Fluval Roma 200 LED

[Douglas Mason]

Hi,

I am finally able to start writing my journal having suffered from a few set backs since purchasing my tank.

I have kept fish all my life; I started off with a goldfish pond at my parents house then I got a 6' tropical system, 3000 gallon heated koi pond and finally an 8' marine system which I had to close down a few years ago due to ill health.

In August 2019 after a few years without a tank my wife agreed that I could have a new smaller tank that was easier for me to maintain or so she thought. The only stipulations from my wife was that the tank had to have a lid as she did not like the open topped tanks and the room had to be decorated before I set up the tank. Before she could change her mind I whisked her off to the local aquatic shop and we purchased the Fluval Roma 200 LED which was duly delivered.



As I was quickly decorating the room so I could set the tank and cabinet up I discovered a water leak from the radiator and this had been going on for months and had ruined the floor. On hearing this news my wife decided to take advantage of the situation and decided to renovate and decorate most of the downstairs.

The tank build had to go on hold 🙁 whilst it was on hold I decided to give a planted tank a go as this was something I had not tried before and it looked interesting. I then decided to start reading more about the planted tanks and decided that I wanted to run a system with CO2 and EI Dosing.

As Christmas 2019 approached the building work was nearly complete as was the decorating and I was getting ready to set up the tank when I got a serious bacterial infection. Once again the tank build went on hold whilst I spent Christmas in hospital. Whilst in hospital and subsequently at home recovering from the infection I was able to purchase items on-line for my tank.

 

[Douglas Mason]

Towards the end of January 2020 I started to feel better and decided to slowly put the tank and cabinet together.


Having built the tank and cabinet I realised that they both needed some modifications done to them to fit the equipment I had purchased.

Having done a lot of reading I purchased the following equipment:-

Oase 350 Thermo Cannister filter with upgraded media and pre filters

CO2 Art Pro-SE Series C)2 Reactor

Eheim Skim 350

Tunze Nanostream 6015 - 1800l/h

Chihiros Doctor 3 in 1

Elitech Temp Controller

Fluval Plant 3.0 LED Light

Kamoer Dosing Pump for EI Solution

Easi-Dose Containers for the EI Solution.

I have also purchased scissors, EI Salts, Purigen, filter bags, hosepipe and connectors for draining and filling the tank.

I purchased the Tunze Nanostream as the Oase 350 only has a flow rate of 1100l/h and with the change in media I would estimate that this flow rate would drop to around 700 - 800 l/h if not less so I wanted more flow in the tank.

 

[Douglas Mason]

Images showing the shelf I made to take the Elitech Temp Controller



Shelf in position with the original cabinet shelf behind with the Dosing pump on it.



I then turned to the bottom and back of the cabinet and fitted edging to make the cabinet more waterproof.

 

[Douglas Mason]

Having fitted the edging I decided to fit a panel to fill the open back so I could use the back for plug bars and to hopefully cut down on any noise. Once the panel was fitted I cut out a hole so I could get to the power supply.





Image showing the tank in situ with the plug bars fitted to the back panel.

 

[Douglas Mason]

So far so good.

I then went to fit the Oase Cannister filter and realised it would not fit in the cabinet due to the shelf at the rear so out came the jig saw and a few minutes later the shelf was cut so the filter would fit. The open chipboard was then sealed with silicon sealant.


Having resolved the cannister filter issues I then turned to the tank, it was obvious to me that the inlet and outlets from the cannister filter would not fit properly through the Roma 200 lid as the so called cut outs on the lid were too shallow. I had to make these deeper to take the Oase pipework.

Using a bit of brute force I was able to push the plastic surround upwards away from the glass tank and once I had done this I was able to cut the plastic with my jig saw to that the pipework would fit and the lid would close properly. Not the tidiest of jobs but it works.

 

[Douglas Mason]

I then attached some black vinyl to the back and one side of the tank.

 

[Douglas Mason]

Having sorted out the tank and cabinet I started to position the skimmer, Chihiros Doctor, Tunze Powerhead and Temp Sensor into the tank to see how they would look.








I forgot to mention earlier that I also extended the spray bar so it ran across the whole length of the tank as can be seen in the above image.

 

[Douglas Mason]

Having sorted out the tank and cabinet I also fitted the Fluval Plant 3.0 LED light and now have this running from my phone, I also kept the white LED light that came with the tank so I have additional wattage should this be required.

Now that most of the tank and cabinet have been sorted I need to sort out the hardscape.

It is my intention to bank the substrate up so that it runs from a high point on the left of the tank to the right and then I will have rocks and wood coming from the left of the tank towards the right.

I have been advised to use either Tropica Aquarium Soil or Prodibio Aqua Growth Soil, I know Tropica is highly recommended but has anyone used the Prodibio Soil and if so what are your thoughts on it.

Can anyone advise how many litres of substrate I will need for my tank,

I would like to keep some shrimp in the tank and I have been advised to cap the soil with the smaller grained powder, is this a necessity.

I am finding it difficult to source any decent wood in the Merseyside area, does anyone know anywhere in the North West that has good stocks of wood and stone that you can go and look at. I'm worried about buying the wood and stone over the internet in case I'm sent out some rubbish.

The stone appears to be fairly expensive, can you go to a garden centre and buy some normal garden stone and then give it a good clean prior to putting it in your tank.

Doug ​

 

[Matt @ ScapeEasy]

The maiden head aquatics just both of Preston has always served me best for wood and rocks though probably an hours drive for you... you need to be careful when buying stone from a garden centre that it will not raise hardness significantly there is a vintage test you can do and you can swat up on suitable rock types etc before you go. It is definately doable. Some websites do a what you see is what you get, especially for wood, they will be numbered pieces and you get that specific piece.

the smaller grained Aquasoil is not a necessity but does look a lot better in my opinion and is much easier for planting. Just get one or two bags less of the course stuff and get one of two powder type to go on top. You can figure out how much your likely to need the same way you calculate tank volume. Measure the height you want the slope at its peak and the base dimensions, half the height due to the slope and you have a guesstimate for how much you’ll need - always round up or add a bag.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

The stone appears to be fairly expensive, can you go to a garden centre and buy some normal garden stone and then give it a good clean prior to putting it in your tank.

You can. Because you are likely to have <"soft welsh tap water">, you need to avoid limestone, unless you don't mind it <"making your water harder">.

They aren't to every-ones tastes, but I'm a <"rounded cobble fan">, and <"spherical rocks are always inert">.

You may be able to find some <"PYO wood">. Oak is good, and there are some other suggestions in <"British tree.......">.

cheers Darrel

 

[Sammy I]

Can anyone advise how many litres of substrate I will need for my tank​

I just set up a 186l tank with very deep banked substrate, i used 3x9L of tropica soil, so for your 200l i would say 3 bags would be great. All depends how high/deep you want the substrate towards the back or corner if you plan a triangular scape, or if you plan on using sand & gravel for the foreground

 

[HafMan]

Looks like this is going to be a good build with the work you’ve put in so far.

 

[Dave Y]

I use Prodibio Aquasoil, also in a Roma 200 (will be following this one closely ).
The prodibio is ok, the growth of everything is good but its not the easiest to work with. The soil is the most cloudy i have worked with and the grains feel quite light when planting (if that makes sense). Will definitely be moving to tropica soil next time.

 

[Douglas Mason]

Hi,

Thanks for all the comments. I decided to buy four 9l bags of Tropica, two are the normal soil and two the powder. I'm sure I'll have enough and if there is any soil left over I will be able to use it on my next set up once I've learnt by my mistakes on this one

Going out over the weekend to check out a few more aquarium shops to see if I can find any suitable hardscape.

Doug

 

[Douglas Mason]

I use Prodibio Aquasoil, also in a Roma 200 (will be following this one closely ).
The prodibio is ok, the growth of everything is good but its not the easiest to work with. The soil is the most cloudy i have worked with and the grains feel quite light when planting (if that makes sense). Will definitely be moving to tropica soil next time.

Hi Dave,

Have you started a journal it would be interesting to see how your Roma 200 is getting on.

Doug

 

[Dave Y]

No I dont have a journal, I may start one when I have some time. Will be upgrading filtration soon so interested to see how you get on with your combination.

 

[Douglas Mason]

Hi,

Over the last week I've had 2 X 9l bags of Tropica Soil and 2 X 9l bags of the Tropica Soil Powder delivered. I also bought 2 X 2kg Co2 fire extinguishers and some Dragon Stone and Redmoor wood from a LFS so I could have a go ay my first Planted Hardscape.

I started the hardscape today using the 2 bags of Tropica Soil. I've got the powdered soil left for when I finally scape the tank. I've taken a few images of my attempt so far and and ask for some critique.

I still have some stone and a couple of pieces of redmoor wood left to fill the left hand side of the tank but I don't have enough soil to bank the scape up on the left without opening the powder soil and I only want to do this when I do the final scape.




Right Hand side



Left hand Side

 

[Douglas Mason]

Hi,

When starting EI Dosing do you dose the daily requirement all at once or is it best to split the dose up throughout the day.

Thanks

 

[Filip Krupa]

Hi,

When starting EI Dosing do you dose the daily requirement all at once or is it best to split the dose up throughout the day.

Thanks

Wouldnt worry about splitting throughout the day, as long as the micro and macro doses are not in the same day, and even that makes arguable difference.

Fil

 

[alto]

Excellent journal to date ...
though now I’m waiting for the next entry

You’ve the stone lying very flat so far, I’d angle it for more height and interest
(when using stone just to elevate wood, you can use any cheap rock, saving your dragonstone for more viewable locations)

Recently Filipe Oliveira has been using lots of dragonstone, so may be worth looking through his FB page and videos
- when I first saw this scape photo on his FB page I was unexcited (I’m just not a tree scape person) but then was intrigued as he chose one of my all time favourite plants for the “trees”



Really impressed with the dragonstone and forest “floor”