# New Rio 180 set up



## martinmjr62 (5 Nov 2012)

Hi to everyone. Just set up my new tank with a lot of help from my son. Only day 3 and a long way to go. Tank is a Rio 180 running a Fluval 405 filter, Hydor 300 heater, JBL 2 kg CO2 set up with solenoid and T5 lighting. The hard scape is driftwood, may add some rocks but not sure. Some plants already added but need to get more especially ground cover. Looking forward to watching it progress and sharing the results. Meanwhile a few pictures as it is at the moment






.                                                                             Any comments welcomed good or bad but be gentle I'm only a newbie

Cheers
Martin

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## martinmjr62 (5 Nov 2012)

Forgot to add that the substrate is manado aqua basis with manado on top. Will be dosing alternate days with made up macro and micro solution.  Think that's now covered everything

Cheers
Martin


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## mario (5 Nov 2012)

Welcome Martin!

Lovely use of the wood, especially the one on the right, it looks very natural. It will be interesting to see when it fills up, keep us updated!

Mario


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## Lindy (5 Nov 2012)

The hardscape is really nice, lovely wood and layout.

Cheers


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## martinmjr62 (5 Nov 2012)

Thanks for the replies guys I wanted to try and make it look like tree with roots and the arch just looked like a nice feature. Lots to do and even more to learn. Very early days. Taking it slowly. Daily water changes. Really need to get a lot more flaura in to fill up all the vast expanse of manado that is uncovered at the moment. Bloody stuff is so light it easily gets disturbed. 


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## spyder (7 Nov 2012)

Wood looks great, nice start. Just go easy with the lights at the start.


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## martinmjr62 (9 Nov 2012)

Cheers spyder.this is all completely new to me. A few problems this week.Firstly what appears to be fine slimey hair like coating on the wood, a lot of the pogostmen helferi have shrivalled up and the fern on the arch is browning.I only got a drop checker fitted on Thursday evening(took longer getting here than i thought it would ) and found the colour on Friday when i got home was still very dark so i've upped the co2 a little.the co2 comes on at 11.30am and goes off at 7.30pm and the lights come on at 1pm and go off at 9pm,is this too much, i really dont know.Ive done a 50% water change on Monday,Tuesday and Thursday and used a toothbrush to remove the stuff on the wood and sucked it up the syphon pipe as best i can.any help would be appreciated. I'll post some more pictures on Saturday of the problem bits.
Thanks 
Martin


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## martinmjr62 (10 Nov 2012)

As promised a few photos 1 week on showing the problem areas 













                               Any advice gratefully welcomed.             Thanks.                                                   Martin


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## AverageWhiteBloke (10 Nov 2012)

Nice big chunky bits of wood. I wouldn't get too hooked up on problems with a new set up being related too much your dosing. In the first couple of months plants will die back and various algae or slime can appear which is more related to the tank being immature. My latest set up I used old tank water with mature filter media and plants from the tank I stripped down and some still went black and died off.  I assume you're using 4DKH water in the drop checker? The only thing you can do is dose at full EI rates and make sure the drop checker is yellowish from the point the lights go on until they go off regardless of what time it is. Usually co2 on a couple of hours before lights on and a couple of hours before lights off knock co2 off but have a fiddle with your particular set up. Small adjustments in either timing or injection rate. (lot easier done with no fish in) Change 50% of the water a week or more if you want, I prefer to change more water than more often as it seems to stabilise things quicker In a new set up with less fluctuation.

Other than that just keep trimming away at affected plants and and cleaning surfaces until your plants get the upper hand and start growing. Easy carbo or equivalent you can make your own is also a good idea. It's like steroids for plants and an anti algaecide so while your getting to grips with your co2 it will make a little more room for errors. Problems that don't get nipped in the bud early on can take a lifetime to resolve.

Once you have achieved this after 2/3 months you still have some problems you need to also look at making sure you are getting good flow of water around the tank. There are pumps that go in the tank to help if you need it. Koralia is one type that springs to mind.

In short give your plants all they need now


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## martinmjr62 (10 Nov 2012)

Hi AverageWhite Bloke. Thanks for all of the comments. I think the CO2 was way too low throughout the week. After fitting the drop checker on Thursday eve it stayed dark green all Friday so I've upped the flow a bit and the checker is now a lighter green. I'm using a pre measured solution in a small sealed ampoules from  Dennerle. The flow seems very good in the tank. I have a full width spray bar along the back wall which is just rippling the surface. The glass diffuser is under this and the bubbles are clearly getting circulated around the tank. Is 8 hours of co2 and light too much at the moment?  I am dosing a macro solution on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday  Ns. TNC trace solution on Monday and Wednesday   No fert on Friday and Saturday.  The 50% water change is done on Sunday   I need to get some ground covering plants in the foreground and some small crypts under the arch. I know it's going to take time but when you see it going wrong it is a little disheartening but I'm sure everyone has gone through it. Rome wasn't built in a day as they say. Cheers
Martin


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## AverageWhiteBloke (10 Nov 2012)

8 hours is fine. Some people would go as low as 6. Best reults for co2 I find is yellow, its not an ecact science and the drop checker position can give slightly out readings. While There's no fish in there sitting at yellow is a better place to be and leaves less chance of co2 problems. If you rule out all the might be's its easier to identify what's wrong when you know what definitley isn't. 

Putting more plants in never does any harm. The more the better and quicker the tank will mature as the plants will soak up the ammonia and nitrite which are the biggest problems in a new set up.

With regards lighting it is the catalyst in the tank that determines hoiw much demand is on the plants. When the plants are under high lighting all other Parameters need to be in the sweet spot or problems generally in the form of algae ensues. Less lighting gives more room for you to get things wrong without getting problems so don't be afraid of reducing it. The plants will still grow just slower.


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## martinmjr62 (10 Nov 2012)

I might reduce the lighting time  a bit and check the co2 again tomorrow to get it nearer yellow. Got to do the water change tomorrow as well. One day at a time!!!
Cheers
Martin


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## martinmjr62 (10 Nov 2012)

Just added another wood piece to the left of the tank made up from leftover off cuts. Boiled to within an inch of its life 






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## martinmjr62 (10 Nov 2012)

Just added another wood piece to the left of the tank made up from leftover off cuts. Boiled to within an inch of its life 






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## AverageWhiteBloke (10 Nov 2012)

This should look great when it's grown in. One thing that I might do is put the co2 diffuser a bit lower down in the tank so it gets a bit more time to diffuse before escaping into the atmosphere.


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## martinmjr62 (10 Nov 2012)

Can do that no problem.Would you leave it in the middle of the tank for a better spread of bubbles ?


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## AverageWhiteBloke (10 Nov 2012)

As long as it's in a position where there is good water movement its should be okay.


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## martinmjr62 (10 Nov 2012)

Done. Should be hidden once I get some plants in the background




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## AverageWhiteBloke (10 Nov 2012)

I'm amazed at how much your gravel looks like my cat litter.


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## martinmjr62 (11 Nov 2012)

Wish it was cat litter ,a hell of a lot cheaper. Didn't do my research before I  bought the aqua basis and manado. Oh well!!!!


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## martinmjr62 (11 Nov 2012)

Just finishing my cuppa then water change time


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## martinmjr62 (11 Nov 2012)

Water change done.  End of week one. Not looking too shabby











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## AverageWhiteBloke (12 Nov 2012)

Looking good mate, I'm interested in this thread as my tank is roughly in the same place from starting up. I just set mine up at the end of sept so me and you should be facing similar problems of new set ups about now. Not sure how important it is in the big scheme of things but notice your DC looks a little empty, I usually have mine up to about half way up the bulb. I could be wrong but I think it's to do with offering as much surface area of test fluid to the air trapped inside which is at the DC's widest point half way up the bulb.

Bear in mind there are far more experienced people in here than I so I'm just offering up what I have learned so far that works for me!

The couple of issues I can see with your plants definitely look like the natural die back I encountered in a new tank as oppose anything else. Keep up with the EI fert dosing mate, newly planted tanks gorge on nutrients to start with while they fill up with reserves. These reserves get used when there are not enough nutrients available but weakens the plant by using up more energy to carry out the process. Once they have plenty in reserve they will just get healthier and the overall biomass will increase making the maturation process less problematic.


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## martinmjr62 (12 Nov 2012)

Cheers for the comments. The DC was filled from a pre made ampoule of solution from Dernelle, so I presume that it is enough because it doesn't mention adding anything to it. Coming home tonight, the tanks looking a lot clearer and the plants seem to have perked up a bit, possibly the co2 rate finally in the yellow zone. Been looking at more plants to fill  in the gaps and something to carpet the bottom out. Still not made my mind up. Progressing with the alternate daily micro and macro solutions to get the nutriants in.  Still quite chuffed with it though, still only the beginning of week 2. Have you got any pics of your tank, would be interesting to see what you've done 
Cheers
Martin


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## AverageWhiteBloke (12 Nov 2012)

Yeah the tank is looking good mate  


> Cheers for the comments. The DC was filled from a pre made ampoule of solution from Dernelle, so I presume that it is enough because it doesn't mention adding anything to it.


Possibly dennerle designed the ampoules to go with their co2 drop checker which may be smaller than the glass one you're using.  I know the sera one I have doesn't hold as much fluid as the glass one. Just been taking a few pics as it happens on my PlayBook. Will post one up just didn't want to hijack your thread   was going to post one this afternoon but realised I didn't have any recent pics.


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## AverageWhiteBloke (12 Nov 2012)

IMG_00000013 by AWB70, on Flickr
Still growing in at the minute and the lighting makes it look more washed out than it is. I think it looks better when it's on one tube which you can see in the flicker stream. My gravel does look a bit red though on one tube.


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## martinmjr62 (13 Nov 2012)

Looking nice.Plants look healthy.Got to make some decisions on my planting.Got a few ideas.Just need to research the list i've drawn up for suitability.


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## AverageWhiteBloke (13 Nov 2012)

Thanks, mine also is very much a work in progress. No planning or scaping involved. My tank was already running and I had one day to move it with fish in. I was going to lower the water down enough to move it in one go but decided against it in case I broke it so I had to make do with what I already had and set up while the fish were waiting in buckets. At least the maturation process has went better and I haven't suffered any plants dieing or major algae issues implementing what I have learned thus far. 
My next step is also more plants and putting some shape in there. There are some unknown carpeting plants and glosso I'm trying to fill the spaces in the front in with (probably) not visible from my pic but they are not doing so well at the moment.


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## martinmjr62 (14 Nov 2012)

Do you think that the power head makes a difference. I've considered putting one in mine to help with the flow. My spray bar is mounted on the back wall spraying forward and seems to flow down and round then back up to the top. I think that there is a bit of a dead spot behind the right tree root area because the plants there don't seem to move as much as other areas. So I thought that fitting a power head might stir it up a bit more. Are they sized for different water capacities and are there better ones than others. I haven't even looked into them so was just trying to get someone's opinion
Cheers
Martin


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## AverageWhiteBloke (14 Nov 2012)

Generally speaking the current thinking is the more flow the better. A rule of thumb reccomended is 10x the volume of water per hour. You may find over time as the tank grows in you may need extra circulation as the plants get in the way of the flow. I have no experience of other pumps other than the hydor koralia which has worked seemless for years. They come with different flow rates same as filters. I did have spray bars with a similar set up as you but thought I'd try the duck bill you can see in the pic in an attempt to have less visible equipment in the tank. It pushes water across the back over the heater then the koralia sends it back down and across the front giving me a circular motion round the tank. Not sure about this at the minute, been having problems with surface scum and the cat litter being very light gets blew about at the front. Maybe ill try putting it higher up in the tank to help with both issues or go back to spray bars  :?
I do get better flow through my co2 reactor though with this duck bill.


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## martinmjr62 (15 Nov 2012)

My  Fluval 405 is rated at 1300l/h so on the 10x rule I'm under any way the tank being 180 litres so it probably won't do any harm fitting one maybe two either side of the spray bar on the back wall pointing forwards. Ready someone else's journal last night (can't remember who's) they had this set up and it seemed to help. Didn't mention last night, but when I got home from work at 5.30 there were no bubbles coming out of the diffuser. The tube had come off of the non return valve so not a lot of co2 delivered yesterday. DC was dark green   All sorted now though pushed the tube on really tight this time  P. I. T. A. 


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## AverageWhiteBloke (15 Nov 2012)

There's also a big difference between advertised flow on the filter, usually they put the flow rate when the canister is empty.


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## martinmjr62 (17 Nov 2012)

Just done a water changeless might and added some more plants. Put some repens on the right and between the tree roots,an Anubis nano on the arch, some crypts under the arch and an unknown plant across the back. Also got a large piece of riccia which ive put into a breeding trap to grow until i decide where to put it.  Still battling with the mould or whatever it is on the tree roots and arch top.also stated putting in a daily dose of easycarbo.  Not to bad only week 2













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## jack-rythm (17 Nov 2012)

Anubias nana is looking smart mate

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## martinmjr62 (17 Nov 2012)

Cheers looking to get someone repens for the left hand side. Now I've got it in the tank I quiet like the look of it and think it will fill in the front a bit. I thought the Anubis looked good as well. It's even got a flower on it already. I think it's fits in well in the hole on the arch although the mrs says I should have left the big hole open. Naaaa


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## jack-rythm (17 Nov 2012)

your not guna like this... but i have to agree with the mrs...


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## martinmjr62 (18 Nov 2012)

Just set up an old Eheim 2213 that I had in the shed. This is running on the right hand side with a single outlet with a small diffuser  to reduce the outlet size  so upping the flow pressure.  The spray bar is still running along the back wall fed by the Fluval. The reason I've added this is to get a bit more flow especially to the right hand side where there seemed to be a bit of a dead zone   The plants on that side are now swaying around and the added filtration can only be a plus. I was considering putting a koralis power head in the tank bit after talking to others realised I still had the Eheim and that was free  

Hopefully getting some amano shrimp and some Otto's tomorrow if I can get out of work early enough


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## AverageWhiteBloke (19 Nov 2012)

It's starting to take shape mate


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## martinmjr62 (19 Nov 2012)

Managed to get away early and got some amano shrimp. Drip aclimatised them for 3 hours. Put them in at 9 pm. All munching away merrily 
Shop never had any Otto's so I'm gonna try Aquatic Design Centre in Great Portland Street after work tomorrow. 
Meanwhile here's some pics of the newcomers









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## tim (19 Nov 2012)

nice mate good to see them going to work on the mould


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## martinmjr62 (19 Nov 2012)

I'll see how they get on(only got10) and probably get some more. Nice to see a little bit of wildlife in the tank. I'll probably spend even more time now sitting and watching them. I know they can't keep a whole tank clean but as you say Tim it's nice to see them munching away on the mould
Cheers
Martin


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## AverageWhiteBloke (19 Nov 2012)

As nice as a healthy planted tank looks its not complete until there's some creatures in there interacting.


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## martinmjr62 (20 Nov 2012)

Managed to get the Otto's after work today. Put them on a drip for a couple of hours and then added them to the tank. 








Have only seen 3 shrimp all evening. Put 10 in yesterday. Do they only come out when it's dark !!!!!!

Still struggling with the mould/ algae on the wood. Does any one have any ideas what it is. Lights are on for 8 hours at the moment. Should I reduce this?? 
Pictures of the wood 







CO2 on for 8 hours, 2 hr before lights on/off. If I reduce the lights should I reduce the CO2 by the same amount?
Alternate daily dosing with Macro/Micro and 50% WC twice a week. 
I keep scrubbing this off with a toothbrush and suck it up the syphon pipe but by the next WC it's back as much as this again;(


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## tim (20 Nov 2012)

Hey mate ottos look good may also help with the mould read this thread http://www.ukaps.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=20179&p=204976&hilit=Mould+on+wood#p204976 hopefully should clear up eventually


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## martinmjr62 (20 Nov 2012)

Cheers Tim, it just looks bad so i wasn't sure what it was.i'll just keep brushing it off and sucking up the syphon pipe and hopefully it'll eventually clear up.I've just read something about adding amano shrimp to a tank.It says that the CO2 should be turned off the day that you put them in .I didn't do this and now think that i may have killed them as i've only seen 2 all night (i put 10 in yesterday).do you ave any experience with shrimp!!!


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## tim (21 Nov 2012)

Plenty of experience killing them mate lol tried keeping cardinia species for a couple of years in London tap water lfs saying yeah they'll be fine finicky little buggers shrimp in all honesty your amanos should be fine with co2 I drip acclimatise mine with it on for a few hours they have to get used to it in a planted tank I just do it slowly ammonia nitrite etc upset shrimp more than co2 IME I'm also very wary of using any liquid carbon products in any of my shrimp tanks they don't seem to get on with liquid carbon in my tanks have read other people having no probs at all using it though in my experience shrimp can be elusive mate depending on the fish they are kept with I've found amanos quite robust though shame they are hard to breed keep an eye out for corpses keep doing your water changes I'm sure all will be good


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## martinmjr62 (22 Nov 2012)

CheersTim. Did a 50% water change yesterday. Saw a few more shrimp after that, must have been all the bubbles in the tank. Popped into  my local PAH on the way home. Not impressed with the livestock but picked up a few plants, all tropica, bit of a surprise!
Got some more Pogostomen Heferi to fill up the root area, a Pogostomen Erectus on the left side, an Alternanathera Reineckii pink to go at the back and a lovely bit of wood pre planted with large bit of fern which I've put at the front on the left
Looking nice. Filling out a bit now. 
Decided to turn down the photoperiod to 6 hours to see if it will help with the issues on the wood
Pictures of the latest plants












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## stu_ (23 Nov 2012)

I shouldn't worry too much about the Amano's yet, there's plenty of nooks & crannies for them to be hiding out in.
Didn't see any of mine for 2 weeks after i first put them into my Rio.


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## martinmjr62 (23 Nov 2012)

Came home today and most of them were out frolicking. I've added a load more plants today.  It needed filling up. Looks greener now. Probably too much but I can cut them back once they mature. Got another Alternanthera Reineckii pink to go at the back with the other one, another Pogostemon Erectus to go with the other one and 3 pots of Lilaeopsis Brasiliensis for the foreground 
Photos of the planting










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## tim (23 Nov 2012)

Fts looks good mate tank is now planted heavily from the start I see your just down the road from me which lfs do you use for livestock


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## martinmjr62 (23 Nov 2012)

Hi Tim, I got the Otto's from Maidenhead Aquatics in Iver and the Amano's from Ashford Aquatics. 
My son got away from work early and went to  Maidenhead Aquatics in Wembley today. I need to go there!! This place is huge with loads of stuff. 
Whilst working in London I've been to Aquatic Design Centre in Great Portland Street. They've got a lot of good stuff in there and a lot of planted tanks. Got a few of the plants from here. Recent plants were from P@H in Feltham & Brentford. What about you mate?


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## tim (23 Nov 2012)

Adc mostly for hardscape tend to use both p&h stores you use just for tropica plants and then ma at osterly and syon park for livestock they are pretty approachable about trying to order stuff in for me osterly store just installed a new invert system then filled it up with betta splendens


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## martinmjr62 (23 Nov 2012)

Didn't know there was an MA in Syon park !!


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## tim (23 Nov 2012)

Yep more the marine side of the hobby there but bit of freshwater plants livestock and hardscape


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## martinmjr62 (23 Nov 2012)

I'll have to go and have a look as well as the huge one at Wembley 


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## martinmjr62 (1 Dec 2012)

Hi everyone, well it's been a week since my last post. Everything's going well. Plants are looking good. Especially the Reineckii pink at the back which is now higher than the wood. The Lilaeopsos in the foreground seems to be shooting up , I'll have to trim this down to strengthen the roots. The Riccia in the breeding trap is also flourishing but I still haven't made my mind up yet where to use it. The hair like film on the wood seems to be slowing down at last. I had a bit of a problem in the week. When I got home on Tuesday  the DC was almost bright yellow and the Ottos looked really ill. I managed to net them out and put them into some fresh water and did a 50% water change. Introduced them about an hour later and they've been fine since. Not sure what happened with the CO2 but its been fine since. My son went to FreshwaterShrimp on Friday and got me 6 more Amano's  and 10 Red Rilli shrimp. These were drip aclimatised for 2 hours then slowly added. Seem happy in their new surroundings. Whilst there he also got me some weeping moss on mesh. I've added that to all of the twigs. That's really it now for planting just them all grow and mature
Finally some pictures
This is now the end of week 4
Cheers
Martin










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## AverageWhiteBloke (2 Dec 2012)

Filling out nicely


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## martinmjr62 (16 Dec 2012)

Hi all, 2 weeks since my last post. Not a lot done really other than the water changes and some prunning. All the plants are doing really well except the pogo erectus which seems to be wilting, could be because its under the arch and in the shade. Weeping moss seems to be growing albeit slowly. Going to get some cardinals shortly, a nice shoal  and fancy a blue Siamese fighter. Should look nice amongst the expanse of greenery. Any advice on the fighter mixing with the cardinals and red Rilli shrimp and amano's appreciated. Here's some piccies now 6 weeks











Regards
Martin


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## jojouk (17 Dec 2012)

Lovely  I use that little breeding box for plant trimmings/cuttings too! Very handy


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## tim (17 Dec 2012)

Looking good Martin


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## martinmjr62 (27 Dec 2012)

Hi all. Hope you all had a good Christmas. Got a nice shoal of neons the weekend before Xmas. Blue and Red against green looks sooo nice. Pics to follow 


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## martinmjr62 (31 Dec 2012)

Hi to everyone and a happy new year. As promised a few photos of the neons. Tanks had a bit of a trim and thinned out a lot of the largest sword leaves that we're growing over the top and coming back down the front










Whilst off over Xmas I've set up a little fluval edge 23l that I got for £15 on a Facebook selling site. Filthy when I got it, they had 2 goldfish in it in the kids bedroom. Thoroughly cleaned it  and changed the light unit to a 48 led one from the 46l edge ( straight swap,thanks son for the Xmas present)
Substrate is JBL Manado (had some left over from the Jewel 180 set up)
Changed all the media in the filter .
Got some rock from MA in Wembley and some Anubis nana Bonzai and Echinodorus Radicans which I now think will be to big. 
I want to keep it low tech so I will be adding ferts and easy carbo and see how it goes. 
If any one has any ideas on really small easy growers it would be appreciated. 
Not going to over stock with fauna but I really fancy a blue Siamese fighter. 
I wanted to put a fighter in the big tank but someone told me that its not advisable with shrimp !!!
If anyone can enlighten me on this it would be appreciated
Anyway some very early photos of the tank so far, will probably start a journal on this one as well











Cheers 
Martin
Hope you all have a great New Year
Happy Scaping 2013



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## tim (2 Jan 2013)

Looking good mate you definately have the aquascaping bug now  edge looks nice too IME of Siamese fighters they don't mix with shrimp I do like edge tanks


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## martinmjr62 (2 Jan 2013)

Cheers Tim. Definitely got the bug. Constantly tinkering, watching and admiring how far it's come in only 8 weeks. 
The edge has its limits bit I find it challenging being so small. Not sure what to put in it yet but I went to ADC after work and got a large portion of java moss for £3.50 for it and saw the most gorgeous fish I've seen (IMO) 
Celestial danios
Will more than likely end up getting a small shoal of them, and maybe putting the siamese fighter in with them too 

Cheers
Martin


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## martinmjr62 (5 Jan 2013)

Evening all , just a quick update on the tank. Had a clean today and a water change and noticed that the flow was down on the Fluval 405. Gave it a clean and it is better  now but still not brilliant   Combing it with the Eheim should  give me a reasonable flow but probably not 10x , so I went out and got a Hydor koralia 900..my god what a difference in flow. I've even got the plants pearling with the CO2 on first time ever. Should have done this sooner. I placed the koralia directly over the diffuser and the difference it's made to the co2 distribution was  amazing. Whilst at the shop I also got 6 panda Cory's and 2 red gourami's they all seem very happily settled in   Some pictures of the newcomers















Cheers for now
Martin


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## scapegoat (6 Jan 2013)

Nice set up has the mesh been covered yet? if so how long did it take?


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## martinmjr62 (6 Jan 2013)

No mate not yet. Seems to be taking forever. Might help now with the better flow!!!!


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## martinmjr62 (9 Jan 2013)

Evening all, since fitting the koralia at the weekend and adding the dwarf gourami's I've not seen much of the shrimp. Any ideas???


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## LondonDragon (9 Jan 2013)

martinmjr62 said:


> since fitting the koralia at the weekend and adding the dwarf gourami's I've not seen much of the shrimp. Any ideas???


Higher flow and a large predator in the tank, shrimp just looking for cover


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## martinmjr62 (9 Jan 2013)

Didn't realise that the gourami was a predator when I got them. Just liked the look of them. My son said that he thought that the shrimp would disappear once the gourami's were put in. 
Have I done the wrong thing, will they attack the shrimp/ eat them. Got amano and red rilli. if so I might have to rethink what to do with the fish.my fault for not doing homework and buying on impulse


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## LondonDragon (9 Jan 2013)

They might leave adults alone, but if the rilli breed the young will most likely become meals, unless you have plenty of hiding places for them.


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## martinmjr62 (10 Jan 2013)

Cheers for the advice ill seriously have to reconsider the gourami's 

Martin


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## martinmjr62 (19 Jan 2013)

Evening all, not updated this for a few weeks. Not a lot happening. Cleaned both filters today including all the pipework. Amazing how dirty they were. Usual weekly 50% WC. The only thing is the small amount of BBA that's starting on the edges of the sword and Anubis leaves. Got some on the repens as well and a tiny bit on the fern. Pushed the CO2 up a bit more and put the lighting down to 1 bulb. Gonna have to start dosing with EC tomorrow 
The Alternanthera Reineckii pink at the back also is losing a lot of leaves and the others are getting very holey not sure why 
Some pics of the plants and a general tank shot with the single light. 11 weeks old.






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Amy comments appreciated
Cheers
Martin




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## tim (20 Jan 2013)

Hey mate looks like a lot of plants are or will lose their lower leaves this is probably down to poor co2 distribution which should be sorted out by the korallia you added you could uproot plants and remove the affected leaves and replant the tops damaged leaves/stems don't normally recover anyway I have found an increase back to 3 water changes a week plus liquid carbon dosing is helping to fight off my algae issues reduced lighting is definately key to a successful tank IMO keep at it mate


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## martinmjr62 (20 Jan 2013)

Cheers Tim,might try replanting the ones that have lost their lower leaves and up the water changes.must start with the easycarbo. Gonna keep the lights at 1 tube for the foreseeable future

Cheers
Martin


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## martinmjr62 (28 Jan 2013)

Evening all, just a quick update on the Rio. Well, 12 weeks now and going reasonably well. BBA is less noticeable, daily EC dosing helping as well as the lower lighting. Added a new Fluval diffuser this weekend, what a difference. Much smaller bubbles so hopefully a better uptake from the plants. Replanted the Repens  after removing the damaged lower leaves. All of the lower ground cover plants seem to be very slow( repens, pogostomen,Lilaeopsos ) not really sure why this is as there seems enough flow down there from the filters and the koralia. The Riccia covered stone is starting to take off nicely though so I  might start another one from the mesh holding bag I've got floating at the surface. The creeping moss on the mesh  isn't doing that well but I think that the Red Gourami's are nibbling at it!!! The Anubis nana on the arch has got flowers on it. Crypts are looking good and the sword is just a monster. The Echinodorus Radicans that I took out of the Edge has grown quit a bit
Here's a few updated pics , sorry still only using the iPhone
























Forgot to add, now using Purigen in the Fluval 405, what a difference. Anyway enjoy the photos, as ever,comments and criticism always welcomed!!!

Cheers
Martin


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## martinmjr62 (14 Feb 2013)

Evening all just a few updated photo's of the Rio. Just added some Christmas moss courtesy of Wally, some Hydrocotyle Tripartita courtesy of  MattyC, some Pogostomen Stellata courtesy of Ben (B7fec), and some Fissidens  on wood courtesy of Ghostsword. I'd like to thank everyone who sent the plants, all I can say is fantastic service from everyone and excellent quality and quantities. Photo's of the said plants. The tank is now 15 weeks old and settling in quite nicely
Cheers
Martin 

























Thanks for looking. Any comments welcome

Cheers
Martin


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## Ady34 (14 Feb 2013)

Looking great Martin.
Seems you have the algae under control now, good job, and the tank is looking nice, I particularly like the first photo of the bolbitis, moss and fern  oh, and gotta love the hatchetfish!
Cheerio,
Ady.


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## martinmjr62 (15 Feb 2013)

Cheers Ady,sorry for the quality of the photo's,still using the iphone.Gonna have to try and take some with my Panasonic compact and download them,its just quicker with the iphone.The tank looks even better in the flesh.Hopefully getting some more Hatchetts over the weekend. I will end up a shoal of 15.

Cheers
Martin


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## martinmjr62 (24 Mar 2013)

Evening everyone.  Well it's been a good month since the last update on the tank. No major changes apart from taking out the secondary Eheim 2213 and changing it for a brand new unused Fluval 405 I got on eBay for £70 , so now running two of these and I've taken off the spray bar and running 2 Fluval outlets. Both filters are running the same media and a bag of purigen in each. The flow in the tank is fantastic everything swaying nicely. I've moved the Fluval diffuser to under the intake of one of the filters and the tank is now a hell of a lot clearer of bubbles apart from the odd belch from the filter when the gas builds up. Recently changed the light  tubes for new  ones, a 54w daylight and a 54w nature. I also added a 25w Arcadia tropical to the underside of the back lid  with a reflector. This light comes on an hour before the main lights and goes off an hour after the main lights so it dims down instead of just shutting straight off. Recently added some new flora namely Rotala Sp Ceylon and Myrophillum Mattogrossense courtesy of Ben ( B7fec) thanks mate. A lot off the flora is starting to grow nicely especially the moss on the wood areas , the Pogostomen  Helferi is getting better, the Anubis is flowering and the others seem to be ok apart from a little BBA  which is being kept in check with daily 5 ml doses of easy carbo.  updated piccies including one of the tank with the 25w light on its own.
P. S. 





































Also added 10 white tipped tetras this weekend
Thanks for looking, as usual all comments welcomed. 

Cheers
Martin





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## tim (25 Mar 2013)

Coming along really well now mate, the moss has really taken off lately. I do really like those marbled hatchets if only they didn't jump I would add a nice group to my tank. Good job you've done there mate.


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## martinmjr62 (25 Mar 2013)

Cheers Tim, i'm really pleased with the way it's developing but as they say still room for improvement,

Cheers
Martin


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## martinmjr62 (26 Mar 2013)

]Hi all, just checking to see if my new photobucket account is working,all new to me, so hopefully better pictures from now on instead of using the iphone








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Cheers
Martin


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## martinmjr62 (26 Mar 2013)

That didn't appear to work, i am completely useless on a computer


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## martinmjr62 (26 Mar 2013)




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## martinmjr62 (26 Mar 2013)

Obviously doing something wrong. stick with the i-phone much simpler for me.I cant seem to get the photo's smaller


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## martinmjr62 (27 Mar 2013)

Right, i think i've sussed out how to use photobucket linking for photos.hopefully these will come out and look better than the pictures i take using the i-phone. still got to get to grips with adding the writing in the right place  Cheers Martin


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## martinmjr62 (27 Nov 2013)

Evening everyone, I can't believe it's been 8'months  since I've written anything on here, spring an summer months just seem so busy with other things to do in the evenings. Any how, the tank is still going strong and has had quite a lot of plant changes, mainly due to buying stuff from forum members for it to fizzle out after a few months. Bought a lot of Pogostomen Helferi  which was superb only to have it slowly die off , likewise PP Cuba , Stellata , hydrocotyle,and a few other's that I can't remember. Not sure why any of these died off as they were all very good specimens bought from forum members. At the moment every thing seems stable  but the moss seems to be very very slow  but the fissedens is doing well 
Still doing a 50% WC once a week  and dosing macro and micro on alternate days. CO2 is added via a Fluval diffuser and the drop checker is lime green / yellow. 
Tank is filtered with 2 identical  Fluval 405's and flow is really strong , perhaps too strong, adding 6 ml of easycarbo each day as well. Most of the plants at the moment are growing ok and the Rotalla really gets going with a big trim once a month. 
I'm seriously thinking of a rescape  as being a year old now I think it might benefit from a new look and a change of planting. 
Over the months a few of the fish have passed away but the remaining ones all seem healthy and lively. Still love watching the Cory's at feeding time, especially fighting over the sinking pellets with the amano's.

Any how  some recent piccies from this evening






















Cheers for looking
Martin


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## Andy D (27 Nov 2013)

Looks great!


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## martinmjr62 (27 Nov 2013)

Thanks Andy, been way tooooo long
Nice to get back on here properly again 

Cheers 
Martin


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## Rob P (27 Nov 2013)

If you have any spare Rotala... ah hem! 

Agree looks great, very healthy and lush


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## martinmjr62 (28 Nov 2013)

Cheers Rob, always got Rotalla cuttings at least once a month. Just thrown a big hand full in the bin. Will have to start selling it but it's a pain sorting it out and posting as I work all week 12 hour days;( 
Cheers
Martin 


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## Edvet (28 Nov 2013)

Why dose Excel if you have CO2?
If you add enough CO2 , you don't need the ecxcel, it even can harm growth i've read.(read here on Ukaps, i was thinking of adding it, cause i am struggling to get enough CO2 in the tankm but read about the negative results). If you don't do CO2, then excel can help, as far as i understand.


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## martinmjr62 (28 Nov 2013)

Good point , I thought I read somewhere that it helped but I maybe wrong , possibly explains why my moss isn't growing 

Cheers
Martin


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## martinmjr62 (24 Jan 2014)

Evening all, just a quick update to the thread. Not much change really. Moved a few bits around  and thinned out some of the java fern. Got some Riccia in a holding trap  and fissedens in a bag until I get time to use it. Very busy decorating the kitchen at the moment. Got some spiky moss coming as well and will hopefully use all of these in the new shrimp set up that's going in the living room in the wall unit. A few update pictures


















Cheers
Martin


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