[Paulao]

Hi all, new guy here with some questions here.

I'm residing in Singapore so weather temperature is probably between 26degree - 30degree throughout, currently having 2 x 9litres tank with black quartz, lava rocks, chollas wood, no filter and each housing around 30 opae ula. Reason why i want to start a new tank is because the above tanks that i've got is in bad condition where there is no breeding occurring. "possibility because i have no prior knowledge and done many mistake to the water perimeters."

Therefore for a fresh start, I've purchased a 57litre tank, some black & white sand, some coral stones. Would like to avoid mistake before starting the tank so hope to get some advice here.

1) Anyone used Red Sea Salt to make the brackish water? It was stated as synthetic marine salt so not sure if it is suitable

2) Filter : Yes or No? Just wondering if having a filter would allow better water quality maintenance / or would it be needed in order to cycle a tank?

3) Can i use the lava rocks, cholla wood from my previous tank "which are already in bad water condition" for my new tank?

4) What do i need to add to the water during cycling stage? Do i need add spirulina powder/shrimp food etc?

5) If water assistant like Api Quick start / Seachem Prime needed?

6) How to grow those nice green algae on the lava rocks and tank? I've seem some tank with beautiful algae rocks on youtube.

Sorry for asking so many question as I really hope to doing up a good tank for my opae ulas.

[tzg]

hi paulao, im from sg too. my friend's tank is breeding like crazy
1. not sure what salt she used as some ppl gave it to her
2. the only thing that consume electricity is her light
3. lava rock of cos, i read that cholla wood reduces ph, guru pls correct if what i read is wrong.
4. she did not go thru cycling, poured in the shrimps on day 2 and start to breed on the 2nd month
5. she did not use anything at all
6. give it some time n green algae will grow

[Paulao]

Hi fellow singaporean Tzg, nice to meet you. Your friend is really lucky to be able to skip the cycling process and yet breeding well. I had my existing tank for nearly 18months but no progress at all.

I'm going to LFS soon to get the API test kit as I've learned that it is important to understand and get the right water perimeters for them. Hopefully to get some advice from gurus and purchase other necessities at the same time.

[tzg]

yea lady luck is shining on her, she did not do any test or whatsoever, just simply setup tank n pour the shrimps in and it bred very fast and kept on breeding, she double up her original population of 80 in about 5-6 months time.

i myself have no luck in breeding for about 8-9 months since i started my first tank so i just started another new tank and decided to not meddle with it once i started cycling the tank, i meddled too much with my first tank.

[Paulao]

Did you get cycling advice from @odin ? I've seen his tank video and they look cool and happy. Hopefully my opae ula can be happy like his too.

[Algae In Space]

Ahoi!

2. People are divided on that one. My tank took 3 months to cycle and after one major water change I did after that time there is no more filter needed I guess. But I am letting it run for 30 min a day to get rid of floaters and stuff. I also use a Soechting Oxydator.

6. Light. The more kelvin and watt (not beyond 6000k) you get in there the more algae will grow. That's my experience. And also not too much oxygen in the water. I had massive algae growth and switched my light to a dimmer one because it got out of hand for my taste.

[Paulao]

Hi @Algae In Space , There is a 50/50% of people debating on this. And I couldn't decide on which to follow 😥.

Yeah i read and saw the Oxydator that you used and I visited the link you gave but it is sold out. It looks interesting in your tank. Any reason why you chose to use that even though it is not necessary to have a sort of "air pump" in opae ula tank?

Thanks for the lighting watt recommendation and from my understanding people usually leave it on 12hours a day for good algae growth. And having nice green algae on the lava rocks is definitely the goal to work towards to for me.

Ahoi!

2. People are divided on that one. My tank took 3 months to cycle and after one major water change I did after that time there is no more filter needed I guess. But I am letting it run for 30 min a day to get rid of floaters and stuff. I also use a Soechting Oxydator.

6. Light. The more kelvin and watt (not beyond 6000k) you get in there the more algae will grow. That's my experience. And also not too much oxygen in the water. I had massive algae growth and switched my light to a dimmer one because it got out of hand for taste.

[Algae In Space]

Well as I understand it a natural Opae Ula habitat it not just like a hole in the ground or a regular waterbody. There is sort of an interaction with the sea and ground water (if true). So a tank where nothing changes (no oxidation, no water movement) is not like a natural habitat (as I see it). There is not a lot going on but something(!) is going on. So that's why I use an oxydator and small pump. But I will start a new tank soon and it will be a lava stone tank only. You can get the oxydator pretty much everywhere I guess. I will tinker a bit and make a DIY filter with a very slow water flow. I got a lot of good info from Dennis. He lives on Hawaii and just keeps them in a tank in his garden.

Would be glad if you check out my questionnaire

[odin]

Hi all, new guy here with some questions here.

I'm residing in Singapore so weather temperature is probably between 26degree - 30degree throughout, currently having 2 x 9litres tank with black quartz, lava rocks, chollas wood, no filter and each housing around 30 opae ula. Reason why i want to start a new tank is because the above tanks that i've got is in bad condition where there is no breeding occurring. "possibility because i have no prior knowledge and done many mistake to the water perimeters."

Therefore for a fresh start, I've purchased a 57litre tank, some black & white sand, some coral stones. Would like to avoid mistake before starting the tank so hope to get some advice here.

1) Anyone used Red Sea Salt to make the brackish water? It was stated as synthetic marine salt so not sure if it is suitable

2) Filter : Yes or No? Just wondering if having a filter would allow better water quality maintenance / or would it be needed in order to cycle a tank?

3) Can i use the lava rocks, cholla wood from my previous tank "which are already in bad water condition" for my new tank?

4) What do i need to add to the water during cycling stage? Do i need add spirulina powder/shrimp food etc?

5) If water assistant like Api Quick start / Seachem Prime needed?

6) How to grow those nice green algae on the lava rocks and tank? I've seem some tank with beautiful algae rocks on youtube.

Sorry for asking so many question as I really hope to doing up a good tank for my opae ulas.

Hi there! Thanks for joining the forum and taking part

Lets get down to business, many have had success with breeding and we all have slightly different tanks and setups so i can only let you know about my experiences.

1) Any synthetic marine salt for aquariums is fine, aim for a salinity of 1.010 to 1.013.
2) No filter needed at all.
3) Yes you can use the rocks from your established tank, dont use the wood as this reduces your tank waters PH level.
4) If you are going to be setting up a tank for only a few shrimp i would personally put all of your tank together with water, gravel and salt etc then have the lights on for 12 hours a day to help algae growth. Wait a month or 2 for algae to show up (brown or green) then check the waters parameters (Ammonia, Nitrites and Nitrates). If you get Zero for them all but Nitrates and that is above 5 - 10ppm do a 50% water change with fresh brackish/salt water and add your shrimps.
5) I wouldn't bother with anything else really.
6) To grow nice green algae you need a food source for the algae to grow, when you have lots of shrimps/snails and enough light it will grow.


Hope that helps, if you need any more help just ask.

PS dont use tap water in your tank.

[opae ula related]

we need pics of your tanks