Begginer Advice, Filter Media And Ferts

[baron von bubba]

hi all,
noob here, tentivly starting out!
taking the set up/planning part very slowly so as to make sure i make the best choices!

i have recently purchased a second hand tank to set up as planted freshwater set up.
its a juwel rio 240, have got eco complete substrate, under gravel heater and CO2 with PH controller.

it was originally a marine set up and the supplied filter is aqua one marisys 240.

so first question,
this filter is made for marine, i guess apart from the built in skimmer its the same as freshwater filters? and will be fine for me to use, is that correct?

what filter media to use? reccomendations please, this seems to be a massive subject and there seems to be much dissinformation and hype about things that i need clarification! :0/

last question for now :0)
i want an easy effective fert system, again soooo many conflicting things.

thanks in advance guys!

 

[Colin_T]

filters are the same for fresh or salt water, with the exception that some are designed for salt and have skimmers. But yes you can use the filter for fresh water.

Most people use ceramic beads, sponges and fiter floss. Others add carbon but it absorbs chemicals like medication and plant fertiliser.
Personally I just use sponges or sponges and ceramic beads/ noodles.

I just use Sera Florena plant food but you can use any brand. You can also look up EI in the plant section and do an EI system of fertilising.

 

[baron von bubba]

filters are the same for fresh or salt water, with the exception that some are designed for salt and have skimmers. But yes you can use the filter for fresh water.

Most people use ceramic beads, sponges and fiter floss. Others add carbon but it absorbs chemicals like medication and plant fertiliser.
Personally I just use sponges or sponges and ceramic beads/ noodles.

I just use Sera Florena plant food but you can use any brand. You can also look up EI in the plant section and do an EI system of fertilising.

thanks for reply! :0)

yeah this one has a skimmer, they dont do anything for freshwater set ups do they?
i guess the main filter can be used without the skimmer!

ive read a bit about the estimated index method, but the large water changes and the wasted ferts kinda put me off slightly, (altho in some ways it does seem the easiest)


kinda all doing my head in a bit now! i've been reading/researching for upto 5 hours a day for over a week now and i'm still not much clearer on the way to go! :0)

so any other opinions would be gladly recieved even if it will only probably end up confusing me even more! ;0)

 

[Colin_T]

Protein skimmers don't work in fresh water so remove it if you can.

Look at Sera Florena liquid plant food. It is a complete fertiliser and the directions recommend adding some to the tank each week. It is a good idea to monitor the iron levels when using this and I prefer to add some every few days or even each day, depending on how quickly the plants use it.
If you only add fertiliser once a week then the plants tend to use it all up straight away and then don't have anything left until you add more. By monitoring the iron levels, and adding several times throughout the week, you can keep the iron levels more stabile and this will provide more even growth rates.

You can also just leave it with the eco complete and not add anything else. Under this situation I would not use the CO2 unit. CO2 should only be used if you have lots of plants, lots of light and lots of fertiliser. If you don't have enough light or fertiliser then the CO2 will be wasted.

 

[baron von bubba]

thanks i'll take a look at the sera ferts.
i am planning a fairly well planted tank and have a luminare with four 54w t5 tubes (probably just use 2 and have a midday burst for a couple of hours of all 4) so light shouldnt be a problem! :0)