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As i'm setting up a natives tank my mate Bluey and i decided an overnight camp and shrimp collection was called for. Any excuse for a camp out is good so we loaded up some kayaks and headed to my secret spot on the Moore river north of Perth. We arrived in the arvo and threw the swags on the ground, unloaded the kayaks and started to do some river exploring. It turn out that my kayaking skills need some improvement as i managed to last 25 sec before i turned turtle, the first time. Lol. Anyway we explored up river first and managed to get only about 700m before it was getting to choked out for comfortable navigation. We headed back down river and got stopped by a natural rock weir 300m or so from our camp spot, so all up we had a km or so of river that the kayaks could navigate before haulage was needed. Must have been something wrong with the bloody kayak i was using as by the time i got back to camp i had gone underwater a total of 5 times. It is not summer yet in WA so we got a fire going and waited for the sun to set. After a good BBQ feed and a few ales we set off with a couple of torches (flash lights for the yanks on here) and some nets to see what was around. The water level was a lot lower than the last time i was here and the shrimp were a lot harder to find. There was also some little fish that were as skittish as hell but with a couple of half drunk old men and some nets we managed to get a few in a bucket. If anybody remembers the last time i collected from here the water was 4200ppm TDS. Well it surprised me to find out with a lower flow the water had dropped to 2100ppm TDS. Less run off from the salty farm lands up river is my guess. When i got the catch home i put them in a quarantine tank for the slow acclimatization back to my tap water and could finally see the fish clearly. Turns out they were Gambusia, and the fattest ones i have ever seen, so they ended up as fertilizer. Camp set up with river views. The river. The catch. 4 berried femails to get the population started in the new tank.

Hi all, after a little of a break from fish/shrimp/plant keeping, I decided to attempt to get back into it and see where it took me. Aquarium: Mr Aqua 12g (90cm x 22cm x 24cm) 45l Filteration: Eheim 2213 Lighting: BioPro LED 90cm (10,000k) (6 Hour Photo Period) Heater: Aqua One Glass (24c) Substrate: Fluval Shrimp Stratum (2 x 2kg) Flora: Anubia nana, Bolbitis heudelotii, Christmas Moss, Hydrocotyle triparita 'Japan', Hermianthus glomeratus, Micranthemum umbrosum Fauna: 50 x Bloody Mary Shrimp, 10 Crystal Red Shrimp Food: Boss Aquaria Shrimp Crack, Benibachi Kale Tablets, Aqua One Vege Wafers, Aqua One Betta Pellets Additives: Boss Aquaria Mineral Powder, Green Element Plant Fertiliser, Green Element Liquid CO2 Hardscape: 3 x Malaysian Driftwood Water Changes Every Sunday (Rain Water Mixed With Mineral Powder) Future Plans: Black Background Notes: Plans at the moment are to let the plants in the tank adapt to the water parameters and let the roots settle into the substrate, I plan to leave the plants to do their own thing for a few weeks and then do a big trim to promote new thick/lush growth and replant the off cuts, considering Blyxa japonica also to fill in 2 sections in the back, or might just use the off cuts to fill in those gaps. All comments, advice, suggestions welcome, thank you.

Ok as i'm getting along in this project, thanks to some competition incentive, here it is. Cheers

?, thanks! Nah, too lazy. Beginners should read all posts anyway, lest they miss little gems like this. ? That's a common concern, that's why canisters are the easier choice for many people. If you can find a reliable source for glass cutting/drilling, then I think you are probably 75% of the way there. Many people don't have this option to cut glass, and so never get off the ground with sumps. Power outage, overflow and even silent/noiseless designs can be overcome with a quick google to see what designs are out there for copying. But it's the glass cutting hurdle that stops most people.

Both filtration methods have their Pros. Sump: larger than most canisters, so it will hold more media. Easily add/remove temporary media like carbon, purigen to absorb medicines. A wet/dry system can remove more Nitrates no surface scum build up the churning of the water increases aeration/oxygen exchange, but is not good for a CO2 tank. You can run the sump in the opposite light period to the tank to reduce pH fluctuation by setting it up as a refugium. Easier to clean media. You can remove Bioballs or whatever biological filter used and clean all the mulm build up easier than canister filters. You can hide all the usual tank equipment in the sump, like unsightly heaters. A sump can be used to house fry. Water changes are easier with a sump. A sump increases water volume dramatically. As we all know, the more water volume, the more stable a tank is. Canisters: Small foot print Water is physically forced through filter media. That means you can use finer micron filter to really polish the water. Sumps will never get the same water pressure through the filter media. Cost is lower, to some extent, for smaller tanks. A sump becomes more economical for large tanks, especially when one canister is not enough to service a large 4ft + tank. Less evaporation. Less noise. You can hear the water splashing with a sump. No need to risk drilling holes in a tank. No need to worry about overflow, back drain or power outage designs. ie. Too much water will spill onto the floors. No water during a power outage means you need to ensure the media in your sump is still submerged in water. There are probably more pros/cons that I can't think of at the moment.

Very pretty set up - one of my favourites I have seen from you. I like the hill/mound look with the wood.