Newt

My son saw a shrimp tank set up with RCS at the LFS and had to have one. He was not too interested in 'his' 29gal livebearer tank so we took it down and sold it on Craig'sList in 2 days.
We used the money to invest in building a 10gal shrimp tank that will house Red Cherry Shrimp eventually. We kept a few of the livebearers (pair of swords, pair of variatus, albino cory and a few select guppies) to begin the grow out.

I took pictures along the way and we wanted to share them with you. I also want to thank those members who offered their advice on how to proceed and setup a shrimp tank.

The first thing was to paint the back glass black:


I then built a light fixture housing out of 1/2" birch plywood.


I then bought a 36watt 6500K CF and Workhorse22 ballast from Naturallighting.com.
I had a 4' miro4 shop light reflector laying around (also from Natural Lighting) and cut a piece, rolled a curve into the center to fit the housing:


Assembly of the wiring:


The completed light fixture:


Here we practiced with a potential layout. My son really wanted the castle for the shrimp to hide in no matter how much I explained they like moss and plants:



We used Flourite Black Sand for substrate, mopani wood and zebra rock. Thank God he changed his mind on the castle once he saw it.




The plants arrive Tuesday. I have some Riccia that will go on the oval granite river rock. The other plants are: Fissiden Fontanus(Phoenix Moss), Blyxa aubertii, Blyxa japonica, dwarf hair grass, subwassertang, Hemiantus callitrichodies, Flame moss and Fissiden splachnobryoides.
I will update with some pictures after planting/

Tex Gal

So cute! Dad did you pressure him on the castle?! Admit it -when you were a kid you needed a castle too! What a neat way to spend quality time with your kids. I love the dad/kid projects.

Don't forget to put a shrimp guard on your intake.

Newt

No pressure on the castle but I did need to pressure him on the brightly colored gravel and plastic sunken ship. The change of mind took place once I showed him some pictures of what shrimp tanks look like. He also was happy that the large zebra rock formed a small cave when he found the proper placement for that rock. I kept messing with it being upright and he said, "no this way".
I already have a foam piece for the intake. Wont have shrimp until the plants have grown out a bit.

Newt

We got a chance to plant a few items in the tank today. We also added the temporary inhabitants. I expect more plants in a day or two.

A heap of Riccia on the granite river rock:


Phoenix and Peacock Moss:


I need to do a better job in attaching the moss. I figure when it grows out a bit it will be easier.

Tex Gal

Tell your son he's doing a great job!

Newt

We got our plant order in from AquaBotanic and put them in the tank today. I have to say I was disappointed in the condition of the Blyxa. A few snails, duck weed and no roots on one and very few on the other and damaged foliage. I was also surprised at how (poorly) they were packaged. Probably my last order with them.

Here are a few pictures:






Now we're just waiting for 2 more moss plants from Aquaticmagic.

bigstick120

Great project for the guys! It looking good!
Sorry to hear about the condition of the plants. Did you try contacting said vendor? May be willing to make it right with you.

Newt

Thanks Bigstick.
I was going to let them know about the condition of the Blyxa for what its worth.

We cant wait until it grows in and we swap out the fish for RC shrimp.

armedbiggiet

great job on the riccia, do they stay well on the rock?

Newt

I use nylon hair nets to attach it to rocks.