# aquanano 40 and cabinet build - finally berried CRS and baby CBS!



## nduli (16 Sep 2012)

After reading so many journals on here i thought i'd add my own as i need some support and advice.

The plan is a relatively uncluttered but good looking tank for the kitchen to hold shrimp. I have a 30l tetra tank in there at the moment but wanted more volume to play with.

The current details

Tank = aquanano 40 (backplate remains in place to hide all the gubbins
filter - will be eheim 2211 running on the tetra tank
cabinet - 50*50cm self made using spill50's guides here http://www.ukaps.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=22106 and here http://www.richard-mckenna.com/media/Tank-Bench-MkII.pdf

Cabinet build first

B&Q - absolute godsend for cutting the MDF up, just make sure you turn up in a quiet time and get the most experienced guy there, the first said it couldn't be done. the guy with 40yrs as a joiner experience "john" did it in 5mins from 1 sheet. 

Mistakes in the cabinet 
hinges are a bugger. went for ikea hinges (not an issue in its own right) but getting the holes drilled, getting them in, set and looking reasonable is ALOT of work and i am still not happy. 
filling in screw heads - i can still see (roughly) where the screws were, think the paint and MDF soaked up moisture from the filler and they sunk back slightly, but i did leave a few days and spent hrs sanding and filling. will need to perfect for the next cabinet.
bottom section - the bottom piece of wood is the same size as the top meaning the cabinet is an enclosed box, if i had not made the bottom panel the same size it would have been easier with hinges and i think would look better.

pics
in construction


























with tank on













so now on to some questions that i could with some support / advice on

Wood

I have acquired the lovely piece of  wood you can see in the shot below. it needs holding down as it may potentially never float. best way is to screw into slate i gather, but its a small piece of wood and i don't want it to be too obvious underneath the wood. any suggestions on how to approach? 

the cardboard the wood is sitting on is the same size as the tank.






















next question

substrate: 2 options

1) cat litter - being used in main tank and liking it, bit too light but once settled its great.- downsides doesn't show off shrimp that well.
2) black inert gravel 

I'll stick some osmocote under the gravel but plants will probably be needle java, mosses, anubias and some crypts probably (not got that far to be honest)

I also want to add some of the rocks i have in the garage (looks a bit dragonstone ish) 

so question - black gravel or kitty litter to go with the stone and wood and to host CRS/CBS shrimp. i am heavily leaning to black gravel but would prefer a 3rd perspective (after the better halves of course)









i'll be looking to set the tank asap to look at landscape options so any suggestions, thoughts points of note welcome


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## OllieNZ (16 Sep 2012)

If you have time soak the wood. Failing that try a flat piece of slate as thin as possible and put a 3-4in stainless steel screw through it and then wind the screw into the wood untill your happy with the height that way the slate will be well hidden.
I prefer the darker gravel, have you thought about putting some john innes no3 soil underneath instead of osmocote?


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## nduli (16 Sep 2012)

i've had a similar piece of wood in soak for months and still floats 
re: john innes n3 hows does that perform when you are vaccinng the gravel? just done a quick read, not sure the peat is a good idea, already have soft water....


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## Markmark (16 Sep 2012)

Nice stand youve built there and looks great in white. As you have to cycle the tank for a few weeks why not just weigh the wood down with a spare rock. By the time youre ready to add livestock the wood should be soaked enough not to float. Did this with mine with a 4 week fishless cycle and no problems.


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## nduli (16 Sep 2012)

Markmark said:
			
		

> Nice stand youve built there and looks great in white. As you have to cycle the tank for a few weeks why not just weigh the wood down with a spare rock. By the time youre ready to add livestock the wood should be soaked enough not to float. Did this with mine with a 4 week fishless cycle and no problems.



Thanks, quite pleased overall with stand and will definitely be building my own when I change my main tank. Cycle time will hopefully be much reduced as I have a matured filter already running on on the old tank. I'll probably go with both the slate and rock options I think in the short term. Need to get some more stainless screws first tho.


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## nduli (22 Sep 2012)

*Re: aquanano 40 and cabinet build - hardscape going in*

right quick update.

wood drilled and slate added. slow release ferts added under substrate (gray gravel) and wood and stone now being positioned and re-positioned and re-positioned again.

as i am a complete noob at this would welcome comments / thoughts / pointers

see pics below


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## nduli (25 Sep 2012)

added plants and filled now.

biggest issue so far appears to be the lack of flow. the eheim 2211 driving the 1cm (internal) spray bar across the top just isn't powerful enough. looks like i am on the look out for a 2213 or above. 

apols for the very poor piccies - air bubbles everywhere


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## Ady34 (25 Sep 2012)

Looks nice mate, and I like the darker substrate choice  
Why not just use the supplied filter media and pump, it's rated up to 500lph and is adjustable downwards, although I find at max power it's excellent flow wise through the spray bar configuration. You could even add some of your eheim filter media if you'd prefer.
Hope your wood isn't too close to the glass mind as cleaning will be a problem if it is  
Cheerio
Ady


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## Stitch (25 Sep 2012)

Looking good.

Is it wrong admiring another man's wood?

Just a quick question on the Eheim 2211. How do you find it for a 30 to 40 litre? I've just picked one up and thinking about it for a similar size tank. Did you pack it with filter media? I was going to fill 1/2 to 3/4 with siporax and the rest foam.

Cheers.


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## nduli (25 Sep 2012)

Ady34 said:
			
		

> Looks nice mate, and I like the darker substrate choice
> Why not just use the supplied filter media and pump, it's rated up to 500lph and is adjustable downwards, although I find at max power it's excellent flow wise through the spray bar configuration. You could even add some of your eheim filter media if you'd prefer.
> Hope your wood isn't too close to the glass mind as cleaning will be a problem if it is
> Cheerio
> Ady




Hi Ady i was still this hadn't considered moving back to the original parts but you may have convinced me to try it. the main reasons i didn't were 1) it at previously (for 2 months) been used as a marine (and was thus nervous) and 2) the challenged of an external integration. I've rinsed out the media that came with it and dropped it into my main tank eheim so i may rescue it and try it at the weekend as "standard". 

PS thanks for the pointer on the wood and glass might do some minor adjustments....


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## nduli (25 Sep 2012)

Stitch said:
			
		

> Looking good.
> 
> Is it wrong admiring another man's wood?
> 
> ...



erm - what do i say to that other LOL. Wood envy - quality - your secret is safe with me  :silent: 

re: eheim 2211 and a 30-40 litre - absolutely fine i had it running on a 30l previously and had to throttle back a lot and place wood in the way to break up the flow as it was like a washing machine in there. The only reason i have issues is that i am pushing a 9mm hose into a 30cm long 1cm inside diameter spray bar and it doesn't have enough umpf to drive that width and length of bar to give me the flow i want, it will be fine and you'll be impressed with the performance. I have 3 or 4 in the garage somewhere and need to start selling them but i will keep at least 2 as they are super filters.


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## nduli (29 Sep 2012)

Ady34 said:
			
		

> Looks nice mate, and I like the darker substrate choice
> Why not just use the supplied filter media and pump, it's rated up to 500lph and is adjustable downwards, although I find at max power it's excellent flow wise through the spray bar configuration. You could even add some of your eheim filter media if you'd prefer.
> Hope your wood isn't too close to the glass mind as cleaning will be a problem if it is
> Cheerio
> Ady



Went with your recommendation. Flow much much better. Re your pump is it noisy?  Needed to strip it down to get it to start and it's noisy. The impeller is catching in the pump head from what I could see. Pleased with the flow now. Water change tomorrow and will leave for a couple of weeks to settle down. Wanting to go with crs and CBS. I have some decent grade a's in the tank i n the garage but tempted to go wild in the isles at Freshwater shrimp.....


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## Lindy (29 Sep 2012)

There is a guy who sells Crs and CBS on eBay. "Craven" something or other. I've had 2 lots from him, can see some just posted on my journal. He has some listed at the mo but if you message him and tell him exactly what you want he'll give you a price.
Cheers


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## Ady34 (30 Sep 2012)

nduli said:
			
		

> Ady34 said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Hi mate,
My pump isn't noisy but sometimes I get a vibration from it if the suckers on the back lose suction, I just push it back onto the glass and it sorts it. Maybe try adjusting the flow valve up and down a couple of times to ensure there isn't a snag there. If it continues check the impeller shaft to see if its bent and also the actual impeller for any obvious deformation. A replacement impeller will most likely be a listed spare and relatively cheap. If the shaft is bent it may need a new pump, but in all honesty I've never opened mine up so you may be able to replace the shaft too.
New shrimp......mmmm   
Cheerio
Ady


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## nduli (4 Nov 2012)

Some pics taken this afternoon. Some crs and CBS added. Flame and weeping moss added. Bit of an issue tying it on so have cotton moving around with the flow but once the moss is attached it will get trimmed back.
Purigen added to filter but struggling with flow through it.

 Also had a mare with a shrimp caught in the filter sponge last night (it managed to get through the slats in the back wall and climb through the sponge construct. Rescued it but found dead this am.


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## Ady34 (4 Nov 2012)

Hi mate,
nice to see some shrimp in there, bet your pleased with some activity  
Did you manage to sort the pump issue? Also noted your struggling with flow through the purigen, I just put the little bag on top of the bio media as the last part of filtration and don't have any issues...where is yours?
Sorry about the shrimp mate, it's not good to lose them. My shrimplets are always making their way into the top of the foam chamber which is made especially frustrating as I use a filter floss as a pre filter on top of the foam and getting them out of that is a nightmare!
Keep us posted   
Cheerio
Ady


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## nduli (5 Nov 2012)

hi Ady

yeah finally managed to get hold of some new CRS and finding some CBS (shipped from kesgrave trops), really pleased to see some activity in there, find myself staring at them for ages (much to the annoyance of my better half), attaching moss was a bit of a mare and was a little disappointed with what was shipped to me but its in and will grow on. Using small amount of  TNC Complete and easy carbo on a weekly basis should encourage it all. 

i have the purigen on top of the bio media just seeing very little movement of the tiny balls. I do think i need to adjust how the bio media is sitting in its section a little as well. Re pump - its a lost cause and i need to get a new one, essentially the pump head is badly put together, there is a misalignment in the plastics and the impeller is occassionally (every few seconds) catching the misaligned plastic, it just means it doesn't run silent and is annoying but i am sure effects flow a little.

Glad i am not alone on the shrimp through the gap, i am now using a "small pore" piece of sponge that came with the tank (2nd hand ebay item and appears old tanks were shipped with a different sponge set), i was a little annoyed and tried to put some gauze across the slats it but it meant the pump ran dry very quickly (had a panic at 3am when i could a strange noise from the kitchen, ran downstairs expecting to find 55l of water on the floor but just needed to remove the cover of the slats to get flow moving to pump again).

looking at the pics the tank looks much better in the flesh, thinking of moving a few plants around to balance a little better.


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## jimwalsh (20 Nov 2012)

does anyone have the pdf for the cabinet build?

the weblink is not working anymore...

cheers


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## nduli (20 Nov 2012)

I will have at home. In London for couple of days tho. Pm me Friday else I'll forget.


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## nduli (24 Nov 2012)

Right bit of a mare this am.
Noticed a dead shrimp. Water tests showed different than normal params, gh lower (60ish), kh a lot higher (6+) Tds 157. Ph seemed to be high 6's.
Eventually begged the misuses to let me use my Xmas pressie ph meter early. Which showed 7.4. No wonder they weren't breeding
So probably going to get some ebi gold to help buffer at the right levels but want to keep the scape roughly as is. Ie banked into the corner. Don't want to use ebi gold for the banking as its an expensive solution, can I just drop the soil on top of the gravel I have? I'll take a bit off and look to run 2-4 cm on top. Any thoughts about taking the shrimp out for the day, adding the soil and then popping them back in at the end of the day (given I have a cycled tank)


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## nduli (3 Dec 2012)

Quick update.
Ebi soil finally arrived this am so some point this week / this weekend I'll be re-scaping with the ebi soil. 

Positioning will be roughly the same I think. Might pull some of the flame moss off as its died, must admit to being rather unhappy with what I bought. Didn't think there was anything special that needed to be done care wise.

Will take pictures of the process this time. Thinking of using gravel in some tights to help build the corner up this time should make replacement of soil easier in future. 

Roll on the weekend......


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## nduli (22 Dec 2012)

Ebi gold shrimp soil in and settled. Plants repositioned slightly in tank and on wood. flame moss attached to wood. 

Some of the shrimp I can find from the garage tank being dripped in right now with airline.


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## jack-rythm (23 Dec 2012)

How will u make the hose drip?

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2


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## nduli (24 Dec 2012)

Hi, apols for delay, didn't get a note that someone had posted. Dead simple answer. Airline clamp it chokes off the supply.


	Armitage Algarde Airline Aquarium Filter Clamp | Monster Pet Supplies -  Armitage Algarde Airline Aquarium Filter Clamp  at 100% Guaranteed Low Prices in UK


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## jon32 (10 Jan 2013)

Hello just joined (great forum btw!) because I've bought one of these tanks and I'd also like to add a spray bar but I'm having difficulty finding the 90 degree connector.

If you don't mind could you tell me where you got the connector(s) from and also the spray bar itself, it looks ideal, like it came like that from the factory!

Thanks

Jon


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## Danny (10 Jan 2013)

Just noticed you said home in London,may be well of track here but if you are local enough to collect and want it I can make you up 25L of RO every couple of weeks when I do mine if you want it, guessing you are changing about 10-15L at a time? TDS about 14, I do not use a DI to get 0TDS as want it at 10-20 TDS.


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## nduli (3 Feb 2013)

jon32 said:


> Hello just joined (great forum btw!) because I've bought one of these tanks and I'd also like to add a spray bar but I'm having difficulty finding the 90 degree connector.
> 
> If you don't mind could you tell me where you got the connector(s) from and also the spray bar itself, it looks ideal, like it came like that from the factory!
> 
> ...


Jon, apols didn't get a note to say you had replied. The connectors and spray bar are off a all pond solutions 800l per hour internal filter....


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## nduli (3 Feb 2013)

Danny said:


> Just noticed you said home in London,may be well of track here but if you are local enough to collect and want it I can make you up 25L of RO every couple of weeks when I do mine if you want it, guessing you are changing about 10-15L at a time? TDS about 14, I do not use a DI to get 0TDS as want it at 10-20 TDS.



Hi Danny am in north Manchester, my only visits to London are with work.....thanks for the offer though


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## nduli (3 Feb 2013)

So tank is moving on slightly. Water parameters settling down. 

Tds moving from 130 to 170 ish. Ph buffered to around 6.4-6.8. Gh around 5 or 6. 

Picked up few tips from ady34 so am doing more regular smaller water changes. Filter floss in filter and more regular cleaning of filter media has resulted in cleaner water and consequently berried shrimp CBS only at the moment. Have feeling crs are all male. Could do with finding some lady crs 

Tropica 1-2 grow flame moss has been outstanding. Pics to follow. 

Using 1ml of easy carbo per week along with 1ml of tnc complete no issues but no extensive growth either. 

Eheim Air stone added today to help with reproduction. Also increased height of spray bar to try and combat an oily film on water surface. 

Could do with some advice on possible additional plants want to add some mosses such as fissidens (how expensive!!!) and possible weeping but also some other nano plants any ideas appreciated.


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## Ady34 (3 Feb 2013)

Hi mate, looking good!
I found the flame moss to be great also, I'd suggest periodically giving it a good trim though as mine eventually browned at the base and came loose.....trimming I'm sure would have prevented this.
Did you list your dosing correctly....or is it 1ml per day rather than week of liquid carbon and ferts?.....I'm guessing per day given your rise in TDS.
Plants are definitely a personal choice, but eleocharis sp. mini always looks good in scapes such as this. Others maybe riccia, crypt parvula, or even a moss carpet? I'm currently trying lobelia cardinalis mini in my aquanano, ill let you know how this fares.
Cheerio for now,
Ady.


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## nduli (3 Feb 2013)

Ady34 said:


> Hi mate, looking good!
> I found the flame moss to be great also, I'd suggest periodically giving it a good trim though as mine eventually browned at the base and came loose.....trimming I'm sure would have prevented this.
> Did you list your dosing correctly....or is it 1ml per day rather than week of liquid carbon and ferts?.....I'm guessing per day given your rise in TDS.
> Plants are definitely a personal choice, but eleocharis sp. mini always looks good in scapes such as this. Others maybe riccia, crypt parvula, or even a moss carpet? I'm currently trying lobelia cardinalis mini in my aquanano, ill let you know how this fares.
> ...


Nope 1ml per week of easy carbo and Tnc....I'm just not around regularly enough to commit to a daily routine. 
I gave the flame a trim this afternoon and the mesh on the floor has some of the trimmings. 
How do you do the moss carpets? Mesh? 
I've done riccia in the past but want it kept out of this tank as its a mare to get rid of if you want too. Will have a look at the other plants thanks.


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## nduli (3 Feb 2013)

Anyone got experience of either of these in a low tech nano?

Staurogyne repens
Alternanthera reineckii 'Mini'


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## StevenA (3 Feb 2013)

Looking really nice nduli, love the piece of wood. Just out of interest as I'm after something similar for a 40 litre, where did you source it from and how much was it?


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## MARKCOUSINS (3 Feb 2013)

Hi Nduli have grown staurogyne repens very well in my 20l nano lit with 11w lamp but was dosing daily 0.5ml of LC i think it would suffer without,was also dosing E.I 1.5ml daily.In the tank was also eleocharis asicularis which grow super well and stayed very short 6cm aprox high so more like parvula.When i put in a dennerle co2 system everthing in the tank grew faster and looked better.I think mate at least try and dose LC on a regular daily basis and you give yourself more plant options that might mean going a bit more up the high tech road.Alternanthera would need carbon i would think and probably Co2 to flourish.Hope that gives you a few ideas mate.Cheers mark


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## dagzz (3 Feb 2013)

nice i have the nano 30 and im thinking of selling my 180 and getting 2 more of the nano 30s i love them


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## dagzz (3 Feb 2013)

does the spray bar section come with the nano 40 ?


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## nduli (4 Feb 2013)

dagzz said:


> does the spray bar section come with the nano 40 ?



No it's a 13mm spraybar sourced from an all pond solutions internal filter the 800Lhr model I think. Think the 30cm tank runs a different pump so might have smaller output diameter for the bar.


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## nduli (4 Feb 2013)

Tourney said:


> Looking really nice nduli, love the piece of wood. Just out of interest as I'm after something similar for a 40 litre, where did you source it from and how much was it?



2 pieces of wood. 1 was swamp root from a local fish shop which needed slate screwing to the back of it to hold it down and the other was from aquahome in leyland, they usually have interesting bits in.


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## nduli (4 Feb 2013)

MARKCOUSINS said:


> Hi Nduli have grown staurogyne repens very well in my 20l nano lit with 11w lamp but was dosing daily 0.5ml of LC i think it would suffer without,was also dosing E.I 1.5ml daily.In the tank was also eleocharis asicularis which grow super well and stayed very short 6cm aprox high so more like parvula.When i put in a dennerle co2 system everthing in the tank grew faster and looked better.I think mate at least try and dose LC on a regular daily basis and you give yourself more plant options that might mean going a bit more up the high tech road.Alternanthera would need carbon i would think and probably Co2 to flourish.Hope that gives you a few ideas mate.Cheers mark


Cheers mark, had been considering trying more LC overnight. Thanks for the other suggestions....


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## jack-rythm (4 Feb 2013)

Are you lights on over night? If not it's a complete waste of effort, money and time to dose LC over night, just have it on a consistent regime throughout the days when your lights are on. Plants do not feed when light are out.

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## nduli (4 Feb 2013)

sorry meant thinking about it overnight . Ady34's comment yesterday made me think and you have sured up that I need to try and make the time.


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## jack-rythm (4 Feb 2013)

Haha nice one!

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## MARKCOUSINS (4 Feb 2013)

I think you have the right idea daily LC dosing done consistantly at aprox or before lights on can only benefit your plants mate.Let us know on your decision and what is your fert dosing regime?Cheers mark


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## whatok (5 Feb 2013)

Great journal! Any word on that PDF?


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## jon32 (5 Feb 2013)

nduli said:


> Jon, apols didn't get a note to say you had replied. The connectors and spray bar are off a all pond solutions 800l per hour internal filter....


Hi, Thanks for replying. I sourced a spray bar kit on ebay which came with a 90 degree connector, but there was only one in the kit. Fortunately I had another 90 elbow that also fit.


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## nduli (5 Feb 2013)

whatok said:


> Great journal! Any word on that PDF?



If you pm me your email address I'll see if I can dig them out.


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## AndyVox (13 Feb 2013)

Love the cabinet, I considered spraying mine, didn't have the patience. Looks like it paid off for you!

The scape looks like it's coming along well too!


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## nduli (13 Feb 2013)

Thanks, scape is slow but steady, caught some bba on the leaves o the java narrow last night so whipped out the offending and any other damaged leaves. Seem to also have some brown algae on back wall which will get cleaned off at the weekend with a water change. Still trying to figure out what additional plants to add.


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## nduli (6 Mar 2013)

came home this afternoon to find a CBS being munched on. 
horrible thing is i can't find my very heavily berried CBS  
water change being prepped (standing and warming) to be done tonight, i missed the weekend one as i though i'd leave it for a bit until the shrimplets dropped.
added some beta glucans, TDS seemed ok so will just do a water change and see if there is anything amiss during that.


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## LondonDragon (6 Mar 2013)

Nice setup and DIY skills, any recent photos?



nduli said:


> came home this afternoon to find a CBS being munched on. horrible thing is i can't find my very heavily berried CBS


Hard luck with the shrimp  you using RO for this?


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## nduli (7 Mar 2013)

LondonDragon said:


> Nice setup and DIY skills, any recent photos?
> 
> Cheers paulo, first time anyone has complimented my DIY skills.  I know where the issues with the cabinet are and will be corrected fot the next build.
> 
> Hard luck with the shrimp  you using RO for this?



No not using ro. Was thinking about this last night. I think the shrimp that died was the berried one and she was properly berried with 20+. So bit gutted and bit fed up up with it all at the moment. 
Do you suggest ro? 
I use tap but dechlorinate and add salty shrimp to Tds about 130 from about 40ish out of the tap. Ph is low 6.4 - 6.6ish. Tds averages about 140-150 and only visible issue is brown diatoms on glass and film on surface of water. Plant growth is poor but i low dose easy carbo and Tnc complete. 1ml every few days of easycarbo and 2-3ml of Tnc weekly.

I'll add some photos at the weekend.


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## LondonDragon (7 Mar 2013)

If you want to seriously breed CRS I would recommend you go the RO road and use the proper minerals to treat the RO water, then you will have great success with them 

Link to minerals: Bee Shrimp Mineral GH+ 90g - Freshwatershrimp


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## nduli (7 Mar 2013)

LondonDragon said:


> If you want to seriously breed CRS I would recommend you go the RO road and use the proper minerals to treat the RO water, then you will have great success with them
> 
> Link to minerals: Bee Shrimp Mineral GH+ 90g - Freshwatershrimp



Paulo, thanks, that's the stuff I have. Will look into ro at the weekend.


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## LondonDragon (7 Mar 2013)

It useless adding it to tap water makes no difference, you need to use it with RO


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## nduli (7 Mar 2013)

LondonDragon said:


> It useless adding it to tap water makes no difference, you need to use it with RO



ok, being a bit thick, but why is it useless? Thought others on here added to tap and not had any issues. I get low Tds out of tap and kh and gh are also low....


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## LondonDragon (7 Mar 2013)

nduli said:


> ok, being a bit thick, but why is it useless? Thought others on here added to tap and not had any issues. I get low Tds out of tap and kh and gh are also low....


I have not used it myself, but the idea is you remove everything from the water and then add just the right quantities for this particular species of shrimp, the tap already comes with a lot of minerals that are no use. Having not experience of this myself I could be wrong but that's my understanding.


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## nduli (8 Mar 2013)

LondonDragon said:


> I have not used it myself, but the idea is you remove everything from the water and then add just the right quantities for this particular species of shrimp, the tap already comes with a lot of minerals that are no use. Having not experience of this myself I could be wrong but that's my understanding.


 
paulo

you running RO in your nano's?


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## LondonDragon (8 Mar 2013)

nduli said:


> paulo
> you running RO in your nano's?


Nope just tap water, hence the reason I only keep cherries, snowballs and yellows!! Even the Sulawesi didn't like tap must go down the RO route. They will survive for a few months, but not long term and breeding is unlikely or unlikely the young will survive as I found out.


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## nduli (8 Mar 2013)

Paulo thanks for the help and guidance.


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## nduli (9 Mar 2013)

Ro water purchased and sat in kitchen. Waiting to be mixed. 
My Tds is around 140 if I used salty shrimp mix to get to about the same is there any issue in doing a 50% water change?


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## Lindy (9 Mar 2013)

Hi, I use tap water and had used a variety of things to raise the tds. It is only since using Mosura mineral + to add to my tap water that I seem to have halted the shrimp deaths and achieve a berried female. I know that I may lose more shrimp but I'm hoping that the discovery that my TDS pen was out by 20 might help stop that. Ask Basil about tap vs ro, he didn't flag that as a potential problem in my tank.


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## nduli (10 Mar 2013)

ldcgroomer said:


> Hi, I use tap water and had used a variety of things to raise the tds. It is only since using Mosura mineral + to add to my tap water that I seem to have halted the shrimp deaths and achieve a berried female. I know that I may lose more shrimp but I'm hoping that the discovery that my TDS pen was out by 20 might help stop that. Ask Basil about tap vs ro, he didn't flag that as a potential problem in my tank.



Hi Lundy saw that the pen was out. Where did you get the fluid from? Might check mine. Ph meter I. Have can move out really quickly. I thought I had a ph of 7 in the small tank, calibrated and it came in at 6.4 only a minor swing there . Have to admit not too impressed with performance of ph meter, even now it reports ph as 8 as soon as you put in water and needs a min or so to get down to a more accurate reading.


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## Lindy (10 Mar 2013)

Hi, got the calibration fluid on ebay


> HM Digital 342ppm TDS Meter Calibration Fluid also calibr... (111019716170)


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## nduli (10 Mar 2013)

Cool, that's what I ordered at 7am when I should have been making the (much) better half her breakfast in bed.


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## nduli (17 Mar 2013)

New light bulb added and a bit of a clean up in the tank. Had the main bit of wood out and sawed a bit off the back to allow me to tuck it in the corner a bit more leaving more room in the front for some plants. Removed all the flame moss as it had died at the base. I have transferred the live bits to some mesh to try and recover it.

The bulb was replaced as the other seemed a little tired. Think that was an understatement. The difference is like night and day. I went for a daylight bulb so is quite cool but i like it. Interested to know if other nano 40 users lights have a 2 pin 18w bulb or a 4 pin. Mine is 2pin  18w. Had a mare trying to locate a bulb as the aqua one website reckons they don't sell them . 

Cleaned out the filters and removed some none standard media I had added. 

Moved to RO water, 50% water change.  Added bee shrimp gh+ to about 140tds. 

So big questions - want to add some more plants but keep relatively low tech.

 So thinking some or all of the below. Any comments or suggestions welcome  

crypto Parva 
Microsorium mini
Hydrophilia mini
Staurogyne 
Hydrocotyle Japan
Fissidens 
Java moss
Weeping moss
Xmas moss

Current piccies:










Thanks for looking 

rich


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## Lindy (17 Mar 2013)

Looks really nice. I have a fissidens fontanus mesh on eBay


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## nduli (17 Mar 2013)

I know  I am bidding


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## Lindy (18 Mar 2013)

HaHa, if you win I'll chuck in some round pelia if you like. Basil swears by it in his shrimp tanks for baby shrimp as well as adults.


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## Lindy (18 Mar 2013)

Ooh also have a wee bit moss but not sure whether it's Taiwan or Spikey.


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## Lindy (18 Mar 2013)

Did you win? Do you want any of the stuff mentioned above? Might be thinning out the crypt beckettii petchii(or whatever its called)too..


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## nduli (19 Mar 2013)

how bizarre - didn't get a notification on either of your posts......anyway thanks for being so generous with the additional plants ontop of the fissidens, looking forward to planting next week when i finally get a bit of time off work - sods law though i have had to cancel tues' day off to go to Laaaawnden - but hoping to be out of the office early and might duck down to ADC again and oggle at their king kongs again .


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## nduli (19 Mar 2013)

Main update for tonight following a little clean down and the move to RO at the weekend i have noted 2 CBS in the tank and 2 of the CRS are berried well chuffed.
just hoping the parent survives this time.added some baby pro food i got from freshwatershrimp - hoping that helps

my high grade CRS are coming along well and could be the bargin of the century - i'll post some piccies of them next week, fairly sure at least one is a SSS and all for just £8 each from an LFS that didn't really know what they had.


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## nduli (20 Mar 2013)

Will be busy next week. Following plants arrived from aquaessentials....super quick delivery and superb packaging.

Mini java fern
Staurogyne repens *2 ( one of which should have been a staurogyne rubescens email sent to try and resolve)
2 lilaeopsis novea-zealande (looks like I pressed add to bag twice duh!!)
A moss dome from superfish (java moss to be added to it)
1 Xmas moss
1 spiky moss
1 java moss
1 weeping moss

I also have some plants coming in from LDcgroomer - won the auction for fissidens and has kindly thrown in loads of other stuff - very generous, thanks lindy 

Plants will be shared across the 2 tanks. But won't be done until at least wed. Pics to be shared when both tanks done.


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## Ady34 (20 Mar 2013)

Congrats on the berried shrimp


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## MARKCOUSINS (20 Mar 2013)

Looking forward to seeing the plants in,hope you find the time to do the job,know what its like!Nice to hear the shrimp are berried good luck with that mate!Cheers mark


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## nduli (22 Mar 2013)

Point to note massive difference in shrimp activity in the tank now they are in ro water. Just cannot believe how active they are. Clearly there is something in my manc tap water they would prefer not to have.....

Am away at centre parcs for the weekend. I'd say its a well deserved break but kids have plans for entire day in the pool tomorrow. Guarantee I'll be wishing I was at work on Monday am. 

Might get chance to plant Monday pm but likely that pillow will win over tanks.


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## Ady34 (23 Mar 2013)

Great to hear the improvements in your shrimp.
I've just been to center parcs with the kids last week and on return your pillow will definitely be taking preference over planting!
Enjoy.
Cheerio,
Ady.


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