New Juwel Rio 180

[baldeagle]

the wait does give you time to think on your stocking plans...then change your mind...then change it again

do you know what you want to keep?

1 choice. Tiger barbs, start with 6, week later add another 6.
2nd choice. Kuhli loach.

Thats it so far still researching

 

[stu40]

Tiger barbs are good, quite feisty which might limit your other choices.
i used to keep 5 banded barbs My link. similar looking, bit more mellow.Good luck with the research

 

[KittyKat]

the wait does give you time to think on your stocking plans...then change your mind...then change it again

do you know what you want to keep?

1 choice. Tiger barbs, start with 6, week later add another 6.
2nd choice. Kuhli loach.

Since you're not testing how much ammonia the media I send you will process, you should stock a lot more slowly than that. It would be safer to do something like this:
day 1: 6 tiger barbs
one week later: 2 tiger barbs
one week later: 2 tiger barbs
one week later: 2 tiger barbs
one week later: 3 tiger barbs (ideally, you would go for 15 to start with)
two weeks later: 6 khuli loaches
one week later 4 khuli loaches (do best in groups of 10+)
…and so on. This is the downside of not doing a fish-less cycle first. Silent cycles (which is what would happen if you had lots of plants) also require low and slow stocking.

The khuli loaches may not be compatible with a dual later substrate: they should have sand and they may dig enough to mix the substrate.

Would you like me to wait on sending the media and plants until you get the background? Without a source of ammonia and oxygen while being submerged, the bacteria will die and the plants should have a tank to go into.

 

[baldeagle]

Tiger barbs are good, quite feisty which might limit your other choices.
i used to keep 5 banded barbs My link. similar looking, bit more mellow.Good luck with the research

Thanks stu, seems a good alternative, if it opens up my choices of compatability thats got to be good in my book

 

[baldeagle]

Would you like me to wait on sending the media and plants until you get the background? Without a source of ammonia and oxygen while being submerged, the bacteria will die and the plants should have a tank to go into.

Kitty! more like a wise old owl!

If your willing to do that, it sounds a very sensible idea to me. thanks

 

[KittyKat]

Would you like me to wait on sending the media and plants until you get the background? Without a source of ammonia and oxygen while being submerged, the bacteria will die and the plants should have a tank to go into.

Kitty! more like a wise old owl!

If your willing to do that, it sounds a very sensible idea to me. thanks

Of course it's fine It's best for me if I send it on Monday or Thursday and I would need warning no later than the night before as the plants are at home, but I'm planning to take the media out of my tank at work (which has a much higher stocking concentration, so you would get more bacteria).

 

[baldeagle]

thought i'd test my tap water this morning,

Ph = 7

Kh = 11 or 13

This is what the test kit says for the KH test.

1. repeatedly rinse the test cup with the water to be tested.

2. Fill the test cup with water to be treated up to the 5ml mark

3. Add reagent one drop at a time, counting the drops, agitate after each drop until the colour changes from blue to yellow-orange.

4. one drop of reagent solution used corresponds to to 1 degree of carbonate hardness (German scale).

Qustion is! am i counting the drops from the amount from blue to yellow or am i counting straight away i.e 2 drops turns it blue, 11 drops turns it yellow

Test kit i am using is JBL Combiset

While i'm talking of my tapwater. I live in a 2 year old house, the heating is underfloor heating, (hot or cold water running through) as i have no combi boiler as such would i be able to use hot water from the tap when i fill up?

 

[KittyKat]

You're counting each drop: one drop = 1 degree, 2 drops = 2 degrees…

In Germany, I have started using the hot tap as the water is of excellent quality here, but when I had a boiler, I preferred to use the kettle, just in case. Different people do this differently.

 

[baldeagle]

Order cancel for juwel background. reordered with new company, deliveruy date 1st October

 

[baldeagle]

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[baldeagle]

everything is in the tank now, apart from media and fish. Pictures to follow

 

[KittyKat]

Media and more plants on the way, where's the photo with the new plants you bought? Did you manage to pick up an ammonia test kit yet?

p.s. be careful about stirring up the plant substrate: most release ammonia!

 

[baldeagle]

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this picture thing has gone pete tong again!

 

[baldeagle]

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thought these plants would cover most of the tank. beleive it or not there are 20 odd plants in there.

 

[baldeagle]

Media and more plants on the way, where's the photo with the new plants you bought? Did you manage to pick up an ammonia test kit yet?

p.s. be careful about stirring up the plant substrate: most release ammonia!

kee[ seeing some bubbles coming up from the substrate already, but how am i meant to not stir up the substrate when planting

pick up some ammonia test kit later, just waiting in for your parcel at the mo, hopefully it will arrive today, then i can get the extra plants in and go get my Tiger barbs