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My rio 240 planted discus tank

steve2tanks

Member
Joined
9 Mar 2008
Messages
172
Location
Durham
Heres my new tank,its a juwel rio 240,i ripped the filter out as i found it was rather big and took up alot of the tank,so i need suggestions on a good filter for my size tank :?:
image037wx4.jpg


I decied to have a go at growing the hc emmesred as i thought it would be good to try as i've never done it,the shots were taken before it was sealed up,you cant really see in now,its all condensed up :lol:
Heres a few close up shots:
image038fb2.jpg

image039fo1.jpg


I drained a bit of the water out as i think there was too much in it when i took the photos.
I cant decide if the wood looks right or not,do i need more or not :lol:
The plan is to get the hc growing across the left side and a build up of plants to the right,havent decied what plants yet though,open to suggestions ;)

I've got co2 sorted with fire extingusher(sp),cant decide whether to stick with tropica plant nutrition which i used on my old tank or go dry ferts,theres just so much to think about :lol:

I set the tank up friday night and the plants still look fine so fingers crossed that they grow ok :rolleyes:

Heres an updated shoy took nearly a week later
image000tm1.jpg

The Hc hasnt died off but it doesnt seem to be growing either,guess it needs more time to settle in :?
 
Re: Rio 240,hc emmersed setup

the best filter option is probably 2 tetratec EX1200's as they're pretty reasonably priced compared the the eheim equivalents, and this gives you the approx 10x recommended flow, or possibly an FX5 (although im not sure what flow these are rated at)
 
Re: Rio 240,hc emmersed setup

Dan Crawford said:
Looks like a great start and i love the wood!
I cant decide if i need more wood as i think once the plants grow in there woulnd't be much showing but thats later as i need to save for filter/s

@ Joecoral i was looking at the tetra tec ex1200 but just using the one,and use the powerhead part of the juwel filter to provide extra flow,i could easily hide that behide the plants,any thoughts :?:
 
Re: Rio 240,hc emmersed setup

The wood looks like dinosaur bones to me, I love it. One critisism though Is I think you need some rocks of some form, or more wood, maybe even both you can take it in a few directions.

Regarding the filter I'd go for 2x tetratec, yes the power head would help but the extra filter media is desirable.
 
Re: Rio 240,hc emmersed setup

yeah i thought about rocks aswell but wasnt sure what types would look ok, as every scape i seem to see has mini landscape rocks in it :lol:

Don't think the other half will be pleased if i tell her im getting 2 filters so just have to get the one, once i got some cash as just spent it all on tank and ada soil(also we bought a new tank for her turtles so need cash for them aswell :rolleyes: )
 
Re: Rio 240,hc emmersed setup

Here's a few updated pics that was taken today:
image002oj8.jpg

Heres a shot showing dwarf hairgrass growing emmersed,it doesn't spread like it does when its grown submersed:
image003cn8.jpg

And a shot of half the tank:
image004rn9.jpg


As you can see it is now starting to grow in nicely, in a few more weeks it should be ready to flood :D
 
Re: Rio 240,hc emmersed setup

aaronnorth said:
a biig tank for an emersed set up, largest i have seen have all been small 2g nano's etc
Tom Barr did it with his 180G ;)

Looking good so far, keep us posted :)
 
Re: Rio 240,hc emmersed setup

LondonDragon said:
aaronnorth said:
a biig tank for an emersed set up, largest i have seen have all been small 2g nano's etc
Tom Barr did it with his 180G ;)

Looking good so far, keep us posted :)

Thanks fellas,tom barr's tank was the reason i wanted to try it out and i must say its doing really well so far ;)
 
Re: Rio 240,hc emmersed setup

What's the idea behind sealing up the tank? Won't the plants eventually go mouldy without any circulation?

Is it lit?

Another question: When planting emersed grown plants, sometimes the leaves are removed as they have to grow new leaves and the old ones would die off. Does this apply to HC?
 
Re: Rio 240,hc emmersed setup

The tank is sealed to preserve the humidity. These are aquatic plants so there is no mould. The HC is planted emersed and stays emersed for at least a month and grows just like it would grow in it's native habitat during the dry season. there is no need to remove leaves.

Cheers,
 
Re: Rio 240,hc emmersed setup

beeky said:
What's the idea behind sealing up the tank? Won't the plants eventually go mouldy without any circulation?

Is it lit?

Another question: When planting emersed grown plants, sometimes the leaves are removed as they have to grow new leaves and the old ones would die off. Does this apply to HC?


I sealed the tank for the reason ceg told you,to preserve humidity.

Yeah ive got the tank lights on for 9hrs a day on a timer.

I read up about the leaf change and i think that as long as you keep co2 high ie 30pm then it doesnt go through the change but could be wrong.Guess i'll find out when the time comes :lol:
 
Re: Rio 240,hc emmersed setup

Themuleous said:
If my new HC doesnt take as well as hoped and the algae monster hits, i'll probably try emerged again, it does seem to be a good way of going it.

Sam

Yeah, as long as when i flood the tank the algae monster doesn't get it i'll be happy :lol:
 
Re: Rio 240,hc emmersed setup

Heres some updated shots of the tank:
The dwarf hairgrass has now started to send out runners
image011fd7.jpg

image012tb0.jpg

image013rg0.jpg

Going to be filling it up either next week or the week after as i should have every thing ready by then ;)

I'm going for the one tetratec ex1200 for the filtration,with a hydor external heater and a powerhead for extra current.
Bought a solenoid as my last tank i had co2 on 24-7 so trying it on a timer(still waiting as only bought it coulpe days ago)
Got the dry ferts ready(following ed seely's article),Instead of using RO/deionised or distilled water could tap not be used :?:
 
Re: Rio 240,hc emmersed setup

Yes, there is no restriction against using tap water. That's the good news. :D

Looking good mate!

Cheers,
 
Re: Rio 240,hc emmersed setup

so i would use dechlorinator on the tap water or not :?
 
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