# Juwel Rio 240l lighting



## brads (6 Oct 2013)

Hi All,

I have a Juwel Rio 240l with 2 x 54 watt Arcadia Plant grow J5 tubes (1047mm) with reflectors.

Is this enough lighting, for the size of my aquarium:

http://i.imgur.com/gbJPxJe.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/ledmBwD.jpg




The Arcadia T5 High Output - Plant Pro is a T5 lamp that is ideal for use with tropical aquariums. It has been specifically formulated to combine the red and blue spectral peaks of the original tropical lamp to support plant photosynthesis, with the higher light output of the freshwater lamp. The result is a lamp which is noticeably brighter than the original tropical, making it ideal for more demanding plant species.
*Specifications:*​
54 Watt -42" 1047mm
*At a glance:*​
Superior Plant growth
Enhance colours of fish and plant
Satisfy plant species with a higher light requirements
 
My Tank is heavily planted, Co2 Injection and dosing with All in One El, Lush Max

 LUSH Max Aquatic Fertiliser 1 litre Aquarium Plant Food Fish Tank Fertilizer | eBay

Assistance much appreciated.

Billy


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## sa80mark (7 Oct 2013)

2 x 54w with reflectors is more than enough light it may even turn out to be to much, one thing ive learnt from this forum is that lighting is not the key to a successful tank, pretty much all plants will grow in a lot less light than we think by far the most important things are ferts and co2, co2 is where 99% of problems come from if you ensure excellent distribution of co2 then things will be fine,  im far from experienced but when you set up the tank keep flow high, co2 high and light low, around 5 hour photoperiod to start and possibly without the reflectors, one thing I lernt quickly on my first scape, having less light is much easy to correct than having to much light then spending weeks or months trying to get rid of algae

Mark


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## Lee Sweeting (7 Oct 2013)

Hi Brad! I have a rio 125 and am using the t5 tubes that came with the tank. Initially i was also using reflectors, but have since removed them. Initially I was supplying too much light and not enough co2, which resulted in me melting pretty much all of my carpeting plants. As mark says, i think you are better off starting with less light and concentrating on Co2 and ferts. My tank has really taken off since reducing the light and getting co2 and ferts right. 

Lee.


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## brads (7 Oct 2013)

Hi Lads,

Thanks ever so much for the input.

A lesson to be learnt. I put the same question to my LFS and they convinced me to buy another lighting unit, stating that I had insufficient lighting.
to that end I'm now £200 + out of pocket... well anyway they will do for spares when the other light unit burns out! so I've been told..

Thanks again for the input. I only wished I subscribed to Ukaps before I bought the Aquarium in July this Year.

Regards,

Billy


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## brads (7 Oct 2013)

Just to add.......... I understand now why all my Annubias Nano 15+ of them for the second time now, have more or less died on me i.e the rhizome rotting away like a powdery substance, again all down to LFS, and to much lighting, poor Co2 distribution and bad flow circulation.

Could anyone out there recommend where I can buy Aquatic Plants from?

Assistance  appreciated.

Billy


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## sa80mark (7 Oct 2013)

Im a bit bias but have a look at aqua essential (one of our sponsor) they are quite simply superb, great price and service is second to none


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## Troglodyte (7 Oct 2013)

Brads,
I would be happy with the jest of the comments above, and I would say that if the driver burns out *"as claimed"* in short time for a T5 unit get in touch with Arcadia directly. Although I would be very surprised that this is the case, from my own knowledge. £200 for a T5 lighting unit seems expensive? What did you buy?


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## brads (7 Oct 2013)

Hi Troglodite,

I bought the Juwel 240 Rio Lighting unit + 3 piece flap set with 4 x Arcadia plant grow pro T5s. The Light Unit came with Juwel T5s high lite day 9000K again was told that these tubes were no good for growing plants hence buying  4 arcadia T5s

I was told buy my LFS that the jewel light units have a tendency to burn out after 1 year.

http://i.imgur.com/ofhOpd3.jpg   £175.00

http://i.imgur.com/fZBoJA4.jpg  £25.00

Plus 4 Arcadia plant grow pro T5s. £25.00 each

Regards,

Billy


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## brads (7 Oct 2013)

Hi Mark, I've looked at Aqua essentials and they are looking at £20.00 plus for delivery, because I live in belfast which is still part of UK.
£7.50 I think delivery in uk which I don't mind paying.. but £20:00 thats a bit steep.

Is there another, other than Aqua essentials ! 

Billy


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## sa80mark (7 Oct 2013)

Oh thats a bugger, you could try freshwater shrimp they to are a sponsor and have great reviews then theres the green machine there the only other 2 ive had experience with, failing that theres java plants and plants alive but ive got no experience with either 

A google search has thrown up aquaworld.ie based in Ireland and stock tropica plants ?
Mark


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## brads (7 Oct 2013)

Thanks Mark.

Billy


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## Troglodyte (7 Oct 2013)

Hi Brads,
Oh I see it is the Juwel T5 lighting unit. I am not sure it will burn out after only a year but I would be interested in hearing if it does. My brother (an electrician) repairs his Juwel units by cutting open the hood and replacing with a better (more reliable) starter unit. He then seals it all back down making it water tight again and has run these for many more years. Just a thought to minimise your outlay, if it does go. 
I do not think the LFS will be trying to mislead you, however, it appears there may be some grounds to doubt the claim made by him. I have being doing some lighting spectrum and photosynthesis reviews and I am beginning to see where Cegs was coming from when he made his earlier thread comments on this subject.  However I have more reading to do before, I myself, can make any further constructive contributions to this subject. Hopefully in the future though.


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## Pinkmummy79 (7 Oct 2013)

Hi Billy, I too can vouch for Aqua essentials, I understand the additional postage to be a charge levied by the carriers rather than the stores, it seems the couriers have zones where additional charges apply which are out of the stores control:-S
Another I have used are charterhouse Aquatics, they do have free delivery over £50 but you may want to check their t&c for any additional fees
Clive

Sent from my LT30p using Tapatalk 4


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## brads (7 Oct 2013)

Off with the reflectors and will monitor over the next few weeks, will also concentrate on the Co2 injection.

Thanks again, all for taking the time out it has been a roller coaster so far, but with the help from Ukaps members  i will eventually have some wonderful aqua-scapes.

Kindes regards,

Anyone interseted in buying T5s and a Juwel Rio 240l Lighting unit,  

Billy


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## ceg4048 (7 Oct 2013)

brads said:


> The Arcadia T5 High Output - Plant Pro is a T5 lamp that is ideal for use with tropical aquariums. It has been specifically formulated to combine the red and blue spectral peaks of the original tropical lamp to support plant photosynthesis, with the higher light output of the freshwater lamp. The result is a lamp which is noticeably brighter than the original tropical, making it ideal for more demanding plant species.


Which is complete load of steer manure.

Cheers,


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## brads (7 Oct 2013)

Hi Ceg,

This is what is on Arcadia website,

I asked if these T5s were enough or to much for my juwel rio 240l, I'm new to planted aquariums and these lights were recommended by LFS

I Have very little choice with the overall length of my unit being 1047mm.

 The choice I have with the current setup is Arcadia or Juwel high lite day being 9000kelvin which again told by LFS not to use as they are no good for planted aquariums.

Assistance would be much appreciated.

Regards
Billy


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## ceg4048 (7 Oct 2013)

Hi Billy,
		   Here is a special UKAPS tip: Ignore all advice about plants from LFS. If you have a question about hamsters and so forth, then I'm sure their advice will be useful, however, this is not the case with plants.

Here is truth:

You can use any bulb of any Kelvin and any color you want. The thing that kills plants is when you use too much light and not enough CO2 and nutrition. You will not find any correlation between the color or brand of bulb you use and plant health. Always use the color combination of bulbs that look nice to YOU, not to the LFS. If you like 9000K bulbs then use them. Your plants will not care.

I'll refer you to the chart embedded in the post Dymax Tropical 36 watt | Page 4 | UK Aquatic Plant Society
Have a look at the chart, measure the distance to the substrate, and try as much as possible to stay in the blue zone.

Pay much more attention to your CO2, flow and distribution techniques because that is what grows plants and has, by far the greatest influence on your success. Please navigate to the top of this Lighting section and read the sticky thread at the very top of the page. This will give you an idea of the different color combinations. None of them have any advantage in growing plants AND those bulbs are cheap, so you can affor to buy a lot of them and play around until you find a combination that you like.

Navigate to the Tutorial Section of the forum and read the article threads there.

Cheers,


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## Lee Sweeting (7 Oct 2013)

Hi Brads! Aquajardin are also good for plants (there all from tropica), the service is very good too.


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## brads (7 Oct 2013)

Thanks Lee will give them a go.

Billy


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## brads (7 Oct 2013)

Thanks Ceg,
It's much appreciated, however because of the size of the light unit I have, I only have the 2 choices Arcadia or Juwel 1047mm T5 size


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## sa80mark (7 Oct 2013)

I might be wrong but have a look at I aquatics im sure they do juwel compatible bulbs


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## brads (7 Oct 2013)

Hi Mark,

I've looked there they don't do my size.

I have 7 x T5s and now down to using 2 of them the arcadia 54 watt plant grow pro I have 4 x High Lite Day which I was told they are no good for plants.

Ceg put me in the right direction and now have ease of mind and work with the 2 x T5s 54 watt Arcadia plant grow without the reflectors and concentrate on getting my co2 and flow circulation right and will monitor over the next few weeks.

Regards.

Billy


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## brads (7 Oct 2013)

Hi there, Ceg

Could I ask you a question?

I noticed on one forum about Co2, taking a sample to check Ph level and then another sample of the tank water shake it vigorously and then leave for 1/2 hr and take a Ph reading and compare the 2.

I have done this about  1 hr ago and the first sample was between Ph 6.4 and 6.00 the second sample I left for 1/2 hr read Ph 7.2 is this ok?

Assistance gratefully appreciated.
Billy


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## brads (7 Oct 2013)

Sorry Ceg,

The second reading was Ph 7.6


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## Troglodyte (8 Oct 2013)

Cegs,



> Here is a special UKAPS tip: Ignore all advice about plants from LFS. If you have a question about hamsters and so forth, then I'm sure their advice will be useful, however, this is not the case with plants


 
This is a very sweeping generic statement surely it is not a UKAPS special tip?  Your own opinion maybe, but not a UKAPS tip?   This may run the risk of alienating our forum sponsers who are trying their best to support the information and technology supported by UKAPS. Let's keep it real and less generic please. There are some LFS who are UKAPS members that are trying their level best to educate the public too.
I agree that the OP may have got bad/dubious advice, but let's not throw the baby out with the bath water, eh? no matter how frustrating it may get.  
As people on this forum hold you in good authority on this subject.


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## Troglodyte (8 Oct 2013)

Brads,
I am pretty sure you are correct, that the two manufacturers are the only ones that do these sizes. From my experience anyway. It was one of the reasons that the manufacturer Juwel went in this direction so the lamps could not be replaced with standard working lamps. Only Arcadia developed the competitive lamps to their sizes, to my current knowledge.  I am sure others will correct if they have found another supplier.


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## Troglodyte (8 Oct 2013)

Brads,
Oops  Iquatics also do them.
Our new* i*Quatics Juwel/Aquatlantis *Aqua Blue 50:50 Hybrid* and *Blue Plus T5's* are now available for sale in *Juwel* 
and *Aquatlantis* Compatible T5 sizes
Regards


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## ceg4048 (8 Oct 2013)

Yes, thanks, you are correct. It's not good to throw the baby out with the bath water.Your point is well taken.

Unfortunately, this does not change the fact that LFS generally are a bad place for advice. The number of LFS where good advice is given is relatively low. Naturally, the LFS members here are exceptions to this general rule, and will give excellent advice. I think this goes without saying. Members need to understand that unless they are shopping at a member LFS then the odds are stacked against them in terms of advice.

I'm sure that our member LFS are all too aware of the problems of bad advice in the hobby, and, as you mention, they strive to understand the truth in order to provide a better service to their customers and to undo the damage done by their colleagues in the industry.

It might actually be a better idea for our LFS members to network in order to organize an education program for those recalcitrant LFS. That might be an even more effective strategy.

I apologize for any inconvenience in making such a sweeping statement, but there is no way I'm going to sugar coat the truth, especially when we hear horror stories such as that listed by the OP, and when we have to spend the time and energy to help undo that damage.

Here's another tip: The OP should be given maximum credit for now discovering, and accepting the truth, despite how painful it must be.

I have no problems with adding the caveat that member LFS (and probably a small percentage of other LFS) are an exception to the general rule of bad advice prevalent in the industry.

Hope this helps!

Cheers,


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## brads (8 Oct 2013)

I totally agree with Ceg's statement. If  I received the correct info at the start I wouldn't be @ least £400 out of pocket.

I have just bought another external filter Aqaumanta efx 1200.

The Aquamanta Efx 1000u, that I have at the moment was advice giving to me from my LFS stating that it will be more than enough for the aquarium volume you have, hence having to go out and buy another one because it was les than xs 5 the flow rate required. 

If any one is interested in buying 7 T5s 54 watt (1047mm) and a light unit for a jewel rio 240, please don't hesitate to PM me  lol.

Regards
Billy






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## brads (8 Oct 2013)

Hi Ceg,

I was reading the forum about Co2 where you stated about taking a sample  of the the aquarium water check the  Ph and then take a sample from the same aquarium water shake it vigorously, leave it for 1/2hr i did this, my first Ph was in between 6.4 & 6.0 the second was 7.6 is this ok:


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## GreenNeedle (8 Oct 2013)

Yes, in general CO2 at the right ppm will drop the Ph by 1 point or so. It isn't as good as using a drop checker with 4dKH but it is quite a normal reading. Similarly my tap water comes out at 7.4 and if I leave it 24 hours it rises to 8.2 after the CO2 has gassed off.

What you have heard about the Juwel I bars burning out is not as severe as it may sound. As trogolodyte says it is the poor quality ballasts that they use which burn out. I solved this problem years ago for someone on TFF when I was messing about with ballasts and making my own retrofits. He then did a guide on it on TFF which I link to below.  I won't take the credit though as I am sure someone must've done it before I suggested it.

Juwel must be cursing me as instead of someone paying for a new I bar they now only needed to buy a £10 - £20 ballast that was better than the one they got in the first place with the unit 

Fixing Juwel Light Bar. - Do-It-Yourself Projects & Hardware - Tropical Fish Forums


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## brads (8 Oct 2013)

Cheers Supercoley your a star.I will save that link for future.

Regards
Billy


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## Simon jones (3 Mar 2014)

Aqua essentials are expensive as are the postage costs. Green Machine are excellent as are Aquajardin, they order the plants in direct from Tropica which means they are super quality.


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