My 200l Planted Tank Journal

[Kris T]

I've really enjoyed everyone else's journals, so I thought I'd do one myself. Hopefully it will be an entertaining journey!

8 days ago I received my Fluval Roma 200 from Seapets. They had an offer that included a free cabinet if you didn't mind last year's model (last year's model cabinet, not tank. The tank is the current one). I prefer the previous model of cabinet, so I couldn't refuse the offer.

The cleared spot for the new tank:

The stand in pieces:

The stand ready (hope it's stronger than it looks!):

Tank and stand in place:

Ordered the substrate (eco-complete) from Seatpets last week. It didn't turn up. They told me they forgot to load it onto the van, so they they put it on 24hr delivery to get to me today. Didn't turn up again This time it got lost, apparently, so they've sent another lot on 24hr delivery to get here tomorrow. Fingers crossed!

I also have 20kgs of rock coming tomorrow from Aqua Essentials. And at the end of the week I should be receiving everything I need to add a 39w T5 light to the lights I already have as standard. Lots to do Hopefully in the next couple of days I can start the fishless cycle. I'm already feeling a touch of impatience, so I need to get it started! I'll update as I go!

By the way, if I just have substrate and rocks in for the fishless cycle (no plants yet), is it right that I should do the cycle with the lights off all the time?

 

[JenCliBee]

Looking forward to see how this turns out


Advised yes to keep lights off to minimise algae growth

 

[tom_os]

looks good so far, will be intersting to see what you do because i am at the same stage as you pretty much with the roma 240

can i ask how your going to add the extra light becaue i am looking to do this with mine

 

[aaronnorth]

i used seapets to buy a stand before, and they ended up sending the wrong one out

Tom, this may help: http/www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/foru...ead.php?t=14735

 

[Kris T]

looks good so far, will be intersting to see what you do because i am at the same stage as you pretty much with the roma 240

can i ask how your going to add the extra light becaue i am looking to do this with mine

I've been following your journal and enjoying it! I've been learning from your experiences too

I'm not sure if my way to add the extra T5 tube will work yet, but I'm pretty sure it will. If not, I'll have to find another way.

I'm planning to add T8 reflectors to the existing 2 lights (to get more out of them). I'm gonna try to bolt a T5 reflector onto one of those T8 reflectors, and I should then be able to just clip the new light tube into the reflector using standard light clips. If the T8 reflectors are permanently fixed to something, one of them should have no problems supporting a T5 reflector and tube. My order for all the parts I'll need should arrive tomorrow or Friday, and if my way works I'll put some pictures up to show what I did!

 

[tom_os]

cheers

are those lights just resting on the centre support bit that runs the depth of the tank?

 

[aaronnorth]

cheers

are those lights just resting on the centre support bit that runs the depth of the tank?

yes, the brace support bar. That is what the clip is for too, to hold the tube off the bar so it isnt a hazard.

 

[tom_os]

oh ok so the clip is just a small barrier between the tube and support bar.

thanks i will look into it

 

[aaronnorth]

oh ok so the clip is just a small barrier between the tube and support bar.

thanks i will look into it

yes, more for saftey as they do get very hot! I have lost count the amount of times i have burnt my arm Must do it every week

 

[Kris T]

Hopefully the way I'm going to do it will mean you don't have to use the clips like that, and the light will be fixed to something permanent rather than just balancing there (didn't like the thought ot that, so looked for another way). If it works, I'll let you know. If it doesn't, I'll be resting the tube on a clip

 

[tom_os]

where do you get the clip from?

 

[aaronnorth]

Hopefully the way I'm going to do it will mean you don't have to use the clips like that, and the light will be fixed to something permanent rather than just balancing there (didn't like the thought ot that, so looked for another way). If it works, I'll let you know. If it doesn't, I'll be resting the tube on a clip

it has cable ties at either end too, to keep the wires attaches to the original lighting - not just balancing on that one thing


The clip should be supplied with the ballast, Tom.

 

[tom_os]

cheers

and any tube that is the wattage corresponding to that of the ballast will do?

 

[aaronnorth]

yes. you can get a tube rated higher than the ballast. for exmaple

100w ballast, you can have a 110w tube, but you will only get 100w.

Dont over power a tube (eg. stick a 90w in there) as it will blow.

 

[Kris T]

Okay, finally an update!

I finally added my substrate (Eco-complete), rock, and water 8 days ago. A day later I added my first lot of ammonia to get me up to about 5 ppm. Things hanve't moved on quite as fast as I'd hoped, because I've got a faulty heater that I'm not too confident about (I have to unplug it at night and when I'm out). But I'm getting a new one tonight, so I'll be right back on full speed again.

Here's my tank last week before I added the rocks and substrate:

And here it is right after I'd added the substrate, rocks, and water. I also added a plain black background, although it can;t be seen through the murky water here:

I was worried just how cloudy it got! It took about 2 days to fully clear. I'll add a picture later to show you how it looks now with clear water, although it's not looking great. I've got all kinds of crap floating on the surface, the inside walls have got substrate dust all over them, and it generally looks hidious Still, that seems to be normal for a tank at this early stage...I hope!

I've just taken some water readings, a week on from adding my first lot of ammonia:

Ammonia is 1.5ppm
P.H. is 7.4 (tap water is 7.2)
Nitrite is 1.5ppm
Nitrate doesn't match any colour on the card, but it's closest to 10. Does this mean it's not registering yet?

I'd appreciate some feedback on these readings, if there's anything I need to know, or change.

Oh, and I also upgraded the lighting last week, by adding an extra 39w tube in an Arcadia T5 starter. I used my own method because none of the others I'd found seemd too great to me, and I'm very pleased with how it turned out! If anyone's interested in more details, I'd be happy to share ;-)