Rio 180 Lighting Problem

[Shuggieboy]

Im writing this article on behalf of a friend, he has a Jewel Rio 180 tank. He has never really had much success with growing plants in this tank. The tank comes with a sort of built in lighting unit so there is not really any room to add more light tubes. However, he does have a fair bit of java that grows really well. Im not sure if the problem is down to lack of lighting or whether his ph level is too low, ph is currently around 6.0. kh 2 gh 3 (the last time we done a test it was really soft and acidic, possibly due to a large piece of wood thats in there, dont know what kind it is - bought at the LFS anyways). Anyways, just wanted to see what other peoples experiences are with this tank and any possible solutions? Could any one please tell me what that watts per gallon is on this tank?

 

[ChrisP]

Not really sure what you are wanting to know to be honest. I have the same tank its a great quality tank, I find the inbuilt filters are not that great but thenagainI swapped mine out for an external canister a while back.

Default lighting is 1.25WPG, you can get it to 2.5WPG buy attachign some relfectors and tubes to the flaps then buying a double starter unit. Thats the way I did it anyway, you can but a double lighting bar from Juwel although they are expensive.

 

[jimbooo]

i have a juwel rio180. upgraded the lighting to 2.5WPG (your friends is 1.26 WPG as standard)

i could write 50 pages on this subject, before i do click on the rio180 journal in my sig. it's massive but will cover just about any question you may have about the equipment and mods.

let me know if you have any questions left over after looking.

this is it in it's current state

 

[Shuggieboy]

Thanks for the info Jimboo, i like your tanks very nice indeed. I think the best way forward for my friend is to get those extra light fittings, are they easy to install? They look as if they weigh a substantial amount and they are perched precariously over the tank?

 

[jimbooo]

they weigh nothing at all and balance on the centre brace. once the wires at each end are pulled tight they stay in place very well indeed. 18 months on my tank and no disasters yet. you'd actually have to push the light down for it to touch the water. once the reflectors are fitted and overlapped with the original ones they are quite safe.

 

[ChrisP]

If you dont like balancing them it is very easy to attach them to the flaps you just bolt them on with the supplied fixings you get with the lighting unit. It gives you easier access to the tank aswel as when you lift the flap your obviously lifting one of the lights out the way.