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Thanks for the response and interest! I'm planning on ignoring everything about the filter media provided and will do my own thing. But yes, a simple idea to save shrimp is put the filter right next to the intake bit.. I hadn't thought about that and was already thinking about adding mesh... your idea is much better and straightforward.  In regards to heater, where we are in Australia it gets 40 degrees in summer, but we had -7 last week at night.. this morning was a much warmer -3! The heating in the office is a bit whack too... it seems to be boiling hot or freezing cold, so the heater is something i'll just play 'wait and see' with. I don't propose to stock for a while anyway so will have substantial time to monitor the temperature and see if/how/when a heater is needed.  I saw a short youtube video on the water level at the back.. I'm glad I watched it / you told me because if I went in without knowing I'd be freaking out the first time I noticed it. 

I had a very similar tank to the petworx one and they are very clean to look at and easy to maintain, but obviously you are losing some volume/floor area for the shrimps to inhabit. You will probably need to work something out so the shrimp don't get through to the back area, especially babies (sponge behind the slots etc) - you may be able to just move part of the sponge to that compartment looking at this video:  I would only get a 25w heater, I learned my lesson when my 50w stuck on and cooked the shrimps in my 35L tank. 25w should be adequate as you have a much warmer climate, in fact do you really even need a heater? One drawback with this type of setup is that the level of water in the back can drop drastically when the sponge starts to get clogged, though this is mainly only a problem with the heater which may break in insuficient water, or the pump in really severe circumstances. You will need to clean the sponges at least weekly.  The level drop in the back can look quite alarming when you first see it happening.  The other makes may also have the same issues? I would have thought nearer $250 as it already has a light and pump, and if you don't need a heater? I tried the 'let the idea fade away', but it keeps returning???

I am still thinking it is 50/50 at this stage and will see what happens after another month! Th parameters seem to be slowly getting there, when I tested a few days ago, PH 6.5, KH 0-1, GH 6-7, TDS 150. I have around 10 shrimp left (25 were put in a month ago) but we did have a few hot days which ran together last week which killed at least a few, tank water got to 28 overnight, got a/c during the day, but that requires having the window open for the exhaust hose when running so a bit risky to leave it running all night. I may invest in some specific cooling if this works out for longer with shrimps, but we don't get much hot weather in the UK usually? The remaining shrimp seem fine, swimming about and coming out when I add food. I tried shrimp lollies but they aren't bothered with those at all so they seem to be just a good way of gathering snails to remove and keep their numbers down. If most of the remaining shrimp survive another month I will likely try some more, and by then hopefully ALL the parameters will be good and within the acceptable range as only GH seems to be a bit off. If I didn't have the shrimps in the tank I would try another 50% water change, but for now I will just see what happens in the next month with regular weekly water changes and running/parameter testing etc.

Looks very nice! Similar scope to what I'm looking to do so am snooping for inspiration!   After another few weeks, how is everyone going? 

Hello all,  A very long time since I've been active on the forum, and have also had a break from keeping a tank due to some house moves, kids etc.  However, I am now looking at a small office tank. I work for myself and have my own office, so its moreso enjoyment for me than anything else.  Due to the unreliability of an office environment with WFH and holidays etc, it will be a low tech tank. At this stage I am considering Aqua One Nano 30, Petworx Nano 30 or Aqua One Betta Duo (if I can determine if you can remove the divider!) as I want to try an integrated filter with pumps, filter material, heater etc all hidden from view.  I am trying to set myself a budget of $400 consisting of: Pet Worx Nano 30 - $135 (which comes with the filter and light) Pet Worx 25w Heater (Maybe 50w is smarter so the heter doesnt have to work as hard?) - $30 Substrate - Dark gravel - $30 Driftwood - $40 Plants - Frogbit, Java Moss and Mini Java Fern (or Anubias nana petite) - $50 Shrimp - A humble 10 x Red Cherry Shrimp - $40 Which leaves $75 for Food, ferts, bucket, little net, water test kit etc I'm moreso making this post to force me to do it as opposed to think about it and let the idea fade away! Cheers