# Aquael Shrimp tanks



## sumitha (3 Apr 2010)

Does anyone have an Aquael Shrimp tank?
http://www.rocketaquatics.co.uk/aquael- ... -3939.html
It's supposed to have high clarity glass - was wondering whether this is anything like opti-white glass.


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## Themuleous (3 Apr 2010)

Cant say I have, but seems like a nice little set up.

Sam


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## sumitha (3 Apr 2010)

Perhaps these are a new entry into the UK market. Seems to be a Polish company
Aquael


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## tomsteer (4 Apr 2010)

I've seen these a few places on-line, very tempting as a desktop nano, not seen anything in the flesh though.


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## LondonDragon (4 Apr 2010)

Nice looking tanks, but very high and that is pretty much pointless for shrimp unless you place large bits of wood in it


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## sumitha (5 Apr 2010)

Yes indeed, a lot of the tank volume would be wasted on shrimp unless something vertical is used in the scape.


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## NeilW (5 Apr 2010)

sumitha said:
			
		

> Yes indeed, a lot of the tank volume would be wasted on shrimp unless something vertical is used in the scape.



No worse then then if you got a cube, the only limit is your creativity.  Shrimp love climbing to find more food, they used to like whizzing round on the roots of amazon frogbit upside down when I used to have it .  Some wood reaching out the surface with moss, big Amano style rocks...


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## GHNelson (5 Apr 2010)

Hi 
Have a look at this one, http://www.aquaessentials.co.uk/arcadia ... -3647.html 
it has rounded corners.I have the larger size 36litre ideal for shrimp small community fish no heater though.
hoggie


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## sumitha (5 Apr 2010)

I used to have a floating carpet of Amazon Frogbit in my low tech 180l - it was a bit like having another substrate on the top of the tank with loads of shrimp foraging among the leaves and hanging roots. Removed it as the Amazon Frogbit cut off light to the rest of the tank (and probably sucked off nutrients to the detriment of other plants). 




			
				NeilW said:
			
		

> sumitha said:
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## Garuf (5 Apr 2010)

I really like the look of those tanks, it's a shame that the light is so bulky otherwise they'd be a real bargain.


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## sumitha (5 Apr 2010)

Thanks, I've seen the Arcadia Arc tanks at the Aquatic Design Centre in London. They look quite decent. The Dennerle 30l cube also looks quite appealing from the pictures I've seen online. However the Arcadia Arcs and Dennerle cubes are, I believe, made of bog standard float glass. Was wondering whether the glass of the Aquael shrimp tanks was actually something special as their marketing literature claims. 




			
				hogan53 said:
			
		

> Hi
> Have a look at this one, http://www.aquaessentials.co.uk/arcadia ... -3647.html
> it has rounded corners.I have the larger size 36litre ideal for shrimp small community fish no heater though.
> hoggie


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## Garuf (5 Apr 2010)

You used to be able to get an optiwhite cube from aqua essentials for Â£50. Maybe worth checking out? The thing with tanks this small is that although optiwhite is desirable always, the difference is so marginal that it doesn't really matter.


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## sumitha (5 Apr 2010)

A clear silicon option might also be impressive. I like the non-rounded edges of the Aquael shrimp tank. Perhaps it's just me, but the optical distortion of tank contents at the rounded edges of many nanos seem visually suboptimal. 




			
				Garuf said:
			
		

> I really like the look of those tanks, it's a shame that the light is so bulky otherwise they'd be a real bargain.


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## sumitha (5 Apr 2010)

Heard that optiwhite glass doesn't make a big difference in smaller (or should I say thinner glass?) tanks. Would be nice validate this in person though  . 

Couldn't find Â£50 optiwhites in Aqua Essential's website, perhaps these are similar to the optiwhites with untidy silicone AE sell on ebay. The ebay tanks are a bit on the small side, the largest being 15l  (12"x10"x8"). 




			
				Garuf said:
			
		

> You used to be able to get an optiwhite cube from aqua essentials for Â£50. Maybe worth checking out? The thing with tanks this small is that although optiwhite is desirable always, the difference is so marginal that it doesn't really matter.


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## Steve Smith (5 Apr 2010)

Yes, those are the same tanks, only with the odd chip in them.  Silicone is the same as when they were sold for Â£35 or there abouts at the end of 2008.  I gave my to LondonDragon, who spent a while cleaning up the silicone and ended up with a reasonable tank.

The clarity of these tanks was definitely superior to float glass tanks, and these have quite thin glass.


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## sumitha (5 Apr 2010)

I didn't know the tanks might be chipped as well. The ebay item description just mentions untidy silicon. Saw Paulo's optiwhite tank journal (in fact I'm looking for a tank to keep some of the better looking cherry shrimp I originally got from Paulo a while ago). 

So optiwhite glass does make a difference even with thin glass nano tanks?




			
				SteveUK said:
			
		

> Yes, those are the same tanks, only with the odd chip in them.  Silicone is the same as when they were sold for Â£35 or there abouts at the end of 2008.  I gave my to LondonDragon, who spent a while cleaning up the silicone and ended up with a reasonable tank.
> 
> The clarity of these tanks was definitely superior to float glass tanks, and these have quite thin glass.


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## NeilW (5 Apr 2010)

sumitha said:
			
		

> I didn't know the tanks might be chipped as well. The ebay item description just mentions untidy silicon. Saw Paulo's optiwhite tank journal (in fact I'm looking for a tank to keep some of the better looking cherry shrimp I originally got from Paulo a while ago).
> 
> So optiwhite glass does make a difference even with thin glass nano tanks?
> 
> ...



I've got two of the 12x10x8" badboys, real cheap for opti-white; I paid Â£14 for one on Ebay and Â£20 when they were still full price.  Also got a 12x8x8" for a later date .  Definitely a difference between these and float glass (even if in the cross-section ice blue looks much cooler then standard green glass)  The colour is noticeably truer too rather then having a slight green-cast (something you only notice when you see it for real).  None of mine are chipped either, but they do have a bit of a rough finish on the top edge rather then a smooth bevel (no biggy though).  For me if I didn't buy opti-white I'd regret it at a later date; if the aquascape turned out beautiful it would be the one niggling thing I would think *I wish I did that...*



			
				sumitha said:
			
		

> The ebay tanks are a bit on the small side, the largest being 15l  (12"x10"x8").



15 litres is respectable for a nano!


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## sumitha (6 Apr 2010)

Many thanks NeilW. Great to hear from someone who has the ebay optiwhite tanks. 
Was concerned that it might be hard to keep parameters stable in such a small tank. Also a couple of inches more in height would be nice just to increase viewing area.


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## Lisa_Perry75 (6 Apr 2010)

Could someone post a link to Aqua essentials shop on ebay please? I can't find it...


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## Spanerman (6 Apr 2010)

http://stores.shop.ebay.co.uk/Aqua-Essentials__W0QQ_armrsZ1

Sam.


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## Stu Worrall (6 Apr 2010)

i saw some of these on sale at Vivarium but unfortunately they didnt have the box open and had no prices anywhere.  I didnt get back to ask them to unbox one which was a shame as they looked quite good.


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## LondonDragon (6 Apr 2010)

NeilW said:
			
		

> I've got two of the 12x10x8" badboys, real cheap for opti-white; I paid Â£14 for one on Ebay and Â£20 when they were still full price.


Got one of these from SteveUK at Dans BBW last summer and just ordered another one from AE Ebay, these are a really nice size for nanos, a Â£9.99 Niagara 250 filter and a Â£12 Ikea light and that's it


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## NeilW (6 Apr 2010)

sumitha said:
			
		

> Many thanks NeilW. Great to hear from someone who has the ebay optiwhite tanks.
> Was concerned that it might be hard to keep parameters stable in such a small tank. Also a couple of inches more in height would be nice just to increase viewing area.



Parameters are fine as long as the tank is properly cycled before adding livestock, you have a low bio-load with suitable nano species and you keep on top of maintenance.  Weekly water changes are fine, but if you go low-tech with lots of planting you can even get away with once every 3-4 weeks or less.

Nanos are also really easy to dry-start in a month or so (which I have found helps with the cycling process) because of the small area the plants need to cover

TBH for me the width from front to back is more important then height, as it gives you more perceived depth when viewing.  You can always have emergent hardscape or plants too if you want to add height.  Having said this I would one day like to have a go at a nano-cube because of the extra height and different proportions.  With a bit of creativity though you can make any format of tank work, it's all down to preference in what your after.



			
				LondonDragon said:
			
		

> ...and a Â£12 Ikea light and that's it


Got me an IKEA desklight on my nano; as well as being cheap it clips on to the cabinet so it has all the benefits of pendant lighting


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## LondonDragon (6 Apr 2010)

NeilW said:
			
		

> LondonDragon said:
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Yeah got two of those clip on ones, just replaced the bulbs with 65K, was too yellow for my liking! They have a built in reflector two which is great


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## NeilW (6 Apr 2010)

LondonDragon said:
			
		

> Yeah got two of those clip on ones, just replaced the bulbs with 65K, was too yellow for my liking! They have a built in reflector two which is great


I just did a straight swop with my old Arcpod bulb.  Out of interest did you get your 65k online- any linkety link Paulo?


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## Steve Smith (6 Apr 2010)

I'm guessing LampSpecs   Fairly sure I bought a bulb for an old ikea desk lamp that I had from them.


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## LondonDragon (6 Apr 2010)

SteveUK said:
			
		

> I'm guessing LampSpecs


You guessed right, very cheap too: http://www.lampspecs.co.uk/Light-Bulbs- ... Daylight_2


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## NeilW (6 Apr 2010)

Excellent, thanks for that *bookmarked*.  Excuse my ignorance, whats the difference between those two?


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## sumitha (6 Apr 2010)

Just bought a couple of AE optiwhites a few minutes ago! Great many thanks to all who gave feedback on these tanks. 

@LondonDragon : The IKEA light and Niagra filter are very decent options. Thanks. I especially like the pendant light type effect with the IKEA light not being fixed to the tank itself. However I'm not sure whether this would quite work out where I hope to keep the tank. Has anyone seen the UP Pro Aquarium Mini Clip Light (6500K, 13W)?
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/UP-Mini-Clip-Ligh ... 0374242661
Hope these last as recently read accounts on the forum of ebay lights overheating or blowing out. 

A hang-on-back filter or even a small canister filter would certainly reduce the clutter inside such a small nano tank. I recently came across the Resun SF300 hang on back filter which has an 'external' pump which is underwater. Haven't seen this very simple design elsewhere. Must surely make priming the filter much easier. It even comes with a prefilter to catch shrimplets. No idea how reliable these are though. It might also be a bit too large for a tank 8 inches high unless the pipe to the prefilter is shortened. 
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Resun-Stream-Exte ... 0391082393






A Resun canister is also a option and I've heard positive feedback about the Resun Cyclone for small nanos. 
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/RESUN-Cyclone-Min ... 0359416670
Trust no one has had bad experiences with these.


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## sumitha (6 Apr 2010)

Aquael Shrimp tanks certainly do look good based on the online pics. However I believe I read (sorry can't find the source again) that the filter that comes with the tank is not quite up to the task. 



			
				stuworrall said:
			
		

> i saw some of these on sale at Vivarium but unfortunately they didnt have the box open and had no prices anywhere.  I didnt get back to ask them to unbox one which was a shame as they looked quite good.


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## Nelson (6 Apr 2010)

snap  .i've recently just got 2 nano opti whites.goodluck cleaning the excess silicone off.tedious job but worth it.
i got the aquadistri 11w lights from plantedbox.also got resun cy20 filters.heard some bad reports on them but spoke to someone who's had 3 for a year with no problems,so taking a gamble with them.


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## sumitha (6 Apr 2010)

I've got Substrat Pro in my 180l's filter which I'll try to use on the AE optiwhites' filters so hope the tanks will settle down fast. Will, of course, use the tank water from my 180l.  Have also asked my local Maidenhead Aquatics to get down some black Colombo Florabase, from what others have posted I gather this does not cause an initial Ammonia spike. 

If I can resist the temptation to get the tanks running asap - shall consider dry starting one. It's just that I've got dario dario, indostomus paradoxus, micro crabs, clown killis and a couple of higher grade cherry shrimp, all of whom probably deserve their own little optiwhite tank! 

Suppose a deep tank does help create perspective if aquascaped creatively. This also increases the base area which shrimp should appreciate. By the way, how bad is evaporation in such a small uncovered tank? I dread coming back from holiday to a dry, desiccated tank.





			
				NeilW said:
			
		

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## sumitha (6 Apr 2010)

Hehe, thought this might be a well trodden path. Dread cleaning off the excess silicon - happy to spend the time but doubt my dexterity with a stanley knife    

The aquadistri light looks very nice. It's also good to hear your Resun CY20 has thus far been alright. I suppose it's next to impossible to get a warranty honoured or find parts for it in the UK if things start going wrong with the Resun. 




			
				nelson said:
			
		

> snap  .i've recently just got 2 nano opti whites.goodluck cleaning the excess silicone off.tedious job but worth it.
> i got the aquadistri 11w lights from plantedbox.also got resun cy20 filters.heard some bad reports on them but spoke to someone who's had 3 for a year with no problems,so taking a gamble with them.


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## NeilW (6 Apr 2010)

sumitha said:
			
		

> By the way, how bad is evaporation in such a small uncovered tank? I dread coming back from holiday to a dry, desiccated tank.



My 15litre AE opti-white loses about a litre per week from evaporation.  My student-heated room though is very cold though in comparison to 23 degree set on the heater so it normally wouldn't be as bad as that.



			
				sumitha said:
			
		

> Hehe, thought this might be a well trodden path. Dread cleaning off the excess silicon - happy to spend the time but doubt my dexterity with a stanley knife



A tip that makes it a lot easier is to take the blade out of the knife and just use that (but be very careful with fingers!)

The Azoo Mignon filters are good, cheap hang-on-back filters, I had one for a pico once.  If you havn't seen them;
http://www.aquaessentials.co.uk/azoo-mignon-filter-240-p-1138.html
If your worried about shrimplets just bang some filter sponge in the inlet strainer.

You may want to consider eventually going the full-hog with an over-sized external (like an Eheim) which will greatly improve filtering and also increase the total water volume.  You can go glassware too then


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## sumitha (7 Apr 2010)

NeilW said:
			
		

> My 15litre AE opti-white loses about a litre per week from evaporation.  My student-heated room though is very cold though in comparison to 23 degree set on the heater so it normally wouldn't be as bad as that.



A litre a week is not too bad. Definitely can live with that although keeping the water soft might be awkward (so the clown killis might breed). I don't have my own RO unit and think there is a limit how long one can store RO water. 




			
				NeilW said:
			
		

> A tip that makes it a lot easier is to take the blade out of the knife and just use that (but be very careful with fingers!)



Thanks. Folk at Aqua Essentials said the same when I called them today. Regarding inadvertantly amputating fingers, must remember to keep an icebox ready and the phone predialled to 999.




			
				NeilW said:
			
		

> The Azoo Mignon filters are good, cheap hang-on-back filters, I had one for a pico once.  If you havn't seen them;
> http://www.aquaessentials.co.uk/azoo-mignon-filter-240-p-1138.html
> If your worried about shrimplets just bang some filter sponge in the inlet strainer.
> 
> You may want to consider eventually going the full-hog with an over-sized external (like an Eheim) which will greatly improve filtering and also increase the total water volume.  You can go glassware too then



Think it'll be a hob or small canister filter for the tanks. Not sure whether an Eheim 105 would be too strong and overkill for this tank (think this is Ehiem's smallest external). Am leaning towards the Resun Cyclone (CY20) especially if I keep one of the tanks on my desk as the Cyclone is supposed to be very quiet. 

Regarding glassware, I won't be surprised if there's someone out there who has CO2 from a massive FE and an external filter hooked up to one of these little AE optiwhites


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## NeilW (7 Apr 2010)

sumitha said:
			
		

> Think it'll be a hob or small canister filter for the tanks. Not sure whether an Eheim 105 would be too strong and overkill for this tank (think this is Ehiem's smallest external).



I've got the Eheim 2232 (the Ecco 130).  Although its overkill being rated at 500lph it works a treat and adds an extra 1.5litres to the tank volume which means plenty of media space.  Lots of flow is more forgiving in terms of dosing too.  Theres other alternatives though, check out the Eden 501 (also search for 'Zoo Med 501'- just a different company who make it), Fluval 105, or Eheim Classic 2213.



			
				sumitha said:
			
		

> Regarding glassware, I won't be surprised if there's someone out there who has CO2 from a massive FE and an external filter hooked up to one of these little AE optiwhites



I was meaning glass lilypipes if you got an external filter, they can make a big difference visually on a tank this size. 

But if you meant full CO2 glassware check out SteveUK's journal;
http://ukaps.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=10083
he has a a beast of a fire extinguisher on a 15litre AE opti-white.  You can get some really nice looking nano CO2 sets but you end up having to buy a Â£10+ refill every month so a massive fire extinguisher works out more economical.


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## Steve Smith (7 Apr 2010)

NeilW said:
			
		

> But if you meant full CO2 glassware check out SteveUK's journal;
> http://ukaps.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=10083
> he has a a beast of a fire extinguisher on a 15litre AE opti-white.  You can get some really nice looking nano CO2 sets but you end up having to buy a Â£10+ refill every month so a massive fire extinguisher works out more economical.



Hey Neil.  It's a 20 litre TGM optiwhite tank with 2kg FE strapped onto it     Cal Aqua nano glassware on an Eheim Classic 2213 (want to replace this, but difficult to find a filter physically small enough for the cabinet).  Also got a Do!Aqua Music Glass diffuser with Daz's J pipe connector thingy 

I had one of the AE tanks.  I think it was 12" w x 10" d x 8" h.  Paulo has it now


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## LondonDragon (7 Apr 2010)

SteveUK said:
			
		

> I had one of the AE tanks.  I think it was 12" w x 10" d x 8" h.  Paulo has it now


Yeap those are the right measures, just purchased another one today


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## NeilW (8 Apr 2010)

SteveUK said:
			
		

> Hey Neil.  It's a 20 litre TGM optiwhite tank with 2kg FE strapped onto it     Cal Aqua nano glassware on an Eheim Classic 2213 (want to replace this, but difficult to find a filter physically small enough for the cabinet).  Also got a Do!Aqua Music Glass diffuser with Daz's J pipe connector thingy
> 
> I had one of the AE tanks.  I think it was 12" w x 10" d x 8" h.  Paulo has it now



My mistake  

A TGM nano would be far superior...the build quality/finish is meant to be excellent.  One day I'll treat myself to one.

Don't think its on the list though as theyre too far for me   amazing deal though


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## Steve Smith (8 Apr 2010)

They're a great price at the moment.  I paid Â£150 for mine with the cabinet, but they're Â£99 now!  Shame it's collection only.  Would be tempted but really can't afford, or have space for another


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## sumitha (8 Apr 2010)

NeilW said:
			
		

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Many thanks NeilW, can see that glassware makes a huge difference in a small tank after looking at SteveUK's journal. Might also seriously consider going down the fire extinguisher CO2 route for one of the tanks. My clown killis would certainly benefit from the lower ph as well.


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