Well it's been over three months since I last updated my journal so here we are!
Introduction
Many of you will already know I’m setting up this, my Juwel Rio 125 from scratch. Unfortunately it’s still in the planning stages at present as I’m away from home. Hopefully I’ll get my hands wet in August but with family commitments etc. I may not actually start until September/October.
The tank’s progress will be detailed here and photographed at each stage of development – from the empty tank up to the final aquascape and beyond. I will also be contributing its step-by-step progress to Practical Fishkeeping magazine. This should reinforce the reader’s understanding of high-tech principles as detailed in my articles (published Oct-Dec hopefully). Look out for a budget/DIY CO2 article in Sept too. I don’t expect the step-by-step work to be published until next year. They’ll be sending their pro-snapper to take the final layout photos so it provides me with plenty of motivation to do a good job.
You can see the tank’s previous “best†here
Hardware
Equipment wise they’ll be a few developments from my previous spec. I’ll be upgrading the filtration, CO2 system and substrate. These upgrades will then be transferred over to my next bigger ADA style tank that I plan in the future (up to 12 months time budget allowing).
Lighting will remain 4 x 18w T8 I think. I don’t see the need to spend extra cash on something that I cannot use in the bigger tank and I had good results with my measly 2.2 wpg. I’ll be using 6500K or 7500K tubes with possibly one or two Triplus (Tritons for those that remember) to highlight the reds and blues, depending on plant and fish choice.
The planned spec so far is –
Tank – Juwel Rio 125
Light – 4 x 18w T8, 10 hours
CO2 – Dennerle re-fillable 500g pressurized system with solenoid, ADA Pollen Glass 30mm, possibly upgrade to a 2Kg cylinder
Filter – Eheim 2028 Pro II, Eheim spray bar and inlet (painted black), Hydor in-line heater
Substrate – ADA Aqua Soil (Amazonia) + mulm
Ferts – EI + trace (AE trace mix), lean macro regime for first few months
Water – 50:50 RO/tap, KH 3, GH 6
Aquascaping and fish
The layout will no doubt be Nature Aquarium style, probably triangular or U-shaped compostion. I have a black painted background so the black Eheim spray bar and inlet will blend in nicely.
A few plants that I would like to have – Java fern (narrow leaf), willow moss, HC, Anubias nana var. petite and some fine leaf stems, some red too for a change. I like the open foreground look too, so the HC may be compromised. We’ll see, there’s a long way to go yet. Hardscape is another story, maybe some locally (Falklands) collected rocks and/or decent wood.
I’d like to set up another original looking layout, but a little more complex than my previous effort with a greater variety in plant species and textures.
No plans for fish yet, except I’ll be stocking Amano shrimp and Otos from the start (after maturing filter and adding plants). I’ll wait around 4 to 6 weeks then stock my “display†fish, whatever they may be. I promised the wife could have some input so who knows!?
Early algae prevention
One technique I will be using is maturing the filter before adding any plants, fish or light. This will enable me to add my final choice of plants and some algae-eating fish/shrimp from the outset, saving cash, maintenance and most of all preventing algae issues. One filter-maturing product that I have heard is effective is Waterlife’s BioMature – it is added until nitrite (NO2) hits 10ppm, then wait until NO2 reads zero. Either this or simply run the new filter in a friends Mbuna tank for a month or so.
I’d like to acknowledge Nick for providing me with the inspiration for using this method. To my surprise he planted with slow-growers from the outset, but experienced no algae issues because his filter was mature. Presumably it is the ammonium spikes present due to immature bio-filtration that cause early algae issues. So providing there is sufficient CO2, growth/bio-mass etc. then we can get away with adding demanding plants from the start.
Longer-term plans
As well as having fun hopefully creating a half-decent aquascape, the Juwel will provide an ideal opportunity to learn about the ADA substrates and necessary water column fert dosing. I am a big advocate of EI yet I understand that when using Aqua Soil (with Power Sand or not) then macronutrient (NP) dosing can be very lean. The lessons I learn from this I can then take forward to the next tank.
I expect to keep the Juwel running for 6 to 12 months until I have saved enough cash to buy an ADA style tank with overtank MH/T5 lighting, ADA glassware etc. When it is time I will either sell the Juwel with its original hardware or use it as an experimental tank.
Sorry that you have to wait until August to see any photos. Just think of an empty, black Juwel Rio 125 with no internal filter and you’ll get the idea for the first photo!
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or get fit 
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