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Tidy Jungle

Courtneybst

Member
Joined
5 Sep 2016
Messages
1,381
Location
London
Hey guys, this is the start of my continous journal of my new aquarium. I'm upgrading from a Fluval Roma 200 which is 44 UK gallon/52 US gallon tank to a Juwel Rio 300 which is 76 UK gallon/92 US gallon.

Latest Tank Shot
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Like my other tank this will be a planted tank. I was previously planning to be quite strict with my plant selection but I've had a change of heart. I'm now planning to buy lots of different plants, see what I like and what I can grow and go from there.

I have a whole tank full of cryptocorynes, amazon swords, wood and some substrate which will be moving into the new tank. So far I've only bought some new rocks.

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For anyone that's wondering this is Dragon Stone (Ohko Stone) which is a stunning clay based rock with lots of little holes. It doesn't affect your water chemistry but you should take time to clean out the holes and excess clay on the surface. You'll be surprised how much of it is actually clay and not solid rock. Online this rock is usually around £3-4 per kg but I picked up loads of it for £25 at Woodcote Garden Nurseries in Wallington (UK) - good little shop.

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I will be posting updates of the development of the tank, so please tell me what your thoughts are and let's have some fun!

N.B. This journal will be picture heavy!

Setup Overview

Tank: Juwel Rio 300 SBX Model

Filter: Juwel Bioflow + Eheim 2217

Lights: Juwel Hi-lite T5 Day (4x54w) 9000K

Substrate: Cal Aqua Black Earth Premium + Cal Aqua Green Base XR + A little red clay

Ferts: EI Dosing
Macro: Standard NPK (70ml 3 times a week)
Micro: Chelated Trace - Fe 8.2%, Mn 1.82%, Zn 1.16%, B 1.05%, Cu 0.23%, Mo 0.15% (70ml 3 times a week)


CO2: EasyCarbo 10ml per day
 

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Hi, I just wondered if you used the stock t8 lights with your Roma or did you upgrade? I'm sure it will be nice having the flexibility with using t5s with your new tank :)
 
Hi, I just wondered if you used the stock t8 lights with your Roma or did you upgrade? I'm sure it will be nice having the flexibility with using t5s with your new tank :)

Hey Manisha, I did use the stock T8 lights with the Roma. They're not the best but adequate for low light plants.

Im really looking forward to having T5s. So much more choice!
 
For my substrate, I thought I'd try something different from ADA and went for the Cal Aqua Black Earth and Green Base XR.

My delivery was split into two so they've teased me with one bag of Black Earth and the Green Base. A little annoying to say the least. Here's the photos of the front and back of the bags. I noticed in general you never see pictures of the back of products which often have the most useful information to the user. The info on the back is different to what you see online.

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So I started building the cabinet yesterday which was a bit of a pain but I got there in the end.

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I applied some frosted window film to the back. I might need to get an led strip to light up the back to get the effect I want. So far it's holding with no bubbles.
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I then got the help of a friend to lift the tank into the stand, it weighs 68kg by itself bruh...

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I also thought if I'm gonna do this, I might as well go all out. So I kitted out the cabinet with equipment and my old tank stuff. Organisation level 100!

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I also started scaping yesterday. I would have preferred to have taken my time but as getting the tank was delayed I'm running out of time and need to get it up and running asap. As a result, it's not the best scape I've done but hey. I'll be getting some more small dragon stones and breaking them into small pieces to compliment the large pieces.

I first started with a very thin base of Cal Aqua Green Base XR. It says to use a 1cm layer but I also have another substrate, dosing and root tabs so I think I'll be fine.

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I then added the other substrate which is Cal Aqua Black Earth. Not often seen in the UK, I had to order from Germany. The substrate looks very nice, small black/brown hard balls - similar to Fluval Stratum but smaller and more firm. It does soften when it gets wet. I haven't flooded the tank yet but I tried some of the substrate in a glass jar and I poured the water in from a height and the water stayed really clear. All you see is tiny water bubbles as the substrate saturates.

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Finally, I used 2mm Black Correx to support the substrate and stop it sliding. I just cut the sizes I needed and wedged them in. The front is about 2 inches deep and the back is about 4 inches. It feels a lot deeper than it measures out.

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The plants come today so I'll be busy putting them in tonight
 
How exciting for you! I'm sure its fine, but the magnetic strip to hold your tools looks well but I'd wonder if it would affect your external filter if too close?
 
Hi all,
How do they affect the filters?
The filter impeller is driven by a magnetic drive. There isn't a direct coupling between the motor and the impeller, the filter motor spins a rotor magnet, which then in turn turns the impeller (which has a magnetic body). It gets rid of the need for drive seals etc.

If you place a strong magnet to one side of the impeller, it won't spin centrally in it's housing.

If you can't hear any noise when the filter is running I would imagine it is OK.

cheers Darrel
 
Finally planted and filled the tank. I'm not even going to tell you what I had to do to fill it, let's just enjoy the fact that it's filled haha. Started off my mission with a bit of Run DMC...

Ordered my plants from Aqua Essentials. Once again the plants came in perfect condition. They are truly the Apple of Aquarium Plants! (At least in the UK).

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This Cal Aqua Black Earth must be magic because the water is crystal clear, as if nothing ever happened. That's good for me as I like to move things about. You get no dust clouding at all. Also for the first time I had no floaters, not even one :) The video shows you just how clear it is.

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I'm also giving away my Cryptocorynes (Green and a few Pink), 1 large Amazon Sword and some Anubias Nana mini from my old tank. Very healthy with ridiculous roots. If you are in the London area, you can have the amount shown in the picture below for just 50p, which is a bargain! There's loads more of it too. I thought I'd use it all in the new tank but only ended up using a few plantlets. Once they're gone, they're gone!

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Can anyone help me ID this plant? I picked it up at my LFS because it looked cool with the green and purple. However, I've never seen it before and I'm wondering if it's actually a terrestrial plant because it has microhairs on the stem and it's quite rigid. When I bought it, it was submersed.

Any ideas?

Just found out it's Hemigraphis Exotica, which is a terrestrial plant for sure. If you see it, don't buy it (unless you need a house plant).
 
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