# Questions about subtrate



## alexxa (Jun 27, 2010)

Planning to set up a shrimp tank during xmas. At the beginning i will keep cherries/ red fires, but in the future I want to try CRS. So should I get the fluval strutum or the netlea lambo? I heard that the netlea lambo isn't good for cherries because the ph is too low.


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## Symplicity (Oct 14, 2011)

RCS do decent in 6.5ph.
Using Netlea will allow you to move to CRS without the need of a 2nd tank.


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## alexxa (Jun 27, 2010)

but dont the netlea CRS version and lambo lower the ph to ~5.5 ?


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## Symplicity (Oct 14, 2011)

ah right  Maybe use ADA Amazonia? Best of both worlds?


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## chinamon (Jun 16, 2012)

alexxa said:


> but dont the netlea CRS version and lambo lower the ph to ~5.5 ?


i have netlea crs version and my ph is at 5.3... i believe it is way too low for neocaridinas so i only keep CRS in that tank.

if you want ph ~6.5 then i recommend using akadama. thats what i have in two other tanks which contains CBS and blue velvet.. and rcs and golden bee


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## alexxa (Jun 27, 2010)

so if I just want to keep cherry/yellow/snowball shrimps, is fluval ebi substrate fine? 
coz fluval's dark colour looks really nice, and it doesn't release ammonia, unlike the netlea.
i will be using RO water.


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## bettaforu (Sep 6, 2009)

cherries and pfr don't need any special soil, they are extremely adaptable and you can keep them on plain old fashioned gravel. I keep my tiger shrimps on pea gravel and they are breeding in this environment at PH 7+straight tap water, with just some conditioner in it.

Until you get the hang of keeping shrimps alive and healthy I would not start by using RO water as there is NO minerals in this water and shrimps need minerals. RO is usually used for the higher end shrimps that require a much more regimated water parameter like lower PH and water with less contaminates in it.

Neocaridina shrimps like cherries/pfr and yellows are not hard to keep, they have less requirements than CRS, so don't need anything more than a sponge filter for biofilm to develop on so they can feed and keep babies alive and some moss or floating plants to hide/pick thru and a good water conditioner like Nutrifin or Amquel + to take out harmful things in tap water.

Start simple, don't go overboard on what you think they require, they don't need anything more than a place to scavenge, hide and eat in with good water filtration and light....period.

Small tank 5 gallons to 10 is sufficient, some gravel or Fluval stratum would work too, sponge filter, couple of aquarium rocks or driftwood and some moss/floating plants and good shrimp food ie: Mosura products are good as are Borneo Wild, Shirakura too, but if you cannot find that then Hikari algae wafers will work just fine. 

Indian Almond leaves for anti-biotic properties are good as are alder cones if you can get them....these the shrimps like to pick over, but work as anti-bacterial agents in the tank.

No heater is required either, as long as your room doesn't get below 65F Neos will do just fine at room temp....mine are at 70-72F all year round.

Hope this helps, good luck with your shrimpies and welcome to the fold.


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## alexxa (Jun 27, 2010)

bettaforu said:


> cherries and pfr don't need any special soil, they are extremely adaptable and you can keep them on plain old fashioned gravel. I keep my tiger shrimps on pea gravel and they are breeding in this environment at PH 7+straight tap water, with just some conditioner in it.
> 
> Until you get the hang of keeping shrimps alive and healthy I would not start by using RO water as there is NO minerals in this water and shrimps need minerals. RO is usually used for the higher end shrimps that require a much more regimated water parameter like lower PH and water with less contaminates in it.
> 
> ...


Thank you very much, this helps a lot!


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## alexxa (Jun 27, 2010)

So i went to AI today and was attracted by the CRS. Finally i bought the netlea brown soil. I know this soil leeches lots of ammonia, so how often and how much water changes should I do in order to cycle my tank?
I am planning to do 1/5wc everyday until the ammonia is down to 0ppm, is it too much? Thanks!
after the tank is cycled i will probably start with neos then CRS as Sam at AI told me that this soil will keep the pH at around ~6 after it is cycled.


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## df001 (Nov 13, 2007)

I would do 50%wc every other day more effective than 1/5


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## randy (Jan 29, 2012)

Don't plan to put shrimps in the tank if you go with active substrate (Netlea, ADA AS, ... etc) for at least 4 weeks, I'd say 6 to 8 weeks to be safer. Zero ammonia is one thing, you really need the tank to stabilized and matured for bee shrimps (CRS, CBS, ... etc)


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## alexxa (Jun 27, 2010)

randy said:


> Don't plan to put shrimps in the tank if you go with active substrate (Netlea, ADA AS, ... etc) for at least 4 weeks, I'd say 6 to 8 weeks to be safer. Zero ammonia is one thing, you really need the tank to stabilized and matured for bee shrimps (CRS, CBS, ... etc)


yes i am planning to do that, thx!
but one question, while cycling my tank, should i do wc with RO water or tap water?


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## getochkn (Jul 10, 2011)

alexxa said:


> yes i am planning to do that, thx!
> but one question, while cycling my tank, should i do wc with RO water or tap water?


Tap water is cheap but will wear down the buffering faster of the soil, especially the more you change it. RO will get more expensive if you have to go buy and lug jugs around, but won't cause the soil to buffer as much.

Your choice. lol. Everyone has their own way. I usually fill it with tap water, let it sit for a month and leech all the ammonia out, then start doing small RO water changes to get the TDS/GH down and then a big 90% water change about a month later once all the ammonia is done leeching.


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## chinamon (Jun 16, 2012)

alexxa said:


> So i went to AI today and was attracted by the CRS. Finally i bought the netlea brown soil. I know this soil leeches lots of ammonia, so how often and how much water changes should I do in order to cycle my tank?
> I am planning to do 1/5wc everyday until the ammonia is down to 0ppm, is it too much? Thanks!
> after the tank is cycled i will probably start with neos then CRS as Sam at AI told me that this soil will keep the pH at around ~6 after it is cycled.


i fill the tank with treated tap water and turn on all my filters. i leave that water in there until the tank is fully cycled. it takes at least 4 weeks to cycle but i let it sit for up to 8 weeks before i add any livestock. once it is cycled, i replace all the water with remineralized RO.


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## randy (Jan 29, 2012)

For active substrate, I do something very similar to chinamon except the first fill I may just use untreated tap. 

- Lay the substrate
- fill the tank with tap water
- turn on the filter and air pump (the more the merrier)
- I don't turn on the light initially unless I put in plants early, as AOB don't like light.
- I might do a large WC after 2 to 3 weeks, mostly won't unless ammonia is over 5ppm.
- wait for the nitrite spike 
- wait for the nitrite to disappear (0 nitrite for at least 3 days) with added ammonia (ammonia level is low, I try to get to 2ppm at least)
- do a large WC to get rid of the nitrate accumulated, could be 80+ppm if I add ammonia to aid the cycling.

Everyone does it differently, as long as your bacteria is establish and tank is matured (i.e., if you do a WC, the parameters go back to pre-WC within hours).


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## alexxa (Jun 27, 2010)

ok thanks everyone!
i will let my tank sits for ~2months and keep monitoring the parameters.


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