u/Mis_Fyre

Hey all! We have an active healthy 5 gallon neocaridina shrimp tank but I want to upgrade size and really lean into the build. If I go out looking for my own driftwood (that I would properly prepare before adding) and rocks to build the hardscape, what wood/rocks should I look for or avoid. I live in Virginia and will likely collect from lakes, rivers, and beaches.

I don’t want to overpay for rocks and wood from stores or online shopping like I have for the other 3 aquariums in our home. I am also leaning into a heavily planted tank. Any shared information will be appreciated.

Also, if this is a terrible idea and I’m just dooming the tank before I even start then please let me know. I’m not putting this together on a shoestring budget or anything but we are renovating parts of our home so I’d rather not spend the funds earmarked for that on this build.

However I would really like to at least have this cycling by Father’s Day if possible since it is a gift for my husband. I know our shrimps won’t be moved there until after the nitrogen cycle finishes and we have some algae growing and some biofilm available for them to eat but I’d like to be able to showcase the tank by the day it’s supposed to be gifted.

Thanks for your time reading and responding! 🫶

*picture (for tax) of current setup from before the plants took off and we added shrimps and a couple guppies*

Hello!

I’ve previously posted in here asking for tips on keeping a plant healthy that was originally gifted in 1983. Well “Danny” is doing amazing and loves being watered with aquarium water (I save gallons when I do water changes and clean filters). He is doing so well that I’ve snipped a vine and would like to propagate it in it’s entirety to gift back to grandma so she can still have a piece of her plant in the nursing home. I’m trying to jumpstart the roots with sphagnum moss that was wetted with aquarium water inside a plastic container with lid. I also clipped the vine into a circle hoping the roots will grow down in this position to make for a fuller potted plant. What else can I do/add/change to try to boost this baby so I can pot it ASAP for grandma. Thanks!

Is there any reason for concern about the amount of algae growing in our shrimp tank? Early on we had slow but regular deaths. We stabilized the tank and I learned to do smaller water changes so as to not upset the parameters too much and our newest additions are doing great! But I looked into the tank yesterday and asked myself if I should scrape the glass on the sides we look into. Or should I just leave them be?