No Electricity Eco Shrimp Tank

[Gemmsy]

Update:
First day with zero ammonia, nitrite dropping .

Looks a mess at the moment but I like to log the progress.

Plants all added except the Christmas moss.

Currently:
Pygmy chain sword
Guppy grass
Ludwiga Repens
Hornwort
Water wisteria
Rotala rotundifolia
Bucephalandra Kedagang
Anubias Nana Petite

Very green at the moment but after the large water change once cycle ends and turning down the light hours I should be able to reduce it.
If not I can cover the back panel but we will see.

 

[Gemmsy]

The tank finished cycling . Did a large water change to get the nitrates down and went to pick up my shrimp!

Found some great deep coloured Velvet Blue Shrimp, hadn’t seen any this dark anywhere else usually they’re fairly pale in LFS’ so I was chuffed!

Went for 5 to get started, and bought some Monte Carlo while I was in there.

Just drip acclimating at the moment waiting patiently to get them in there!

 

[Gemmsy]

Went to the pub, set the dripper going again .

 

[PheonixKingZ]

I’m sure they will love it in there! Your main tank looks really good.

What are your plans with the algae?

 

[Gemmsy]

Thanks
No plans with the algae really, I’ve cleaned the front panel though. I imagine the algae is only a good think for the shrimp, and once the plants get going it should find a balance. If it goes too far I’ll block off the back panel to reduce the sunlight and go from there.

 

[Gemmsy]

They’re in!
Getting all over the place and hardly shy!

 

[Gemmsy]

48 hours after removing air stone - oxygen levels still good around 11ppm. Lots of o2 bubbles from the plants, especially the hornwort!

 

[Morganna]

Hi! I know it's been a while since you last posted on this thread, but I'm curious, how is the tank doing?

 

[Gemmsy]

Hi! I know it's been a while since you last posted on this thread, but I'm curious, how is the tank doing?

Hi!
Long story short the O2 dived a day or two after that test. The plants simply weren’t well established enough. Moved shrimp to main tank and had a think.

Since then I have had a baby pleco in there with a mini sponge filter to make the system more mature and stable. It is like a jungle now and definitely mature.

One thing that was interesting - even though the test results from the cycle looked good, I still had weeks of strange fluctuations of cloudy water, outbreaks of detritus worms, that then died off, then an outbreak of daphnia, then they reduced. This is over a time frame of 3-4 months. All this time I left it to it, just topping up the water. Now it is all balanced and stable - no intervention. I feel normal cycling is simply not adequate for a no filter system - especially one this small.

It looks like a jungle but I am happy it is now mature. I will start to experiment again with it when I have time. Pleco is loving the competition free algae!

I’ll get some photos up soon.

Cheers.

 

[Gemmsy]

Pleco out and plants chopped back after weeks of not touching it!

10x blue neos went in last night.

I will let them begin to breed over the next few months then experiment with the O2 again now the tank is more mature.

 

[Gemmsy]

Tank is now sat on my desk with a light, so very much a conventional tank rather than no electric for now! Hopefully once shrimp settle and the plants get going again I will be able to start testing with switching off the pump for ever extending periods of time until I’m happy the o2 is stable.