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Nige's Planted Tank - Juwel Rio 125l

nbaker

Member
Joined
19 Aug 2012
Messages
93
Location
Grantham, Lincolnshire
Hi,

I am just in the planning stages at the moment but I am writing this journal to hopefully get your advice and opinions before I make too many mistakes :oops:

I have started an equipment list, the tank & most other bits will be bought at the end of the month all being well.

Tank: Juwel Rio 125L

Filtration: Juwel Internal & Fluval 305 (also have a Koralia 1 for extra flow if needed).

Lighting: x2 Juwel 28w T5's with Juwel reflectors & I have x2 TMC Growbeam 500's that I may or may not use either in addition or instaead of the T5's if I can figure out how to mount them.

CO2: D-D complete CO2 system, anything cheaper worth looking at?

Substrate: Either TMC AquaGro NutraSoil Black or Caribsea Eco Complete Live

Fertilisation: Ei starter kit, do I need anything else?

Well thats it for now until I get some pics of equipment or any other bright ideas.

Any advice or ideas welcome :D

Nige.
 
An UP regulator and a £25 2kg CO2 fire extinguisher + a solenoid may be cheaper and also cheaper in the long run on a tank that size. If memory serves, the D-D kit uses a 500g bottle (£12+ from welding shops), so twice the price or more of a suitable FE...just a thought :)
 
Was thinking of the DIY fire extinguisher route as we have a couple of old ones at work waiting to be disposed of, its just i'm a bit of a wuss and would be scared of blowing myself up :oops: :shh:
 
nbaker said:
Was thinking of the DIY fire extinguisher route as we have a couple of old ones at work waiting to be disposed of, its just i'm a bit of a wuss and would be scared of blowing myself up :oops: :shh:
trustme, if i can make my own system- anyone can. i use 6 kg beer gas bottles now, £18 pounds for a refill, lasts a few months on my 260 litre. :thumbup:
 
My tank arrived today and I have already built cabinet, leak tested tank & fitted reflectors to the T5's.

Just waiting on substrate (TMC Nutrasoil) which should be here tomorrow then it will be all systems go :D

Will be using Easycarbo & TMC Nutrafeed for a while until I can afford a pressurised system (FE) or may even get a cheap disposable system to keep me going.

Will also be adding a Fluval 305 external to this setup to add increased flow and as this filter is fully mature hopefully I won't have too much trouble with ammonia as I will need to put my existing fish in straight away, I will of course be making daily water changes until there is no sign of ammonia.
 
you should be ok with the ammonia if your old filter is mature, just transfer the media and off you go.
 
ah.... If the soil substrate is going to give off ammonia that will be a problem for fish. Big time.
 
Why do you need to put your existing fish in straight away ? What are they in at the moment ?
 
Well everything arrived today so it was time to get my hands wet :D

Used 13 litres of TMC Nutrasoil brown, wish I had got the black now but the brown is a nice colour and I'm sure I will get used to it.

Well impressed with the Tropica plants from TGM just hope I don't kill them :silent:

Planting took forever and looks a bit of a mess to me but I'm sure it will look better when everything has grown in.

Moved my fish across as my 60l communty has been replaced by this one, fish are 2 cory Sterbaii, 2 cherry barbs, 2 pretty tetras, 4 Neons and a few Endlers guppies.

I added some Pure Aqua Balls to help cope with the ammonia and will be doing daily water changes till its all settled down.

Have taken some pics and will post later but don't expect anything stunning, lol :crazy:
 
Antipofish said:
Why do you need to put your existing fish in straight away ? What are they in at the moment ?

They were in a 60l tank that is now shut down. I didn't have room to keep them both running. :(
 
Daily large water changes should really help esp if its already a mature filter. This is one instance where it could be useful to use a test kit as an indicator :)
 
Finally got round to sorting some pics out.

First my plant delivery from TGM
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FTS just after planting, everything looks a bit untidy, mainly my lack of planting skills although I am after a Jungle scape :oops:
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2 days on everything is looking much better and water in gin clear (pic to follow)

Still no sign of ammonia:
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Also slight change of mind and got a D&D pressurised Co2 system to give my plants the best start possible.

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Managed to set it up without too much trouble although the supplied co2 tubing wasn't long enough so I had to raise tank & place diffuser on back wall of tank until I can get some more.

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4th day and still no sign of any ammonia, can only assume my filter is coping with it ok.

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Plants are picking up nicely and fish seem happy.
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Only have one issue that is bugging me and that is my drop checker fluid which is going clear overnight :?

I have googled this and got quite a few links to other people having this issue but no clear reason apart from some having a leaking drop checker, mine is not leaking.
 
Hi,
Tank is looking great, And I'm sure the fish are enjoying the jungle you have created!
As regards the dc, I've suffered this before and have no idea what causes it, I simply remove rinse and refill until it works. There seems to be no definitive answer as you've found already which is a little confusing. Contamination is all I can think, but from where I have no idea as its the same routine and same 4dkh water and reagents, but sometimes it goes clear?
Cheerio
Ady
 
Tried my drop checker 3 times with fluid from Tankscape and turned clear each time so today tried again but also added a couple of drops of PH solution until fluid changed to a deep blue and this evening drop checker is a nice shade of green :)

Can only think there is not enough bromo blue in the fluid I have :?
 
Bit of an update, all plant doing very well except the Vallis Nana which is more than likely due to me using easycarbo.

So may replace with another plant or just propagate existing plants to fill voids.

Never had any sign of ammonia so decided to get some Columbian Red Fins which I fell in love with after seeing George Farmer's excellent Jungle scape in PFK which has been my main source of inspiration.

They are doing very well and their fins are getting increasing redder already 8)

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