Into the Green Unknown - Juwel Rio 180

[JBronsveld]

Quite excited to finally start writing my first journal! 😎

Looking to set up my first planted tank according to the article written by Ed Seeley.

Some information:

Aquarium: Juwel Rio 180
Hardscape: Seiryu stone and Spider wood
Substrate: ADA Aquasoil
Co2: Pressurized 2kg
Lighting: T5 2x45W (standard Juwel) + Juwel reflectors
Filtration: Internal Juwel filter with 1 bottom sponge replaced by sintered glass media
Flow: Hydor Koralia Nano 1600l/h
Heating: Standard Juwel heater (200W)
Ferts: EI

While driving my girlfriend crazy 😛 I have been busy reading and buying the needed gear to get started and I now finally have everything I need.

As this is my first hardscape please bear with me, I'm learning something new every day!

After much thinking, reading, more thinking, drawing and playing around in my cardboard aquarium I came up with the following hardscape that I think will be a good starting point for me.

The wood on the left I recently bought, the wood on the right is in my current (goldfish) tank.
Got 1 big stone left which I intend to smash to pieces to give the hardscape some more definition.

Front view:


Overview:


The stones will gain a bit more height because I'm adding polystyrene beneath them to protect the glass and make them stand a bit taller above the substrate (they are a little too buried now).

The background will be diffuse (white wall) and maybe some backlight in the future.

Plants are still undecided but I have started to do some planning to see if I could come up with something pleasing (as far as my experience goes).

Here is what I have so far (dont laugh too much at my Paint skills ):


Middle ground (without color, full width) I would like to grow a carpet (saw Monte Carlo in real life which looked nice).

Plant list:
Pink: Limnophila Hippuridoides
Yellow: Pogostemon Helferi
Green: Weeping Moss
Blue: Anubias 'Petite'
Orange: Hygrophila Difformis
Purple: Undecided yet (was thinking hair grass to divide the carpet and the rocks)

Looking forward to your opinions and to see this evolve over time and to keep learning from all the experienced people on UKAPS!

Ps. Plants are still open for changes as I just came up with the above list yesterday 🙂

 

[Ryan Thang To]

sound good. i like the plant list. not sure about the two different wood lol but once its covered in moss it would look awesome.

cheers
ryan

 

[JBronsveld]

sound good. i like the plant list. not sure about the two different wood lol but once its covered in moss it would look awesome.

cheers
ryan

Hey Ryan.
Thank you for your comment!

The woods are actually the same but the one on the right is already presoaked from my current tank.
The one on the left is brand new and will become the same color after awhile (in water they turn a nice shade of brown).

 

[alto]

I think you could scape & plant as detailed above & end up with a very nice tank 🙂

but some considerations 😉

- in the photos, it seems quite symmetrical (may be rather different IRL), eg, ending point for the rocks at the front looks much the same; also looking at the "path" at the back of the tank, this seems very much "in the middle" due to the position of the filter box ... maybe play with these "borders"

- Pogostemon helferi position - I've only observed this as a "short" plant used mid foreground, not sure if this is what you're expecting/planning

- Hygrophila difformis - if you're planning on this obscuring the filter, you may want to leave more "space" for this to fill in

- you may want to insert various plants into/between the rocks (grasses, buces, smaller crypts etc)

- can you try extending some of the wood into the intended carpet area?

- between rocks & carpet, consider crypts as well as hair grass


For plant choices, think about leaf shape, structure & color (eg of the many greens) ...

Remember that much of the hardscape becomes obscured as plants grow in so don't focus too much on perfection, instead try to leave yourself with options to change as the tank develops

 

[JBronsveld]

I think you could scape & plant as detailed above & end up with a very nice tank 🙂

but some considerations 😉

- in the photos, it seems quite symmetrical (may be rather different IRL), eg, ending point for the rocks at the front looks much the same; also looking at the "path" at the back of the tank, this seems very much "in the middle" due to the position of the filter box ... maybe play with these "borders"

- Pogostemon helferi position - I've only observed this as a "short" plant used mid foreground, not sure if this is what you're expecting/planning

- Hygrophila difformis - if you're planning on this obscuring the filter, you may want to leave more "space" for this to fill in

- you may want to insert various plants into/between the rocks (grasses, buces, smaller crypts etc)

- can you try extending some of the wood into the intended carpet area?

- between rocks & carpet, consider crypts as well as hair grass


For plant choices, think about leaf shape, structure & color (eg of the many greens) ...

Remember that much of the hardscape becomes obscured as plants grow in so don't focus too much on perfection, instead try to leave yourself with options to change as the tank develops

Hey Alto.
Thank you for your time writing the above and your kind words

As this is my first aquascape I don't yet have lots of hardscaping materials to pick and choose from but I do have 1 more large piece of wood in my current aquarium that you can see in this post (http://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/first-time-planted-opinions-please.38815). It is a lot bulkier then the other pieces
I was thinking to add that to the right piece in the back somewhere and have it extend into the carpet (somewhere more towards to center right to make it less symmetrical).

I see what you mean with being quite symmetrical. I tried to avoid it but hadn't taken into account the filterbox. On the back wall of the cardboard you can see a PLUS sign which is the golden ratio for this tank (from left to right and bottom to top, if that makes sense). I tried to work towards that point and ended up with the current scape.

Guess it would be best to play around some more with the hardscape. My girlfriend will be so excited

About the Helferi: I was thinking it would be there to hide the stems for the Limnophila Hippuridoides so it would show more of the top of the stems (which hopefully turn a lovely pink/purple) instead of the greener lower leaves. Perhaps Helferi doesn't grow as tall as I think it does.

I was looking at this Tropica layout for some inspiration (http://tropica.com/en/inspiration/layout/Layout80/5284) where the Limnophila H. is hidden behind a piece of wood with only the tops showing and in my case Helferi acting as the wood so to speak.

The Hygrophila Difformis I was hoping to blend into the Limnophila Hippuridoides on that side so they both obscure the filter but to avoid having a huge pink/purple bush on that side by breaking it up with some green.

On the Tropica website they seem to be rather equal in height but I see now what you mean with different leaf shapes. They are quite different.

Plants on the rocks are still undecided but looking to add some 😉

 

[JBronsveld]

Finally got some time to play around with the hardscape again and this is what I came up with.

I find it hard to imagine it planted yet but I'm happy with the way it looks right now 🙂

I feel it is a bit more balanced now with less open space in the middle, the rocks look better and with the right piece of wood being close to the golden ratio on the right side I'm hoping the eyes will wander from that point towards the left with the 'pathway' leading to the back of the aquarium (with a diffuse white background).

Still looking to smash up my last rock to add some more definition to the stone walls and perhaps cutting some of the branches of the wood to make for a better fit.

The wood on the left going towards the center will get covered with carpet I'm sure but angling it more upwards now is hard without cutting the wood (I can still return it now if needed, price tags still on).



Looking forward to your opinions! 😀

 

[JBronsveld]

A few more options:
(The smaller branches will most likely need some trimming as it might get too busy like they are now)

#1


#2


#3


#4

 

[osullivanmichael2]

I find my eye drawn from one side of the scape to the other, very pleasing. Really like it

 

[JBronsveld]

I find my eye drawn from one side of the scape to the other, very pleasing. Really like it

Thanks!
I'm much happier now aswell 😎

 

[JBronsveld]

Going with #3

Went to my local Tropica dealer to talk about my selection of plants and my order should be ready for pickup next week 😎

Here is the list:

2x Limnophila Hippuridoides
4x Anubias 'Bonsai'
3x Micranthemun Umbrosum
2x Ludwigia Palustris
2x Micranthenum 'Monte Carlo'
2x Vesicularia Ferriei 'Weeping'
2x Rotala 'Bonsai'
2x Rotala 'Green'
2x Cryptocoryne Wendtii 'Tropica'
1x Ludwigia Palustris 'Green' (not Tropica)

Looking forward to finally get started next week!

 

[JBronsveld]

Finally! It took untill 03:00 but it is planted 😀

Here are some progression pictures:
(Sorry for the phone quality, was too excited to get going that I didn't take out my DSLR but I will for the future! 😉)

Setting up the hardscape:


Adding aquasoil:


Planting:


Just finished filling:

 

[JBronsveld]

Plant list changed a small bit as the Rotala 'Green' was not available (the shop didn't like the quality of the ones they had so they tossed them) so it was replaced with 2 more Ludwigia Palustris 'Green' and they only had 2 Micranthemun Umbrosum so I was a little short on those when planting. Hoping the ones in the tank do well so I can spread it around a bit more.

Here is the final list:
2x Limnophila Hippuridoides
4x Anubias 'Bonsai'
2x Micranthemun Umbrosum
2x Ludwigia Palustris
2x Micranthenum 'Monte Carlo'
2x Vesicularia Ferriei 'Weeping'
2x Rotala 'Bonsai'
2x Cryptocoryne Wendtii 'Tropica'
3x Ludwigia Palustris 'Green' (not Tropica)

And a few more pictures (last phone pictures!!) of the tank after 18 hours:

Clear water:


Drop checker looking good I think:


Starting with 6 hours of light, Co2 and Powerhead.
Co2 and Powerhead coming on and shutting off 1 hour before lights go on/off.

 

[JBronsveld]

Tank is running for 4 days now and I'm watching it way too much ofcourse

I did notice a few things:

1) My DC stays the above color pretty much all the time which makes me wonder if I'm doing something wrong.
Wether I'm adding Co2 or in the morning when no Co2 was added for quite some time. Currently adding about 2 bps.
The DC is filled with premade Dennerle Co2 fluid (comes in little plastic vials).

2) I just noticed some brown algea on the wood on the right side which I believe are diatoms and should be expected as the tank is new. They came of easily with a brush.

As there are no fish in the tank yet I was wondering if I should aim to get the color of the DC to change no matter what.
I did add twice as much Co2 in the beginning but all that did was create a lot of surface bubbles and still no color change on the DC.

Looking forward to any advice!

Ps. I did just change the position of the powerhead to be above the DC pointing along the front panel so it will be more in line with the internal filter flow and not against it.
Will see after work how the Co2 is being spread then.

 

[JBronsveld]

Update again 😀

Been doing the daily water changes and now starting once every other day.
Most plants seem to be doing well. Weeping moss is getting greener by the day and the other plants are growing along nicely. My Anubias is completely rotting away with 1 plant already gone and the other 3 are not looking too healthy either at the moment. Don't know what caused it.

Co2 seems to be pretty stable and I can get the DC to change from darkish green to lighter green with lights on (Co2 turning on 1h before lights). When Co2 is off it does remain the darkish green color all the time so I'm guessing the Co2 is not going anywhere. I do have plenty of surface movement (in my eyes ofcourse) so I'm suspecting it has to do with the aquarium being sealed with the hood. Opening this is not an option with my cats...

My water parameters are as follows:
No3 10-25
No2 0
GH <6
KH 3-6
PH 6.8 (with co2 on)
Ci2 0

I get these using the test strips from eSHa and I'm wondering how good these are.
Specially with the Nitrite (No2) coming back as 0 for a few days now.
I did use a mature filter when setting up this tank but I'm not convinced the tank is already done with Aquasoil being so nutrient rich.

I am now wondering when would be the best time to add fish.
Don't want to harm any 🙁

Here are some pictures
(this time taken with my DSLR but I haven't used it in ages and had to adjust the size aswell so bear with me 😕)

First week photo!


Rotala 'Bonsai' doing well:


All in all progress is being made and I enjoy coming home to my new aquarium 🙂

 

[MossMan]

Great journal nd pics - looking forward to watching this one develop. Trying to expand my plant knowledge and always wondered what the 'rotala bonsai' was called - thanks!

 

[JBronsveld]

Went to my LFS yesterday to get my water tested as I wasn't reading anything with my test strips.
Everything came back positive (zero ammonia and nitrite) so I went on to get the cleanup crew in place 😎

12x Caridina japonica (Amano Shrimp)
5x Otocinclus vittatus

After slowly getting them used to my tank water (dripping water in a small tank from the main tank for 1,5 hours after I did a 50% WC) I added them in late last night just before lights went out. The shrimp went to work straight away but the otos were abit shocked still. Pleased to come to the tank this morning and seeing them busy and looking good 🙂

Just came home to find my tank being a lot cleaner then when I left this morning, so they have been busy 😀

The plants are growing nicely (had to trim a few of them already) and the Monte Carlo is spreading.

On a different note: All remaining Anubias melted so I took them out and currently looking for replacements to fill in the spots they left in the tank. I am open for any suggestions.

 

[JBronsveld]

Update again! 😎

Added some more fish to the tank:

5x Otocinclus (1 from the first group unfortunately died, most likely due to stress).
13x Threadfin Rainbowfish (4 males and 9 females).

While at the LFS I also looked for my next (future) addition to the tank, Celestial Pearl Danios.
They didn't look too good though. I was told they get different batches all the time so I will have to wait untill they get a good batch in. Not looking to add a lot of stock too quickly so I got time to wait.

Also an update on the plant area:
Got 2 Bucephalandra sp. 'Green Velvet' to replace the melted Anubias.
Just put the pots in the tank for now while I am deciding how to plant them properly.

Hoping to post an update picture soon 🙂

 

[aaron.c]

Looking forward to pictures 🙂


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[JBronsveld]

Finally time to update this! 😀

I have been insanely busy with work, doing the work of 2 people on my own due to internal switching of staff.
So I haven't been able to update this thread or even look around Ukaps all that much.

What I did manage to do was keeping up with the tank, changing water and doing some work on it.
Not as much as I wanted to but it is developing nicely anyway.

Current stocking is:

5x Otocinclus Vitattus
8x Iriatherina Werneri (1 male, 7 females)
Lost count on the Amano shrimp 😉

I lost 1 male Werneri due to stress (or perhaps fighting) and 1 more due to a problem with my Co2 being too high.
The Otos are doing great and I'm thinking the other Otos simply died and were cleaned up by the shrimp.
I haven't seen any signs of them anymore.

Now everything is stable on the fish side with the 8 remaining Werneri doing great and Co2 levels being stable.

I have ordered a few more fish to move to step 2. These include the following:

2x Werneri males (so the ratio male:female is better)
15x Celestial Pearl Danio (the LFS got in a nice group this time as the last few times I was there they didn't look great)
1x Algea eater (forgot the name, will add later) to clean up the wood a bit

Taken care of the fish I also have an update on the plants:
I have been getting some BGA around the tank but it looks to be getting less and less.
Furthermore I have some BBA on the slow growing plants as well as on the wood and some Staghorn.

Most likely this has multiple causes and since I have stepped up maintenance it seems to be getting less (I got a few dead spots due to the layout which I haven't paid enough attention to in the past).

Also started using EI for ferts now as the Tropica ferts were running out.
This is the first week using it so not much to report there yet.

Did some work on the moss on the left side and will do some more work on it this weekend (before the new arrivals are coming) taking it down and rebinding it a bit smaller so it can grow again.

I will be replacing the Ludwigia in the right corner (in front of the filter) with a new addition, Myriophyllum Mattogrossense as I don't like the amount of white roots coming out of the stems of the Ludwigia.

After that I'm looking at a few adjustments here and there and to see how to move on into the future.
Thinking about getting an extra external filter or just 1 external filter but a big one to solve some flow and dead spot issues.

Here are some quick phone pictures that I took last night (writing this at 6am and the lights are off)😛

 

[JBronsveld]

Ps. I am able to get my hands on a little 600l/h external filter which has been used for a sea water aquarium.

Not sure if it is worth the effort cleaning it and adding it to the tank for extra filtration and flow.
If that is even possible because it was used for salt water?

The brand is Aqua-Pro 1.

If possible I might be able to add the Co2 to that filter removing it from the tank (as a diffuser) and perhaps getting better distribution that way.

Just a few ideas running through my head 🙄