The big return - help needed

Post Reply
sh4d0w
Newbie
Posts: 4
Joined: Fri Jun 26, 2020 22:32 pm

Hello to each and every one of you.

I am new here, hence being post #1 - ha.

My name is Martin, 15 miles out of Manchester and lucky enough to have the Abyss 5 minutes away.

I have always enjoyed fish keeping and in the past kept both fresh and salt water aquariums, my last being salt. We sold up when we moved houses about 5 years ago. I would like to say that things are calming down now... they are not! still a building site. Anyway, its time i got back into the hobby.

I am here today looking for help, advice and inspiration on A Planted Aquascape with a real mixture of plants - we want bright and active fish so likely to be a tank of tetras and rummy noses with some fillers - really am open to suggestions etc.

We are about to have an extension drawn up and plans submitted to LA, the tank will eventually be moved into another room so we could class this as a dummy run for my first scape BUT ideally i would like to try and be happy first time and worry about the weight and moving later down the line.

So, here is what i have just bought:

Eheim Incpiria 330
Eheim pro 4 600 (was a toss up with the FX6 but couldn’t be bothered with the maintenance set back on the fx) i will get some BioHome ultimate and new sponges for the filter
2x Eheim Quick Release double taps - for either side of my UV - Do i need these... really? £30 each i can take back for credit.
JBL pro 500 inline heater
JBL m502 co2 kit
JBL in-line diffuser
Tmc vectron 600 uv
2x JBL volcano mineral (18l)
3x JBL Aqua basis plus (15l)
1x JBL mando (21l)
2x Juwel Stone Granite 3D backgrounds

I only went into the shop for a "look" and came out a lot of cash down, oops. So, i dont even know if what ive come away with is the best for needs really, i guess that is the first question, should i take anything back to change it?

related to my first aforementioned question, i dont think i want A 3D background, i like the look of some of the tanks i have seen where you can see the glass back, what are your thoughts on this? for NOW the tank is sat in an internal window area and can be viewed from all 4 sides - if i opt for the background, can it be added later down the line?

I plan on building up some raised sections with the Volcano min followed by a layer of basis plus and topped off with natural mando - am i on the right path with this?

the Eheim tank comes with the two LED lights but no controller - do you think i would benefit from the controller? it is an extra £110 but will allow me to set sunrise and sunset and moon lighting etc.

UV - I have always had UV on my salt'ys but never fresh - is this required/beneficial ?

Finally, for now. my M502 kit... should i have spent the extra money and gone with the M503 and taken onboard the computer? - i have the chance to pay the difference and swap over.

What else do i need to think about guys? Have i missed anything?

I know i need testing kits and chems etc, i just need to go over what i have here before i commit, JBL the way to go for testing?


Thank you to anyone who takes the time to read this and even bigger thanks to those who take their time to respond ;-)

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image
User avatar
Andys temperate tank
Tank of the Year Winner 2020-21
Tank of the Year Winner 2020-21
Posts: 3608
Joined: Thu Jan 16, 2020 9:14 am
Location: Sunderland
Has liked: 4375 times
Been liked: 2888 times

Morning Martin. Welcome to the forum. That's a lovely tank you've bought.

Backgrounds are a personal choice. I like them for hiding cables and pipework. We went for black in our big tank. Theres a video in my tank log of my 34 rummies shoaling if youd like to see that.

Make sure you start a tank log of your set up.
64l kitchen tank: 16 golden tetra.
5ft 425L: 7 blue angel fish, 30 rummie nose tetra, 20 black neon tetra, 1 longfin bristlenose plec, 2 corydoras sterbai, 2 SAE.
User avatar
Martinspuddle
Forum Jester & TOTM Winner
Forum Jester & TOTM Winner
Posts: 7036
Joined: Tue Dec 31, 2019 18:07 pm
Location: Sceapig
Has liked: 4220 times
Been liked: 3888 times

Greetings, we'll be here, first suggestion if I may, think you might need a slightly larger aquarium my friend although I have never kept this species.....

Image

.....from what I understand they do grow somewhat larger than this! :grin:
WARNING - DO NOT BREED, FEED OR PET THE PUDDLE! :dodgy2:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
:swim2: :swim2: :swim2: :swim2: :swim2: :woo: :swim2: :swim2: :swim2:
User avatar
Stephen
Guru Multi TOTM Winner
Guru Multi TOTM Winner
Posts: 6016
Joined: Thu Mar 29, 2018 15:42 pm
Location: Hereford, Herefordshire
Has liked: 1415 times
Been liked: 3407 times
Contact:

Hi Martin

You have been busy spending money.
sh4d0w wrote: Sat Jul 04, 2020 1:23 am So, here is what i have just bought:

Eheim Incpiria 330
Eheim pro 4 600 (was a toss up with the FX6 but couldn’t be bothered with the maintenance set back on the fx) i will get some BioHome ultimate and new sponges for the filter
2x Eheim Quick Release double taps - for either side of my UV - Do i need these... really? £30 each i can take back for credit.
JBL pro 500 inline heater
JBL m502 co2 kit
JBL in-line diffuser
Tmc vectron 600 uv
2x JBL volcano mineral (18l)
3x JBL Aqua basis plus (15l)
1x JBL mando (21l)
2x Juwel Stone Granite 3D backgrounds

I only went into the shop for a "look" and came out a lot of cash down, oops. So, i dont even know if what ive come away with is the best for needs really, i guess that is the first question, should i take anything back to change it?
The Eheim Pro4 600 comes with excellent media, so no need to get BioHome ultimate.
However if you have 2 bottom trays full of Mech Pro (black plastic rings) I would be inclined to swap it for Eheim Mech which are ceramic rings.
The reason I suggest that is although the Mech Pro (black plastic rings) are excellent, I found that when doing filter maintenance that the plastic rings float and because they float can become annoying and the odd one can get trapped elsewhere if you're not observant. When I have repositioned the filter head after filter maintenance, the odd plastic ring has trapped between the filter head and filter box.
The theory behind these plastic rings is ingenious and they do a fantastic job, because they float they are even better than the Eheim Mech (ceramic rings) but I personally found them annoying.
If you feel you want to swap out the Eheim bioMECH for additional biological media then can I suggest additional Eheim Substratpro. I have used BioHome ultimate/ultra but went back to the Eheim Substratpro, the Eheim media is superb and my No1 choice.

Do you need UV?
Probably not. Although for a perfect environment that is algae free then a UV may be useful as long as the flow is low enough to deal with the algae spores and even lower to deal with parasites.
As you will be using CO2 then I doubt if algae will be an issue unless you overfeed the fish.
I am sure that with your positive intentions for a planted aquarium that any nutrients will be taken up by the plants and therefore not give algae a chance to establish.
It's getting the balance of nutrients correct for the plants.

Do you need the 3D background?
I think that is down to personal choice.
I have painted my background black (outside of aquarium glass), this enhances the greenery of the plants. As I have a smooth surface (glass) then this is easier, in my view, to clean.
2x JBL volcano mineral (18l)
3x JBL Aqua basis plus (15l)
1x JBL mando (21l)
This is your choice of substrate, make sure that you rinse the JBL Manado thoroughly.

All the best.
Please keep us informed with a tank log.
I'm excited for you and look forward to your progress.


Stay safe & healthy everyone
425L SeaBray Elite aquarium - Rio Mamoré (Bolivia) theme
4 x Cupid Cichlids, 14 x Cory caudimaculatus, 13 x Cory sterbai 52 x Reed Tetra, 4 x Honeycomb Bristlenose (L519)

Powered by EHEIM
User avatar
plankton
Super Mod
Super Mod
Posts: 12204
Joined: Sun Jan 21, 2018 17:02 pm
Location: S. Derbyshire
Has liked: 5030 times
Been liked: 3395 times

Welcome to the forum. :)
I wouldn't go with the 3D background either - you'd never be able to have plecs if you wanted them, they rasp the coating off and poison themselves. :(
Apparently mermaids need at least a 200 gallon pool and can be terribly vengeful if they aren't Darryl Hannah. They will also eat all the fish you put in there. ;)
User avatar
fr499y
Admin - TOTM Winner
Admin - TOTM Winner
Posts: 8290
Joined: Sun Jan 28, 2018 16:04 pm
Location: West Midlands
Has liked: 1773 times
Been liked: 4164 times

Welcome to AF-UK Lovely looking tank.
User avatar
Staffylover
TOTM Winner
TOTM Winner
Posts: 1398
Joined: Sat Feb 01, 2020 6:39 am
Location: lincoln
Has liked: 2250 times
Been liked: 1909 times

Always nice to see a new project, if the tank can be seen from all sides perhaps a center scape would work, though I'm not sure how you would hide the pipe work, lovely looking tank :)
500l - Africa river - https://www.aquariumforums.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=6873
2x200l - https://www.aquariumforums.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=7790
Others - https://www.aquariumforums.co.uk/viewto ... =15&t=7411
230L 6ft - Shallow stream
Roma 125l - Holding fish
Qubiq 60 - Dwarf Spotted Danio
40l/25L - Black- bellied Limia/Pygmy Sunfish
User avatar
stechappo
Senior Member
Posts: 444
Joined: Fri Aug 02, 2019 22:31 pm
Location: Knowsley
Has liked: 530 times
Been liked: 586 times

Welcome to the forum, looking forward to seeing your setup develop. :)
Lee_k
TOTM Winner
TOTM Winner
Posts: 842
Joined: Thu Aug 22, 2019 19:50 pm
Location: Staffordshire
Has liked: 330 times
Been liked: 676 times

Crying out for a tank log in "whats happening in your aquarium" this is

Welcome!
Bicher Congo Biotope Tank Log
Discus Tank Tank Log
Musk Turtle Tank Tank Log

Mbuna TankTank Log - Shut down
Turtle Falls tankTank Log - Shut down
Betta Tank 58l - Shut down
Si4geckos
TOTM Winner
TOTM Winner
Posts: 890
Joined: Thu Aug 08, 2019 10:17 am
Has liked: 435 times
Been liked: 836 times
Contact:

I reckon a huge group of orange swords would look excellent in planted tank. Just so happens I have lots of small ones available and I'm only 30 mins away.... ;)

It's nice in Abyss, but gets expensive very quickly. Be interested to see how your plans turn out.
Post Reply