​The less painful way of cycling your shrimp tank and giving them the best living environment possible using Skyfish products.​

​David Ward · Monday, 5 November 2018

Before we begin, shrimp keeping, and tank setup require patience. The tank cycling process will take at least 30 days. Once you start the cycle, stick to the motto, set and forget it, don't touch it, don't test, don't rush, enjoy.
We are starting a Caridina shrimp tank and the soil we use will buffer the water. All of these steps are the same with a Neocaridina tank just switch out the substrate for sand or something similar.

What you'll need.

1. Aquarium. We recommend a 40+ litre tank
2. Active soil added. We recommend to use at least 1" of soil. If you can use 2" even better.
3. Sponge filter. We recommend a double sponge or HMF filter
4. Heater
5. Light
6. RO water remineraliser
7. Tank cycling products. For this setup were using Skyfish N1 and M1

Day 1 Start of Shrimp Tank Cycle
Add at least 1” of active soil to the aquarium. Now we get ready to add Sky Fish cycling products.
Sprinkle Skyfish N1 all over the substrate. Don't add too much, but enough to cover most areas. Do the same with Sky Fish M1.
Now place the empty bag or a small saucer into the aquarium and slowly begin to fill the tank with remineralised RO water, we recommend remineralising to the TDS you intend to keep your shrimp at, we tend to aim for TDS 120-130, with a GH between 4-6 and KH 0.
We recommend starting your cycle with RO to avoid exhausting your soil and it gives you good practice when you start using RO for your shrimp.
Once the tank is full, add the heater and set it to 31 degrees centigrade, and switch the light on. For the first month leave the light and heater on 24/7.
Turn your filter on.

Day 14.
We are 14 days in at this point we can add another dose of N1 and M1 to the tank.
Some things to remember, don't check parameters right now while cycling. The cycling process can give you numbers that aren't accurate. It's best to sit back and check after 30 days.

Day 30.
Perform a 25% water change with remineralised water, wait a few hours and test the water parameter.
They should be –
Ammonia – 0
Nitrate – 5-10
Nitrite – 0
GH 4-6
KH – 0
PH – 5.5 – 6.5
TDS 120-150

If you still have Ammonia or Nitrite readings, add another dose of M1 and N1 and test again in 1 week.