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Need help with new tank

Well, that's got me very worried now.

Should I get some perspex to cover the entire surface area of the drawer?
What kind of thickness 10mm?
Or am I fighting a losing battle, should I buy the Aquanano 40 cabinet?
 
Del----don't get worried !
I would always recommend getting the correct cabinet to support the tank.
They're self assembly, and it's really important to follow the instruction process they provide in the correct order.
Of course it's your call, but I tried it once on a chest of drawers , and it didn't end too well !
 
Del----don't get worried !

Worried? I'm close to panicking!

I'm going to order the proper cabinet for the tank, unless anyone has any other suggestions.
https://www.aquarium-parts.co.uk/aq...spire-40-cabinet-walnut-black-gloss-door.html

Should I still get some acrylic to go underneath the tank and what sort of thickness?

Moving the tank, how easy is that going to be?
Draining the waters no problem, but I would really hate to have to remove the plants and the soil.
 
Go for the cabinet made for your Aquanano 40----moving the tank will be ok if you drain it just until you and a partner can lift it easily.
You will need the Aquanano 60 cabinet when you buy your next larger tank-----bound to happen !!
 
Would the 60 cabinet cause problems then? I do prefer it's look over the 40.

Should I still look into putting something underneath the tank?
 
I called the company about the cabinet.
They told me it wasn't braced in the middle and didn't recommend that I use it, so I've ordered the smaller cabinet.

Not had much time for the tank this week due to work, but done some testing.
0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, nitrates sitting around 10ppm.

Should I be adding an ammonia product to feed the filter, since I'm still lacking any kind of livestock?

I was hoping to look into adding some shrimp/snails next week, but I need to make sure that when I move the tank over to the cabinet I don't disturb something or get ammonia spike.
 
DEL----there are folks on here who are much more qualified than myself to advise on such technical matters.

I have been in this game for over thirty years now , but I follow my own tried and tested methods, which work very well for me, but may NOT be suited to your set up, tank management , and feeding regime.
If I had to leave you with one over arching piece of advice, it would be to remember that over-feeding is probably your biggest enemy . If you take the tiniest pinch of finger-crushed fish food you can, and sprinkle on the water surface, and then look up through the tank towards the surface, you will see that tiny pinch transform itself into sometimes hundreds of floating food particles.-------try it for yourself, and then adjust your feeding DOWNWARDS accordingly---it's very important in my experience .
However, I'll buzz off now, and leave the technical advice to other good folk.
Good luck anyway.
 
Hi all,
Should I be adding an ammonia product to feed the filter, since I'm still lacking any kind of livestock?
You don't ever need to add ammonia to a planted tank, even when the tank is "cycling". A trickle of fish food etc. certainly won't do any harm, but higher levels of ammonia serve no useful purpose and are actively damaging to the microbial community within the tank.

The cycling concept is based on the "best guess" scientific knowledge at the time, but more recent research (based on RNA/DNA) has shown that the entire premise isn't true for aquarium filters.

Have a look at <"Bedside Aquarium">, it links to the scientific papers, other threads of interest, and comments by <"Dr Tim Hovanec"> etc.

cheers Darrel
 
New cabinet arrived, managed to move the tank without disturbing things too much.

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Not much change up front, but I've definately seen growth in the back. Can't remember the name of this plant, but it's cool to see the head and leaves bend towards the light sources in the house when the tank lights not on.

eOb2B5o.jpg


There's some black spots on my anubis though.

jxyqiYF.jpg


I was looking to add some cherry shrimp, so asked for help on a shrimp forum, but was told that Seachem Equilbrium didn't have all the needed minerals for shrimp.
I've been recommened "Salty Shrimp - Shrimp Mineral GH/KH+", but wondering if it has all the minerals needed for plants?

Edit - The damn wood is still floating...
Double Edit - So thinking back to my water, I did buy some more test kits over the weekend, this is what I got from my tap water.

PH: 7.13
TDS: 274
KH: 15
GH: 17

If I was to start cutting my RO water with tap water, what GH should I be aiming for?
 
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