1) Aquatic Planted Tank.

Hi everyone, the picture you saw here is my latest aquascaping 2 ft. freshwater tank. Welcome to my blog and hope you have a pleasant read here!

This is what I have in mind to setup this tank in theme of " The Nature Park" which have the concept view of " Jurassic Park Adventure". The tank is mend to house Crystal Red Shrimps and I'm new in this hobby for the tiny invertebrates. Many of the local hobbyist would like to joint the forum as to share opinions and experiences on how to breed this little creatures, there are many who succeed in breeding higher grades. So, I always want to try out the lower grade A and B shrimps, because this shrimps are quite expensive and are very sensitive in condition of water.

The standard crs grading: grade c, b, a, and grade s, s+( v-band, tiger tooth, no entry) grade ss, sss and single hinomaru.

First of all when we prepare to set up a tank of any size, do a rough layout plans of what you intend to have inside such as plant, fauna, snail, crab and others.

The tank water conditions
Water should be no ammonia or nitrite present in your crs shrimp tank. If you didn't cycled properly the water in the tank, do not even think of loading any crs in it.
Optimum Temperature: 22 to 25 degrees Celsius.
Can tolerate up to 28 degrees Celsius (but only with strong aeration and non-overcrowded density.) Optimal pH: 6.2 to 7.2
Low alkaline to neutral pH is good for crs shrimps because invertebrate shells are alkaline in nature. Acidity is detrimental to shrimp shells as it reacts with its alkaline nature, causing microscopic pits. These pits can act as better platforms for micro insects to perch on. In an acidic tank, shrimp shells are less shiny because of these micro pit tings, making it more like a matt surface. Also, you may see the shrimps trying to brush off microscopic insects on its body.

Plants for the tank.
Anubias barteri, bacopa caroliniana, spiky moss, java moss, windelov, amazon sword and some which I do not know the name. When cycling the tank, I added some fertilize and seachem excel to let the plants absorb the nutrients from their roots. During this time the idea of adding nitrogen and phosphorus to the water, later bought a bottle of Nutrafin biological aquarium supplement to built up the bacteria in the water. Prepare Co2 (diy type) with 2bps. for 24/7 for the first week and later disconnect to let the tank runs in low-tech form.