Low tech Rio 300

[CM1967]

Hello all, first post as I need some advice on lighting please.

I am going to convert old Rio 300 to a low tech set up, with the original T8 light unit I never had much luck with plants in the past but would like to give it a go.
I'm not sure at the moment whether to use top soil capped with pea gravel or just use Tropica Aquarium soil.
Would the Juwel Multilux 1200 be enough in a low tech Rio 300 set up bearing in mind the 2 foot depth?
I'd like to plant it quite heavily, plants would probably be vallis, crypts, anubias and some moss along with some other fast growing stem plants; whatever would grow in low light and London tap water which is quite hard.

Thanks in advance

 

[mort]

Hi, welcome to the site. It definitely can be done and it can look amazing.

My brother has a juwel lido with the multilux lighting and if anything it's a little too bright (I might be scoffed at by true aquascapers with their amazing lights but I keep trying to get him to buy the dimmer). He runs a simple low tech setup, inert sand substrate (with root tabs) and only doses an off the shelf fertiliser (think easy life profito). The plants grow really well without any co2 so it definitely can be done.
Your decision is whether you actually need an active substrate. With the plants you've listed they will do fine in an inert substrate with water column dosing but more importantly root tabs. As you are going for anubias and moss I'm guessing they will be attached to hardscape so they wouldn't benefit from soil. The only ones that might would be stem plants, depending on which ones you would like (my brother has hygrophila 53b and it does well with just root tabs). So you could go for a mix of soil and inert substrate, using soil where your stems will be but for the rest just putting the nutrition where the plants want it with root tabs.
Our tap water is rock hard here as well and the plants don't mind, in fact the vallis will love it.

 

[CM1967]

Thanks Mort, that's the confirmation I was hoping for. Just the substrate to be decided on now

 

[mort]

If you are considering capped soil then Tims soil substrate thread is worth a read The Soil Substrate or Dirted Planted Tank - A How to Guide it's full of great infomation.

The one thing you might also find helpful is to up the flow in the tank as the juwel filters aren't really designed for planted tanks. The one in the lido works ok but there are still dead spots and with a longer tank you'd benefit from more flow, perhaps with a small powerhead at the opposite end.

 

[CM1967]

Thanks again Mort, the filter was cut out years ago and it has been running on a eheim thermo but that is also due for a replacement once I decide on the model