# helping a mate set up



## danmil3s (7 Jun 2011)

hope you guys might be able to help. my mate wants to set up a low tec jewel 190 corner tank. does anyone know any good articles or threads on ukaps i can point him to. thanks.


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## CeeJay (8 Jun 2011)

Hi danmil3s

You will struggle to keep this tank low tech with T5 lighting. I would strongly recommend the use of floating plants to keep the light intensity down and you will be OK. 
As you're already running a tank, the set ups are similar, just a lot less clutter in the cupboards  .  Most plants sold in the LFS's will work perfectly well in the low tech set up.
Here's a good read though, from the man himself Tom Barr's Non CO2 Methods


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## danmil3s (8 Jun 2011)

thanks CeeJay  i'll point him to that article hes joined the forum now. didn't know it was t5 lighting. floating plants and removing the reflectors should help i guess. its the water changes  of a high tec he's not keen on.


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## CeeJay (8 Jun 2011)

Hi danmil3s


			
				danmil3s said:
			
		

> thanks CeeJay i'll point him to that article hes joined the forum now. didn't know it was t5 lighting.


Well I just done a quick scoot on the web before I replied, as you didn't supply any tanks specs, apart from it's name. The Juwel 190 corner tanks are definitely supplied with T5's these days. If it is an older tank it may have T8's. Get your mate to check.



			
				danmil3s said:
			
		

> floating plants and removing the reflectors should help i guess.


Most definitely   



			
				danmil3s said:
			
		

> its the water changes of a high tec he's not keen on.


That's fine. Then low tech it is. Plants still grow (just a lot slower), and it's a lot less work too


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## danmil3s (9 Jun 2011)

Yeah sorry mate don't know any more than the name of the tank at the moment. I'll ask him to post he's looking at getting filters and power heads. Before he get the tank.

Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk


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## fiskey_1 (13 Jun 2011)

Hi it is my tank, i dont actually have it yet as it is at my brothers house so havent had a chance to check the lighting. I have been looking about and i wanted to know if the fluval 205 and Koralia Evolution 2800 Circulation Pump would be good enough to set this tank up. Idealy i want to have two large mountain like stones (any clues on where to find them would be great) some simple green plants and maybe some red ones also with grass. I havent got a clue which substrate to use so any sugestions would be more than helpfull, also if someone could recommend grass they have used before that is good that would also help. Is there any plants i should look at in particular or is it ok to go with pretty much any? Thanks

I have looked at the journal on your tank ceejay and that grass seems to be a winner, would you recommend i try that?


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## CeeJay (14 Jun 2011)

Hi fiskey_1
Welcome to the forum   
Thanks for the comments on the tank, but that was a seriously high maintenance tank. Only recommended if you like wet arms  .  I think the grass would grow in a low light set up, just maybe not so dense, and it would be slow growing too.
If you plan on going low tech with this set up you certainly won't need that much flow. Your immediate task will be to keep the lighting low. So get some floating plants in there like Amazon frogbit or diffuse the light somehow, to give yourself half a chance.
DIve over to this thread RO & CO2 Thread to see some pictures of my untidy low tech set up. There is a plant list and tank specs on there too, to give you some idea.
Substrate, depends on how much you want to spend   . You can get the designer stuff if you like.  The tank in those pics has been running for nearly 2 years and that's got cat litter as substrate


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## fiskey_1 (14 Jun 2011)

Ok so im fine about having floating plants to help with the light problem but is there any plants i simply cant use or can i just get the ones i like and go with it? I have picked up some good rocks today from the rockery place on my way home from work at 25p per kilo bargain. I dont really want to spend a fortune on designer substrate i am quite happy to use something like cat litter, would you say that it makes a whole lot of difference? Im assuming that when i get the tank i need to wash out the cat litter and the rocks before putting them in there and then plant it all out but should i be doing any water changes at the start? Also when you say that what i posted would be too much flow how much flow would you suggest for a 190 litre corner tank? Sorry to be a pain and ask 100 questions but i want to get this right first time dont want all the plants do die tank to look crap etc when it could have been avoided with a bit of research.


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## CeeJay (14 Jun 2011)

Hi fiskey_1

Carpeting plants should be avoided as to make them grow lush, most, if not all of them need CO2, and lots of it.
As far as substrates go, I used this one Tesco's Cat Litter, but it does take a lot of rinsing because it is scented. On my last set up I left it submerged in a barrel in the garden for a week and changed the water daily. This certainly reduced the final rinsing time. Word of warning though, it is very light, so bottom feeders will certainly stir it up   I only have mid and upper level occupants so I don't have any problems.


			
				fiskey_1 said:
			
		

> but should i be doing any water changes at the start?


No. But I would suggest you have some gentle surface ripple created by your spraybars or powerhead.



			
				fiskey_1 said:
			
		

> Also when you say that what i posted would be too much flow how much flow would you suggest for a 190 litre corner tank?


You can easily get away with 50% flow per hour in a low tech tank as the pace of life is a whole lot slower for the plants, just make sure it's evenly distributed, if you can.
The plants won't die on you providing you feed them. I only have to feed mine once a week in my low tech. Keeps everything nice and simple


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