Joecorals Rio 180 Journal

[joecoral]

yep, both bogwood and the elodea are real. the bogwood looks a bit plastic-y in the pic because theres some sand blown on there which i need to blow off at some point

 

[joecoral]

Another update with a few more pics, got some new plants, a few large amazon swords to go along the back, I think the tank looks much better with them in. (fortunately the pics are a bit washed out so you can't see all the poop on the sand needs a bit of a vaccuuming!)

FTS:

Close up of female cherry barb:

Small amazon sword (i think, can anyone tell me otherwise?) in front left:

As always, all comments appreciated, I look forward to reading them

JC

 

[joecoral]

Just added 5 Sterbai cory's. Will post pics as soon as I take some

JC

 

[DarkEntity]

Why have you got the filter intake at the top of the tank and not lower down?

 

[joecoral]

Why have you got the filter intake at the top of the tank and not lower down?

When I assembled it, the long part of the intake was touching the substrate when it was inside the tank, and I was too lazy to trim a few inches off, so I just turned it round and have the long end outside down the back and the short end on the inside, will this be a problem? Also, in an earlier post you mentioned i would need food for my plants, what sort of product do you recommend?

JC

 

[joecoral]

Some pictures of my new sterbai cory's

Group shot

"Quick gang, huddle together, that guy's pointing that big black thing at us again!"

 

[Daveyg1969]

Looks great love the Cory's

 

[joecoral]

Well it's about time for an update folks, seeing as it's been a while.
Currently suffering for a bit of an algae problem, have been cutting down the photoperiod of tank, added a 2 hours siesta from the lights, and have some more fast growing plants ordered from java, coming next week which will hopefully help with the algae
Also added 7 Otocinclus sp. today as well as another 2 sterbai cory's. Will add some photos tomorrow once they're in and settled
I'm also planning to add some amano shrimp once my LFS get some back in stock (went to a local MH store to buy some, but they were £3 EACH so i declined to buy any!)

Enjoy!

Regards
JC

 

[chrissaysyes]

cute little guys, good luck with your algae problem, cutting back on the photoperiod should do the trick.

 

[joecoral]

cutting back on the photoperiod has def helped, i've played around with a few, im down to 8 hours a day from 10, and i can see an improvement, theres still some GDA, but my oto's and mag float are sorting those out, got even more fast growers on the way as well.

JC

 

[slakey]

is that silver sand? looks really nice a bright.

might be getting a 180 and filling it with silver sand

 

[joecoral]

it's play sand from argos. £2.49 for 15kg

 

[joecoral]

Another update, added 12 dwarf neon rainbow Melanotaenia praecox, and I had a fiddle around with planting the other day, will post pictures when I get home later, too light to take pictures of the tank atm anyway

JC

 

[Lnbates2000]

Wow! Your tank looks amazing! I've seen a lot of tanks recently with sand, and I really like the idea, looks fantastic!

Your fish look nice too! How did you manage to get bogwood that doesn't discolour your tank?!

Looking forward to the updated piccy!

Laura

 

[joecoral]

photo update folks, tried to take some close ups of the new inhabitants but they are too quick, so will try another time, will have to make do with some full tank shots. I was planning on adding another load of plants from greenline, but unfortunately this may be the last time you see this tank for a while as my landlord has decided to be a pain and revoke my permission to keep pets

Wow! Your tank looks amazing! I've seen a lot of tanks recently with sand, and I really like the idea, looks fantastic!

Your fish look nice too! How did you manage to get bogwood that doesn't discolour your tank?!

Looking forward to the updated piccy!

Laura

Thanks! I personally much prefer the look of sand to gravel. I don't know why the bogwood doesnt colour the water. There are only 2 very small pieces in there, and were both soaked for at least a week before they went in the tank

JC