
It's always great to hear that people appreciate the effort I put into creating informative content. I'll keep working hard to bring you more quality videos.
@@MarksShrimpTanks 😊🙏😊🙏✌️✌️🥳
Why Cryptocoryne nurii Pink？ Can we use other plants？ Since plants will compete with algae, can we not add any plants? 🤔🤔
love your videos dear, that really helps.
Hey there! Thanks a bunch for watching my videos and finding them helpful. I appreciate it!
@@MarksShrimpTanks also mailed you , asked for some information's. still waiting for your respond.
I am looking at my emails now and dont see anything?
How long before the aquarium walls get like that ? Is it due to adding the rice bran ?
yes and the soil, if you have snails it doesnt last though no matter what you do.
Thanks for replying. Love your videos
Would rice barn be beneficial to neo shrimp tank ?
yes actually, ive been feeding my tanks with it every now and again.
Very nice! I got a question what exactly made the water green like that? Is it the famous green water?
No actually this one didnt go like green water first, but I have had other tanks get green water then clean, the water and the walls go green from just to much nutrients.
Will you ever bring back your "into the shrimp room" series??? (It would be awesome if you had a playlist for it.)
Maybe, my room is in really bad state though that you dont see off camera, i need to fix a lot of stuff still.
So you dont wait to fully cycle your tank ? because cycling amazonia usually takes 2 months
You dont need to fully cycle the tank, amonia isnt toxic in a low ph tank with an active soil.
i used rice bran with substrate over the top and the light is on 8-10 hours a day and it started to go brown is this right??
yes, it will eventually disapear.
How exactly is it prepared? My English is not very good, how many days a week should it be applied?
rice water? and what is the benefit?
I will leave you a link that explains it all ua-cam.com/video/MxOozZVpmWQ/v-deo.html
With Amazonia v1 becoming harder to find and not really wanting to use acadama would Ada Amazonia v2 work as well or no
yes its what I would use if I can find it here. 👍
If you can't get ADA Amazonia ver.1 what do you recommend?
right now I am trying a few soils, akadama is reliable as is Master soil , testing tropica plant soil and so far so good.
You certainly seem to know what you are doing, good job.
... there is a reason I stay away from bee shrimps ... I am far too lazy for all those hoops to make them happy and consistently breeding. ;D
My breeder tanks for Neocaridina and crayfish run stable for ages without changing water/special substrate, and they certainly look nicer thanks to a lot more and diverse plants which I also sell fairly often :P.
Not that i wouldnt try bee shrimps in the future, if I ever find the space.
Thank you so much for your kind words! I appreciate your support. It's always great to hear positive feedback from viewers like you.
Can I do this set up in a 40 Gallon? Do you have any discords or Chat forums?
Whats the smallest size tank can I have a decent sized breeding colony in?
Aim for 40 liters and above.
Ok ty 😊
Can i use this fore neocatidina
No this is for bee shrimp
I have no idea what you guys all doing with your tanks. I have my tank 30 Liter over 400-600 K11 Cardina schrimps in for now over 8 years. Never changed the soil which is 3 cm thick because the snails clean it and ieat it, never cleaned it the tank-ground, i only refill the water.
So in theory as long as the soil is good quality you can keep caridinaa without having to change soil? Do you only top off with distilled/RO water? And do you remineralize it?
@@sadginger4924no
You mentioned resets? Do you have any videos on this topic?
Not yet not for this house because ive just moved, I will do one though.
@@MarksShrimpTanks Alright :)
Will be interested to learn about it! I’ve primarily been keeping fish, so I’ve never needed to reset. Is resetting something you do for the sake of growing new biofilm? Or is it a process that makes it easier to achieve a whole set of specific beneficial parameters?
Resets are done because the soil loses its nutrients making it less fertil, it also loses its ability to lower the ph and clean the water. Active soils kinda like have a negative charge so they atract impurities in the water like polution.
@@MarksShrimpTanks Interesting, seems very wasteful, but fair enough - as a horticulturist, I recognize the necessity to change soil if using traditional substrates. I long since switched to inert mineral substrates for all but my most sensitive plants, but I guess just replacing active soil with a buffer and some activated charcoal won’t give the same benefits.
I tried adding rice bran under the substrate with the tank full and it went everywhere. What could be the consequences?
pollution, I would remove as much as you can
@@MarksShrimpTanks Thank you!!! Also because I've only set up this tank 1 week ago should I swap out my fluvel stratum for akadama?
only rice bran and probiotics will add to tank every waterchange sir??
Right now I'm not adding anything to the tonks and I am having great results
I was wondering what size the tank was that you are using?
Hello Chris, that was a 40 liter Cube from Aquael.
@@MarksShrimpTanks Thank you Mark!
ADA has announced that they will stop production of this version 1. Have to look for alternative now.
I think it will still be around for sale for years still.
just wondering why you do not add one bristlenose for the algae?
Bee shrimp tank with softwater, a bristle nose would destroy this tank
what is the alternative of rice bran that i can use to make a shrimp tank?
If your using active soil you really dont need anything else, its earth so it will be full of bacteria.
Light watt please
just 10 watts
Can I use wheat bran instead of rice bran? Just asking because I have a 50 lb bag of it 😆
It might be worth a test 👍
Even though that substrate you're using has a lifespan of two weeks why does that matter I understand that certain substrates offer a pH buffer but let's say you were to go beyond the two weeks wouldn't that just make the substrate inert? Could you not just keep using this tank and definitely the way it is as long as you keep up with the water parameters?
The life span of the soil is 6-12 months.
@@MarksShrimpTanks I understand that but what I'm saying is what if you just kept it in wouldn't it just become inert? Couldn't you just maintain it even after 12 months
UGF boxes allow you to change the soil without moving the shrimps and tank itself.
That is a good method, my only issue with it is the pH swing you get after you change the soil.
@@MarksShrimpTanks Hey mate - just a question on this. Do you know why the PH wouldn’t fluctuate after a water change for a tank like this compared to a UGF?
I’m just asking as I’m really torn between having a thick layer of master soil or a UGF filled with master soil for my shadow pandas
@@MarksShrimpTanks hey Mark how is it going? I can only find psyllium husk instead of rice bran in the pantry. Will they work the same? Thanks
What is rice gran ?
the amount the size of a piece of rice.
@@MarksShrimpTanks thanks
So you don’t add any beneficial bacteria?
bacteria is in the soil and air
Did the set up and not a week in, got a huge ph spike up to 7.8 from 6.3, guess I just water change?! Haha I’m new but this definitely going different than my planted set up. Thank you so much for responding I’m having a great time learning from you!
👍👍👍
first