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First low tech - advice needed

https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/262681114 I think I used the low dust version though if you can get it. Needs washed a million times then wash again for first time use but after that you can keep it indefinitely. My next low tech I'm planning on capping soil with it.
 
I have to disagree that fish don't care about hardness.

"It is true that most tetras except for a few can adapt to harder and more alkaline conditions, but they won't show their best colours and may not show natural behaviour as a result. They'll live but they won't thrive."

- would you disagree with this comment?

For reference my tank is kept around 100ppm with pH around 7. Out of the tap KH is around 15, GH over 20, TDS around 280, pH around 8.2.
 
My water is 22GH and my tetras & cardinal tetras (and all my other fish) seem to live for ever and have absolutely no colouring issues. Tetras in particular really stand out (with correct lighting) making them absolutely crap about blending into the greenery of the plants.

I have never heard of Tetra's requiring any particular water hardness, mine don't seem to care.

My plants don't seem to have issues either, once settled in, a weekly trim is an essential requirement for all my plants.
 
I agree with Ian, take a look at one of Dave's tanks at Aquarium Gardens, very hard water and I've never seen Cardinals look so healthy or colourful...



On the subject of substrate, I'd definitely go for aquatic compost, you can also mix in 25-50% peat if you like. Tropica also do a similar product which is used in a similar way, and does a similar job, but again it's more bucks https://tropica.com/en/plant-care/substrate/ so you might as well use the much cheaper compost.

 
Thanks all. In this case I might gradually transition from RO to tap water and closely monitor the fishes' health & activity 🙂

So I think I will go for aquatic compost topped with sand... Does anyone have any favourite compost? And will a thin layer of sand block the roots from reaching the nutrients? I think I read that somewhere...
 
P.S. what are the advantages of using peat moss? I just ordered 20L of the Westland Aquatic Compost. I think that will probably be enough for what I need.
 
If your water is hard it can help to soften and acidify it slightly.
 
I thought we just established that neither plants nor fish care about hard water.
 
They don't, but adding tannins and humic acids are beneficial to fish health over all especially if they originate from waters like that. I believe the likes of iron is more available to plants in acidic conditions. The tannins help detoxify heavy metals in the water so if you plan to go back to tap it may help. The softening and acidification is only very slight.
 
Sacha said:
So my tank arrived!

IMG_9563.jpg

****ing hopeless.
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No way what a joke. They just get kicked about when in transit. I work in transport and see it all the time there is no respect for anything any more. Hopefully you will get it sorted.

Cheers lee
 
How disappointing 🙁

Should be no problem sorting the replacement (did you order from Juwel or local shop?)

Looking at Juwel site, the MultiLux LED seem to be basic linear array LED with no internal reflecting lens (eg Kessil uses 120degree lens & in the new A360X have switched out to an improved lens etc increasing intensity output) which in combination with the 55cm height of this tank, means you will have decidedly low - moderate PAR at the substrate

You might contact Juwel & ask if they included a similar system at their Interzoo 2018 booth, that should provide a good starting point for what lighting level/plant species/growth you might expect

Juwel slightly dated tutorial videos are worth watching (you’ll also find several Juwel Aquariums on Tropica’s Inspiration page) though most will use CO2 for speed of growth even with “easy” plants

Definitely switch over to tap water!

Note that most cardinals & tetras etc are tank bred, easiest acclimation is buying from a shop with similar tank conditions to your own water

There are definitely species which do not thrive when kept in water parameters differing substantially from their natural habitat but these are seldom common in local shops (though some shops do offer soft water & hard water sections, eg my tap is very soft, most shops keep livebearers in water adjusted to higher pH & GH)
Water parameters often impact offspring sex ratios and survival rates, they can also affect natural fish behaviour

Peat in tanks can be messy, instead I’d add a bag to your filter or pre-treat change water (well actually I’d not bother at all 😉 )
You can add some in the soil layer below your fine gravel/coarse sand substrate - again you’ll see a similar approach on Tropica Inspiration page, Tropica Growth Substrate plus Råda sand (I belived George Farmer recently did a set up & video with this combination) ... if you want to use a commercial product 5l bag of a Tropica GS would be needed for this tank size, otherwise I’d recommend using mineralized soil (method in the tutorial)

Choose suitable plant species, plant densely from the outset, weekly large (50-70%) water changes while plants establish, then slow addition of livestock beginning with algae crew (shrimp, otos, snails) ...and it’s a breeze 😀
If you’ve a CO2 setup already, I’d add CO2 during the first few weeks, then taper off once plants are establsihed - it will just make everything go faster 😛
 
Update: they are sending a replacement aquarium and letting me keep the old one for spares / parts. Excellent service from Charterhouse Aquatics.

Thanks for the advice Alto - very helpful. I have tested my tap water and it is over 400 TDS (around 420-440). I am very wary about using this for soft water fish. The consensus here is clearly that I don't need to be using RO, so I will give it a go nonetheless.

I think I will forego the peat as it can be messy as you say.

I have ordered some standard Aquatic soil, and will get some sand / gravel to cap it. I have always used pool sand but I am wondering whether to buy some gravel this time around as the plants will have an easier route to the soil if that makes sense... Is that correct?!

Anyway the last thing I need to buy is the capping substrate and then I'm ready to get started! (As soon as the new tank arrives...)
 
:lol: am I going insane? Wasn't your previous post telling me I had too much light to run a low tech setup? How is doubling my light going to help me achieve my objective as outlined in my first post of setting up a low- maintenance, relatively self-sustaining tank?

In the past whenever i posted on this forum asking for help with algae problems, poor plant health, poor fish health, filter problems, or any other issue remotely related to fish keeping, the response I got was almost always the same:

"Too much light.

Cheers, "

And now I'm being told to double my lighting! :geek::clap::hungry:
 
Sacha said:
:lol: am I going insane
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Yes, it will be far far far too much light 😀. Even two LED tubes your tank is in high light region, even with your deep tank.

You need to think how you are going to lower the light levels to maybe 1/2 or even 1/3 of the Juwel supplied levels. Frosted plastic sheet, foil rings around the tube, dimmer etc etc.
 
Sacha said:
I have always used pool sand but I am wondering whether to buy some gravel this time around as the plants will have an easier route to the soil if that makes sense... Is that correct?!
Click to expand...
It's really up to you; whatever you find most aesthetically pleasing. Plants will push roots down through play sand, which I'm sure you know is very fine grained.
If you want an active oxidised microzone, sand with around a 3mm grain size, give or take, is okay.
 
ian_m said:
Even two LED tubes your tank is in high light region, even with your deep tank.
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:lol: As a person with 55cm deep tanks, I couldn’t disagree more 🙂

- these are just not intense LEDs
Juwel technical suppprt should be able to tell you which LEDs - wattage, intensity, light spectrum - are used in your model


Sacha said:
In the past whenever i posted on this forum asking for help with algae problems, poor plant health, poor fish health, filter problems, or any other issue remotely related to fish keeping, the response I got was almost always the same:

"Too much light.
Click to expand...

I have my extreme light - east facing window nano tanks with Tropica Aquarium Soil - the sun pours in from sunrise to noon ... never a sign of BBA, just various easily removed green algae’s - the typical brownish green algae which targets glass, a filamentous green algae which grows pretty much anywhere and is easily removed ... and it takes a month or more of completely ignoring these tanks for visible algae

If I actually keep the filter running & weekly water change with minimal maintenance, algae remains in that non-visible state 😉
Of course decent algae crew such as snails & shrimp are a significant help (otocinclus if tank is bigger)

My point is that minimal algae is about Balance
Many people come at it from a restriction of light or LOTS of flow but in my experience neither is a necessity ... nor a guarantee
Without sufficient light, plants can’t manufacture healthy leaves which I believe is one of the most important anti-algae factors
Once plants are established with good supporting root structure, strong stem & leafs, they can easily withstand “maintenance” challenges - that month of almost zero tank attention, forgot to turn lights on or off, erratic CO2 etc etc

As for substrate, look for one with mixed grain size, this will help prevent “tight packing”, good root growth from plants will also aerate substrate (& “move” compounds through it)
A deep banked substrate is not recommended with fine gravel/coarse sand as it packs so much more tightly than any aquarium soil

standard Aquatic soil
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check the nutrient analysis - if this is manufactured/sold for the pond market, it can have very high (& very soluble) nutrient levels


During setup -
Plant densely from the beginning, include some fast growing stems (remove gradually once slower growing plants are well established), dose lean nutrients, check tank daily & remove any damaged leafs, syphon out any melted leafs, daily dose Seachem Excel (or similar proprietary product), try to be “routine” (lights on/off at same time every day etc)
 
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