Only my experience, with great help from the board. It is important to get a good consistent water flow with this type of tank, due to the limited surface to air exposure! A traditional box aquarium of the same size has a much greater square diameter of surface that is exposed to the all important air/oxygen.
So you have to compensate, in fact, if you accept this premise now, you will have better luck with your fish. I took the poor man's solution, because, well, I am a poor man.
But my tank cycled in just over a week! Here is what I did, and if you get anything from it, that will be great. I wish you the best.
1. Remove the shrimp from your tank.
2. Go to *****, (remember. . . cheap and smart!) Buy a Penquin Bio-wheel 140 filter, (under $40) and a 10lb. bag of quality live sand, ($25).
3. Get the quality, clean, children's playsand you find at Home Depot. A 50lb. is around $5. You most likely will not need all 50 lbs. So you have extra for your next tank. (There are a ton of recent posts about this sand, if you need more advice.)
4. Go to Wal-mart. By a two-pack airstone set, a two-valve air pump, and some clear plastic tubing. Around $15-$20.
5. Go home, drain about 25% of your water. Start rinsing sand in a bucket, by running water while stirring with your hand. Pour off cloudy top, and repeat, until sand almost washes clean. Add washed sand to tank, and repeat rinse cycle with new sand, until you have a desired depth. I went with 2 inches. The water is going to be cloudy, don't panic.
6. Seed your new sand bed with the 10lb back of Live Sand. Make sure you check the expiration date of the bag while in the store! This involves adding it last, on top.
7. Put your new Penquin filter on the back of your tank, as directions indicate. Run filter, and you should be clear in about three days. Maybe two. Maybe four. And your sweet new bed of white sand is starting to work.
8. After the sand has cleared, hook up the air pump, lines and stones, and drop down the back, well below the intake of the Penquin filter intake. You will have to weigh it with something, and put it about three inches forward of the intake, a couple inches up from the sand bottom. Plug it in and you should be in business.
I hope this helps. My tank cycled in about a week, and the fish love the cool bottom to top water flow. I think the oxygen cycle is sort of super-charged, and the bio-wheel filter is supposed to be an ammonia eater.
Keep in mind, I did not use tap water. And this way, you should have fish sooner than later. Once you have had fish for awhile, then find some quality, fully-cured lr. I am not at that point yet. Hope this helps.
cuz of the $$$$$
