Fluval Vicenza 180

[minnnt]

Hi there, just thought i would give you an update on a new direction i have decided to go with for my tank.

It's a 3ft bow fronted tank which holds 180 litres.

Decided to go with Unipac Limpopo aquarium sand, bogwood and stones. Also added a black background.

Plants i went with:

Anubias Barteri
Anubias Barteri var. Nana
Cryptocoryne Beckettii 'Petchii'
Cryptocoryne Wendtii 'Brown'
Echinodorus Amazonicus
Microsorum Pteropus 'Narrow'
Vallisneria Americana
Vallisneria Spiralis
Vesicularia Ferriei 'Weeping'

Lighting is the original tank lights which are a 24w Power GLO and a 24w Life GLO. Both are on for 8 hours a day.

Now for some questions.

Would you recommend using a fertiliser? Would you recommend using Co2 or not? Is there any plants i should remove or any i should add?

Filtration is taken care of by 2 TetraTEC EX1200's

Looking for all the help and advice in the world as i really want this tank to work.

Thanks for taking the time to look and hopefully the time to comment.

 

[Kelly-Jo]

That's such an amazing tank! This has actually made me consider darker sand...

 

[minnnt]

Thankyou! I have always had light substrates and this new darker one has enhanced the colours no end. My Ellioti has really changed.

 

[Jamepsss]

Looks very nice, I'm also a fan of the dark sand and black background.

My advice would be MORE plants. Get some more moss on the pieces of wood and rocks and more vallis to thicken it out a bit. A lot of your plants are slow growing, maybe add something a bit quicker like water wisteria in the background.

I've never used ferts or co2 and have had a lot of success with mosses, wisteria, other hyrgrophilas and java fern. (Going through a rough patch at the moment though after moving house).

 

[minnnt]

Looks very nice, I'm also a fan of the dark sand and black background.

My advice would be MORE plants. Get some more moss on the pieces of wood and rocks and more vallis to thicken it out a bit. A lot of your plants are slow growing, maybe add something a bit quicker like water wisteria in the background.

I've never used ferts or co2 and have had a lot of success with mosses, wisteria, other hyrgrophilas and java fern. (Going through a rough patch at the moment though after moving house).

Thanks James. I have some more Vallis that i can add. Will have to look into the water wisteria. I've never heard of that one before. Also have a bit of Java Moss i could steal from another tank.

 

[Jamepsss]

Looks very nice, I'm also a fan of the dark sand and black background.

My advice would be MORE plants. Get some more moss on the pieces of wood and rocks and more vallis to thicken it out a bit. A lot of your plants are slow growing, maybe add something a bit quicker like water wisteria in the background.

I've never used ferts or co2 and have had a lot of success with mosses, wisteria, other hyrgrophilas and java fern. (Going through a rough patch at the moment though after moving house).

Thanks James. I have some more Vallis that i can add. Will have to look into the water wisteria. I've never heard of that one before. Also have a bit of Java Moss i could steal from another tank.

Yeah I'd cover the chopped end of wood near the glass with the java moss to make it look more natural.

 

[minnnt]

Brilliant, thanks alot.

 

[festo]

Hi
can i ask you what you used for your background.

 

[minnnt]

Hi
can i ask you what you used for your background.

Seeing as proper background is around £7.50 for my 3ft tank, I decided to use a black bag. Lol.

 

[minnnt]

Had a bit of a swap round. After the new setup my Ellioti was re-asserting himself as boss of the tank and forcing my male Honduran Red Point to the top corner of the tank and he was very washed out. The only option i had was to swap them both for my pair of Anomalochromis Thomasi. Now this is a wee bit naughty really as the Thomasi are African cichlids, but luckily for me are used to similar water conditions and also i didn't really have much choice as i didn't like to see the hrp's being pushed out so aggressively.

This has resolved the issue and he doesn't even bother them and they're hapily swimming around 2/3's of the tank in and out the plants. Also added some more Vallis to the rear of the tank which has made a nice difference. Also due to the upheavel of most of the stuff to get the hrp's out i have the wood and decor in a different place now which seems a better combination.

Will try and snap a few pictures later on

 

[minnnt]

Decided to go with a group of 5 Columbian Red Fin Tetra's as a schooling fish. Also added a few more Crypts Wendtii 'Brown' and a few more bits of Vallis.

Due to the slight upheavel when removing the HRP's the tank has took on a slightly different look now.

Here are a few pictures as it stands now. Will get some better ones tonight when the sun isn't glaring on the tank.

Cheers.

 

[daleboy]

Thats an amazing tank
I absolutely love the way you have set out the wood and plants.
If I can get mine looking half as good I will be happy.

 

[minnnt]

Thats an amazing tank
I absolutely love the way you have set out the wood and plants.
If I can get mine looking half as good I will be happy.

Thanks very much!!

 

[mc153]

i have 180 juwel and only use one filter jbl 500 would you recommend running another filter i am having probs with algae at the moment and noticed you have 2 tetratec 1200s ?

 

[minnnt]

One of my external would be enough, but I decided to add another because I had it in the cupboard. The flow doesn't seem too strong for the time being so I'm quite happy to keep them both running. It helps to keep the algae at bay. How long are your lights on for? Try and limit to 8 hours or less. Also try not to disturb your substrate too much as this can cause algae too. It's not the answer, but try and add a few baby bristlenose pleco's, they devour a fair amount, a lot more than adults do. This will help out with the cleaning, but its not a cure. You need to find out the cause. Does it get a lot of direct sunlight?