Low Tech Juwel Lido 120

[Cazza]

Recently purchased a nice Juwel Lido 120, with the aim of creating a low-tech jungle environment, mostly Amazon-based.

Substrate is crushed lava rock in nylon bags, then Tropica Plant Substrate in tights, followed by a good layer of speckled river sand from Maidenhead.

The scape is two large green granite rockery rocks, a couple of pieces of old bogwood from a previous setup, various small pebbles I had in a bag and some small detailing stones from the gravel in our front garden! Also has a Juwel 3D background.

Juwel Bioflow, with two added bags of ceramic rings + changed the recommended order of sponges to go coarse to fine.

Filled up and ran dark with heater and filter on, for a few days. All seemed OK, with some brown slime on the bigger piece of wood, water slightly cloudy. Yesterday, plants arrived, so did a 90% water change with Seachem Prime. Remembered how much I hate doing water changes! Planted up most of the plants before refilling. Got the 30"Jungle Collection from AG, which was made up of:
Lilaeopsis Mauritiana
Crypt Wendtii Brown
Crypt Walkeri
Java Fern
Vallis
Echinodorus Bleheri
Limnophila Heterophylla (floating for now)

+ some extras:
Weeping Moss
Hygrophila Pinnatifida
Tiger Lotus
Amazon Frogbit (sourced free, locally)

Added a couple of soaked oak and hornbeam leaves for good measure.

Quite pleased with how It looks. Just need to be patient, check water parameters, remove any melt, TNC Complete if necessary. Hopefully water will be good enough for snails and Amano's in a couple of weeks.

 

[Bradders]

Looking good, and I'm keen to see how it develops!

Do you have any surface agitation in the aquarium?

 

[Cazza]

Thanks! Yep.

 

[Cazza]

I'm hoping the Vallis and Amazon Sword really take up that space at the back and I'll also plant the Limnophila back/middle, once it's done its job as a floater.

 

[Cazza]

Quick update- plants seem to be doing well. No melt on the Crypts, although I'm not holding my breath. The floating stems and frogbit are growing well and the moss and ferns are pearling quite a lot. The Vallis seem to have quite a lot of melt- I hope they recover OK.

No fertiliser yet- is it worth dosing now? I've got TNC Complete, ready to go.

 

[DioramaDieHard]

That looks pretty good! The background plants when grown in will make it look top notch!

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

Quick update- plants seem to be doing well. No melt on the Crypts, although I'm not holding my breath. The floating stems and frogbit are growing well and the moss and ferns are pearling quite a lot. The Vallis seem to have quite a lot of melt- I hope they recover OK.

No fertiliser yet- is it worth dosing now? I've got TNC Complete, ready to go.

That looks good.

In terms of the fertiliser addition you can <"add a limited dose now">, or you can just use the <"Duckweed Index">.

Cheers Darrel

 

[Cazza]

Thanks, both I think I may just chuck some in now

 

[Cazza]

Plants are still growing well, apart from the Vallis, although it seems to have stabilised. I added some TNC Complete yesterday and did a 20% water change this morning. Had the water checked today by Maidenhead Aquatics (Thornbury). They only use strips, but thought it was worth a go. No ammonia or nitrate, very little nitrite. Was pleased with that. PH quite high though @ 8.5. Our water is hard, but having checked the Severn Trent website, it says tap water should be 7.67.

Any ideas? Could the strip be that inaccurate? Could my rocks actually be limestone? I was sure it was granite...

A few small areas of algae have appeared on the rocks, which is OK.

 

[Cazza]

Also today, while in the shop, I had a good look at the tetras. The Bentosi's seemed a little wired compared to the Rosies, who were more chilled, but quite similar to look at. Might get those instead.

 

[bazz]

Could the strip be that inaccurate?

Yes, test strips are notoriously inaccurate, I would expect your water to have a pH of around what your supplier quoted. Slight fluctuations are inevitable depending on the time of year (amount of rain etc).

Could my rocks actually be limestone?

They don't look to me like limestone but it is difficult to tell for sure without doing the acid test.

The Bentosi's seemed a little wired compared to the Rosies,

Bentosi's appear to be one of those breeds of fish that the geneticists like to modify (line breeding).
Cheers!

 

[Cazza]

Thanks mate. Yeah, the rocks look like granite, for sure. I was just a bit puzzled at the high pH score.

I'm going to a different Maidenhead today, so will have another good look at the tetras. I might even buy some

 

[Cazza]

First livestock added today...

 

[Cazza]

5 Cardinals, hopefully getting hold of some Red Cherry Shrimps tomorrow (locally) and some Ramshorns (from here). Will then maybe add 5 more Cardinals in a week or so.

Algae popping up on the glass, rocks and sand.

 

[Bradders]

5 Cardinals

I love Cardinals! They are underrated and great little fish.

 

[Cazza]

Me too. They're a bit 'bog standard' but they're stunning- would love to snorkel through shoals of thousands of them in the Amazonian tributaries.

 

[mlgt]

What else do you plan to stock in the tank going forward?

 

[Cazza]

Red Cherries and Ramshorns next, then 5 more Cardinals. I'm a bit torn between Rosy and Bentosi Tetras. Will also get some Otocinclus and Panda Corys, but need to be careful not to overstock. Would also like a pair of Rams...

 

[Cazza]

Well, thought it was going too well lol! Went away for two days and came back to quite a lot of algae at the front of the tank (most light). Its on the sand, rock and the poor old Crypts.

I have covered some sections of the lights with loose tin foil, to reduce the light, done a small water change and hoovered up some of the algae. I've added some more oxygen to the flow, via a clever little Juwel device I had lying around. Also added 12 Red Cherries and have some Ramshorns arriving in the next couple of days. Hopefully, that will put a lid on it a little.

The floating plants seem to be doing very well, with extensive growth of leaves and roots.

 

[Cazza]

Quick update, after 4 weeks or so! The algae storm seems to be receding. I cut the lighting by 2 hours and have reduced it by around 50%. Anyone know if a dimmer switch plug will work with Juwell LEDs? I also added 12 Red Cherries and 8 Ramshorns- they are so busy and doing an amazing job! The Vallis are recovering nicely and have pretty much stopped melting. They have produced a few runners, which are already 10cm +. The Crypts are sprouting new leaves and now have way less algae on them- no melt, either. The Amazon Sword is growing steadily and has sprouted a couple of new leaves. I planted the Limnophila at the back and it's doing well. The Frogbit is also spreading rapidly. The moss is doing fairly well, despite its battle with the algae- the snails and shrimp are helping with this. The Pinnatifida is the one that doesn't seem to be doing so well, so will monitor this closely.

Next up, I'll be getting 3-4 Amanos and 3 Otocinclus. Then it will be 5 more Cardinals and then a small group of Lemon, Rosy or Bentosi tetras. Can't make my mind up. I would also love some Panda Corys, but think I'll probably be overstocked by then.