Great new pick up @ a great price. Need some advice/recommendations please

[SkySouza]

I picked up a 37 gal cube tank for $50 off of craigslist the other day. It's a perfect square 20.5 x 20.5 x 20.5. Came with the largest marineland hob filter, 250 watt heater and a nice light strip. Everything was in perfect condition and I'm so stoked on the great deal. Day before I almosted ordered a 18 x 18 x 18 for $150 plus shipping no lid then I came across this.

I already own a dome style metal-halide with a bulb for freshwater plants.

Anyway here is where I need so advice and recommendations. I would like to plant this tank and fill it with shrimp. I've kept cherry shrimp before and I plan on stocking the tank with rcs and crs.

Are there any other inverts that I could keep with these guys with out having to worry about their safety or crossbreeding? I don't want my crs to start spitting out brown babies because they're are bumble bee shrimp mating with em.

Also are there any fish I could keep with em? It's going to be heavily planted so the little shrimp while have planty of places to hide. I was thinking rummy nose tetra. What do you guys think? Any other fish you'd recommend?

Before I do any stocking I need to figure out what to run for filtration. I do not want to run the hob as it will deplete carbon from the water which is not beneficial to plant growth. I also do not want to run a sump. Pretty much leaves canister filters. which brand and what model should I get?

Would u guys also be able to suggest a type of dwarf plant/grass for the foreground? I don't want anything extremely difficult either.

Pics soon too come and I appreciate your input.

Any advice or recommendations are encouraged.

 

[Dark Jester]

Nice score on the tank.

For shrimp interbreeding compatability: http://www.planetinverts.com/Will%20These%20Shrimp%20Interbreed.html

For fish, the only one that is 100% shrimp safe would be an Otto Cat. Just about anything else may eat the babies (or adults) if given the opportunity. Maybe not, but the possibility will be there. Lots of hiding places will definately help, but with fish that may eat them in the tank it could cause some extra stress for the shrimp and cause them to stay hidden more than they would otherwise.

For filtration I'd suggest Sponges over just about any other option. Baby shrimp can easily get sucked into a Canister or HOB intake. Sponges aren't the best for Mech filtration, but if you put a sponge over the Canister or HOB intake to protect the babies you are limiting the Mech filtration anyway. Sponges Bio Filtration capacity is great and the shrimp will feed on the particles that the sponges do trap. As long as you aren't overfeeding too much there shouldn't be much waste for Mech to remove anyway.

Something like Dwarf Hairgrass would be a good foreground grass. Will take a little time to get fully established but it looks nice when it does. Other options would be some Brazilian Micro Sword or even just some Java Moss.

Sounds like it will be a fun project, keep us posted.