Harvoification
Member
Tank: Juwel Rio 125 (3 years old)
Filtration: Internal Juwel 'Bioflow M' filter + external Eheim 2217 (with 2215 impeller to make flow manageable)
Substrate: Eco Complete (don't have a lot of luck with this stuff)
Lighting: Stock Juwel T5 lighting
CO2: None at the moment
Hey guys,
I've had my tank for around three years now, and looking back I would've done a lot of stuff differently. I wouldn't have used Eco Complete - I've never had success with it. In the past, I was using EI dosing in conjunction with injected CO2 from a JBL pressurised kit, and I still couldn't get a carpet going. At the time I had moderate success with red plants, but they weren't very vibrant.
Unfortunately, I was going through a JBL canister every 3-4 weeks and it wasn't sustainable. I believe it may be because I changed from the stock JBL ladder diffuser to an in-tank atomizer, but to get the atomizer to function at all I had to turn the BAR on the regulator up. For whatever reason, I got through CO2 like crazy.The kit I had was a 'JBL Proflora M 500. Since this time, I've stopped injecting CO2 and just do weekly dosing with API Leaf Zone.
In the future, I'd be interested in going High Tech again, possible purchasing LED lighting such as the Juwel Helialux Spectrum (anyone have any experience with this?). For the time being though, I'm just not happy with my aquascape. The substrate is flat, adding no depth to the back of the tank. It all looks a bit... worn out and amateurish.
I was hoping you guys could give me advice on how to improve my aquascape (picture will be attached). I wanted to change the substrate for something better for plants, but have no experiences changing the substrate of an established tank. Moreover, I've heard a lot of planted tank substrates can leach ammonia into the water, which would kill me fish.
Ideally, I'd like to add depth to the substrate at the back, changing the substrate if need be, and just giving the tank a more professional look. I'm not naive, and I know I won't be getting carpets without starting to inject CO2 again and perhaps improving my lighting and substrate. Nevertheless, I'm sure there's something I must be able to do to improve the tanks aesthetics?
Thanks everyone for reading, I'd appreciate any tips you have!
(Quick Note: I am not normally running an airstone. I recently purchased a Dwarf Gourami who has added a lot of pathogens to my tank which I'm currently treating.)
My Tank:
Filtration: Internal Juwel 'Bioflow M' filter + external Eheim 2217 (with 2215 impeller to make flow manageable)
Substrate: Eco Complete (don't have a lot of luck with this stuff)
Lighting: Stock Juwel T5 lighting
CO2: None at the moment
Hey guys,
I've had my tank for around three years now, and looking back I would've done a lot of stuff differently. I wouldn't have used Eco Complete - I've never had success with it. In the past, I was using EI dosing in conjunction with injected CO2 from a JBL pressurised kit, and I still couldn't get a carpet going. At the time I had moderate success with red plants, but they weren't very vibrant.
Unfortunately, I was going through a JBL canister every 3-4 weeks and it wasn't sustainable. I believe it may be because I changed from the stock JBL ladder diffuser to an in-tank atomizer, but to get the atomizer to function at all I had to turn the BAR on the regulator up. For whatever reason, I got through CO2 like crazy.The kit I had was a 'JBL Proflora M 500. Since this time, I've stopped injecting CO2 and just do weekly dosing with API Leaf Zone.
In the future, I'd be interested in going High Tech again, possible purchasing LED lighting such as the Juwel Helialux Spectrum (anyone have any experience with this?). For the time being though, I'm just not happy with my aquascape. The substrate is flat, adding no depth to the back of the tank. It all looks a bit... worn out and amateurish.
I was hoping you guys could give me advice on how to improve my aquascape (picture will be attached). I wanted to change the substrate for something better for plants, but have no experiences changing the substrate of an established tank. Moreover, I've heard a lot of planted tank substrates can leach ammonia into the water, which would kill me fish.
Ideally, I'd like to add depth to the substrate at the back, changing the substrate if need be, and just giving the tank a more professional look. I'm not naive, and I know I won't be getting carpets without starting to inject CO2 again and perhaps improving my lighting and substrate. Nevertheless, I'm sure there's something I must be able to do to improve the tanks aesthetics?
Thanks everyone for reading, I'd appreciate any tips you have!
(Quick Note: I am not normally running an airstone. I recently purchased a Dwarf Gourami who has added a lot of pathogens to my tank which I'm currently treating.)
My Tank: