Pandy's Juwel Lido 120

[Pandy]

Hi guys,

I ordered a new tank yesterday, as titled, a Juwel Lido 120 in Black Its a bit of a step up from my 30L Clearseal so to say I'm excited is an understatement!

I am going to venture into the planted tank world for the first time, so doing a lot of reading up at the minute on what i need to keep live plants growing and healthy

I also plan to use the 3D backgrounds that Juwel make as i personally think it looks much more natural over a flat image, and i will be looking at a 2 tier aquascape if i can work out how to set it up.

Stock wise it will be more community orientated as i will be transferring my current stock over which includes:

6x Celestial Pearl Danios
6x Vietnamese Minnows
2x Cherry Shrimp

I will up the numbers of the CPDs and VMs but will look into other fish to introduce if anyone has any suggestions? Im thinking a couple of Corys to help keep it clean etc.

Hopefully have some pictures when i pick it up Thursday

Thanks
Andy

 

[Tcal01]

Hi guys,

I ordered a new tank yesterday, as titled, a Juwel Lido 120 in Black Its a bit of a step up from my 30L Clearseal so to say I'm excited is an understatement!

I am going to venture into the planted tank world for the first time, so doing a lot of reading up at the minute on what i need to keep live plants growing and healthy

I also plan to use the 3D backgrounds that Juwel make as i personally think it looks much more natural over a flat image, and i will be looking at a 2 tier aquascape if i can work out how to set it up.

Stock wise it will be more community orientated as i will be transferring my current stock over which includes:

6x Celestial Pearl Danios
6x Vietnamese Minnows
2x Cherry Shrimp

I will up the numbers of the CPDs and VMs but will look into other fish to introduce if anyone has any suggestions? Im thinking a couple of Corys to help keep it clean etc.

Hopefully have some pictures when i pick it up Thursday

Thanks
Andy

Why so little cherry shrimp?

 

[Pandy]

I bought 4 originally but one died and the other I just couldnt find, it was my own fault with the death I believe as i neglected my routine and the PH shot up.

Read up on DIY CO2 last night so going to get some bits ready and start setting that up. Even though I wont be going heavily planted would you recommend to use CO2 still?

I am looking at having a 2-3cm plant substrate topped with around the same thickness of dark gravel. Does that sound right or would i be better mixing the two together?

Sorry for the questions but all this is new to me

 

[Tcal01]

I bought 4 originally but one died and the other I just couldnt find, it was my own fault with the death I believe as i neglected my routine and the PH shot up.

Read up on DIY CO2 last night so going to get some bits ready and start setting that up. Even though I wont be going heavily planted would you recommend to use CO2 still?

I am looking at having a 2-3cm plant substrate topped with around the same thickness of dark gravel. Does that sound right or would i be better mixing the two together?

Sorry for the questions but all this is new to me

That amount of substrate sounds about right to me and u don't have to mix them together. In regards to the co2, just introduce it gradually because I think if introduced too fast with too much, it can shoot your Ph up. Also, U could have way more shrimp if u wanted to. I would say about ten total. But use aqadvisor to double check

 

[Pandy]

I now have the tank setup and wet

I went with the Granite stone background and black sand, as i originally bought some natural coloured gravel but after trying it in the tank it didnt look right so i changed it for the sand.

I also swapped the rear T5 for a 'Natural' bulb to replace the 'Day' bulb as it is recommended for better plant growth i believe, so i have a Day and Natural in there now and a spare of each for when the times comes to change them

Fish stock plans are as follows:

6x Celestial Pearl Danios
12x Vietnamese Minnows
4x Cory of some type
2x Dwarf Gourami
x Shrimp

Would i be overstocking it with that amount as using one of the online stock websites it says that im rather close to my limit?

I do have pictures which i will upload shortly, i just need to decide on a rock/driftwood centre piece now

 

[Tcal01]

I now have the tank setup and wet

I went with the Granite stone background and black sand, as i originally bought some natural coloured gravel but after trying it in the tank it didnt look right so i changed it for the sand.

I also swapped the rear T5 for a 'Natural' bulb to replace the 'Day' bulb as it is recommended for better plant growth i believe, so i have a Day and Natural in there now and a spare of each for when the times comes to change them

Fish stock plans are as follows:

6x Celestial Pearl Danios
12x Vietnamese Minnows
4x Cory of some type
2x Dwarf Gourami
x Shrimp

Would i be overstocking it with that amount as using one of the online stock websites it says that im rather close to my limit?

I do have pictures which i will upload shortly, i just need to decide on a rock/driftwood centre piece now

U are definitely overstocked. I qpuls do maybe 8 cpds or 8 Vietnamese minnows, not both. Are tthe cories u are getting Pygmy cities? Cuz if not then I would recommended 2 otos. And then I would only do one dwarf gourami and about ten shrimp. U can play around with www.aqadvisor.com too and look at your stocking levels

 

[Pandy]

Thats the site i was using, may just stick with the 6 of each CPDs and VMs as they get alone well, the CPDs are much more 'forward' now they have some more confident tank mates.

I've not decided on which Corys yet, maybe the Three-Lined Cory.

Anywho, here are a few pictures, all very bare but im sure i will get there

My haul from the LFS:


New tank haul by Pandy100, on Flickr

Set up within a few minutes:


Juwel Lido 120 by Pandy100, on Flickr

3D background, black sand, and a rock from my established tank:


Seeding the fresh tank by Pandy100, on Flickr

The seeding rock:


Seeding the fresh tank by Pandy100, on Flickr

I placed one of the three white filter pads from the Juwel into my established tank so hopefully some of the bacteria will transfer onto that and ill place it back into the Juwel tomorrow.

I have two medium sized, and one the same size of the above rock so i will try those in the tank to start with but im dubious that they will stand out too much against the darker substrate and background.

 

[Pandy]

Got myself some driftwood pieces today, which will be soaked for a few days, and will get some plants on Friday as I'm on nights this week.

The cycle has started , ammo is dropping so should hopefully see some nitrates soon

 

[Tcal01]

Got myself some driftwood pieces today, which will be soaked for a few days, and will get some plants on Friday as I'm on nights this week.

The cycle has started , ammo is dropping so should hopefully see some nitrates soon

Awesome. Good to hear everything is going smoothly

 

[severum mama]

Beautiful! I don't think you would be overstocked at all with your first list. In fact, I would increase the number of CPDs as they are less shy in larger numbers. The only issue I see with your list is that 2 dwarf gouramis may not get along. Well, 2 males probably won't, but you'd have a chance with a pair. Females aren't available so regularly here in the states, I don't know about the UK.

Also, adding CO2 lowers pH rather than raising it.

 

[Pandy]

Thanks I did think about the Gouramis not getting on so will see if I can get a pair or male and female?

Fitted my driftwood/bogwood just, this is the final aqua scape for now, until I get the plants Friday and/or change my mind


Bogwood aquascape by Pandy100, on Flickr

 

[Pandy]

I installed my plants yesterday and had a rescape, looks much better I think but I'm not struck on the plant placement.

Also seems like my cycle has taken a rest as things had took a step along yesterday but have halted today


Planted by Pandy100, on Flickr

 

[Pandy]

My cycle has definitely stalled, so I have borrowed some substrate from my established tank to help it along (I removed the rock when I scaped it)

Also my PH has dramatically dropped from 7.6 to 6.6 over the time I have added the plants. Now I expected a drop but surely not that much? As that is too low for my fish I believe.

 

[Pandy]

The cycle is back up and running again today Ammo dropped to 2ppm and Nitrites are up to 0.25ppm.

Still having trouble getting my DIY CO2 up and running effectively, mainly because the tubes were the wrong way round in the bubble counter so now it is just getting back up to pressure, I hope

On another note I have some snails in the tank, off the plants I guess, but I'm not sure if they are ok to stay in there? I don't want to be overrun with the blighters! I'll try and get a picture if I can focus on one

Andy the ever impatient!

 

[severum mama]

If you don't overfeed the tank, the snails shouldn't overpopulate it IMO. A lot of people hate them but they really don't cause a problem in my tanks.

What plants do you have on the right side of the tank, next to the sword and driftwood? I'm concerned those might not be aquatic. Tank still looks really nice though.

 

[Pandy]

Thanks, I'll look into some Assassin snails or maybe Loaches instead of Corys if the problem persists, I have only spotted a few snails at present though.

The plants are weird, I just liked the foliage in the shop, not so much now though. They feel rubbery to the touch and have tight cylindrical stems much like a bamboo cane, and I'm yet to track the species down but I may take them back for exhange on something different

 

[severum mama]

I don't know much about non aquatic plants, but those don't look or sound aquatic. I think taking them back would be a good idea.

Assassin snails are great- they breed slowly, so they aren't going to overpopulate your tank, and they eat lots of snails, but if you have a ton of the pest snails they're probably just going to keep the population under control rather than eradicating them (unless you get a ton of assassins, obviously).

 

[Pandy]

The tank is now stripped down and I'm in the process of gathering the equipment to go salty

I should have done it before I spent nearly £200 on bits I'll never get my money back on