# 16 l shrimp jungle



## JEK (24 Feb 2019)

Hi guys!

I'm getting back into the hobby after about 8 years without aquariums. I wanted to start out without investing too much so I've bought an Azoo Flexi-Mini (31x21x24 cm, 16 litres, 150 l/h HOB filter and 7 watts LED) with a tropica nano CO2 system and a cal aqua CO2 checker. The substrate is a bit over 3 litres of tropica aquarium soil powder (I know it's a bit high at the front, will try if I can siphon some out). Hardscape-wise I've used Red moor wood and Loa rocks (from aqua-sabi - it's a type of lava rock with a really nice texture).

Plant list
Foreground: _Glossostigma elationoides_, _Eleocharis acicularis_ 'mini'
Midground: _Riccardia_ sp. 'Chamedryfolia', _Bucephalandra sp_ 'Braun-rot / Serimbu' and 'Lamandau mini red', _Hydrocotyle cf. tripartita 'mini'_
Background: _Myriophyllum 'Guyana'_

I'm a bit unsure about having two species of foreground plants. Maybe get rid of the glosso and allow the hydrocotyle to mix a bit with the Eleocharis? Feedback is very welcome. Oh, and do you have any suggestions for livestock?


----------



## akwarium (25 Feb 2019)

I think you did a great job, the tank looks much bigger at first glance. 

Glossostigma is my favorite carpeting plant, so in my opinion you should keep it


----------



## JEK (25 Feb 2019)

akwarium said:


> I think you did a great job, the tank looks much bigger at first glance.
> 
> Glossostigma is my favorite carpeting plant, so in my opinion you should keep it



Thanks! I'll keep it for now and how it turns out.


----------



## Kezzab (25 Feb 2019)

Looks good. You'll have to keep control.of the h tripartita. It will become rampant and full the tank.
K


----------



## Matt @ ScapeEasy (3 Mar 2019)

I have one of these, they are great little set ups. Your tank look great well done  Can I ask what filter you are using? 

As for livestock, do you have a heater on the tank? If not then shrimp will be just fine down to 14 degrees judging by mine. Or if you can get hold of them a pair of least killifish would be awesome... (if you do find them let me know where! I've been searching for months!)


----------



## JEK (6 Mar 2019)

I ended up removing the glosso and I've added some anubias, alternanthera 'mini', another buce (wavy green) and Rotala H'ra. Rather happy with the layout right now!


----------



## JEK (6 Mar 2019)

Matt @ ScapeEasy said:


> I have one of these, they are great little set ups. Your tank look great well done  Can I ask what filter you are using?
> 
> As for livestock, do you have a heater on the tank? If not then shrimp will be just fine down to 14 degrees judging by mine. Or if you can get hold of them a pair of least killifish would be awesome... (if you do find them let me know where! I've been searching for months!)


Thanks!. Yeah, it's a nice little setup, especially the tank itself. Great way to get back into the hobby! it's just the HOB filter that came with the setup. Thinking about getting a Eheim Classic soon to get some more filter power, but on the other hand It seems to work fine with the HOB for the time being..  I've thought about killies, but I don't have a heater, so I think I'll just get some shrimp.



Kezzab said:


> Looks good. You'll have to keep control.of the h tripartita. It will become rampant and full the tank.
> K


 Thanks, I'm aware that it grow really aggressively, so I'll beware of it taking over.


----------



## JEK (11 Mar 2019)

I have some stubborn fungal growth on the wood, but apart from that everything is going well, with very minimal algae so far.


----------



## JEK (28 Mar 2019)

Starting to grow in! Sorry about the picture quality..


----------



## Robru (28 Mar 2019)

Very nice scape for this little tank


----------



## JEK (28 Mar 2019)

Robru said:


> Very nice scape for this little tank


Thanks!


----------



## CooKieS (28 Mar 2019)

Love it, well done.


----------



## JEK (28 Mar 2019)

CooKieS said:


> Love it, well done.


Thank you! 

I'm a bit unsure about having Alternanthera both in the right and left side. Feels a bit too symmetrical in some way.. Should I remove it in the right side?


----------



## Aqua360 (29 Mar 2019)

Super! 

Inspirational for the Flexi


----------



## Kezzab (29 Mar 2019)

Looking great. I know what you mean about the AR mini, I think I would remove the right side. That's fine tuning though!


----------



## JEK (29 Mar 2019)

Kezzab said:


> Looking great. I know what you mean about the AR mini, I think I would remove the right side. That's fine tuning though!


Thanks! Do you have any suggestions on what to replace it with - if anything.


----------



## Kezzab (29 Mar 2019)

?


 

Or maybe H. Araguaia or H. tripartita?


----------



## JEK (29 Mar 2019)

Kezzab said:


> ?
> View attachment 122955
> 
> Or maybe H. Araguaia or H. tripartita?


Definitely the ship Good suggestions. I was thinking of H. pinnafitida but unsure if it's possible to keep it small enough ..


----------



## Kezzab (29 Mar 2019)

Mmm, i think H. Pin will be very hard to keep small and compact, i dont think there's enough space. Maybe just the _Myriophyllum  _would be fine.


----------



## JEK (29 Mar 2019)

Kezzab said:


> Mmm, i think H. Pin will be very hard to keep small and compact, i dont think there's enough space. Maybe just the _Myriophyllum  _would be fine.


Yeah it might looke fine with just Myriophyllum ..


----------



## JEK (3 Apr 2019)

Just did some heavy trimming and tweaked the hardscape and planting slightly..


----------



## JEK (4 Apr 2019)

View attachment E10Ewkc.jpg Slightly less crappy photo.

I added 4 amanos a few days ago .. and that didn't go well. Two days later and all four had escaped the tank :/ It seems that this is not too unusual for amanos, how do you guys keep them from escaping open tanks? I've had CRS before and never had any problems with escapees. Maybe I should just get a handful of those instead.


----------



## CooKieS (4 Apr 2019)

High level of CO2 doesn't help with amanos escape...

Get yourself some crs, no problem and better sized for your tank.


----------



## JEK (4 Apr 2019)

CooKieS said:


> High level of CO2 doesn't help with amanos escape...
> 
> Get yourself some crs, no problem and better sized for your tank.


Yeah, I probably will. Don't like how fast they breed though ..


----------



## Konsa (4 Apr 2019)

Hi 
I always had my amanos escape my little 22l nano even low tech.Had to seal it with cling film at the end before my other bigger tanks were ready.
+1 for cherries in there
Regards Konsa


----------



## JEK (10 Apr 2019)

So I removed the AR mini. Thought it created an unnaturally looking division.. What do you guys think?
View attachment pWRm5w1.jpg


----------



## CooKieS (10 Apr 2019)

Awesome nano.


----------



## Aqua sobriquet (10 Apr 2019)

Looks great. How long are your CO2 bottles lasting and what temperature is your tank?


----------



## JEK (11 Apr 2019)

Aqua sobriquet said:


> Looks great. How long are your CO2 bottles lasting and what temperature is your tank?


they last less than a month, so not very long. I have one bottle left and will upgrade to a proper system when that is used up. Can't recommend the tropica nano CO2 kit unfortunately. The diffusor sucks (I've upgraded to an aquario neo - much much better), the bottles are too expensive for how long they last and the regulator is really hard to adjust. :/
Temperature is just room temperature i.e. around 21-22 celcius.


----------



## CooKieS (11 Apr 2019)

Yes, very expensive , not environnemental friendly and not very reliable.

Get yourself some CO2 art stuff, you won't regret it.


----------



## Aqua sobriquet (11 Apr 2019)

JEK said:


> they last less than a month, so not very long. I have one bottle left and will upgrade to a proper system when that is used up. Can't recommend the tropica nano CO2 kit unfortunately. The diffusor sucks (I've upgraded to an aquario neo - much much better), the bottles are too expensive for how long they last and the regulator is really hard to adjust. :/
> Temperature is just room temperature i.e. around 21-22 celcius.



Thanks for that. Let us know what CO2 system you upgrade to.


----------



## JEK (11 Apr 2019)

I think I'm going to upgrade the filter as well. How oversized do you think I can go in liters/h? Reason I ask is that I would like to be able to use it on a future larger aquarium (40-60 liters).


----------



## Aqua sobriquet (11 Apr 2019)

I ran this on a 35L and it worked well, although maybe a bit OTT for the tank size.

https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/tetra-ex400-mini-review.21876/#post-230196

Always best to get bigger than you need though as the flow soon drops as the filter gets dirty.

I’ve had an Eheim classic in the past and they’re very good but you have to pay quite a lot extra for quick release taps etc.


----------



## JEK (11 Apr 2019)

Aqua sobriquet said:


> I ran this on a 35L and it worked well, although maybe a bit OTT for the tank size.
> 
> https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/tetra-ex400-mini-review.21876/#post-230196
> 
> ...


That's reasonably priced and will probably be fine on a 45-P tank as well, if I upgrade in the future. Yes, I've considered the Eheim classic as well ..


----------



## JEK (26 Apr 2019)

Short video of the scape: 

I've recently switched to RO water. Have some persistent diatoms and some green algae on some buce leaves, but otherwise no problems. Also added a skimmer to remove the surfave oil. Looks so much cleaner with a pristine surface!


----------



## Steve Buce (26 Apr 2019)

Great looking nano


----------



## PARAGUAY (27 Apr 2019)

Really nice aquascape


----------



## JEK (27 Apr 2019)

PARAGUAY said:


> Really nice aquascape





Steve Buce said:


> Great looking nano


Thanks!


----------



## Filip Krupa (27 Apr 2019)

Beautiful!
Well done.

Fil


----------



## JEK (27 Apr 2019)

Filip Krupa said:


> Beautiful!
> Well done.
> 
> Fil


Thanks Filip!


----------



## JEK (9 May 2019)

View attachment kUvgBS9.jpg


----------



## obsessed (9 May 2019)

Nice scape, grown in really well


----------



## JEK (9 May 2019)

obsessed said:


> Nice scape, grown in really well


Thanks!


----------



## JEK (25 Jun 2019)

Turned this tank into a low tech shrimp jungle! The plan is to let it get really overgrown.


----------



## Matt @ ScapeEasy (25 Jun 2019)

Love this! I'd be interested in how the transition to low tech went?


----------



## JEK (25 Jun 2019)

Matt @ ScapeEasy said:


> Love this! I'd be interested in how the transition to low tech went?


Thanks! Very unproblematic actually! The eleocharis didn't melt or anything, just stoppped growing as fast. The other plants are from my 60 l and has just been added so we'll see how they react to the transistion (I keep this tank at 300 microsiemens vs 200 in the 60 liters so not a huge difference..) No algae problems what so ever - I think the shrimp and snails help a lot.


----------



## JEK (6 Jul 2019)

The biodiversity in this tank is increasing.
 Quality is not the best - filmed through a magnifying glass on my phone, but could these be some small copepods? Also spotted a hydra I think..
Will nerite snails lay eggs in freshwater? I'm spotting some white, slightly oval eggs in the tank..
Sideview - the crypts have started to produce some lovely brown leaves.


----------



## Matt @ ScapeEasy (7 Jul 2019)

Energies will lay eggs in freshwater yes, they sound like what you are seeing.


----------



## dw1305 (7 Jul 2019)

Hi all,





JEK said:


> e, but could these be some small copepods?


<"Ostracods"> would be my guess. 

cheers Darrel


----------



## JEK (10 Jul 2019)

Removed the LImnobium during a water change to se how the tanks looks without their roots covering everything. I added them back again after the water change as I think the removal of all the floating plants would result in algae problems for sure.









Also trimmed down the Microsorum to the rhizome since pretty much all the leaves where turning brown.


----------



## JEK (29 Aug 2019)

Changed the hardscape:


----------



## Matt @ ScapeEasy (1 Sep 2019)

Just a little change!


----------



## Matthew Robinson (2 Sep 2019)

Cool looking scape, i look at the whole Post very impressed great job, what ferts have you been using what brands are you using and how often you dosing, have just started a little 21 litre shrimp scape planted at the weekend still looking in to ferts but great work


----------



## JEK (3 Sep 2019)

Matthew Robinson said:


> Cool looking scape, i look at the whole Post very impressed great job, what ferts have you been using what brands are you using and how often you dosing, have just started a little 21 litre shrimp scape planted at the weekend still looking in to ferts but great work


Thanks! When I used CO2 I would dose almost everyday with tropica specialized  but now that it's low tech, I dose very little and only every few weeks or so.


----------



## PARAGUAY (11 Sep 2019)

Looks great


----------



## Dan OB (11 Oct 2019)

Are you still running this tank? Do you have any recent photos? I've picked up the same tank, just looking for some inspiration! and wondering how your low tech switch ended up! 

Sent from my SM-N976B using Tapatalk


----------



## JEK (11 Oct 2019)

Dan OB said:


> Are you still running this tank? Do you have any recent photos? I've picked up the same tank, just looking for some inspiration! and wondering how your low tech switch ended up!
> 
> Sent from my SM-N976B using Tapatalk



It's still running as a low tech tank with no problems. No algae and minimal maintenance. It doesn't look to good scape-wise right now as I recently removed the Eleocharis in the foreground as it kept getting overgrown with moss and didn't looked too fresh. With a large plant mass and some floating plants I don't think you'll have any problems running it low-tech


----------



## Aqua360 (14 Mar 2020)

Update?


----------



## Ghettofarmulous (14 Mar 2020)

This journal is great


----------



## JEK (15 Mar 2020)

I've actually just emptied the tank today. Had it running with some emersed plants (baldellia repens) for a while, but I want to start it up again with water soon. Need to get a new filter first though as the HOB it came with just is too noisy. And would also like some CO2 on it again.


----------



## alto (16 Mar 2020)

Photo?

Are you going to transition this to aquatic form?


----------



## PARAGUAY (16 Mar 2020)

Looking forward to this


----------



## JEK (16 Mar 2020)

alto said:


> Photo?
> 
> Are you going to transition this to aquatic form?


I kept a few plantlets and transferred to my 60-p.


alto said:


> Photo?
> 
> Are you going to transition this to aquatic form?


Unfortunately no. It kinda looks like sagitaria, not super interesting unless it's flowering. No going to start it from scratch with new plants


----------

