Wolf6
Member
I've ordered a replacement tank for my current nano, with a footprint of 73x42x27cm, which to me is pretty shallow (but not quite as shallow as some). Now I have some questions regarding how to best go about this. The old tank is in the spot the new tank is going to be, so how would I best go about cycling (ADA soil), moving the tanks out of position/into the new spot. I'll need to use parts of the old tanks hardscape for the new layout and pilfer some plants. This is my first time having to do this, before this it was usually just a totally new tank being set up in a new spot so no moving, cycling could be done normally, but here its going to be a bit different. My current plan is:
So now some questions about this approach:
1 - Will the shrimp be ok that way in the old tank? After all there will be quite a bit of dirt/soil blown up with the removal of plants and hardscape.
2 - Will the shrimp be ok in the new tank, because its not fully cycled but leaving them longer in that old tank seems unwise just as well
3 - Should I use the water from the old (healthy tank with very few algae) or just use water from the tap for filling the new tank
4 - Would you re-use some of the old soil as well for bacteria? The soil in the old tank is glass garten, about 1 year old now.
5 - Should I leave my old soil for under my sons gravel so his plants can benefit from whatever is left in the soil? It will be low tech plants like crypts, ferns, vallisneria etc.
Any specific things I should be mindful of with a shallow tank? I'll probably go for a lily pipe this time as I plan to have a large center rock going above the waterline, so have the lilypipe push water along the front of the tank from right to left, and have the return at the back on the right of the tank as well. I will position the co2 diffusor near the pump inflow, and place the twinstar underneath the lilypipe to track flow.
- lower water in current nano and remove lights/CO2/skimmer/twinstar nano/plants/any hardscape I want to re-use
- Re-home all the fish into big tank which should be up and running by then and leave them to live out their lives in there (9 embers to go with the 17 there, 1 otto to join the 6 others, 7? or so dwarf cory)
- Move the tank including filter and heater and leftover plants/hardscape/soil which by then should hopefully not weigh so much anymore (its 50L) to a temporary location
- Refill old tank with tap water but keep water at low level (say 60/70% of max) and leave the tank unlighted with just shrimps (amano and bees) and only filter/heater
- Set up the new tank, with new soil, clean filter, heater, co2, part new plants/part scavanged plants, part new hardscape/part scavenged hardscape, twinstar, lights etc and run it for a week with daily 50% water changes
- Transfer the shrimp from old tank to new, first a few 'less pretty' ones and then the rest a few days later, changing 50% water in the new tank every other day
- empty and clean the old tank fully and move to sons room, clean filter and allow him to set up his tank and do a normal 5 week start (low tech with gravel)
So now some questions about this approach:
1 - Will the shrimp be ok that way in the old tank? After all there will be quite a bit of dirt/soil blown up with the removal of plants and hardscape.
2 - Will the shrimp be ok in the new tank, because its not fully cycled but leaving them longer in that old tank seems unwise just as well
3 - Should I use the water from the old (healthy tank with very few algae) or just use water from the tap for filling the new tank
4 - Would you re-use some of the old soil as well for bacteria? The soil in the old tank is glass garten, about 1 year old now.
5 - Should I leave my old soil for under my sons gravel so his plants can benefit from whatever is left in the soil? It will be low tech plants like crypts, ferns, vallisneria etc.
Any specific things I should be mindful of with a shallow tank? I'll probably go for a lily pipe this time as I plan to have a large center rock going above the waterline, so have the lilypipe push water along the front of the tank from right to left, and have the return at the back on the right of the tank as well. I will position the co2 diffusor near the pump inflow, and place the twinstar underneath the lilypipe to track flow.
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