New fish tank question (Juwel 180)

[cookie22]

i have a jewel tank.not the same size but went through changing all the sponges . the only one i change now is the white one weekly but bought a big bag of filter floss instead.same thing but in large bag or box. much cheaper than jewel ones and does exact same job. dont use black sponge anymore either, only to remove meds . just added extra blue pad instead or nitrate sponge. i do a water change weekly , every couple of weeks i rinse 1 of the sponges in tank water and a different 1 next time.

 

[dwarf-puffers]

i would go with live plants because they give of like oxigen or something and sometimes makes the tank more clear also fish like it better and it looks better

 

[SarahBravo]

I'm pretty sure the 180 is a Compact filter system. Yep, just rinse out the 2 spare white filters and dry 'em out. Juwel say replace the white ones once a week, but no one does this, just rinse em out and reuse them a few times. the fine and coarse blue sponges can also be rinsed (in old tank water or in clean dechlorinated water) and reused, I only change mine every 6 months or more. When you rinse them, don't rinse them too clean - all the good bacteria which neutralise the toxins in your tank live in the sponges, you don't want to wash them away. I rinse mine alternately so I've always got a 'buggy' one! I don't use the carbon (black) sponge unless I've had a problem with my tank or I'm trying to remove medications. Most people seem to recommend that if you are using the carbon, leave it in for 2 weeks then remove and discard it.

With regard to lighting if you're going to go with the live plants, if you haven't got the reflectors on your lights, they are worth buying, they almost double the effective output.

Here are a few incarnations of my 180:

 

[Shadowfax]

Nice pictures, in your vision 180 do you point you pump up or just straight out, it's just my little fish (Tetra's) can handle the new current in this tank.