Juwel trigon tank review

Here’s how my tank looks currently:

I’ve recently added the root system (Similar one here)  in the middle and I’m establishing the dwarf hair grass as a carpet across the bottom.

I got the root system from the local fish shop as I wanted to hand select one that was suitable.

Alternative, you can use this bogwood arch.

I will update this photo as the tank evolves. I have a few more roots to add once the grass is established.

The tubing down the right hand side is for the C02 which is pumping in to really get the plants growing.

Other things you’ll need to setup the tank

As well as the tank there are a number of things you’ll need to get the tank up and running,

I’ve covered them here with my recommendations. This can all be purchased on Amazon via the links*.

Back Ground

Your tank will need a back ground to look smart rather than looking straight through to the wall.

There’s a lot of choices, with plain black being very popular.

In my tank I have used Juwel cliff light background – Get it here, along with the filter cover and I used the Juwel silicone to secure it in place.

There is a choice of different colours and designs and these really add an under water 3D feel to your tank.

If I was starting my tank over again I would probably use this root system instead.

The light cliff gets a bit of algae which I don’t mind, I’d just prefer the root one.

You need to get your back ground in before you get the water in ideally if you’re having a 3D background or its rather hard to fit. I’ve written a blog on how to install the back ground correctly, which features the numerous mistakes I made – Read installing a Juwel background here (coming soon).

I’ve also added a cliff terrace, see below, which matches the cliff background and gives another level to the tank bottom. This has been planted and used to prop the root system on.

Advice – This is just my opinion, but don’t put a poster background in. This is a near £500 fish tank and the for me the poster look cheapens the appearance – Unless you’re going with a really densely planted look.

Substrate/ Stones

You’ll need to decide on what you want to put in the tank before you pick the stones.

If you want a planted tank you’ll need an aquatic soil and substrate, if you want to put ornaments in the tank with plastic plants then you’ll need stones (think about this before you go for this look, planted tanks are not difficult to maintain, are better for the fish and look better).

In my tank I used the JBL Manado soil – a 25L bag and filled behind the terrace and went heavier at one end to stop the bottom being all flat.

Over time before I got the plants in the slope has slowly tailed off but should hold with some planting now.

Decor

This is where you have a whole range to pick from and can plan your aquarium accordingly.

Starting with a clear plan will give you a better finish product rather than just buying what you fancy and plonking it in the tank.

Things to consider

•  The overall look of the tank, will it be well planted? Is there a specific theme you want to stick to – root system, large stones, or a particular design you’d like to achieve. This is a great time to have a look at other aquariums and find a style that you like. Don’t look just at corner tanks either, have a search for best aquariums on Google and see what you like then re imagine it in your tank.

• Do you want ornaments? If you have children they may want to be involved with the tank and have some fun ornaments in there. There’s everything from Frozen and finding nemo toys to bubble based coffins that open every couple of minutes. You’ll also find lots of sunken features like downed airplanes and ship wrecks that I quite like. I think this would make a fantastic centre piece for a tank along that theme and these provide good cover for the fish and shrimp.

I imagine that this across the tank with some higher plants behind and smaller grasses in front would look stunning.

At some point in the future I may change my own tank to this design.

Here’s one I’ve seen on you tube that I like with the Juwel background.

I’d personally go for more plants than this but this is just one to share for inspiration.

Plants

Real plants are better for the fish and once established really easy to maintain.

With the right stocking the fish won’t eat them and they make good pockets of safe places for the fish to hide in.

The simple rule to stocking is to do smaller plants at the front moving to larger ones at the back.

With a Juwel corner tank you can play around with this a little and move the plant sizes from side to side for a different view in the tank. I have written a guide to setting up a planted aquarium – you can read it here.

This will talk you through some tips and steps to getting started on the right track with the tank – which will make life easier in the long term.

Whats in my Juwel 190 tank?

Here’s a list of everything you can see in my tank currently:

1. JBL substrate – Buy it here
2. Juwel light cliff back ground, light cliff filter cover and light cliff terrace – Buy it here
3. Mango root system x 2 – Bought from the local fish store
4. Bamboo trees x 5 – Bought from aqua essentials
5. Moss balls x 3 – Fish store
6. Shrimp home  – buy it here. This is covered in rocks with java moss over to give it a more natiural look. As time has gone on its got algae on it and moss growing over the holes so the shrimp can still get in but it looks a lot more natural.
7. Dwarf Hair grass – Local fish store made by 123-grow
8. Various mixed size plants – local fish store
9. Fluval presurrised C02 system – if unavailable, replace with JBL ProFlora Bio  – Buy it here
10. Automatic feeder – Local shop
11. Timer switch for the lighting – Status 24 Hour Segment Square Timer Switch – Buy it here

The fish/ invertebrates

1. Assassin snails – numerous. These were added due to a snail out break, they really do get rid of the other problematic snails it just takes a couple of months.
2. Cherry shrimp – too many to count – These have bred, and bred, and bred. There’s absolutely loads of them every where, they help to keep the tank spotless.
3. Other shrimp – I stocked a few types of shrimp before the cherries took over, orange, blue and some other kinds. Due to them cross breeding I have a few weird looking ones in with the cherries.
4. Guppies – Again these have been breeding like mad and I have 40-50 small ones in the tank, every 2-3 weeks I take a bag back to the fish shop to give them.
5. Harlequins x 4 – These have lasted since the first stock and seem indestructible!
6. Red coral pencil fish x 1 – I did have 4 but these have dwindled, at £20 a fish its annoying to lose them.
7. Dalmatian mollies – These were a new strain of yellow ones, the’ve since bred and lost their impressive colouring.
8. Pencil fish x 5  – Not the red version, these are doing well.
9. Rumy nose tetras x 5 – Again part of the original stock and doing well.
10. Black neons x 3, blue neons x 3 – Nice shoal fish to keep, the black ones are ones to avoid if you have a darker back ground.

Note – The guppies stock appears really high due to the size of them, there are only 5 adult fish currently, the rest are tiny.

Thats the end of my Juwel trigon review and guide to whats needed for the tank, if you have any questions please use the contact us form or send me a tweet to @smalltanksuk

*Please note we are an affiliate of Amazon so will receive a small commission on any orders – This is spent on new tanks and products to review for the site.