gf225's new lighting

[George Farmer]

Thats alot of light tubes Gf!

Do the additional ones just rest on the brace of the tank?

Yep!! The cables going toward the back keep them balanced.

 

[George Farmer]

hey George,

Looks good, I take it the 24" tubes just fit into the tank?

I have 2 sets of Jbl proflora, i think no2, i think the highest version is probably unecessary. it works well and i do not have to change the canisters for quite a while,~3-4 months.

These are on two large ~400 ltre aquariums.

I am just wondering are you getting the urge to go bigger afterall your success with the 125?

Sanj

Hi Sanj,

There's 4 x 24" T8s and 1 x 30". They all balance on the brace (except the 2 Juwels).

Does your JBL co2 have the night shut-off solenoid, how much did you pay?

I'd love a bigger tank, my dream is an 8 x 2 x 2ft, Amano style nature aquarium with Discus, Cardinals and the standard maintenance team (SAEs, Otos). I'll have to wait a while though as I'm in the Forces and we tend to move around a bit!!

 

[Sanj]

Ello George,

yes they have the night shut off, i have put them on a timer. It also comes with a Ph thingy. Its a little enclosed vessel you stick on the inside of your aquarium. You fill it with aquarium water add indicator and you can measure Ph. TBh i dont use the Ph measure properly.

My JBl Proflora 2 were £169 each, but you might be able to get it cheaper online.

IMO you really dont need to go for the most expensive, but it is up to you.

 

[Sanj]

Try www.aquatics-online.co.uk they are £156.99 there.

 

[George Farmer]

Try www.aquatics-online.co.uk they are £156.99 there.

The Aquatics online model was the one I was thinking. The Maidenhead Aquatics store in Crowland, Peterborough wanted £200 for the same model. I tried The Waterzoo but they could only offer me a Dennerle system; 350gm refillable cylinder with a crap diffuser which required connecting to the filter output, it didn't have a solenoid either and was £130. The salesman tried convincing me that it would be better to go Dennerle rather than JBL as I use their other products too and they would work together better; I nearly laughed and said co2 is co2, surely it doesn't matter how it gets into the water as long as it does (as if the Dennerle co2 is different!!). The JBL diffuser look better anyway. Any chance you could post a pic of the setup including a close-up of the diffuser?

A few other questions if you don't mind; how long does your co2 cylinder last? (I assume it's the 500gm refillable), what co2 level do you dose? where do you get them filled and how much?

I agree about not getting the pH controlled model, my tank size doesn't justify that.

Cheers mate.

 

[Sanj]

Ok, i am afraid i have had to use my webcam (crappy pics) and had to stretch it as far as it could go to get a pic of the JBL unit.

The solenoid is the black attatchment you might be able to see on my crappy pic lol. It is attached to a european style plug so will need an adaptor.

It is simple to use, no fuss.

I set the gas to about 1 bub a second, slightly more in my Rena. They last about 3 months (conservative) for a 500g bottle. Therefore in your aquarium they should last a lot longer.

One of my LFS Coventry Aquatics are able to send the bottles off to be refilled with co2 for £10-11.

You might be able to source a bottling company, i have heard pubs use co2 canisters, they may be able to refill your cylinder or even sell you the ones they use (if they fit on your JBL) for a simialr price.

Maidenhead Aquatics may have a similar service to my LFS?

 

[Sanj]

Ok oK, its the gold and black bit attatched, thats the solenoid.

 

[George Farmer]

Thanks Sanj, you say 1 bubble per second, does it have a bubble counter and what mg/l is your co2?

 

[Sanj]

There is a cylindrical bubble diffuser that goes in to the tank, i just measured the time for a buble to pass a certain point. I guess that is the counter.

It is faster than one bub/sec in the Rena and the Ph is lower in here about 6.8- 7.0 as opposed to 7.2-7.4 in the 400 (varies morning and evening) Kh was 4-5 and 6-7 respectivley.

I havent got a co2 table to hand atm , but i think it is in reasonable range. My tap water is ph 7.4 and gh around 16-18

 

[Sanj]

Just had a look on a CO2 chart.

Seems like the Rena has a conc^ 20-25 and the Rio 400 between 15-20

So both are within an acceptible range.

 

[maddskillz]

i want to switch to a canister filter do you have to change the media every month