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RIO 180 - New tubes and reflectors needed.

leemonk

Member
Joined
17 Apr 2009
Messages
132
Hi all,

First post here!

I have to say that I am very impressed with this website.

I have found that I am equally keen to get my plants looking good as I am my fish.....

Firstly..... A little about my tank

RIO 180 - still with standard kit.
Sand substrate with plant tabs placed at intervals.
2x wood.
Not sure of my plant names.
12 Tetra
6 blue rainbows
6 Mollies
2 Dwarf Cichlid (apost-something or other)
2 Clown plecs

The tank is now around 9 months mature and my chemical readings have been zero for amonia and NitrIte for as long as I can remember.

My NitrAtes are fairly high, but no higher than my tap water (I live in London!)

I have started using homemade CO2 in the form of 2 x 1.5L coke bottles and a 'ladder' release system. I get around 1 bubble per second.

Following a disaster whilst treating some 'Whitespot' a while back, I used some aquarium salt (to support the medication) which virtualy destroyed all of my plants which up until this time had actualy been doing really well (this was before CO2 and tabs).

Anyhows, once they rapidly detoriated, I decided to do a little more research and that led to the CO2 and tabs etc etc.

I beleive now that my tubs need replacing and I want something that will promote good growth for my plants.

I have just read the articl which features this site: http://www.lampspecs.co.uk/ as a reliable source of tubes.

My first question is...... are they good for plants as they seem way to cheap.... you know.... 'to good to be true' type of thing.

Secondly. I dont know which type I can get for my RIO.

Would it be possible ( i know this is asking alot) for someone to either link to a recomendation from this site or give me a name of somethinh I should be looking for?

Regards

Lee
 
Hi, the first question would be if your Rio has T5s or T8s (the 1 inch diameter tubes). If it has T8s, it will take standard 30W 3 foot tubes (at least my Rio180 does...)
 
hi,

thanks for the very quick response.

I have just measured them and they are roughly 1.5cms or 0.6(ish)" i guess.

Does that make them T5's? Are those better than T*8's?

Lee
 
Why do you think your tubes need replacing? Don't believe the hype about them needing replacing every year or so - replace them when they fail!!!! The ones on my Rio 180 are 16months old now and growing HC and Glosso fine amongst other species.

The Jewel T5's are funny sizes and the only ones that fit the Rio 180 are the Jewel and Arcadia J5 tubes. They're a lot more than the Lampspec ones unfortunately.
 
I had read in numerous places that tubs start to weaken after 9 months. Needless to say, this is supported by the shops that sell them too 8O)

The other reason is that plants that have traditional grown well and bushy/thick/dense in my tank are now begining to show the same type of growth a normal plant gets when its trying to reach for sunlight.

Instead of leaves every 2 cms (for example) I am now getting leaves every 4cms.

Or...... I could be completely off the mark.

So....working on the assumption that I do need new lights. Are you saying I am really limited about what I can buy?

Would I be better off removing whats there and setting up a new system within the lid?

Cheers

Lee
 
Well I think the Jewel system is quite neat and fits well with the tank but you could probably replace it with a lumiere that could fit cheap tubes for less money! It's your call! The plants don't care how much the tubes cost you!
 
I belik eve the Juwel "daylight" T5 tubes are about £20 - £25 each depending where you shop. £50 or there abouts is a good chunk towards a 100cm luminaire with 2 or 4 standard 39w T5 tubes :) (second hand at least). A friend of mine has just had to buy 2x marine white rio 180 tubes at £26 each! His actually burnt out after 9 months :rolleyes:
 
I am not at home right now, but is it easy to change/remove the existing ones?

The Juwel Tubes for all sizes of Juwel Aquariums! We offer a bright Day-Lite and a warm Warm-Lite tube! Install the Warm-Lite in the front and the Day-Lite at the back of your Multilux or Duolux light unit for optimum lighting balance and plant growth.
30watt 36in


Please choose from the following:

Size: 30watt

Seapets Price: £11.25


Price doesnt seem to bad. My only concern is that I am only get 60w which I think gives me 1.22 wpg, which is pretty shyte.

would it be easier to replace the exisiting ones or add a single new one?

LEe
 
30w/36 inch is a T8 tube :) On Juwels, they're an industry standard length. It's the T5's that Juwel have fiddled with. I believe the Juwel T5 tubes are the same/similar length to industry standard T8's, so that they fit into their aquarium range better, without the need for a major light unit overhaul I guess.
 
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