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Aquanano40 CRShrimp tank....Journal Closed.

Ady34

Global Moderator
UKAPS Team
Joined
27 Jul 2011
Messages
5,097
Location
Co. Durham
Hello,
after my first planted scape and the introduction to the enjoyable antics of shrimp, ive decided to dedicate a tank to them.
Looking at various nano set ups i stumbled upon this Aqua One set up, which at 40 x 40 x 40cm, 55l is a little larger than some, but hopefully that should offer more water stability for the shrimp.
The tank has inbuilt weir style filtration at the rear of the tank with sponge and bio media, a 500 lph pump to draw water through the media, its light by an 18w pl bulb and had a heater included in the package which im choosing not to use.
With the current lighting and the other already costly high tech set up, im going to use liquid carbon exclusively and the same ferts (special n type macro mix and ei micro mix) im using for my current set up. Im aiming for a relitively slow paced easy to maintain planting scheme of mainly mosses, anubias, ferns and a few stems....undecided thus far....but its more about the shrimp really.
Anyway first things first...the leak test...

feb20122001.jpg


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....passed :thumbup:

Back indoors and onto the substrate:
Wanted an active substrate and one which buffered the water as im looking at CRS shrimp, so acidic and low KH are aided with Ada new aquasoil amazonia powder. A small amount of powersand special m (had spare from previous scape, mainly to add depth to rear substrate), and unipac zambezi sand (again spare from previous set up).

feb20122003.jpg


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Only a small amount of substrate added initially in preperation for hardscaping.

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And next the hardscape:
Dragon stone (left from previous scape), and Manzanita wood, a collection from George Farmer and more recently additions from Hoggie.... thanks its great wood!

feb20122004.jpg


Then trying to assemble it into the small tank.... i had an idea of what i wanted, and i wanted quite a hardscape heavy look, but my first attempt i cant decide if i like it, or if im trying to like it :rolleyes: . Opinions welcomed :thumbup:
Ive left the rest of the aquasoil and foreground sand out for the time being incase i change things around, the rear will have much more height and lots of the nooks and crannies will be filled in.


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Thats it to date, ill see how i feel tomorrow about the hardscape.
Cheers for looking,
Ady.
 
Re: Aquanano40 Shrimp tank....

Looks great ! And that Aquanano is a superb setup; I looked at them myself. One modification I was going to do was to but a cut down 90deg elbow on the water return outlet and attach a black spraybar to it for more even return flow. Something that you may find useful :)
 
Re: Aquanano40 Shrimp tank....

Very nice start Ady, the garden and pond look good as well! I had a look at these tanks in my local MA and thought they looked a nice design and a decent size.... will be watching this progress :thumbup:
 
Re: Aquanano40 Shrimp tank....

I like the twisted look to the wood placement especially the high branch on the right hand side.

I am more jelous that you have boxes of both rock and wood hardscape! :lol:

Andy
 
Re: Aquanano40 Shrimp tank....

the hardscape looks really good mate, can see lots of moss going on that wood.
Only thing i would suggest is skipping the zambezi sand as it really wont show off the shrimp. I recently swopped from sand/gravel to fluval stratum black and the shrimp really pop against the black, especially if you are still looking for CRS.
That set up looks very smart too, looks pretty similar to the TMC set ups im very tempted by.
Subscribed.
 
Re: Aquanano40 Shrimp tank....

This is going to be good.
Really like the hardscape, can't wait to see it up and running.
 
Re: Aquanano40 Shrimp tank....

davem said:
I think the wood looks great.

Nice pond too :thumbup:
Thanks Dave.

Antipofish said:
Looks great ! And that Aquanano is a superb setup; I looked at them myself. One modification I was going to do was to but a cut down 90deg elbow on the water return outlet and attach a black spraybar to it for more even return flow. Something that you may find useful :)
Cheers Chris and you must be reading my mind, 13mm spraybar and fixings next on my list of purchases.... any idea where ill get black ones?

Gary Nelson said:
Very nice start Ady, the garden and pond look good as well! I had a look at these tanks in my local MA and thought they looked a nice design and a decent size.... will be watching this progress :thumbup:
Thanks, Bowser enjoys hurtling around the garden and the cats like stealing fish food from the pond! The aquanano is a decent little tank and good value for what it is.

awtong said:
I like the twisted look to the wood placement especially the high branch on the right hand side.

I am more jelous that you have boxes of both rock and wood hardscape! :lol:

Andy
One thing i learned from the other tank is that giving a little extra height from a piece of wood helps balance the overall look of a tank.... i had bought more wood to add to the other tank, but couldnt fit it in exactly right so left it out. Much easier to do it from the start :thumbup: ... and yeah it certainly helps having a selection of hardscape to choose from.

pariahrob said:
I really like the hardscape. No need to tinker. It has lots of height and depth. You'll have lots of scope for planting.
Thanks Rob. Itll be a squeeze if i use any amount of stems as the gaps between rocks and wood are tight and substrate shallow except at the rear, but think itll be mainly tie on plants so should be good.

easerthegeezer said:
the hardscape looks really good mate, can see lots of moss going on that wood.
Only thing i would suggest is skipping the zambezi sand as it really wont show off the shrimp. I recently swopped from sand/gravel to fluval stratum black and the shrimp really pop against the black, especially if you are still looking for CRS.
That set up looks very smart too, looks pretty similar to the TMC set ups im very tempted by.
Subscribed.
Yeah i know what you mean about the shrimp, youve got me thinking now about some black sand.... just dont want it to get too dark as the light isnt that bright!

KrisHumphreys1991 said:
This is going to be good.
Really like the hardscape, can't wait to see it up and running.

Aqua sobriquet said:
Looking good!
Cheers KrisHumphreys and Aqua sobriquet, i want it up and running soon so it can get on with cycling, i want shrimp!!

Thanks all for the comments, it helps in deciding to leave alone, even the wife said it looked good this morning :wideyed: ! I have made the mistake of impatiently trying out hardscaping before sinking the wood though, so it may need to come out anyway if it all floats when i fill :crazy: :sick: .
Cheerio,
Ady.
 
Re: Aquanano40 Shrimp tank....

sarahtermite said:
I do like scapes with a lot of hard landscaping, so I already love this one!
Thanks Sarah, ill maybe not like it so much when it comes to planting and maintenance :lol:
Ady.
 
Re: Aquanano40 Shrimp tank....

faizal said:
Great hardscaping Ady :D . It's gonna look awesome.
danmullan said:
Nice job with the scape. Totally agree with the hardscape reaching higher up in the tank. Can't wait to see this planted.
Cheers Guys, im getting excited about planting now, decisions, decisions! :)

Sticking with this hardscape, being very indecisive if i started changing things id never finish :rolleyes: . The long branch on the substrate reaching towards the right front corner has a sawn edge, but im hoping this wont be as obvious with a little more substrate and maybe a little moss or something. The only other piece i was unsure of was the left front upright, maybe a little too thick but again its looking at the bigger picture and when planted the look will change anyway.
The rest of the aquasoil substrate has been added to the rear and gaps, and a little more sand added to the foreground with a couple of small substrate holding rocks.

easerthegeezer said:
i would suggest is skipping the zambezi sand as it really wont show off the shrimp. I recently swopped from sand/gravel to fluval stratum black and the shrimp really pop against the black, especially if you are still looking for CRS.
Iain, your suggestion for swapping out the zambezi sand was strongly considered, however with the black background and limited light level, ive decided to stick with the lighter tone for now to brighten the tank up. In the future if the shrimp are blending too much ill syphon out the current sand and add an inert black sand so not to affect the water chemistry or leach ammonia etc. If its anything like my other tank, the aquasoil will end up all over the sand anyway :lol: .
Cheerio,
Ady.
 
Re: Aquanano40 Shrimp tank....

Hi,
decided on a plant list... most of which ive not tried before, a couple ive failed with before :sick:. We can only try!:
Coral Pelia / Riccardia Chamedrifollia
Fissidens Fontanus
Flame Moss / Taxiphyllum Sp.
Pearl Moss / Plagmonium Sp.
Ranunculus inundatus **EDIT.. out of stock, so replacing with Marsilea Hirsuta
Hemianthus callitrichoides ''Cuba''
Staurogyne repens
Rotala rotundifolia
anubias nana petite
hopefully some hydrocotle sp. Japan
and some microsorum petite from my other tank.
See how i go with these, may add some hygrophila sp. compact.
Cheerio,
Ady.
 
Re: Aquanano40 Shrimp tank....

great hardscape mate, if you want some Japan, drop me a PM and i'll be able to send you a bit.
 
Re: Aquanano40 Shrimp tank....

ianho said:
great hardscape mate, if you want some Japan, drop me a PM and i'll be able to send you a bit.
Much appreciated Ian. Waiting to hear from piece of fish about some japan so should be good thanks :thumbup: .
Ady.
 
Re: Aquanano40 Shrimp tank....

Saw this in my local PaH store a while back - really like what you've done with the wood there. I'll have to keep an eye on this one ;)
 
Re: Aquanano40 Shrimp tank....

Hey ady,

Loving this setup like it appears everyone else is too!
I have a small amount of Ranunculus inundatus if you want it FOC.
Its been hanging around with some Sp. Japan in my low tech Shrimptank for ages, so should burst into life quite quickly, and will be 100% shrimp safe :D

Where did you get the tank from? Im sure Ive seen these at paddock farm, with a built in filter in the back?
And from what I recall, a great price too, something in the region of £90?

Keep up the good work,
 
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