Best filter and aquarium kit for shrimp?

[DaemonPhantom]

I'm looking to get back into fish keeping after many years and I really want a shrimp tank. I'm most likely going to get a 5g tank, but I'm conflicted on whether I should get a kit with a hang-on-back filter or if I should get an air pump and sponge filter separately. I maaayyyyyy add a single fish later on after the shrimp are established, so I'm trying to figure out what would be the best route to take with the filter.

What are your favorite 5g aquarium kits? I'm looking to stay under $100 for the kit so I can buy plenty of live plants. Also, is a small piece of driftwood ok for the shrimp? I imagine they would enjoy it, but it's been so long that I can't really remember much of what I had in my shrimp tanks in the years prior.

I will also clarify that I'm just looking at getting red cherry shrimp and crystal shrimp, nothing else since I don't feel like I have the capability of caring for rare types of shrimp. lol

 

[joeyr188]

I'm looking to get back into fish keeping after many years and I really want a shrimp tank. I'm most likely going to get a 5g tank, but I'm conflicted on whether I should get a kit with a hang-on-back filter or if I should get an air pump and sponge filter separately. I maaayyyyyy add a single fish later on after the shrimp are established, so I'm trying to figure out what would be the best route to take with the filter.

What are your favorite 5g aquarium kits? I'm looking to stay under $100 for the kit so I can buy plenty of live plants. Also, is a small piece of driftwood ok for the shrimp? I imagine they would enjoy it, but it's been so long that I can't really remember much of what I had in my shrimp tanks in the years prior.

I will also clarify that I'm just looking at getting red cherry shrimp and crystal shrimp, nothing else since I don't feel like I have the capability of caring for rare types of shrimp. lol

You can get a 10g with a sponge filiter and air pump and light for cheaper than most 5g kits

 

[kiko]

well...when you setup a shrimp tank you want all the algae you can get....
internal sumps specially those ones with grid intakes = bye bye shrimp
hob filters = bye bye shrimp
and canisters can survive it if you're up to lots of maintenance of the sponge intake (clearing it of stuff every 2 weeks)
you're left with 2 options...
a dual-sponge filter...and I say dual because they're easier to clean VS a single sponge filter where you have to take the whole thing apart
(there's some brands now making the sponge removable without taking the whole thing apart but a dual is a safe bet specially when buying on ebay/amazon)
and an under gravel filtration system...
I saw a video of a guy in europe setting up one with under gravel filtration and it looked very neat/clean
you can take a look at it at:

the only thing I would change is the size from a 5g to a bigger tank...as shrimp can be a way of supporting some of the hobby's expenses
good luck xD

 

[joeyr188]

well...when you setup a shrimp tank you want all the algae you can get....
internal sumps specially those ones with grid intakes = bye bye shrimp
hob filters = bye bye shrimp
and canisters can survive it if you're up to lots of maintenance of the sponge intake (clearing it of stuff every 2 weeks)
you're left with 2 options...
a dual-sponge filter...and I say dual because they're easier to clean VS a single sponge filter where you have to take the whole thing apart
(there's some brands now making the sponge removable without taking the whole thing apart but a dual is a safe bet specially when buying on ebay/amazon)
and an under gravel filtration system...
I saw a video of a guy in europe setting up one with under gravel filtration and it looked very neat/clean
you can take a look at it at:

the only thing I would change is the size from a 5g to a bigger tank...as shrimp can be a way of supporting some of the hobby's expenses
good luck xx

i Agree with that the double sponge filiter are nice and for tanks in some instances 10g are cheaper than 5g brand new lmao.

 

[DaemonPhantom]

You can get a 10g with a sponge filiter and air pump and light for cheaper than most 5g kits

The reason why I'm going for a 5g is because it's all I have room for currently.

 

[DaemonPhantom]

i Agree with that the double sponge filiter are nice and for tanks in some instances 10g are cheaper than 5g brand new lmao.

I knowwwwww. I hate that 5g are more expensive, but where I live sucks and I can't get a 10g. I could maybe push a 7.5g, but those are even more expensive.

 

[joeyr188]

I knowwwwww. I hate that 5g are more expensive, but where I live sucks and I can't get a 10g. I could maybe push a 7.5g, but those are even more expensive.

Are you going for rimless or rimmed tank

 

[DaemonPhantom]

Are you going for rimless or rimmed tank

Doesn't matter to me. I don't have a preference.

 

[2tank]

for shrimp you cant go wrong with a crabaqua sponges or undergravel, if you are using undergravel expect tons of algae, and I mean insane amounts as all the nutrients in the active substrate has got the water being pulled through it, releasing all the nutrients in the water column.

 

[joeyr188]

Doesn't matter to me. I don't have a preference.

Oh well you know 10g are not much bigger than 5g and if you go with 10g you can stock it more and it’s better all around.

 

[Slaphppy7]

well...when you setup a shrimp tank you want all the algae you can get....
internal sumps specially those ones with grid intakes = bye bye shrimp
hob filters = bye bye shrimp
and canisters can survive it if you're up to lots of maintenance of the sponge intake (clearing it of stuff every 2 weeks)
you're left with 2 options...
a dual-sponge filter...and I say dual because they're easier to clean VS a single sponge filter where you have to take the whole thing apart
(there's some brands now making the sponge removable without taking the whole thing apart but a dual is a safe bet specially when buying on ebay/amazon)
and an under gravel filtration system...
I saw a video of a guy in europe setting up one with under gravel filtration and it looked very neat/clean
you can take a look at it at:

the only thing I would change is the size from a 5g to a bigger tank...as shrimp can be a way of supporting some of the hobby's expenses
good luck xD

"hob filters = bye bye shrimp"

False...I've kept shrimp for years using HOB filters exclusively, with proper prefilters

 

[DaemonPhantom]

Oh well you know 10g are not much bigger than 5g and if you go with 10g you can stock it more and it’s better all around.

Like I said, all I can get is a 5g. It doesn't matter how many times a 10g is mentioned - a 5g is all I can do and that's not changing.

 

[DaemonPhantom]

I went ahead and purchased a 5g tank with an LED light. I have some pea gravel on hand for substrate and I purchased some plants online to get things started. Still deciding whether to do a double sponge filter or an UGF, but I have over a week before the plants arrive so I'm going to think about it some more.

After putting more thought into shrimp, I'm planning on going with red and blue neocaridina. I think it would provide some nice contrast with the gravel and it the blues will be a nice change of pace since I've only had reds in the past.

Time to start thinking about aquascaping and how I want to lay everything out. I still have a good long while before I stock it since I'm doing a cycle with the plants, so I'll have fun planning.

 

[Aqua67]

I keep my cherry shrimp in a 5 gallon TopFin aquarium kit which included an adjustable flow HOB Silentstream PF10 filter suited for up to a 10 gallon. I stick a Fluval filter intake sponge over the intake tube and it does a great job for me. My shrimp have been breeding and the colony increasing. My 11 Thai micro crabs are also doing very well in this set up.

The light was completely insufficient (in my opinion). I bought a new light immediately, a Fluval Plant 3.0. I got rid of the plastic lid which housed the crappy light that came with the aquarium and purchased a glass lid for the little tank.

I found some tiny chunks of driftwood (on Etsy I think it was) with lots of cracks and crevices which both my shrimp and crabs spend a lot of time in. I also have a piece of cholla wood. I keep lots of alder cones and leaf litter on one half of the tank floor (which is bare otherwise) consisting of a couple of oak leaves but mostly Indian almond leaves. Sometimes the leaves I get are so large (much larger than my hands) that I chop them up into 3 inch pieces when I put them into the tank. Molting crabs like to hide under the leaves and the shrimp are often grazing on these leaves. I always boil the leaves first for 5 minutes, let them cool, then put them into my tanks.

The other half of the tank bottom has some tiny gravel pieces, enough to keep rooted some dwarf saggitaria that is spreading. If any gravel wanders over to the bare floor side of the tank, I use a turkey baster to squirt water onto the tank floor to push the rocks back over to their own side.

I have a palm sized rock covered in susswassertang whIch is doing nicely. There is lots of floating hornwort, dwarf water lettuce, and ever a couple of baby water hyacinth plants. There is a stray piece or two of guppy grass and elodea densa floating around also.

My little tank is very busy and a great source of joy to watch as I have my morning coffee as it is right next to where I sit in my dining room. I probably spend more time looking at and doting over this tiny tank than I do my larger tanks. I am sure that you will probably love your new little tank just as much as I love mine.

Enjoy setting up your shrimpy palace.

 

[kiko]

"hob filters = bye bye shrimp"

False...I've kept shrimp for years using HOB filters exclusively, with proper prefilters

what's a prefilter? a filter for a filter to act as a protection for the filter??!?!?
as I said...hob = bye bye shrimp
heck I can run a sump with an inline pump on the intake pulling water from a sponge
would I want to be cleaning a sponge all the time? no...
circumvent it by splitting the pipe into 3 and have 3 sponge intakes for the pump?
instead of reinventing the wheel...we have sponge filters and undergravel ones that just work without the extra hassle or thinking...
"are my shrimp going to die with this or that"