# Jeff's 20g long shrimp tank (Updated Apr.4)



## jkam (Apr 21, 2010)

I've FINALLY gotten around to doing a journal. Just set this tank up last week and I just got my nikon d60 a week before that .

Anyways here's the specs.

20g long (30x12x12)
5lb CO2 w/ inline diffuser
eheim 2028 w/ hydro 5 sponge filter on the intake
UGF powered by fusion 500
24w T5HO Hagen GLO
24" Marineland LED lighting
2 bags of Fluval shrimp stratum

Flora:
Starugyne Repens
Blyxa Japonica
HC
Mini Pelia
Fissidens Fontanus

Livestock:
13x CRS/CBS
15+ Fire Reds
15ish Amano shrimp
2x Otto cats
2x Baby albino bristlenose plecos









Setting up the UGF (The tank had stuff in it before) and spilled some carbon on the ground 









Putting in the wood w/ moss, fissiden and mini pelia on it









Better view of the wood









Overhead view









Strange worm I found on my Starugyne Repens when I was planting it (not a callamanus)









planting Starogyne Repens + breeding tube









Overhead view









With Water









Other side


----------



## jkam (Apr 21, 2010)

Some of the inhabitants from the previous tank









Fire Red (not painted fire red)


----------



## jobber (May 14, 2010)

nice startup on the setup. love the tankscape.
that LED does look sweet!


----------



## Luc (Mar 22, 2011)

Im jealous already haha


----------



## jkam (Apr 21, 2010)

I'm hoping it will fill out properly since I don't like dosing in my tanks anymore due to some shrimp casualties. I also think the ADA I had before had something wrong to it.. 

To make it worse, I'm not at my house where the tanks are during the week. I can't monitor it but I do have an auto feeder. Just waiting for the CRS/CBS to start breeding.

I'll try to get pics up once a week since I just got my fancy new camera


----------



## mysticalnet (Apr 22, 2010)

*Jeff's 20g long shrimp tank (PICTURE HEAVY)*

Very good start, nice tank! Keep up with the updates!


----------



## bamboo (Apr 28, 2010)

nice shrimp tank!


----------



## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Nice looking tank? Why the UGF, especially since you have the 2028? I'd be worried about detritus accumulation since you won't be able to gravel vac it.


----------



## Diztrbd1 (Apr 21, 2010)

Great looking shrimp tank!


----------



## Pamelajo (Feb 9, 2011)

Nice set up!


----------



## effox (Apr 21, 2010)

Nice start up, love the moss covered driftwood, the tank looks great!


----------



## jobber (May 14, 2010)

is that piece of wood a one-piecer? or a multi-piecer?


----------



## jkam (Apr 21, 2010)

2wheelsx2 said:


> Nice looking tank? Why the UGF, especially since you have the 2028? I'd be worried about detritus accumulation since you won't be able to gravel vac it.


a lot of the shrimp guys use UGF, I just follow what they do since they know what they're doing 

Someone else who is successful in breeding them has pretty much the same set up as me, 2026 & UGF.



jobber604 said:


> is that piece of wood a one-piecer? or a multi-piecer?


The wood is three pieces in the photo, I took out one of them in the end.


----------



## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

jkam said:


> a lot of the shrimp guys use UGF, I just follow what they do since they know what they're doing
> 
> Someone else who is successful in breeding them has pretty much the same set up as me, 2026 & UGF.


Learn something new every day. Didn't know shrimp guys are still using UGF with success. Thanks for the explanation.


----------



## jobber (May 14, 2010)

When I look at the picture with the UG, I thought to myself, "they still make those??"
That piece of wood is going to look so good once the moss grows out.


----------



## jkam (Apr 21, 2010)

My theory is that the UGF pulls food that is in the water into the substrate so it's easier for the shrimp to get food. I'm not sure if that's accurate but that's my theory. I've never asked anyone why they use the UGF in shrimp tanks though.

I know people use it for sulawesi shrimp because they can't handle the current when you use a canister.


----------



## tang daddy (Apr 21, 2010)

Nice start on the shrimp tank, hopefully your tank will be teaming with CRS soon....

As for the UGF I can help explain some.... There are 2 ways to use UGF, 1 is the way Jkam did which is to suck the debri into the sand bed...some people hook it up to the canister filter aswell but it doesn't work well when you do it because the canister gets clogged fast.

The other way is the way I did it and it's called reverse filtration, under the experience of the shrimp master which I will leave unnamed...

I use a huge canister filter like an ehiem 2250 to push water through the UGF so it actually pushes all the waste to the top instead of it settling under the Ada, it's at the surface. The intake sits at the water column filtering the water... I must say it's abit weird at first to grasp but it works well... Since overtime there is no sediment accumulating it keeps the tank much cleaner for longer!


----------



## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Actually that's why I asked. I knew about the reverse flow to diffuse the flow, but didn't think anyone ran them conventionally anymore. Since I'm still considering a real shrimp tank I'm trying to learn as much as I can because I start one up in my office.


----------



## silentoak (Mar 17, 2011)

I guess the search for that stratum is on. Anyone know where I could score some of this on the island?


----------



## jkam (Apr 21, 2010)

New photos! 
Forgive me for some of the blurry photos. I'm still learning how to use this DSLR camera.













































Baby!!!




































My rare otto cats


----------



## Morainy (Apr 21, 2010)

Beautiful shrimp pics!! I love your tank!


----------



## jkam (Apr 21, 2010)

One more full tank shot


----------



## MananaP (Apr 22, 2010)

2wheelsx2 said:


> Actually that's why I asked. I knew about the reverse flow to diffuse the flow, but didn't think anyone ran them conventionally anymore. Since I'm still considering a real shrimp tank I'm trying to learn as much as I can because I start one up in my office.


Come over sometimes you will see UGF used connected to cannister with no problem about clogging for a year or so now. Breeders only use it in one side of the tank because as reported by some german breeders no food for baby shrimps(mulm) in the UGF part of the tank i guess because it gets sucked up. Reverse flow works for sulawesi shrimps using bigger crushed corals but with active soil i don't know that is why i don't hear it often in the shrimp hobby. Only downfall on UGF is they shorten the life span of active soils, hope that helps... Other breeders use it to add o2 in the tank specially summer time when temp goes up....


----------



## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

MananaP said:


> Come over sometimes you will see UGF used connected to cannister with no problem about clogging for a year or so now. Breeders only use it in one side of the tank because as reported by some german breeders no food for baby shrimps(mulm) in the UGF part of the tank i guess because it gets sucked up. Reverse flow works for sulawesi shrimps using bigger crushed corals but with active soil i don't know that is why i don't hear it often in the shrimp hobby. Only downfall on UGF is they shorten the life span of active soils, hope that helps... Other breeders use it to add o2 in the tank specially summer time when temp goes up....


Thanks for the invite, I'll have to take a tour of some shrimp tanks, including yours and Frank's, before I start my next one.


----------



## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

jkam said:


> New photos!
> Forgive me for some of the blurry photos. I'm still learning how to use this DSLR camera.


Very nice photos. You using a Canon or Nikon? Your bnp is the same size as your shrimps. 

And I'm glad other people get BBA on their moss too. I thought I was the only one that can never have clean moss without BBA (I do now, but only because the tank is ultra low light).


----------



## jkam (Apr 21, 2010)

2wheelsx2 said:


> Very nice photos. You using a Canon or Nikon? Your bnp is the same size as your shrimps.
> 
> And I'm glad other people get BBA on their moss too. I thought I was the only one that can never have clean moss without BBA (I do now, but only because the tank is ultra low light).


Thank you!

I'm using a Nikon D60 with the stock 18-55 lens. Yeah... BBA is a PITA.


----------



## jkam (Apr 21, 2010)

BABIES!!! I FINALLY have a CBS berried. I'm pretty sure gravidas had nothing to do with it since I got all my shrimp before they were mature. I did dose gravidas every weekend and I see molts all the time now which is good. The shrimp that is berried, molted right before mating too. Just rambling now but this is exciting!


----------



## jkam (Apr 21, 2010)

My berried CBS


----------

