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

[nduli]

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

 

[OllieNZ]

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?

 

[nduli]

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....

 

[Markmark]

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.

 

[nduli]

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.

 

[nduli]

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

 

[nduli]

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

 

[Ady34]

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

 

[Stitch]

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.

 

[nduli]

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....

 

[nduli]

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.

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.

 

[nduli]

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.....

 

[Lindy]

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

 

[Ady34]

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.....

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

 

[nduli]

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.

 

[Ady34]

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

 

[nduli]

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.

 

[jimwalsh]

does anyone have the pdf for the cabinet build?

the weblink is not working anymore...

cheers

 

[nduli]

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

 

[nduli]

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)