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Low maintenance Jungle set up

Swampy

Swampy

Member
Joined
4 May 2008
Messages
47
Location
Kent.
Hi all, I've just up graded for a Juwel Rio 240 with a TetraTec 1200 filter and Hydor 300w.
Lighting is a T5 Arcadia Luminaire.

As before no water changes, just top up with filter maintenance once a month.

At the moment dosing is once a week with 5ml Trace, 2.5ml Easycarbo daily.

Fishes;
Neon Tetra
Pretty Tetra
Pristella Tetra
Harlequin Rasbora
Glowlight Rasbora
Cherry Barbs
Siamese Flying Fox

Molluscs;
Melanoides Tuberculata
Antentome helena

Substrate; 60 lts black Flora Base.

Hardscape; Bogwood, Redwood and Manzanita wood

Plants;
Cryptocoryne parva
Cryptocoryne wendtii ''green''
Cryptocoryne wendtii ''brown''
Cryptocoryne wendtii 'Tropica'
Cryptocoryne x willisii
Cryptocoryne beckettii ''petchii''
Cryptocoryne crispatula
Echinodorus 'Rosé'
Echinodorus Parviflorous
Microsorium pteropus
Nymphea Maculata
Vallisneria Torta

DSC_4412small.jpg

DSC_4413small.jpg

DSC_4407small-1.jpg

Its a long term scape, more updates later on this year.

Martin.
 
Before everyone jumps in, the pictures were taken before I added the Hydor 300w. The heater in the images has since gone to heater heaven. 😉

Martin.
 
Hi Martin,
great looking tank, very natural wod placement and a very effective choice of plants.
Cheerio,
Ady.
 
Sword plant's don't appear to be doing too well.
Perhaps a couple root tabs near these? Or could opt for Crypt Balansae that would achive tall growth but perhaps not as broad leafed?
I like the tank overall. :thumbup:
 
Update... well growth is good as ever and I have started to use easycarbo since I last posted as an experiment and increased the easycarbo from 2.5ml (end of Jan 12) from I last posted to 10ml per day now. Inmates show no ill effects and plant growth has increase. Once a week 2.5ml NPK and a increased dose of Trace 10ml. Filter maintenance still once a month, freshwater top-ups when needed.

DSC_4832small.jpg

On a different sad note, some how NTD (Neon tetra disease) has found its way into my set-up. The latest batch of Neons were quarantined just a month ago.
This is a first for me that Ive had this disease, and I feel somewhat upset that its slowly killing the Neon Tetras and also seems to be affecting the Pristella Tetras aswell. No signs of the disease on the Pretty Tetras as of yet. Don't think there’s a awful lot I can do about either. From what I have read online there's no cure. Think it will be some months before it gets to them all. Then I'll have decide what course this set-up will take in the future. In the picture below, you'll see a Neon Tetra with NTD bottom right.

AquariumLily.jpg

Still cannot get the lily to go very red, maybe dosing wrong or not pruning it back enough?

New fish, I missed my old community set-up and thought what the heck, and added four young Angelfish, six red Platy's and eight Golden Barbs.

DSC_4798small.jpg

Thinking maybe of moving this set-up into a Juwel Rio 400 sometime next year as it's slowly out growing the 240. 😀

PlantedcommunityJuwelRio240.jpg

Click on last image for larger version.

Martin.
 
lovely crypt growth. can you tell me more about your lighting? amount and duration. thanks.
john
 
Alastair said:
Looks fantastic Martin I'd be very proud of that. The crypts look lush. No water changes at all even though using easy carbo??
Click to expand...

Yes, very proud of it, this aquarium the best one I've ever had running.

Thought I'd give a go when read online someone in the states was using it in small doses on a Walstead type set-up to control the algae. I give it a try starting at 2ml per day till now its up to full dose of 10ml a day. Seem's to work other than I do get 'Green spot algae' still but with no other problems except the Echinodorus grow like wildfire! :lol:

JohnC said:
lovely crypt growth. can you tell me more about your lighting? amount and duration. thanks.
john
Click to expand...

Sorry folks I mean't to update the lighting issue aswell.

I was using T5 Arcadia Luminaire, which modified with two leads so two timers can be used (older model Luminaire 4 x T5 58w) and so I was only using two tubes to start with, on 8am till 10am then back on 4pm till 8pm. All four T5's was far to much light. Having got the system up and running I found there was one major draw back, being with the tank having an open top like a high tech set-up, mean't more freshwater top-ups (up to 2 gallons a week) which started algae issues. Something had to be done, my other low tech tank was a standard Juwel 180 with 2 x T5 high lites plus lids and ran with no problems. So I purchased an Juwel T8 'i' bar kit ( 2 x T8 38w + Juwel reflectors) with Juwel lids which has been on since end of March. I mean't to buy the T5 version but ticked the wrong box online, so bit of a shock when it turned up in the post. No matter I thought, having read Georges ''Less lighting is more'' article on PFK, I went ahead and installed the Juwel T8 system (fingers crossed) No freshwater top-ups need from then on, only when filter maintenance once a month with 2 gallons of freshwater. Lighting with the T8's started the same as the T5 times but slowly increased so now lighting is, on 7am till 11am then back on 4pm till 10pm. Having changed the lighting the other algaes, thread and hair algae have disappeared, with that Crypt growth improved dramatically, along with the Java ferns.

Martin.
 
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