planted tank/carbon sponge

[jimbooo]

hi everyone,

got a quick question for you.

i have a Juwel rio 180 (40G) the internal filter contains standard filter media, nitrate removal sponge and active carbon sponge.

my plants are looking a little brown and some are decaying. i have 2 nutrifin fermentation co2 kits which have been up and running for 2 weeks.

should i leave the nitrate removal and carbon sponges in or replace with standard sponges?

all comments welcome, thanks

 

[Silly me]

looking at your foto there is no need to remove the carbon from the filter.. I do add some fertilizer in my tank that the carbon might remove so I tend not to use it.. but in a tank with not to much plants and a nitrate reading over 50ppm carbon its not a bad idea.. whats you light like.. you'll need atleast 80Watts of light to warrent the CO2..

 

[jimbooo]

i have 2 x 30W tubes, a triton and arcadia marine white both with reflectors. that is the most i can get out of the juwel Lid. i cant see how i can increace this without changing the lid (which isnt an option i'm afraid)

is there any other way of getting more light output??

as to the CO2 it's definatly improving things, growth rate has at least doubled but the leaves of swords etc have holes in and are brown/yellow in places

 

[George Farmer]

Hi,

Looks like a very nice tank. I have a Juwel Rio 125 and have managed to fit 3 additional tubes to it (totalling 5). They're balanced on the center brace and supported by the leads. I would strongly recommend planting more heavily though if you intend increasing your lighting. Too much light will lead to algae growth if nutrients aren't used up enough by plants. Fast growers are great for this task. Your CO2 addition will really come into effect too.

I'd suggest adding some kind of substrate fertliliser for your Amazon Swords as they obtain a lot of nutrient from their roots.

I'd remove the Carbon and Nitrate sponges if and when you show enough healthy growth by lots of plants to justify the regular use of a liquid fertiliser. I would avoid using liquid ferts until healthy growth is apparent and any plants are showing nutrient deficiency symptoms. I have replaced my Carbon sponge with a coarse blue sponge and my Nitrates are so low that I have to add them using Potassium Nitrate.

Here's a pic of my lighting. Hope this helps.

BTW Are they air-stones running in the photo? If so I'd remove them as they will be driving off your CO2.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

I would remove the carbon and nitrate sponges, especially if you dose ferts etc.

You might look into retrofitting power compacts into the hood. Can only tell you where to find them across the pond tho, sorry.

 

[jimbooo]

thanks gf225, i'm really interested in that hood setup, so let me get this right. you bought 3 extra tubes with a lighting controller, plugged it all in and balanced it on the plastic brace in the middle of the tank.

i'm a bit worried about them falling in the water and making fish soup out of my little buddies. how have you secured them in place??

as to the airstones i have learnt that lesson, well spotted though. new pic attached.

some of my plants were not aquatic either so had a change around.

as to the substrate fertilizer, i have nutrient sticks (the ones that last a year) under the roots of the big plants probably 6 in the tank in total, will they do the trick or have you a better idea?

thanks for all the advice, i seem to be getting somewhere..

 

[George Farmer]

I have 2 x 24" on a Hagen twin (2x20W) electronic ballast and the 30" is on a single 25/30W Arcadia magnetic ballast. The single 30" tube is on separate timer to the other 4 tubes to simulate dusk and dawn.

The bulbs are literally just balanced. The slight tension in the leads keeps them stable and obviously I'm very carefull when maintaining, I completely remove the additional tubes and use the Juwel light-bar only.

Glad to help.

 

[jimbooo]

thanks, i'm a bit too heavy handed for that light set up i just know i'd end up dropping them in. i may go for one additional tube at the rear, i rarely open the back so should be okay. Hmmmm got me thinking now.


i took another pic last night, improving by the day.

thanks for your help

 

[George Farmer]

Looking good. Have you thought of some foreground plants? It'll really set the tank up nicely IMO.

 

[gale]

Looking good. Have you thought of some foreground plants? It'll really set the tank up nicely IMO.

gf-what are those little foreground plants in your tank? The grassy looking ones? I think those are adorable.

 

[George Farmer]

Eleocharis acicularis. They're starting to carpet nicely now (the photo was taken just after planting). They need good lighting and CO2 IMO to do well.

 

[guppygirl]

So how many wpg do you have over your tank, gf225?
definitely looking better, jimbooo!

 

[George Farmer]

approx. 3 WPG. 99 Watts - 5 tubes - 3 x Dennerle (3000K), 1 x Life-Glo (6700K) and 1 x Arcadia Freshwater (7500K). All with reflectors and on timers to simulate dusk/dawn.