The Opae ula shrimp Forum and online store

Here is what I currently have:
-A month-old 0.5gallon (1.8L)tank (same one @Vorteil sells on ebay)
-Salinity a little under 15 ppt
-Adding prodibio biodiest from the start, every 2 weeks.
-Black gravel (started with aragonite, but found hard to see them)
-A good amount of calcium rocks and crushed coral, and aragonite sand in the corner of the tank though.
-I also made a lava rock (volcano)/hideout out of pvc pipe and lava rocks.
-I also have a sea fan in there.
- I had a nerite, that did sooo well for so long, but I found it dead the other day. No idea why. I thought maybe I had dropped it into an awkward area accidentally and it couldn't turn itself over. Thankfully I found it early and removed/tested ammonia/small water change/drop of prime.
-I have a TON of Macro Algae from several opae sellers. Mostly from an "enclosed sphere-type" shrimp seller, who happens to sell the opae ula withOUT the spheres! At the time, they were the fastest and cheapest sellers available to me.
-There are about 18-21 in the tank right now (honestly hard to count/see them all) But I know I started with 4 from ebay in an ecosphere. One died in transporting it out of the sphere. Then I ordered three more rounds of 7 ish shrimp from the same company. One batch is 3 months old, other batch is one month old) is actually only about a month old. But, they were previously in a 1.6 tank that had been established for about 3 months. I also added 14 more shrimp to this one when I first did the transfer (I know, weird, smaller tank, plus more shrimp). So I think I have about 20 in there right now. They are doing great and I have seen a good amount of molts! No other deaths!

I have been trying to give them the best direct sunlight in my house for around 5 hours a day to supplement the sub-par light.
BUT I am finally able to upgrade them again. I just bought a 3 gallon rectangle tank, 14.1 in L x 6.3 in W x 9.14 in H. I was wondering if you had tips/guide on how to upgrade to a larger tank? I have tried searching other topics but I am still unsure and don't want to mess up.

-What is the best way to do this?
I don't necessarily want to wait months for this new larger tank to cycle, but I don't have a ton of established media. Just about a cup of gravel, half cup crushed coral/aragonite, 15 small-medium lava rocks, macro algae, sea fan, and 0.5 .g of their water, also a lot of biofilm on the walls.
-Should I add any of this to the tank and let it sit? Should I start fresh and wait?
-I was thinking of keeping a ton of their new lava rock and new pieces of coral skeletons in these big mason jars outside, and try to grow algae on them before putting them in the new tank, do you think that's a good idea?

Sorry for the rant. Any advice is welcomed. 
This is the three gallon tank I just bought that is going in the same spot. Not going to use the filter, etc. Just the tank and a stronger light. https://www.petsmart.com/fish/starter-k ... 82472.html

They are going to like a bigger tank! One option is to take 25% of your existing water into the new tank with the lava rocks, half of gravel , half of the macro algae and scrape most if the biofilm into the new tank with brackish water. How long you willing to wait before transferring?

Plan to use same gravel?

@opae ula related,

opae ula related wrote:They are going to like a bigger tank! One option is to take 25% of your existing water into the new tank with the lava rocks, half of gravel , half of the macro algae and scrape most if the biofilm into the new tank with brackish water. How long you willing to wait before transferring?

Plan to use same gravel?

I am willing to wait probably a few more days, or maybe until this weekend to let it cycle before transferring them! I am planning to use the same gravel but remember its coming from such a small tank, it really isn't much.

I can certainly start the new tank with the new substrate, mixed with the substrate in the current tank and a few rocks and macroalgae and let it run for like 4-5 days. Would that make a difference?

What do you think about leaving out the new rocks/coral in mason jars outside in the sun to grow algae on them? I've never had algae grow in any of my tanks!

grrayc wrote:@opae ula related,

opae ula related wrote:They are going to like a bigger tank! One option is to take 25% of your existing water into the new tank with the lava rocks, half of gravel , half of the macro algae and scrape most if the biofilm into the new tank with brackish water. How long you willing to wait before transferring?

Plan to use same gravel?

I am willing to wait probably a few more days, or maybe until this weekend to let it cycle before transferring them! I am planning to use the same gravel but remember its coming from such a small tank, it really isn't much.

I can certainly start the new tank with the new substrate, mixed with the substrate in the current tank and a few rocks and macroalgae and let it run for like 4-5 days. Would that make a difference?

What do you think about leaving out the new rocks/coral in mason jars outside in the sun to grow algae on them? I've never had algae grow in any of my tanks!

It will probably work but why the rush? You can also add one OP after 5 days then the rest afterwards if everything is ok.

Algae won’t appear in 5 days.

“Like any plant, algae require food to survive. The three main nutrients that algae need are nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. In an aquarium, these nutrients come from fish waste, uneaten food, the metabolism of beneficial bacteria, and the decay of other organics such as plant debris or even dead algae”

opae ula related wrote:

grrayc wrote:@opae ula related,

opae ula related wrote:They are going to like a bigger tank! One option is to take 25% of your existing water into the new tank with the lava rocks, half of gravel , half of the macro algae and scrape most if the biofilm into the new tank with brackish water. How long you willing to wait before transferring?

Plan to use same gravel?

I am willing to wait probably a few more days, or maybe until this weekend to let it cycle before transferring them! I am planning to use the same gravel but remember its coming from such a small tank, it really isn't much.

I can certainly start the new tank with the new substrate, mixed with the substrate in the current tank and a few rocks and macroalgae and let it run for like 4-5 days. Would that make a difference?

What do you think about leaving out the new rocks/coral in mason jars outside in the sun to grow algae on them? I've never had algae grow in any of my tanks!

It will probably work but why the rush? You can also add one OP after 5 days then the rest afterwards if everything is ok.

Algae won’t appear in 5 days.

“Like any plant, algae require food to survive. The three main nutrients that algae need are nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. In an aquarium, these nutrients come from fish waste, uneaten food, the metabolism of beneficial bacteria, and the decay of other organics such as plant debris or even dead algae”

True! I just have never been able to grow algae with the sunlight in my tanks before. I didn’t think the rocks would get algae in 5 days; but I wondered if isolating them in bright sunlight, or this extremely bright full spectrum grow light would at least help, and then down the line I can add them into the tank.

Regarding timing, I am not in a rush to transfer them, I guess! Would they be okay with only half their supplies? (Gravel, rocks, etc). If so, how long do you recommend?

Here is a video of the current tank. The rock structure is a bunch of lava rocks glued to pvc to create a “volcano”. So I can’t really take that whole piece out.

I will post in more detail later but just thought I’d mention now that Biodigest can reduce algae growth, it reduces nitrates and phosphates too.

https://www.prodibio.com/bacteria-tank- ... filtration

Amazing stuff for making the water healthy for shrimp though.

grrayc wrote:Here is a video of the current tank. The rock structure is a bunch of lava rocks glued to pvc to create a “volcano”. So I can’t really take that whole piece out.

Neat idea!

grrayc wrote:

opae ula related wrote:

grrayc wrote:@opae ula related, I am willing to wait probably a few more days, or maybe until this weekend to let it cycle before transferring them! I am planning to use the same gravel but remember its coming from such a small tank, it really isn't much.

I can certainly start the new tank with the new substrate, mixed with the substrate in the current tank and a few rocks and macroalgae and let it run for like 4-5 days. Would that make a difference?

What do you think about leaving out the new rocks/coral in mason jars outside in the sun to grow algae on them? I've never had algae grow in any of my tanks!

It will probably work but why the rush? You can also add one OP after 5 days then the rest afterwards if everything is ok.

Algae won’t appear in 5 days.

“Like any plant, algae require food to survive. The three main nutrients that algae need are nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. In an aquarium, these nutrients come from fish waste, uneaten food, the metabolism of beneficial bacteria, and the decay of other organics such as plant debris or even dead algae”

True! I just have never been able to grow algae with the sunlight in my tanks before. I didn’t think the rocks would get algae in 5 days; but I wondered if isolating them in bright sunlight, or this extremely bright full spectrum grow light would at least help, and then down the line I can add them into the tank.

Regarding timing, I am not in a rush to transfer them, I guess! Would they be okay with only half their supplies? (Gravel, rocks, etc). If so, how long do you recommend?

You can definitely leave it outside in bright sunlight. Tell us how long before you see algae. Probably in 2 weeks. After you feel the right amount/look, you can put it in. Make sure no chemicals get in the water if you leave it outside. Any trace of pesticide will kill the OP.

Half would work. Depending on who you ask, some would say no waiting will work and some would say several months. Odin has a guide in that section of the website. How ever long, you can put one in first.

If you are prepared to do water changes if needed or can dose biodigest and test your water quality id just transfer it all over at once including shrimp. Make sure the extra brackish water you use it at least a few days old so all the salt is fully dissolved.