# Changing substrate in a shrimp tank.



## sarahbobarah (Sep 5, 2005)

Ok, so I didn't know which forum to post this in since it's about changing substrate in a shrimp tank.

This tank has been pretty much a low tech, low maintenance tank, with almost no trimming done. Eventually, it got to the point where I could barely see any shrimp.

Here is what it used to look like:









First thing I did was put in a baby saver (those breeding net thingies) with some algae wafers as bait in the bottom. I tilted it a little so that shrimp could find their way in, but not out. This was left in overnight. The next day, I had most of the shrimp in it and could take out the hardscape.

After tugging on the driftwood without it coming out, I realized that the plants had grown over it and attached to the substrate, and the java fern had connected the two pieces together.

I removed the whole thing, and put that in another tank and finished uprooting all the plants. 
Here is the tank empty. I left the shrimp in the tank while I uprooted everything, and they were ok. 


















I scooped out all the old substrate into a bucket. The mulm buildup was INSANE. I hadn't done a gravel vac in this tank in months! I used a net to get the substrate out, so I was able to keep some mulm in the tank. Then I layered the new, rinsed substrate in - Tahitian moon sand.

Since I liked the look of the tank before it got overgrown, I decided to keep the basic layout. Here's the finished project:










Not much different, but at least now I can see my shrimpies when I feed them


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## MiSo (Nov 4, 2005)

black sand is always a big improvement imo.
how many shrimp do you have in the tank?


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## sarahbobarah (Sep 5, 2005)

I would estimate about.... 50 shrimp? I give away prolly 10 a week or so.


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## Bert H (Mar 2, 2004)

I like it! That's a real nice piece of wood Sarah. But it's almost begging to go into a larger tank.  Seems to me you have a great excuse to get a bigger tank.


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## sarahbobarah (Sep 5, 2005)

*Sigh*... I love the wood, but unfortunately, I can't possibly squeeze a bigger tank into my apartment (already have about 11 running) and the $600/month electricity bill doesn't leave room for more equipment.


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## John N. (Dec 11, 2005)

sarahbobarah said:


> First thing I did was put in a baby saver (those breeding net thingies) with some algae wafers as bait in the bottom. I tilted it a little so that shrimp could find their way in, but not out. This was left in overnight. The next day, I had most of the shrimp in it and could take out the hardscape.


This trap thing is such a good idea. I always wondered how to rescape a tank with shrimp inhabitants. I think I'm going to have to try this out myself with a future rescape. Thank!

You're tank looks "slick" with the new substrate. But whoa $600/month for power! That's crazy talk. Watcha doing over there, running an amusement park?

-John N.


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## ianiwane (May 6, 2005)

600 dollars, I thought my one bedroom was bad with about 150 a month. Why the high bill? The tanks can't be all of it.


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## sarahbobarah (Sep 5, 2005)

ianiwane said:


> 600 dollars, I thought my one bedroom was bad with about 150 a month. Why the high bill? The tanks can't be all of it.


3 PC's running 24/7
air conditioning (soon to be unnecessary, thank god!)
projector
large screen tv
2 XBox 360's 
and about a dozen electric guitars and their amps (not all on at the same time)

That's how it adds up to about $600 a month :icon_hang


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## trenac (Jul 16, 2004)

Sharp looking tank, Sarah!


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## Musket (Jun 7, 2006)

Ouch, my husband hit the roof when our electric bill hit $150 over summer with all the fans and AC running. 
On the up side, the tank looks great!


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