Hey Guys I Have A Few Questions, Can Anyone Help?

[V-StyleR]

hey guys well im finnaly buying a tank its a juwel rio 180, as all user guides, books ans advice from you guys and others state get the biggest tank you can afford so thats what im going to do, I did a bit of bargin hunting but pets at home do it the cheapest at £250 with cabinet. anyway now after months of research i've a few questions still unanswerd.

First question is, I would like to have many plants in my tank and I have ready manythings about co2 but im not really upto date on the equiptment, Ive senn all these ladders and presurised systems and what not but im not sure what I need, I would preffer something cheap, and concelable, what are my options .

Next question Many pictures Ive seen of Juwel aquariums dont have the original filter in it, would this be because the filter is rubbish or will it be good enough?

Next question, I want to have a lyer of fertilizer substrate at the bottom of the tank to enhance planth growth and then a layer of 2mm gravel, considering syphoning matinace would mix up both substates when its liffted by the sucktion, sould i just buy a fertilizer to mix with the gravel so syphoning wouldnt matter and if so whitch is best. I know that a havily planted tank probably wont need syphoning but would like a complete carpet of plants ill like to see gravel.

Next question, Is there a moss plant avalivbe that will just coat rocks and look like a moss rug? if so, whats it called? Next Question, cichlids, are teritorial and all that and are not for comunity tanks so if i was looking to keep a cichlid tank would they be ok with mantinance fish like corys and sucker mouth etc or is there specific things they can be put with or do I have to not have any clean up crew and do all the algea "eating" myself ?

Last question the Juwel Rio 180 comes with two 30w lamps, with refelctors would that be sufficent lighting for a planted tank, not knowing what typs of plants i will be purchasing yet but only knowsing its gona be rock climbers and tall plants to the rear of the tank with a few mid hight dotted in the middle with small bush hear and there at the front. errm thats it for now, I posted in this old thread just so I wouldnt have to create a new one and also i will be refuring back to this post for many of my queries.

I really need awnsers to these questions coz Im going to get everything soon, thanks

 

[Dave Spencer]

I`ll answer what I can:

For cheap CO2 you will be looking at a yeast based system. Pressurised would be better for your tank as it will deliver a stable level of CO2. Many people on this forum pick up relatively cheap pressurised systems off eBay. Using a glass diffuser will make it more concealable, but more expensive.

The Juwel filters are not held in very high regard. I use the one in my tank without any problems, but I do get a lot of filtration from the large biomass present in the system. I don`t seem to be getting the crystal clear water I desire and am considering adding an external filter.

I`ve never bought any Java Moss, but I believe it will do a good job of giving you the coverage you want.

The amount of light you require depends how serioius you are about plant growth. The lighting you have will be adequate for slow plant growth, although you should avoid red plants as a rule. Taking light levels higher will require heavy planting and stable (ie. pressurised) CO2 at 30 ppm and heavy planting.

Hope this is of some help.

 

[V-StyleR]

thanks for the quick reply mate, you've been very helpful but at the same time opened up more questions that need answering... In therms of the Co2 i was considering the Nutrafin Co2 diffuser thing but you drawn me to this presurised system witch one would you recomend? because i dont know the first thing about them.

Its a bit of a bummer to hear that the juwel filters aint that good, you'ed think you would get something good for your money any way, I think the Juwel suits me so Ill stick with it and I dont think I will get better for £249.

"ou should avoid red plants as a rule" whats so bad about red plants? this is defintly something I haven't read about...

 

[Dave Spencer]

I use the JBL Profi CO2 with a solenoid for shutting it off at night, which is not a cheap system, and I am not impressed with the bubble rate adjustment, which is too coarse. There are people on this site who could point you in the right direction on eBay for a cheaper pressurised CO2 system. It is the way I shall go when I get my next tank. However, I wouldn`t give up using a Nutrafin system, as they seem to be very popular and cheap.

Red plants generally need a lot of life to flourish.

I hope to get several years of use from my Juwel filter.

 

[VidVid]

Next question, Is there a moss plant avalivbe that will just coat rocks and look like a moss rug? if so, whats it called? Next Question, cichlids, are teritorial and all that and are not for comunity tanks so if i was looking to keep a cichlid tank would they be ok with mantinance fish like corys and sucker mouth etc or is there specific things they can be put with or do I have to not have any clean up crew and do all the algea "eating" myself ?

Hey, you can also add christmas moss instead of java moss if you want to get a different bushy appearance as it appears more darker and from my visual, bushier. You can also attach mosses to driftwood using metal wire but i prefer cotton thread because after a while it will dissolve, leaving just the moss that has attached itself to the the decoration. Cichlids are territorial but there are two kinds; the african or south american varieties. Most african varieties grow too large and some, even though small, can be, as you said territorial and i would not advise them as a communtiy species. The african cichlids also have a tendency to uproot plants and if you are planning to have a planted aquarium, i would not consider them also. As for a cleanup crew, scavengers such as corydoras will do ok in a communtiy tank and algae eaters such as ottocinclus (mainly for mature tanks) and bristlenose catfish from my idea, are heard to be the best in eating most of the available algaes without damaging the delicate plants. Like all scavengers, they also have to be supplemented with vegies such as cucumber, algae wafers, shrimp pellets etc.....

Hope this helps.

 

[V-StyleR]

thanks for helping me out mate, your feedback was awsome, anyone feel free to add their views, the more info the better! thanks again.