# Juwel Rio 300 A New Beginning



## Timms2011 (8 Jul 2012)

I don't think theres a day that goes by where I don't take the time to look at the journals on here. The amount of talented, skilful scapers on here is phenomenal. Every scape is unique in it own way, and the help, support and advice from the forum is tremendous. So i've naturally been picking up some ideas and decided to buy a new Aquarium and have go. This is not my first aquarium, but fingers crossed it will be my first successful aquarium. I do not have the skill or knowledge the majority of the scapers have here, so it would be kool if you could help me along the way. If I've missed out any information you would need to advise me then please let me know so i can try my best to post it up. Also unfortunately the photo's up to this point have been taken on a iPhone, however yesterday i managed to pick a camera up which was a little better.

I've decided to go for more slow growing plants as I thought less pruning for me the better, not for the fact that i'm lazy, more i'm not the best at cutting plants back, this is assuming the plants grow in the first place that is. As usual i've managed to misplace some of the little plastic plant identification labels you get with the plants, So i hope I get the plant names correct. 

I'm up to about week 8 from when the first plants went in. I let the water mature for 4 weeks and gave the substrate the chance to release some of the ammonia as i was told plants are not overly keen on high levels of this.

Tank specs:
Aquarium: 121 x 51 x 66 cm 350litre Juwel Rio 300
Lighting: 4 x 54w T5's With Reflectors
Filtration: Fluval 406
Substrate: 3 x Amazonia Soil with 2 x Amazonia Powder
Co2: 2kg Fire Extinguisher with JBL solenoid Valve
C02 Diffuser: ADA Pollen glass
Drop counter: JBL 
Circulation Pump: Hydor Koralia Evolution 5200

Hardscape:
Redmoore Root And Petrified Wood, Not to much at the moment, however i will possibly be adding more at a later date depending on how things go.

Plants:

2 x Vallis
3 x Java fern narrow leaf
1 x Java Fern Petite
3 x Anubias bateri var nana
1 x Anubias petite
1 x Pogostemon helferi
1 x java moss
1 x Bolbitis heudelotii
2 x Marsilea hirsuta
3 x Cryptocoryne balanse 
2 x Hygrophilia pinnatifida
1 x Blyxa Japonica

Fish up until now:
2 x German Blue Rams ( my absolute favourite fish )
4 x Ottos
2 x harlequins ( Taken from my brothers )
4 x Amano shrimps
10 x cardinal tetras 


Ferts: EI Powders
KN03 5.4grams Mon, Wed and Fri
KH2Po4 2grams Mon, Wed and Fri
TNC Trace 1.4 grams Tues and Thurs
Easy Carbo 9ml per day

Water change: Every Sunday 50%Ro 50% Tap water

Lighting: 2x 54w 12pm - 8pm
              2x 54w  1pm - 7pm
Co2:                   11am - 7pm
Hydor Korollia     11am - 7pm

After the 4th week I decided to start playing about with the redmoore root, as you can see i haven't a clue.






Again I definitely don't have an eye for positioning wood, but hopefully the plants with help disguise this and save me a little.





I went with this layout in the end as frustration was getting the better of me, obviously completely ignoring all the golden rules of scaping.





Filled this gap in front of the vallis now with  Cryptocoryne balance and Hygrophilia pinnatifida, will put a picture up of this soon.





Added some of this plant forgotten the name possibly Echinodoros of some kind, to help with the ammonia spike and was gonna take to out after, however i really like it now so i'm gonna keep it in, will have a better picture to put up later on with any luck.





I do like the Japonica allot, nearly as much as the Japonica loves the Co2 i give it.





I really like the Bolbitis, I thought the darker green would look a nice addition.





This is the picture from last week. still a way to go, but filling in nicely.





I was wondering could anyone suggest a red plant for me to break up all the greens that fits in with the plants i already have? 

Also Good or bad I look forward to any comments to help improve my little project.


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## johnski (8 Jul 2012)

*Re: Juwel 350litre Aquarium*

I like how this has turned out. I think the dense greenness adds character to it, but if you want some red in there, maybe a Nymphaea Rubra would break it up a bit?


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## Timms2011 (8 Jul 2012)

*Re: Juwel 350litre Aquarium*



			
				johnski said:
			
		

> I like how this has turned out. I think the dense greenness adds character to it, but if you want some red in there, maybe a Nymphaea Rubra would break it up a bit?


Thank you very much, I
 will definitely put this plant on the list of possibilities


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## Timms2011 (8 Jul 2012)

*Re: Juwel 350litre Aquarium*

Just taken my pollen Glass off to clean it, and noticed i'm only running 1bps, i might up this a little possibly to 2bps as i think theres a little room to do this without affecting the health of my fish.. and despite how little flake food i'm given them I've noticed my fish are not eating up all the flake food, i think their waiting for the beefheart, bloodworm and brine shrimp i give them mid-day, clever little things


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## Timms2011 (8 Jul 2012)

*Re: Juwel 350litre Aquarium*

Some side view pics from earlier today after a 100litre water change, so water is a little cloudy. Definitely will clean the filter next week.

Just discovering how difficult it is to take a photo of a moving fish without a decent camera or tripod  
Both Male and Female Rams doing well   
..And spot the left behind fishing line i left in the tank...Doh!





Male Ram is still right up until i try and take his photo.





cryptocoryne balansae goes right across the back of the tank, not sure why the leaves are reddish/brown this time around, think i preferred the all green look,..never mind!


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## Ady34 (9 Jul 2012)

*Re: Juwel 350litre Aquarium*

Hey Tim,
gotta say that plant growth looks impressive and very healthy   
Just a question about the Rams if i can. I recently got some locally bred fish but would like a bit of advice regarding feeding. They seem very reluctant to take any flake, tetra prima etc (dried foods). I have a tropical frozen mix which contains red, white and black mosquito larvae, mysis, moina, daphnia, cyclops, and some greens which they found more appetising (mainly the red mosquito larvae) but what do you find the best? Ive heard too much bloodworm isnt good so is it a case of a good mixed diet and if so what do you recommend? Will this help encourage them onto the dried stuff too?
Cheers,
Ady.


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## Timms2011 (9 Jul 2012)

*Re: Juwel 350litre Aquarium*

Hiya Ady,

Thanks for the thumbs up, coming from you it means allot as i've constantly followed your excellent journal   

As for feeding Rams, i'm no expert, however I do know what my fish like and what i know i will be syphoning out 20 minutes later! The brand that works for me every time is 'TetraMin Crisps',they love the stuff, apart from the red ones, but the shrimp eat them so theres no problems there  I also on occasions add a little 'JBL Grano Colour' it gets left to last but they do eat it. I also only ever hand feed my fish using the long planting tweezers, this way i can get a close look at my fish to inspect them to ensure they are in good health and are all accounted for. I always feed them the flake food first and only when thats finished do i feed them the protein.

For the frozen food I buy 4 individual packs 1xBeefheart 1xBloodworm 1xBrineShrimp and 1XMysis this way i can add as little or as much as i want of each individual food. I will probably get through twice as much Mysis as anything else and the BloodWorm lasts 3 times as long as anything else here as i don't mix them up evenly as i know my fish like certain foods better than others and like you say bloodworm isn't that great in excess, but fortunately this is not the favourite out the four foods. I also hand feed them all of these using a turkey baster, again for the same reason as using the tweezers to inspect the fish.

This is all ready for feeding time, as you can see no Mysis as i've run out AGAIN!




Male Ram coming up for his protein mix fed through the turkey baster.




I forgot to mention i turn off my circulation pump so the food doesn't go everywhere and if i put the food in the middle it finds its way eventually around to the cardinal tetras at the back who are a little shy at the moment so every one gets fed. I leave the Fluval running, but the food gets eaten before it can reach the inlet pipe.




This is the female Ram eyeing up her food, she will actually wait for the food to blow closer towards her before she eats it, the other fish won't go near her or her food, Rams don't share food lol....Need to get that Algae off that glass tomorrow!




Well this is what i do, I hope this helps a little ADY

Thanks


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## Ady34 (9 Jul 2012)

*Re: Juwel 350litre Aquarium*

Hi Tim,
thanks for the comprehensive reply and thats an impressive impressive feeding kit you have. Its funny as i have a variety of tetra min crisps too, maybe i need to get them properly established to start eating them. I think ill get some frozen beef heart and brine shrimp and try these too a few times a week. Great that you take the time to hand feed to get a good look at the fish and ensure theyre feeding properly etc. They certainly look well fed and are nicely coloured. Great photos too.
Oh and no prob about the thumbs up, its looking impressive. The marsilea hirsuta carpet looks great.
Cheerio,
Ady.


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## Timms2011 (9 Jul 2012)

*Re: Juwel 350litre Aquarium*



			
				Ady34 said:
			
		

> Hi Tim,
> thanks for the comprehensive reply and thats an impressive impressive feeding kit you have. Its funny as i have a variety of tetra min crisps too, maybe i need to get them properly established to start eating them. I think ill get some frozen beef heart and brine shrimp and try these too a few times a week. Great that you take the time to hand feed to get a good look at the fish and ensure theyre feeding properly etc. They certainly look well fed and are nicely coloured. Great photos too.
> Oh and no prob about the thumbs up, its looking impressive. The marsilea hirsuta carpet looks great.
> Cheerio,
> Ady.


Hiya Ady,
No problem, just happy to help in some way. I only got these Rams just over a week ago, so they still need time to build up and their colours should be more vibrant in the coming weeks. I usually go for Golden Rams as I really love the deep and bright colours i can get them, I find them a little more pretty looking also, but i'm over the moon with these two   I have m.hirsuta at the front. Glosso is my all time favourite foreground plant, but i don't think i'm experienced enough to grow it as yet, maybe next time   

Thanks


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## Ady34 (9 Jul 2012)

*Re: Juwel 350litre Aquarium*



			
				Timms2011 said:
			
		

> I have m.hirsuta at the front. Glosso is my all time favourite foreground plant, but i don't think i'm experienced enough to grow it as yet, maybe next time
> 
> Thanks


Ha sorry ive made that look a bit silly, after i posted the question about your carpet i looked at your plant list at the top of the page and saw it was marsilea so changed my post   
I like the golden rams too, and the electric blue are very nice but it seems difficult finding decent ones.
Cheerio,
Ady.


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## Timms2011 (9 Jul 2012)

*Re: Juwel 350litre Aquarium*



			
				Ady34 said:
			
		

> Timms2011 said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


No worries Ady, i miss-read and miss-spell stuff all the time, MA In Wembley And St Albans do really nice Golden Rams


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## Timms2011 (14 Jul 2012)

*Re: Juwel 350litre Aquarium*

Just a quick pic of what my Aquarium looked like earlier today. I've planned a 100litre water change and a good clean  for tomorrow morning. I would also like use allot more of the lower left hand side foreground plant, as it's really growing nicely, I've planted a little more off this on the right hand side, Fingers crossed it will do equally as well over the this side.


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## Alastair (14 Jul 2012)

*Juwel 350litre Aquarium*

Looks lovely mate, very green and lush 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## tim (14 Jul 2012)

*Re: Juwel 350litre Aquarium*

this is looking real good mate very healthy growth


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## Timms2011 (14 Jul 2012)

*Re: Juwel 350litre Aquarium*



> by tim » Sat Jul 14, 2012 7:48 pm
> 
> this is looking real good mate very healthy growth


Thank you Tim, healthy growth and healthy fish was what I was aiming for in this Aquarium, maybe next time I could work a little harder on the hardscape arrangement, but for now I'm very happy


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## Timms2011 (14 Jul 2012)

*Re: Juwel 350litre Aquarium*



			
				Alastair said:
			
		

> Looks lovely mate, very green and lush
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Thank you Alistair, It's been a lot easier for me to work with a regular shaped aquarium for a change, with an external filter and circulation pump, as opposed to a corner Aquarium with a built in filter. I'm really happy with the lighting that came with it as well, they reach from one end to the other, and spread across the entire depth. This is a new experience for me


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## foxfish (14 Jul 2012)

*Re: Juwel 350litre Aquarium*

Very nice! 
Also interesting that you state you were dosing 1bps & upped to 2bps, what make of bubble counter do you use?
You seen to have found a good formula as the display really does look healthy for such a young tank.


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## Timms2011 (15 Jul 2012)

*Re: Juwel 350litre Aquarium*



			
				foxfish said:
			
		

> Very nice!
> Also interesting that you state you were dosing 1bps & upped to 2bps, what make of bubble counter do you use?
> You seen to have found a good formula as the display really does look healthy for such a young tank.


Hiya Foxfish, thanks for the kind comment   
I actually do not have a bubble counter, so how I try and gauge how many bps I'm using by taking the Co2 hose off of the pollen glass inlet when It undergoes it's weekly clean, I count the bubbles from there. I'm aware that there is the possibility this may not be an entirely accurate way of calculating the exact bps thats going into my aquarium, however I do use the drop checker to help aid me and determine If more or less is needed. All this accompanied by a visual check of how the fish are behaving, and I can usually get a very rough idea from how much Co2 I can see coming out the pollen glass. I understand that this is probably not the best way to go about calculating the required levels of Co2 I need, however I have very little signs of any type of algae and more importantly my fish are very happy   

Since I first introduced my plants into the aquarium I have upped my Co2 levels from 1bps to 2 or possibly 3bps by my estimations to accommodate the growth of the plants. I do sometimes believe that the Co2 coming from my Co2 system does fluctuate from time to time, so I did on occasions find myself playing around with the controls every now and then. I do think i could up it more, but I do like to leave a good gap encase of any accidental errors or miscalculations.

My EI fert dosing volumes has remained the same to this day, only with the exception of dosing Trace mix once I could see the plants have rooted nicely. If anyone could recommend any positive alterations to my EI doing schedule please let me know


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## foxfish (15 Jul 2012)

*Re: Juwel 350litre Aquarium*

Arr OK, it just that most folk use a much higher bubble count, I cant really count the number of bubbles on my  200lt tank due to the high speed of bubbles!
I would be amazed if you are only using 1 BPS as measured by a conventional bubble counter.


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## Timms2011 (15 Jul 2012)

*Re: Juwel 350litre Aquarium*



			
				foxfish said:
			
		

> Arr OK, it just that most folk use a much higher bubble count, I cant really count the number of bubbles on my  200lt tank due to the high speed of bubbles!
> I would be amazed if you are only using 1 BPS as measured by a conventional bubble counter.


Might be worth me investing in a bubble counter out of sheer curiosity. I could be wrong, but Other than the Japonica I thought all my plants Co2 needs were relatively low and assumed thats why it's growing as it is.


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## foxfish (15 Jul 2012)

*Re: Juwel 350litre Aquarium*

I would be very interested!
You seem to have got all the parameters right but I have never known or heard of a 350lt high tech tank to run on 1bps


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## Timms2011 (15 Jul 2012)

*Re: Juwel 350litre Aquarium*

Just a quick update.
Time for a 100litre water change, using 50% RO and 50% tap water, hose goes straight out the patio doors  into a bucket which i use to clean my filter pads and media   




Think I better pencil in a more frequent filter cleaning programme   




I use the internal 1000LPH filter head which I cut out the Juwel to get the water back into my aquarium as opposed to lifting up 25litre barrels and getting water all over my floor.




Water goes in at a nice steady rate, without disturbing the substrate or the fish.








Sorry for the poor picture quality on this pic, but I think its funny how anytime I play about with the Aquarium the Rams come over to investigate. Which is why I don't always opt for the quickest and easiest ways of doing things, such as water changes, It gives me time to admire and interact with my fish, which is the whole point of me doing all this  :thumb up:


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## Timms2011 (23 Jul 2012)

*Re: Juwel 350litre Aquarium*

Time for my 100litre water change again, I should have carried this out yesterday, however I thought my time would be better spent sleeping all day    My water levels are generally good, so I'm sure the plants and fish will forgive me just this once. I've decided seeing as the plants are doing quite well, I'm gonna build up the hardscape on the left hand side using some more stone to try and make the aquarium look a little more full. I have some mosses and riccia i'm not currently using, so I thought It would be a shame to waste them, so I could possibly incorporate these somewhere. I've also been thinking I may choose a different foreground plant. My Marsilea hirsute is doing really well, but I think I may try something else, not sure what though..Any suggestions are welcome!
Marsilea hirsute doing well


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## Gary Nelson (25 Jul 2012)

*Re: Juwel 350litre Aquarium*

Looks nice and healthy, do you dry dose your ferts or mix them in water before adding?


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## Timms2011 (25 Jul 2012)

*Re: Juwel 350litre Aquarium*



			
				Gary Nelson said:
			
		

> Looks nice and healthy, do you dry dose your ferts or mix them in water before adding?


Thanks Gary, what I do with the dry powders is, weigh them in a plastic disposable cup, then scoop some aquarium water out the tank to mix the powders with, stir it with a teaspoon and then gently poor it in, just in front of the outlet pipe of the filter. I always make sure I add the fertilisers before the lights come on, not for any other reason other than to not confuse the fish. I understand that ferts may not harm fish, however I wouldn't fancy a mouth full of trace mix when i'm looking for my lunch


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## Timms2011 (30 Jul 2012)

*Re: Juwel 350litre Aquarium*

Just a quick update, I've decided i've had enough of my present foreground plant as it's growing out of control. I was only going to pull a little out, but it all came out in virtually one piece. I was thinking of splitting up my Blyxa Japonica and using that as a foreground, but I really didn't want to disturb it as it was going really well. So i'll have to get my thinking cap on  :?


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## Timms2011 (9 Aug 2012)

*Re: 350 litre, how to dose EI whilst I'm on Holiday?*

Hiya all, It's just dawned on me i'm going on holiday for 3 weeks and I was wondering how I could go about dosing my aquarium whilst I was away? I will have my parents coming around once a week to do a water change, however like many others on UKAPS I have a daily dosing regime, any thoughts or possible solutions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks


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## Dan Wiggett (9 Aug 2012)

*Re: 350 litre, how to dose EI whilst I'm on Holiday?*



			
				Timms2011 said:
			
		

> Hiya all, It's just dawned on me i'm going on holiday for 3 weeks and I was wondering how I could go about dosing my aquarium whilst I was away? I will have my parents coming around once a week to do a water change, however like many others on UKAPS I have a daily dosing regime, any thoughts or possible solutions would be greatly appreciated.
> 
> Thanks


You could get yourself a dosing unit?
http://www.simplyaquaria.co.uk/Kamoer_3 ... 25293.aspx
Once you have bought it you'll never need to manually dose ever again...


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## Timms2011 (9 Aug 2012)

*Re: 350 litre, how to dose EI whilst I'm on Holiday?*



			
				Splinun said:
			
		

> Timms2011 said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I was hoping I wouldn't have to spend this amount of money to be honest, but maybe as a last resort!


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## Dan Wiggett (9 Aug 2012)

*Re: 350 litre, how to dose EI whilst I'm on Holiday?*

Trust me, best thing you will ever do. Imagine not manually dosing every day


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## Nathaniel Whiteside (9 Aug 2012)

*Re: 350 litre, how to dose EI whilst I'm on Holiday?*

Hey, 

look Here

or contact ian_m and as him to possibly make you one? I would consider it myself, could work out a lot cheaper.

cheers,


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## Timms2011 (19 Oct 2012)

*Juwel 350 litre update*

Just A couple iPhone pics of my aquarium after adding a few new plants, and a new C02 diffuser I picked up from my recent trip to Hong Kong   I wanted more of a jungle effect so some of my smaller fish could hide more, I believe my last layout was a little too bare and made the fish a little nervous forcing them to take cover in the aquarium corners. Now that problem has been solved    

Side view



Another view from the side, the front view came out blurry, so i'll have another go tomorrow!


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## Ady34 (19 Oct 2012)

*Re: 350 litre, how to dose EI whilst I'm on Holiday?*

Awesome.
Looks lush in there buddy.


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## steve_bham (19 Oct 2012)

*Re: 350 litre, how to dose EI whilst I'm on Holiday?*

Looks amazing. Def given me some ideas for my tank.


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## Antipofish (20 Oct 2012)

Hi, I've just read this journal from start and am very impressed with what you have achieved.  Growth is excellent and it looks great with the mix of Vallis and Balansae as background plants.  I love tall background plants which lean forward and cover part of the tank, such as in this pic of yours...





However I have a couple of questions...

1) How are your filter returns set up (method and direction) such that the vallis flows forward only ?  (Tall plants in my tank dont 'lean' the way I want them to).
2) Does this not cut the light down meaning your carpet plants struggle ? (Obviously not, because the rest of your plants look healthy as well, but do you compensate by having a longer photo period ?, and how long is it?).
3) Where is your diffuser located (in relation to your pump/filter outflow) ?
4) Did you clarify your CO2 injection rate ?
5) What did you do about fert dosing whilst away in the end ? Did you change your lighting period whilst away ?

Thanks, and keep up the excellent work, I love this size tank as well as whats inside it.
Cheers
Chris


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## Timms2011 (20 Oct 2012)

*Re: 350 litre, how to dose EI whilst I'm on Holiday?*



			
				Ady34 said:
			
		

> Awesome.
> Looks lush in there buddy.


Thank you very much Ady, unfortunately I may well be taking this aquarium down in the coming months, as I may be moving house, but that'll give me the opportunity to bank the substrate allot more when I start the new tank and try some new ideas. All this tank was really about was can I actually grow healthy looking plants? I've allot more to learn, but i'm happy with what i've achieved here


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## Timms2011 (20 Oct 2012)

*Re: 350 litre, how to dose EI whilst I'm on Holiday?*



			
				steve_bham said:
			
		

> Looks amazing. Def given me some ideas for my tank.


Thank you Steve


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## Timms2011 (20 Oct 2012)

Antipofish said:
			
		

> Hi, I've just read this journal from start and am very impressed with what you have achieved.  Growth is excellent and it looks great with the mix of Vallis and Balansae as background plants.  I love tall background plants which lean forward and cover part of the tank, such as in this pic of yours...
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Hiya Antipofish, thank you for taking the time to read my journal and i'm happy you like it   I'll have a go at answering your questions. 

Originally I had just one filter with the inlet on the left-hand side of the aquarium and the outlet on the right hand side, blowing across the back, from right to left. Since adding some additional plants I've introduced a second external filter rena XP3, I use the 10' spraybar it came with, this helps keep the C02 bubbles in the water for longer as it forces them down almost to the substrate level, and when the rise my circulation pump jets them over to the other side of the aquarium. Both inlets are on the left hand side along with the spraybar outlet.

I never found any plants struggling as a result of the vallis being so long, I only cut it back as the food flakes from my automatic feeder wasn't getting to the fish effectively as it was getting caught in the strands. In the end I decided to pull it out as it just grew to thick and quickly, and I couldn't risk the fish not getting there food whilst I was away for 3 weeks. I replaced it with Cyperus helferi which seems to grow allot slower, but suits my needs better.

The C02 levels I've upped to accommodate the growth of the plants, I'm not entirely sure how much I'm currently dosing as I still have no bubble counter, My PH indicator is useless as well as i'm using 100% RO water, so the water in the indicator has no colour at all. I have allot of surface agitation from the spraybar and the air stone still comes on half an hour before the light turn out, and that remains on for a further 10 hours so theres no chance of gassing the fish, all this along with this my wife is at home all day to keep an eye on things for me   

The diffuser is still in the same place front bottom left of my aquarium, only I changed my diffuser from a ADA pollen glass to one I picked up from Hong Kong, a spare whilst one is being cleaned. The Lighting periods have never changed,  as for the dosing regime whilst I was away, I was lucky enough to get my nephew to undergo this task. He dosed micro Monday and friday, with Trace on wednesdays... I now only do a 20% water change each week on a Sunday.

I hope this helps you in some way, anymore questions please feel free to ask, or any criticisms I'm happy to listen to also


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## Brian Murphy (20 Oct 2012)

As with Antipofish I have just read the thread from start to finish and it has given me some ideas as to what to do with mine ..... I think I need to start dosing when I get my new Co2 system and also a drop checker and Im gonna use a Mixer Reactor Diffuser and this is what Ive ordered http://www.co2supermarket.co.uk/ . Hopefully I can get lush green growth like yours then.


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## Timms2011 (21 Oct 2012)

Murf said:
			
		

> As with Antipofish I have just read the thread from start to finish and it has given me some ideas as to what to do with mine ..... I think I need to start dosing when I get my new Co2 system and also a drop checker and Im gonna use a Mixer Reactor Diffuser and this is what Ive ordered http://www.co2supermarket.co.uk/ . Hopefully I can get lush green growth like yours then.


Hello Murf, Thank you for taking the time to look at my journal, I'm sure your aquarium will look equally as good as lush green as mine, if not better


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## Timms2011 (2 Nov 2012)

*Quick Picture update.*

Just a quick pick taken from my iphone. The plants look somewhat disorganised, but thats okay with me as I'm no gardener. The main thing is the fish are happy


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## Antipofish (2 Nov 2012)

It looks awesome.  For newbies on here, it would be very helpful if you could match the above with a plan saying what each plant is.  Just write it on some paper and take a pic of it, nothing fancy. What you reckon ? I love the tall thin leafed plant in the middle but cannot tell what it is at this res,as with the one at the far right... is it an aponogeton ?


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## Timms2011 (20 Dec 2012)

Antipofish said:


> It looks awesome. For newbies on here, it would be very helpful if you could match the above with a plan saying what each plant is. Just write it on some paper and take a pic of it, nothing fancy. What you reckon ? I love the tall thin leafed plant in the middle but cannot tell what it is at this res,as with the one at the far right... is it an aponogeton ?


Hiya AntipoFish, sorry for the late reply, I'm in the middle of decorating my new place so I haven't had the time to come on UKAPS. My Aquarium is still up and running, but in need of a major trim as I've noticed that despite the 2 externals and the internal circulation pump the dense plants are really slowing down the flow and circulation, so a major trim is in the pipeline. I've also noticed the Moss I attached to the redmoore root has detached itself as I've not been cutting it back as I used to. On the whole its still running pretty nicely, apart from the Japonica uprooted itself, so I replanted it all along the front, which was my intention from the beginning I just never had enough of it to go around. As for drawing out a picture of what plants are where I will have to do this once I put down the paint brushes as i've loads to do and so little time to do it in. The tall leafed plant in the middle is Cyperus helferi and the one in front of this is staurogyne repens which i've ripped out now. The one you are referring to on the back far right is echinodorus martii which grows enormous, so regular trimming is required. Hope this helps a little and I'll sort out that drawing when I get a minute or two. Thanks.


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## Timms2011 (11 Mar 2013)

After lots and lots of consideration I finally made the decision to take down my aquarium, mainly due to the fact that I have so little time these days to look after it the way I have done in the past. The plants were growing so tall and thick it was disrupting the flow inside the tank, in turn that was causing an out break of this long stringy green algae, which wasn't a major problem as I only had to pull one end of it and it would all come out in one piece. I also started to skip water changes as they seemed to be a major chore. So last night I decided to put my aquarium on flea-bay, I was just one click away, then I thought I would just play about with the hardscape one last time before I clicked that button....... As I was doing this It came to me, I haven't yet tried a low maintenance biotope, this would be perfect for the time I have to spend maintaining my aquarium "just when I thought i was out, they drag me back in" springs to mind! So now I'm delighted to say I'm very excited about my new project, any tips or links to a Biotope journal will be appreciated! 

Thanks!


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## Timms2011 (11 Mar 2013)




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## Timms2011 (11 Mar 2013)

Obviously needs allot of work in terms of hardscape design, however this gave me the idea. Ultimately I would like to have the redmoore root descending down from the top of the aquarium to the bottom. I would like some water lilies on the surface with maybe some needle leaf java fern attached to the redmoore root. Sand for the substrate with various rocks scattered along the base. Very basic, but very much Looking forward to it


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## scuttler (14 Mar 2013)

Interesting read. I seem to have gone the other way (low-->high tech), and your tank given me some excellent ideas for my new tank. Looking forward to see what you can do with a basic setup 

thanks


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## Ady34 (14 Mar 2013)

Timms2011 said:


> any tips or links to a Biotope journal will be appreciated!


 
Peruvian #biotope? | UK Aquatic Plant Society
SA Bio type ideas? | UK Aquatic Plant Society
Lake Inle Biotope | UK Aquatic Plant Society
60cm - Liberty Island (Cenotes biotope) | UK Aquatic Plant Society
Rio Negro biotope | UK Aquatic Plant Society
Cambodia Blackwater Pool Biotope | UK Aquatic Plant Society
A Great British Biotope | UK Aquatic Plant Society
Andrew's Chocolate Gourami Biotope | UK Aquatic Plant Society

Theres a few for you to peruse  Some of them do contain plants but thought id link them anyway. Maybe my favourite and something which you could recreate with your wood is the Cambodia blackwater pool...very nice and no plants. George did another one fairly recently which was featured in PFK, with angels and rummy noses, again without plants, just wood, sand and leaf litter....cant find the link for that one just now, but its another idea worth considering.
Shame mate as your planted tank was a picture of health....but better to try your hand at something less demanding of your time than leave the hobby altogether 
Keep us posted.
Cheerio,
Ady.


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## Timms2011 (14 Mar 2013)

Ady34 said:


> Peruvian #biotope? | UK Aquatic Plant Society
> SA Bio type ideas? | UK Aquatic Plant Society
> Lake Inle Biotope | UK Aquatic Plant Society
> 60cm - Liberty Island (Cenotes biotope) | UK Aquatic Plant Society
> ...


Thanks you very much for all these links Ady, It was my wife who suggested I find the time to keep my Aquarium, she really got involved with the last one and believes it was strange to have a 350l aquarium in a one bedroom flat in the first place, but now we've moved to a house where we can now accommodate the Aquariums size, I feel I have to get rid of it   We're now thinking Discus fish, but I'm not so sure 350l will be enough to house these, I'll have to do some research! Thanks again and keep up your excellent work... that aquarium of yours looks awesome!


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## Timms2011 (14 Mar 2013)

scuttler said:


> Interesting read. I seem to have gone the other way (low-->high tech), and your tank given me some excellent ideas for my new tank. Looking forward to see what you can do with a basic setup
> 
> thanks


Thanks for taking the time to read my Journal, I'm glad it gave you a some ideas, I would like it to be basic and thats the plan, however theres something lurking inside me that say theres a small chance i'm gonna be tempted to go back to a high tech aquarium again, we shall see! I'm looking forward to seeing how your aquarium turns out, keep us posted


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## Ady34 (14 Mar 2013)

No probs mate and thanks.
I reckon 350l is ample for a group of 6 (long term). You could get 8 juveniles and grow them on and maybe look to re-home 2 at a later date, although recent articles in PFK by reputable discus guys suggest 8 would be fine in this volume. 
Maybe not 100% biotope specific, but Jeff Senske did an amazing Discus tank with just wood hardscape and sand substrate. I wont spam your journal with the image,  but i linked it in my current 'sticks and stones' journal (page 1 or 2, cant remember)......more food for thought  
Good luck.


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