New Jewel Rio 300 Setup

[nathzOO]

Good Morning!

I am new to the forum and would consider my self a noobie in the fishkeeping world!

I have had a 150l (30 Gallon) tank for about 2 years now. For the past year i have been looking after discus using a 300l external filter, submerged heater and attempted to keep some java fern ( Not very experienced ). Keeping discus i am very aware of my water parameters and it has if anything made me more knowledgeable than i would be if i was to keep other fish.

I have enjoyed my journey in the fish keeping world and have decided to upgrade to a 350L (77 Gallon) tank. Obviously i have done a hell of a lot of research and won't be changing over until the new tank has been setup and fully cycled. But before i even think about cycling my tank i would love to get some advice in what i am trying to achieve.

I would like plants as they are a great asset to the tank providing oxygenation, compete with algae, absorb nitrates and fish love them. So i would like to start with plants such as anubias which require no substrate however i would like to lay some substrate in place for additional plants to be added in the future.

The questions i would like to ask:
Would a submerged flowpump be a good way to create flow to distribute the injected co2 around the tank or would that create oxygen which would let the co2 escape or is it even necessary to do this in this size tank?

What is a good substrate to be added under sand (Ideally i would like to create a sort of uneven terrain)?

With the lighting mentioned in the equipment below would that be sufficient or too much?

Equipment for the new tank so far:
Juwel Rio 300 (Tank)
2x T5 Lights with reflectors
2x T8 Lights with reflectors
Oase Bio Master 600
Heater
co2 injection ( not yet purchased )
2 x 25kg Silver Sand
Aqua Medic EcoDrift 4.0 (Was the pump i had in mind for water flow)


Any additional suggestions would be appreciated as i am very open to advice and criticism! I look forward to your responses and would love to keep everyone updated on my new project.

Cheers,
Nathan

 

[Bert2oo1]

Good Morning!



I am new to the forum and would consider my self a noobie in the fishkeeping world!



I have had a 150l (30 Gallon) tank for about 2 years now. For the past year i have been looking after discus using a 300l external filter, submerged heater and attempted to keep some java fern ( Not very experienced ). Keeping discus i am very aware of my water parameters and it has if anything made me more knowledgeable than i would be if i was to keep other fish.



I have enjoyed my journey in the fish keeping world and have decided to upgrade to a 350L (77 Gallon) tank. Obviously i have done a hell of a lot of research and won't be changing over until the new tank has been setup and fully cycled. But before i even think about cycling my tank i would love to get some advice in what i am trying to achieve.



I would like plants as they are a great asset to the tank providing oxygenation, compete with algae, absorb nitrates and fish love them. So i would like to start with plants such as anubias which require no substrate however i would like to lay some substrate in place for additional plants to be added in the future.



The questions i would like to ask:

Would a submerged flowpump be a good way to create flow to distribute the injected co2 around the tank or would that create oxygen which would let the co2 escape or is it even necessary to do this in this size tank?



What is a good substrate to be added under sand (Ideally i would like to create a sort of uneven terrain)?



With the lighting mentioned in the equipment below would that be sufficient or too much?



Equipment for the new tank so far:

Juwel Rio 300 (Tank)

2x T5 Lights with reflectors

2x T8 Lights with reflectors

Oase Bio Master 600

Heater

co2 injection ( not yet purchased )

2 x 25kg Silver Sand

Aqua Medic EcoDrift 4.0 (Was the pump i had in mind for water flow)





Any additional suggestions would be appreciated as i am very open to advice and criticism! I look forward to your responses and would love to keep everyone updated on my new project.



Cheers,

Nathan

Hi Nathan, welcome to the forum! Glad to hear your ready for a planted tank. They can be very rewarding!
To answer a few of your questions,

Lighting looks fine. Remember fluro's will dim though and need to be replaced ever 12 months or so.

Filtration: you want 8-10x turn over per hour from your filters (3000l per hour). To hit this target I would suggest 2 canister filters. 1 large 1 small. Spray bars are best for directing flow around your tank.

Substrate: Eco complete is a great allrounder. You could use dirty but this need to happen before any water or fish are put in and you need to water change every few days for the first 3-4 weeks untill the ammonia settles. Fluval stratum will also work if capped, it's abit loose if not capped.

Co2: inline diffusers or reactors are the best for co2 injection. Combined with a canister and a spray bar u get a great spread across the tank.

Ferts: EI dosing is best for high light co2 tanks like you have planned. Google EI dosing and read one of the guides to this dosing technique.

That's a good start, hope I helped

 

[nathzOO]

Hi Bert,

Exactly the sort of advice i was looking for!

Fortunately for me this tank is my display tank in the house, unfortunately power sources are limited at the location i fear that with another canister filter in the aquarium it could cause some electric faults once i have everything all plugged in?

Filtration: you want 8-10x turn over per hour from your filters (3000l per hour). To hit this target I would suggest 2 canister filters. 1 large 1 small. Spray bars are best for directing flow around your tank.

I'm guessing you have suggested a further canister filter to increase the Flow of water to clear up some of the detritus of the plants. I was hoping to achieve the same goals by using a submerged pump, would this achieve the same goal as well as distributing co2? Alternatively could you recommend another way?

Substrate: Eco complete is a great allrounder. You could use dirty but this need to happen before any water or fish are put in and you need to water change every few days for the first 3-4 weeks untill the ammonia settles. Fluval stratum will also work if capped, it's abit loose if not capped.

If i was to use eco complete does it matter how thick i have the layer of substrate due to gas build up? There will be a layer of sand over the top as well. I am planning on doing a fish-less cycle, how often would i need to water change and how much until the tank is fully cycled?

Co2: inline diffusers or reactors are the best for co2 injection. Combined with a canister and a spray bar u get a great spread across the tank.

I still need to research which method of co2 injection i will use but i will take everything on board and start by researching those!

Ferts: EI dosing is best for high light co2 tanks like you have planned. Google EI dosing and read one of the guides to this dosing technique.

Okay again dosing is something i have no idea about and will look into that aswell.



Thanks again for all of your constructive feedback, looks like i am going to do a lot more research and need more help than anticipated!

Cheers,
Nathan

 

[Bert2oo1]

If you can run a pump then you should be able to run another canister, canisters don't draw too much current so u should be able to run 2 with no worrys. I currently run 5 off the 1 circuit in my house.

What main filter were you planning on running? You could just go 1 large canister with a full length spray bar.

1 inch of Eco with 1 inch of sand should be fine for substrate.

 

[nathzOO]

I didn't realize how long the wattage was on canister filters i'm just a bit worried about all of the pipes coming up and making the tank look ugly. My main filter is an Oase Bio Master 600 that has not been setup yet. The cannister im currently running on my 200l is an EFX 300. That would then mean having 2 outlets and 2 inlets into the tank?

Okay great i will look into that Eco Complete.

I am going to set the substrate up, set the filter and heater up then add the plants once the tank has got to the right temperature. Should i then begin doing 30% weekly water changes ?

 

[nathzOO]

For my 200 Litre tank i use the AquaManta EFX 300 but i have just purchased the Oase Bio Master 600 for my 350 Litre tank. I didn't realise how low wattage the filters were my apologies however 2 inlets and 2 outlets in the tank isn't too appealing.

I will definitely look into the Eco complete you mentioned. If i was to install the substrate, sand, water, heater then wait for it to reach the right temperate plant all the plants and then do weekly 30% water changes would this be satisfactory until the tank was cycled?

Thanks again for your patience!

P.S will the sand fall through the eco complete and eventually end up underneath?

 

[Bert2oo1]

For my 200 Litre tank i use the AquaManta EFX 300 but i have just purchased the Oase Bio Master 600 for my 350 Litre tank. I didn't realise how low wattage the filters were my apologies however 2 inlets and 2 outlets in the tank isn't too appealing.

I will definitely look into the Eco complete you mentioned. If i was to install the substrate, sand, water, heater then wait for it to reach the right temperate plant all the plants and then do weekly 30% water changes would this be satisfactory until the tank was cycled?

Thanks again for your patience!

You can hide the outlets by folding a sponge in the corner and covering it with moss and other plants like this |). I know what your saying though, they are ugly. I'd say your well under filtered though. Atleast try for 8x turn over. I'd say 2 of those filters would be perfect (or one similar without the heater). I hide all my outlets with tall stem plants. Also if you go a black background and a black spray bar they almost disappear.

For a tank your size u really want to go the inline diffuser or a reactor. A normal disc diffuser won't give you enough spread in a large tank. You can make your own reactor, Google Griggs reactor or cerges reactor.

As for the cycle, what you mentioned should be fine but i would imagine u won't need to water change much at all as the plants will help keep the parameters in order.

Once established you want to do 50% water changes weekly or you will have algae issues.
Remember the golden rule, the more light the more co2/ ferts you will require. You want your lighting to be just enough to get good growth rates and no more or you risk an algae outbreak.

I'd suggest no more than 8-10 hours of lighting