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A New Beginning (New Pics & video 10/8/2016) - 180L

Aeropars

Aeropars

Member
Joined
9 Jul 2007
Messages
834
Location
Leicester
Hi All,

After moving house and losing interest somewhat, I'm back having another go at growing some plants 🙂

I've previously tried a number of approaches to getting a decent aquascape on the go but algae and poor growth has hit me hard almost every time. hopefully, I'm better equipped to make this work now so I thought I'd document the progress along the way and hopefully get some good advice as and when I need it!

So... here's what I've got on the go:

Tank: 180L Juwel Rio. Sanded and painted high gloss grey.
Lighting: 4 x TMC Aquabeam 600 LED light strips with Aquaray Controller.
Filtration/Flow: 1 x Eheim Pro e3 2078 (Rated @ 1800LPH) with Purigen bag and Eheim installation sets on the inlet/outlet, Koralia Evo 2800 Powerhead.
CO2: Pressurised with 2 x Bazooka atomizers. 1 placed under the filter intake and the other placed below the Koralia
Livestock: 2 x Angelfish, 1 x Indian barb for snail control.
Hardscape: Landscape Rock from Aqua Essentials
Plants: C. Parva, C. Wendtii Green, C. Wendtii Brown, P. Helferi, Narrow Java Fern, H. tripartita, Alternanthera sp Rosanevig, C. Helferi, Bacopa Australis, Hygrophlia Australis, Bacopa Amplexicaulis, Ludwiga Palustris Green.

Issue 1 - The first of the challenges I am facing is whether to use the spray bar or not. I've started a separate thread on that one in the CO2 forum so I won't go on about that too much here. In essence, I'm trying to figure out the best way to get the CO2 round the tank and the spray bar seems to create less flow around the tank than if I was to leave it off. It also leaves me with a quandary as to where to place the Koralia. I believe both are needed to get the flow I want but the configuration is baffling me somewhat.

Issue 2 - LED lighting is a new one on me and I've read that they can be pretty bright! At present, I have all 4 lights set to ramp up over 2 hours to 35% brightness They switch on at 5PM and are completely off by 10PM. From 8PM they start to dim. I like the dimming effect however I'm not sure if the plants do. What would be my best bet to start with on the lighting configuration?

Here's a couple of quick pictures of the tank as it stands. I've not 'scaped it as yet, just chucked everything in to get and idea of how the tank is doing.

19286435448_6fdd99d939_b.jpgTank by Lee Parsons, on Flickr
19306122449_4a9b94ce4a_b.jpgUntitled by Lee Parsons, on Flickr
18869747104_9f07df1f23_b.jpgUntitled by Lee Parsons, on Flickr
 
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Evening..

Issue 3. What substrate is that? If you are really concerned about plants i think you make a bad choice there.

Issue 4: With that filter you have more than enough flow. What you really need is a good dissolution of your CO2 and for that my ffriend you wont´get it till you buy good stuff. A ADA or DOAqua diffusor is your best way. If you try to put a Inliner or something between inthe way of the filter than you´ll have a fifth issue. Lack of flow.

Buy a 30 PPM calibrated solution, put it on the DropCheker and there you go. Simple. No need to read thousands of arguments around the CO2.

If you a have a good dissolution you wont have any issues about CO2.
Seeing bubbles everywhere acording to a good flow is not a good sign of an also good dissolution. Bubbles are wasted CO2.. the less bubbles you see the more excelent dissolution you are getting.

So go for it! 😉 You´re in the right path friend. Best wishes

Big hug
 
Hi Paulo,

Thanks for the reply.

The substrate is baked clay with a sprinkling of root fertiliser underneath. Unfortunately, I'm spent up for the minute so I cant replace it with anything specificity for planted tanks. that said, I've seen a lot of people use this stuff with excellent results. My only negative point about it is that its very light and is difficult to keep plants anchored on the initial planting.

I'm no expert but the mist that I get from the Bazooker atomizer is finer than anything I have ever seen from another manufacturer. You can what I have by clicking here (I have 2 of these by the way): http://www.co2art.co.uk/collections...tomizer-diffuser-for-aquarium-up-to-250l-70mm

I've got my drop checker in the tank already with the 4kh solution ready to see how the CO2 dissolves. Tonight is the first nice without me fiddling with the tank and doing water changes so I plan to monitor it closely.
 
I added the Koralia last night, added the second bazooka diffuser and cracked up the CO2. So that's one bazooka under the filter intake and one positioned under the Koralia. When I got home about 9:30PM the drop checker was lime green and the fish looked happy enough.

Today I have scaped the tank and repositioned the Koralia. and removed a section of the spray bar to hopefully increase the output pressure to create a bit more flow. Provided all the plants stay anchored down I'll take a few pictures later and put them up. I could use some advice on the positioning of the koralia and the filter outlet based on the scape I have chosen so I'll be sure to try and capture the flow.

I have a question regarding the drop checker: The PH reagent changes colour based on the gases released from the water column into the air gap of the drop checker. While I know this is how people estimate the amount of gas in the aquarium, will it not give false readings if small CO2 bubbles are ending up in there as they are blown around the tank?
 
Been playing and this is what I've come up with. The plants on the left are probably going to go at some point later as I couldn't fit them in so they are staying there just for biomass at present. When I have some time over the weekend I'll get the SLR out and take some better pics.

Not sure on the Koralia placement with this setup. I'm thinking left hand side pointed towards the plants would be best with the filter outlet in the same direction. Anyone have thoughts?

19549025702_5a2e064bac_b.jpgAquascaped by Lee Parsons, on Flickr

19529683986_c6163577a1_b.jpgAquascaped by Lee Parsons, on Flickr
 
As promised, here's a few photos with the SLR. All going well so far, no sign of any algae and I'm getting a green drop checker and a full 1 point drop in PH (7.4 down to 6.4 by lights on)

19594243252_ccdd8a739e_b.jpgDSC_0131-Edited by Lee Parsons, on Flickr
18980242933_cbd980cb85_b.jpgDSC_0133-Edited by Lee Parsons, on Flickr
18978600214_3b687ea1d1_b.jpgDSC_0142-Edited by Lee Parsons, on Flickr
 
Thanks Paulo.

Today I noticed that a lot of the P.Helferi had mysteriously disappeared. I uprooted what was left and noticed that the stems had started to melt. Looking into that particular issue from previous discussion on here it looks like it's probably a CO2/Light balance issue. To combat and try and save what is left, I've dropped my light intensity to 25% from 35%, slightly increased CO2 and double dosed Easycarbo after today's water change.

I have to admit, I'm slightly bemused as to why it has melted. The CO2 looks good, I'm getting a 1PH drop and leafs on all of the plants at the front are all flowing well. I've for new growth on the stems and given them a trim today. I'll monitor closely over the next day and wee if the melting stops.
 
Bit of an update:

I've moved a few of the plants round to get a better balance while I hope is maintained. Been keeping up the water changes 3 times a week and onto a twice a week schedule this week. No signs of algae however the P. Helferi has totally melted and gone. The Cyprius Helfer has some browning on the leafs however I believe that this was to be expected as it settles in. Can anyone confirm this?

I have a strange issue with one of the plants though in that it looks like chunks are being taken out of the leafs. It actually look slike bite marks so I'm not sure if my Angel fish are having a nibble on then or not.

I'll get some pictures tonight to show how things are looking and get some close up's of the issues.
 
Here's the pics I promised then. Can anyone tell me what's going on with the stem plant?

19566649139_ea3f133b17_b.jpgDSC_0196-Edited16-7 by Lee Parsons, on Flickr

19565236710_a268795195_b.jpgDSC_0201-Edited16-7 by Lee Parsons, on Flickr

19132358683_f419f15662_b.jpgDSC_0198-Edited16-7 by Lee Parsons, on Flickr
 
I wonder if position of coralia could be better at left side directing flow to front right corner to create flow all around the tank. Right now it seems your tank has 2 (virtually) disconnected flow areas, left half and right half.
 
Thanks for the reply Alexander.

Would you do that with the spray bar pointing forward to the front of the tank as it currently is?

As a side-note, I've removed the floss from my filter today and according to the Eheim software, I'm getting an additional 80 LPH throughput by doing so.
 
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