Hi, I’ve been using the EI for about 3 years in a 20 gallon with a AHS 55 watt PC and their reflector. With CO2 I have been happily growing algae free since the get-go. Thanks for the good method and info on this! I like your scientific approach, which does not rely on the (mis)information which has been circulating for years as common knowledge. Therefore, I have come here to ask some questions with the hope I get as accurate answers as possible.
Recently, I have had a heck of a time in another tank raising some Crystal Red Shrimp. I believe that fluoride in the local water *may* have been a problem as some research suggests that levels like I had could be bad for invertebrates (Camargo, 2002). Whether these levels are bad for CRS, I do not know. I also believe that decaying plants were not helping the water quality situation. Whether or not other factors were at play (disease, etc.), I don’t know.
Basically, I nuked the tank (20 gallon) and would like to start over again. It originally had 2x15 Hagen lights on it. They did not have a reflector, and this was just too little light to get good growth. I could not really even grow stuff like Limnophilia sessiflora or Egeria densa very well. There was some plant decay which may have not been too good for water conditions. I think that healthy plant growth is good for the water and shrimp, so I decided to up the wattage. I am now using an AHS 55 watt PC in this tank as well. I know that this is high light for a tank which does not have CO2, but would like to make it work.
Here are my questions:
1) I am not sure that it is necessary, but it is always suggested that about 20% of the water is changed over the week in a CRS tank. I guess it is to err on the safe side and avoid buildups of anything. I would like to do a small change a few times a week rather than one 20% change on one day. To my understanding, changes of 20% per week may introduce CO2 into the aquarium and thus are not really compatible with the Walstad method?
2) I don’t want to dose much/any KNO3 or Flourish Excel as these are supposed to be bad for the shrimp. Is this a scientific certainty? I am not sure, any comments on this? Anecdotally, I have noticed shrimp act a little strange when dosing Excel at the recommended rate. I can’t say that they all died after this, but they seemed to be flying around the tank and going to the top a lot more than normal.
3) Copper is also apparently a big no-no. I would use Flourish as it seems to have a low concentration of copper compared to most commercial ferts. Could even the low amount in this fert be too much for the shrimp?
4) I really don’t want to go high tech, EI and CO2 in this tank. Obviously I don’t want algae either. It seems that the Walstad idea is out due to water changes. Would a reduced EI work without reaching the higher levels of KNO3? I know some nitrate is necessary….5ppm of nitrate is what I understand to be what is required….I don’t really trust my cheapo test kits and am not sure if even 5ppm is too much for the shrimp. I can’t see it, but….. In a 10 gallon with 15 watts and cherry shrimp, I dose about 1ppm of PO4, 1/8tsp Potassium Sulfate and .80 mils trace about once every week at water change. No nitrates as it has a high shrimp load. It works perfectly, but 55 watts over 20 is quite a bit different. Is there a fertilization routine which would work for this tank that meets my requirements? I am now using ADA Amazonia as a substrate.
I guess what I am trying to do is balance plant health with the health of shrimp which are notoriously sensitive to less than pristine water conditions. I think part of the equation is having healthy plants. I am not sure what can lead to less than pristine water as there is a lot of misinformation out there. I have lost two batches of CRS already and some big $$ (for me, anyway) and don’t want to lose another as the next one will be my last! Any guidance you can offer, Tom, would be much appreciated!
Recently, I have had a heck of a time in another tank raising some Crystal Red Shrimp. I believe that fluoride in the local water *may* have been a problem as some research suggests that levels like I had could be bad for invertebrates (Camargo, 2002). Whether these levels are bad for CRS, I do not know. I also believe that decaying plants were not helping the water quality situation. Whether or not other factors were at play (disease, etc.), I don’t know.
Basically, I nuked the tank (20 gallon) and would like to start over again. It originally had 2x15 Hagen lights on it. They did not have a reflector, and this was just too little light to get good growth. I could not really even grow stuff like Limnophilia sessiflora or Egeria densa very well. There was some plant decay which may have not been too good for water conditions. I think that healthy plant growth is good for the water and shrimp, so I decided to up the wattage. I am now using an AHS 55 watt PC in this tank as well. I know that this is high light for a tank which does not have CO2, but would like to make it work.
Here are my questions:
1) I am not sure that it is necessary, but it is always suggested that about 20% of the water is changed over the week in a CRS tank. I guess it is to err on the safe side and avoid buildups of anything. I would like to do a small change a few times a week rather than one 20% change on one day. To my understanding, changes of 20% per week may introduce CO2 into the aquarium and thus are not really compatible with the Walstad method?
2) I don’t want to dose much/any KNO3 or Flourish Excel as these are supposed to be bad for the shrimp. Is this a scientific certainty? I am not sure, any comments on this? Anecdotally, I have noticed shrimp act a little strange when dosing Excel at the recommended rate. I can’t say that they all died after this, but they seemed to be flying around the tank and going to the top a lot more than normal.
3) Copper is also apparently a big no-no. I would use Flourish as it seems to have a low concentration of copper compared to most commercial ferts. Could even the low amount in this fert be too much for the shrimp?
4) I really don’t want to go high tech, EI and CO2 in this tank. Obviously I don’t want algae either. It seems that the Walstad idea is out due to water changes. Would a reduced EI work without reaching the higher levels of KNO3? I know some nitrate is necessary….5ppm of nitrate is what I understand to be what is required….I don’t really trust my cheapo test kits and am not sure if even 5ppm is too much for the shrimp. I can’t see it, but….. In a 10 gallon with 15 watts and cherry shrimp, I dose about 1ppm of PO4, 1/8tsp Potassium Sulfate and .80 mils trace about once every week at water change. No nitrates as it has a high shrimp load. It works perfectly, but 55 watts over 20 is quite a bit different. Is there a fertilization routine which would work for this tank that meets my requirements? I am now using ADA Amazonia as a substrate.
I guess what I am trying to do is balance plant health with the health of shrimp which are notoriously sensitive to less than pristine water conditions. I think part of the equation is having healthy plants. I am not sure what can lead to less than pristine water as there is a lot of misinformation out there. I have lost two batches of CRS already and some big $$ (for me, anyway) and don’t want to lose another as the next one will be my last! Any guidance you can offer, Tom, would be much appreciated!