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Jake's Mr. Aqua 12gal Long/36" Shrimp Tank (pic heavy)

177K views 525 replies 84 participants last post by  somewhatshocked 
#1 · (Edited)
Whattya mean I have a problem with too many tanks? Might as well start another one up. (Let's just be glad I don't have an RO/DI filter at home or I wouldn't have a place to sleep!)

Equipment:
Mr. Aqua 12gal long (36") tank
36" Marineland Dual Bright LED fixture
Eheim Ecco 2232/Easy 35
Hydor Koralia Nano 240 (Not yet necessary)
Hydor ETH 200w in-line heater (Not yet in use)

Scape goodies:
Azoo Plant Grower Bed - Black
Lots of lace rock
C. parva
Marsilea minuta
Mosses
S. repens
Bacopa australis
[STRIKE]Hydrocotyle[/STRIKE]
Anubias nana
Anubias nana 'petite'
[STRIKE]Anubias barteri[/STRIKE]
Some other larger Anubias (Congensis, I think)

Livestock:
Painted Fire Reds
[STRIKE]Green Baubalti[/STRIKE]
[STRIKE]Otos[/STRIKE]
Small Horned Nerites
Ramshorns
[STRIKE]Maybe Black Tigers if Gordon gets them in for cheap? I have really great tap water for them, which should make everyone woah envious (HA!)...
[/STRIKE]
SSS+ Crystal Black Shrimp

Let's share a few pictures…

The arrival:



All the packing peanuts, the box it shipped in and all the bubble wrap used to get it here:



See my suitcases in the mix? Had to put off setting this tank up for several weeks because of travel.

Fresh out of its packaging, half way across the room from the stand it'll soon call home:



From the other side, with the dog scheming behind:



Testing out the 36" LED fixture:



It's rather bright for such a low tank, so it'll likely need to be suspended.

Bought two ZooMed light stands that extend to 39" in height. Am using a Dremel to cut out space on the back of the shelving unit. They'll be weighted down with these baskets, just from behind (was testing in the photo):



Using small black chain to hang the fixture from the hooks of the stands so it's more easily adjustable. Thinking there will be a nice amount of light without the need for CO2 if I suspend it 6-7 inches from the top of the tank, as ADA has done with his 12gal long.

To achieve the best flow possible, am crafting a 30"-32" spray bar out of Lee's rigid tubing - once I figure out how to cap the end of the tube, that is. Also using the tubing to create an intake pipe covered with a stainless steel shrimp strainer. Koralia Nano will be placed in one of the front corners to help with flow. Am aware of concerns about it making shrimp soup but many shrimpers use those powerheads without any problems - shrimp even camp out in the stream and near the intake without many problems.

While I could easily add a needle valve to my nearby 10lb cylinder, I want to keep this tank fairly low-tech with limited fert dosing - maybe half EI.

One of the many PFRs that will soon call this tank home:



Now for the rock. Since I can't really get my hands on any of the fancy stuff from ADA/ADG without spending another arm or leg, am gonna have to use what I have on-hand. Have tons of "Lace" stuff, like this:



Also have these pieces of Lace Rock in established tanks (that I'm shutting down to use as emersed rigs) that I can use:







An ample supply to create a semi-decent scape.

Have these large pieces of "Bone" Rock (and some in established tanks, as well) but I'm not such a fan of it for this setup. Not porous enough to grow as large of a bacteria farm for shrimp as Lace Rock:



Thought about ordering Manzanita from Tom Barr but not entirely sure I want to go the wood route.

Here's the problem: plants. What the heck should I use? Don't want it to look too janky. It's already going to be hit-or-miss with both red and green shrimp in the same tank.

20L plant growth setup containing DHG, S. repens, C. Parva, Anubias:



A 5.5gal with some other plants:



Should I create a few mountain groups of rock in the tank and plant Anubias around the base? Marsilea minuta in a few areas? Bacopa australis as a background plant because it gets bushy? Maybe a bit of moss behind a few of the rocks? Hoo boy, I have no idea what I'm going to do yet but am super-excited.

Just want to keep it simple and lush with several open areas in the front to observe the hordes of shrimp.

Your feedback is appreciated.

Jake

P.S. Should I line the back of the tank with black vinyl? Light blue? No background?
 
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#510 ·
I should not be allowed to spend so much time on this forum. Because every time I check out a tank journal, I want to try something different with this tank.

The latest idea involves picking up some DIY mesh covering from Bulk Reef Supply and using this tank to house a school of 15-20 of my Corydoras habrosus. I'd use Aquasoil, Anubias, Crypts, driftwood and keep it simple.

Guess we'll see what sort of wild ideas I come up with over the next couple weeks.
 
#515 ·
Yep, if you read the journal, you'll see they're ZooMed.

This: "There's non-slip grippy stuff beneath each stand and each of those storage baskets is filled with heavy crap like fertilizer and cans of paint."

They're placed on shelves, held in place by non-slip shelf liner, weighted down by the storage baskets. If you look at the very post post in the journal, you'll see a reversed example.
 
#518 ·
How's that twelve coming along?
 
#521 ·
It's a year later and I'm still working on the new build. Along the way I've picked up two more of these tanks, including a higher clarity version.

My new place should be finished soon and I'll be moving all of the tanks in. Can't wait to start updating this again!
 
#523 ·
Man, so much has happened through the years. Had nearly forgotten about the accident. Dozens of tanks later, several moves around the country, loss of the significant other, career changes. Life happens, I guess!

I don't specifically use TDS meters to tell me when changes are necessary. But they're handy for occasionally dunking in a tank to see if there's a reason to be concerned. Generally, it helps me understand when I should test for something else or if something's outta whack.

Primarily, I keep them on-hand for water mixing. Once I know the TDS range for the parameters I like with the Salty Shrimp and other remineralizer products I use, it helps gauge where I am.

I doubt you'll find Purigen helpful for your 30gal tank, as it'll remove tannins and all that. But it's nice to have a package or two laying around for those times when you want polished water.
 
#526 ·
Last year I sold four (who needs FOUR tanks like this?! just dumb on my part. one of those silly Black Friday incidents.) unopened tanks like this so I could buy some rock and equipment I've been using in a couple small marine setups. Kinda regretted selling them but, uh, you know how Multiple Tank Syndrome goes. This week I found one on sale locally and snatched it up for $19.99.

While planning for this 12gal long and the new one, I'm in the process of putting all of my tank stuff extras into temporary storage in anticipation of a move. Here's a blurry look at at my 10x10 tank nerd stuff:




See all those boxes marked fragile or handle with care? They're all various tanks packed in absurdly reinforced boxes with tons of foam. Got some plans up my sleeve. The boxes on top of them are all light-weight and filled with things like Indian Almond Leaves from my own trees, other botanicals I've grown and saved, sponge, filter floss, that kinda stuff. Below and behind them is probably 1,000-2,000 pounds of various substrates (shh, it'll be our little secret), nearly 30 big totes containing every kind of rock you can imagine and all the other leftover hardscape I've collected through the decades. Along with canister filters, LEDs, various tank toys. It may seem like a lot but it's not when you consider it's all been slowly amassed over a period of time longer than many have been alive. And it's all been relatively cheap. Tanks are new, though. Guess it's just the nature of the long-term hobby. The rest of my life is minimalist but tank stuff? Hoo boy.

Fortunately, this gives me time to brainstorm and go through everything I've got. It's exciting and challenging to dream up simple, low-tech tanks and I'm hoping I can make them look decent. Plan is to use black backgrounds this time, inert substrates, loads of crypts. Maybe even have them covered with glass lids this go round. The tanks are tall enough that it'll look okay and the older I get, the less I enjoy dealing with humidity and evaporation.

Livestock will come from some old tanks I need to shut down and, honestly, discard. One is a 20gal long I've had since the early 90s and I am beginning to lose trust in its structure. It housed my very first Neocaridina shrimp. Maybe I can repurpose the glass, as none of these are tempered tanks. Could be cut down a bit to use as lids on other tanks with rims. Extremely open to ideas because I don't like to waste. Also need to retire several 10gal tanks that contain Tiger Shrimp and snails. I'll thin the herds and combine everything into these two tanks. Will be a heck of a lot easier to maintain and look nicer.

Anyone seen any cool, long scapes lately that I can use for inspiration?
 
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