Definately, will keep a pic log as I go. Probably start it up this weekend. I think I got at least 16 babies in the 2.5g at the moment, so I can do 2 per container. I decided to go with some mostly transperant 1 gallon sterilite containers rather than jars. They measure somewhere around 6"Wx12"Lx4"T. More floor space for them to walk around is better than just a 1 gallon jar with a bunch of vertical space they'll never use. Plus the containers are stackable. 
Just need to drill a small hole big enough for an air line in each one.
Don't even think I will need to filter their water. Really, the babies are so small that I don't think there will be much in the way of waste created to produce much ammonia. I'll only be feeding what they can eat (which is like a few flake particles per day) and removing any uneaten excess and vaccing out any detritus that I can see. Beneficial Bacteria that forms in the sand substrate should be plenty to keep the Ammonia and Nitrite down. With a 25% weekly water change in each container I bet Nitrates don't ever get above 5 ppm. I was going to add some Java Moss to each container as well just to eat up the small amount of Nitrates produced, but I'm not sure if they would affect the water hardness at all so I think I'm skippng that.
I think there are more factors that can affect color than just water hardness though. Of my 7 adult crays that have been together in the same tank with the same water hardness and PH since the beginning, I have 3 standard brown ones, 2 really reddish ones, one thats blue-green, and one super blue one. Only thing that could really vary between each one is diet I think. Like if one chooses to eat more flake food than another, or one likes the lobster bites but the others don't. For the experiment, all will be fed exclusively on Lobster Bites I think, just to keep things even. Maybe a weekly bloodworm treat or something.
Anyway, will be buffering the GH with Epsom Salt (I think, or maybe it was Baking Soda, will have to double-check that), and raising KH with Kent's Liquid Calcium. I'll be testing some night this week how much of each is needed to reach a target GH/KH of 50ppm in one quart of water. With that I just need to multiply those amounts to reach the set levels I need in each container. I'll water change one quart at a time so that makes re-dosing easier. Should be fun.
Just need to drill a small hole big enough for an air line in each one.Don't even think I will need to filter their water. Really, the babies are so small that I don't think there will be much in the way of waste created to produce much ammonia. I'll only be feeding what they can eat (which is like a few flake particles per day) and removing any uneaten excess and vaccing out any detritus that I can see. Beneficial Bacteria that forms in the sand substrate should be plenty to keep the Ammonia and Nitrite down. With a 25% weekly water change in each container I bet Nitrates don't ever get above 5 ppm. I was going to add some Java Moss to each container as well just to eat up the small amount of Nitrates produced, but I'm not sure if they would affect the water hardness at all so I think I'm skippng that.
I think there are more factors that can affect color than just water hardness though. Of my 7 adult crays that have been together in the same tank with the same water hardness and PH since the beginning, I have 3 standard brown ones, 2 really reddish ones, one thats blue-green, and one super blue one. Only thing that could really vary between each one is diet I think. Like if one chooses to eat more flake food than another, or one likes the lobster bites but the others don't. For the experiment, all will be fed exclusively on Lobster Bites I think, just to keep things even. Maybe a weekly bloodworm treat or something.
Anyway, will be buffering the GH with Epsom Salt (I think, or maybe it was Baking Soda, will have to double-check that), and raising KH with Kent's Liquid Calcium. I'll be testing some night this week how much of each is needed to reach a target GH/KH of 50ppm in one quart of water. With that I just need to multiply those amounts to reach the set levels I need in each container. I'll water change one quart at a time so that makes re-dosing easier. Should be fun.
