ATK!!!
Fishaholic
Well... By Christmas I'll have a Juwel Rio 180 to go in my bedroom. Because of numerous problems and lack of time during a normal week I would really like to try and make this plant as low tech as is easily possible. Water changes are the main thing I want to cut down on. If it is possible I would like to try doing water changes every 3-6 months... Yes months. So, so far this is a rough outline of what I'm buying:
Juwel Rio 180 with the 2x45w T5 light unit (I am hoping to counteract this largish amount of light with floating plants and perhaps a translucent sheet of something if it really is too much)
Tetratec ex1200 (supposed 1200lph, probably just over half that)
Hydor Koralina 1 1500lph powerhead
Caribsea Eco-Complete Live Planted Substrate 9kg - Black (Will this be ok for a low tech tank? If so how much shall I use (bags are 9kgs)
Black sand of some sort (suggestions?)
A Massive amount of plants!!!! Hopefully 80-90% of the tank will be planted straight away but still giving enough room for the Corys to roam...
Outline of stocking:
1 Albino Bristlenose plec
1 large shoal of around 30 fish (still choosing, any help?)
10-15 Coryadas of some sort (again open to suggestions)
5 shrimp from my old tank (will likely breed rather quickly)
Some Dwarf Cichlids perhaps instead of the corys...
Can anyone see any big problems yet? I still have a lot of time to change my mind about anything on that list so any suggestions are welcome. The stocking itself is a very basic frame and any ideas about that are welcome. I hear that tanks like this should be relatively understocked so hows mine looking so far??
Any help would be really appreciated!
Oops I forgot to add that I will be leaving tank fully planted without any fish in for around a month as I will be attempting a silent cycle.
Juwel Rio 180 with the 2x45w T5 light unit (I am hoping to counteract this largish amount of light with floating plants and perhaps a translucent sheet of something if it really is too much)
Tetratec ex1200 (supposed 1200lph, probably just over half that)
Hydor Koralina 1 1500lph powerhead
Caribsea Eco-Complete Live Planted Substrate 9kg - Black (Will this be ok for a low tech tank? If so how much shall I use (bags are 9kgs)
Black sand of some sort (suggestions?)
A Massive amount of plants!!!! Hopefully 80-90% of the tank will be planted straight away but still giving enough room for the Corys to roam...
Outline of stocking:
1 Albino Bristlenose plec
1 large shoal of around 30 fish (still choosing, any help?)
10-15 Coryadas of some sort (again open to suggestions)
5 shrimp from my old tank (will likely breed rather quickly)
Some Dwarf Cichlids perhaps instead of the corys...
Can anyone see any big problems yet? I still have a lot of time to change my mind about anything on that list so any suggestions are welcome. The stocking itself is a very basic frame and any ideas about that are welcome. I hear that tanks like this should be relatively understocked so hows mine looking so far??
Any help would be really appreciated!
Oops I forgot to add that I will be leaving tank fully planted without any fish in for around a month as I will be attempting a silent cycle.