My Tank setup

Hi Deanc, Like you I think its your lighting is the main problem ?? Is there anyway you can turn in down ??
Good idea to get a timer.

I would start of with 7 hours time period.

Have you thought about Diy yeast Co2 Its easy to do. But you do have to change the mix every 3-4 days to keep a constant supply.
Plus you can still add the bottled stuff .
 
I've been tinkering with an arduino to make it dimmer but that's taking time. I can desolder a few LEDs?
Atm it is 10*3w LEDs I did 30w as my CFL were 2*15w but I guess leds are brighter?

Once the timer gets here I'll put it to 7hours a day

I looked into that but 1.i don't have the space 2. Seems like more hassle to setup and maintain

I also need to rethink my fert schedule
 
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I think the algae battle is soon to be won!
 
Hey, I've been doing alright so far.
I did a 50% change yesterday and come home from work today one of the RCS is swimming erratically. Upside down. I've put it in a tub to see closer. Some scales seem to be falling off? I'm not really sure

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He's constantly swimming with his back legs but not moving anywhere.
I tested the water there's a slight nitrate spike. Could this be why?

Thanks
 
nitrates, no.

What do you mean nitrate spike? Hobbyist kits are not very good due to their subjectivity, lack of known reference and calibration. "Spike" itself is subjective...do you mean 40 ppm, 80 ppm, 280 ppm? I think Tom Barr tried a little experiment trying to kill of RCS with nitrates and in short he couldn't do it. They are rather resilient in a healthy system.

For the most part nitrates are not harmful to shrimp particularly RCS. Nitrites could be, but you shouldn't see them in a cycled tank. Hobbyist kits do not distinguish between the two.

Your "he" is actually a "she" ;) The part in question could be physical damage or disease...or it could just be her time. I wouldn't get too concerned about a single shrimp. If you see multiple die off then you know you have an issue.
 
Wow quick reply!
Thanks, there's deffinately no nitrites or ammonia I've checked multiple times. And I'm assuming nitrates are from fertilisers?

A she? How can you tell? I have some really red ones and some pale ones. I assumed red meant male? Haha.

These are the first shrimp I've had so I don't want it to spread etc,
Is there anything I can do to help her? Or is she definitely going to die?

Thanks
 
I would have to second what Shadow Mac says. Not just that he is a she :) that Cherry shrimp will live in sewage water. If I only clean out my external filter every 3 months there will be hundreds living in there that have grown from babies, sucked in and matured in the filter cannister.

It could well be that it is that particular shrimps time. If it happens to the rest then you should get worried.

Nitrates are added by good fertilisers. Poorer ones will prey on the 'Nitrates and Phosphates are bad' myth. Nitrates are also produced within the tank from organics fish and plant waste plus food and the cycled filter turns it into nitrates.
 
Thanks for the info.
It was just a one off. The rest seem fine. Although no sign of any breeding, anything I can do to help make it better for them?

I'm still struggling on the algae side, I cut out ferts for a week. Cut down lighting as well. The hair algae boomed again.

I've taken the hair algae out. And covered the tank. Want to try fully blacking it out.
I have suspiciouns my lighting isn't quite right. I have 4000k LEDs. I've read that it's recommended to use 6500+k ?

Thanks
 
How many do you have? Are they all females or all male? Females have a more curved undercarriage and normally a 'saddle' on their back. Males have no saddle and their undercarriage is straighter.

With Neocaridina the only thing you should need to do for them to get pregnant is patience and not much of it at that.
 
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