Had mine for 2 years now and have a few pointers for anyone thinking of getting one. Firstly, they are a great tank. Set up and go. Ideal for beginners to get in to larger tanks. Later on, you are going to want to change a few things. But even after two years (and a bloody big scratch right on the front) it's still my pride and joy. Put your filter in a bucket or large tub. Those large plastic storage boxes are ideal. I did this the day I set the tank up because I'd never had a canister filter before and was worried about leaks. So glad I did! I came down one morning after cleaning the filter the night before and found my water level about 2 inches lower with a near full box of water in the cabinet. The seals on those filters can be an absolute nightmare and will drip if the powerhead is not fitted perfectly. I had a look for leaks and it was seriously just one drip every 3 seconds or so but it was enough to fill the box over night. My cheap £3 storage box saved me a new kitchen floor, a stand and possibly even a tank! One thing that scares me to death with the tank are those through-the-bottom pipes. I've had no problem with them but it's always in the back of my mind; If one of those pipes ever comes off you're gonna get 120 liters of water pouring out of the thing very quickly! I'm overhauling my tank soon and will be going with the conventional over-the-top piping. As you say, the flow in the Roma is awful and I too have had to put a sponge at the other end. My overhauled piping will have an inlet at substrate level right in the center and outlets at either end, or a spray bar. Get yourself an E300 heater. My M300 that came with the tank, the one you have in there in this video, exploded after just two weeks - Apparently very common with those glass tube heaters and as it's unprotected a few of my fish got cooked by toughing the element. The shop I bought it from would only offer the same model as a replacement so I swerved it and got the E. It looks a thousand times better, plain black so it blends in to anything, and the digital display lights up according to the water temp. Very handy to check the temp with just a glance. It comes with a guard so it won't boil any plants that may come in contact with it. As you have, I've replaced the horrible shop floor light that comes with it. Not bad for a low tech decoration tank, but not ideal at all if you have any kind of medium light plants. I went with the Fresh & Plant 3.0 - *MAJOR* disappointment. Way over-priced and the app has not been updated to give the features on the box. Swerve it! I actually find the light position in the tank, with the standard light or otherwise, way too low. You get a coning effect at either end and the lights can be too intense, because it's so close to the surface, and can cause algae. I'm going to get a full glass top made and position the light above that by a good five inches or so. The light will be less direct and the glass should both diffuse and distribute the light more evenly, getting rid of the coning effect.
Ive got a Roma 240 thats been running for 10 years now with the Fluval 305 canister that came with it still working perfectly..Heater that came with it is also still working perfect as is the T8 bulbs lighting hood ( bulbs need changing every year or 2 obviously..) I love it & so do the fish.lol Ive had cardinal tetras that lived to over 8 years old in it & still have a zebra loach that was one of its first inhabitants .
Hi great informative video. I have a roma 200 which i bought last year. The filter i got was a U4, it worked fine but because I wanted to increase my stocking i installed a 306 canister filter. Cycled within 2 weeks and then i moved my existing fish over, these included neon tetra, rummy nose tetra, betta harlequin rasboras, bolivian rams, honey gourami's, otos, julii corys and a SAE. The tank is awesome and definitely agree the lids are flimsy and the light that comes with it is inadequate. Thanks again for the video
Your welcome and love your list of fish I will be doing species specific video soon ,,,also on some fluval subject such as there timer ,,,thanks again for the comment
I did look at many 240 litre aquariums juwel being one and the eheim being another ,,, things I considered was size ,adaptability and looks . the latest Rio was 121 cm wide so a little larger but very similar so down to my preference ,,,,I like the sleek form to the Roma and didn't like the built in filter system to the Rio Now I will say that both aquariums are similar but think of this and this was the decider for me I changed the filter on the Roma from a 306 to a 406 and took 10 minutes as the aquastop valve fits both I also change the lighting option from stock LED to the aquasky 33 watt again simply sits where the old unit did no issue ,,,,,,,you cant do this with the rio and as the stock and fish breed may change I like to customise as I want ,,,hope this helps
Informative and useful vid! With the Aquasky lighting which I hope to get. Do you also need to get a separate timer switch to turn it on and off or is it all done by control panel? Thanks
Great videos. I've picked up a lot of tips! Live in an area where pH is quite high + general hardness. Does your Fluval Stratum lower general hardness as well as pH? Thanks
Hmm cant say i have noticed i do use peat balls and a stabilizing agent depending on what's in the tank i may use RO water and re mineralize it to specific parameters
Dear Allen Official response on said bow issue Thank you for contacting us. It is perfectly normal for aquariums to give/bow a little, once they have been filled with water. Most aquariums do this due to the weight of the water. Kind Regards Customer Service Advisor. Rolf C. Hagen (UK) Ltd. California Drive, Whitwood Industrial Estate, Castleford, West Yorkshire WF10 5QH
I keep mine at 100 percent but only for 7 hours and keep an eye on algae but I normally set mine to start at 1 pm ramp up to 1:30 pm and similar on shut down
Great video mate new sub👍 after upgrading my 200 old style roma for the 240 like yourself I would change the lights in there quick question what aquasky did you choose for it and also how is the old unit taken out of the hood is it simple? Many thanks 👍
With mine I have the outlet skimming the surface in an anti clockwise direction and the water circulates the tank fine. I find most of the waste is situated in the far right corner, which suggests the tank is circulating as desired. And mine is heavily planted too.
I have the shaker 252 & my solution was almost identical to yours regarding filtration. Eheim skimmer & a twin sponge filter/airstone. It's a pity as it's a great tank but that standard inlet/outlet configuration is really poor. Impressed with the 307 cannister(I've upgraded with purigen/filter floss/extra biomedia) but as you point out-the tank & setup isn't perfect straight out of the box
Mate I watched a video with someone putting the filter intake behind the water flow and he said it was better now I have a tank full of water substrate etc and don't know if that is going to work or not help please?
I have an old style roma 90 with twin t8 bulbs and the new style roma 125 that comes with pure white leds I was very disappointed as I should have gotten the aquasky led but I take it that's an even newer style but ot matter what type you get I can tell you know that even a fluval plant 3.0 is not enough light to make plants pearl
Hmm point taken on these but depending on your plants really i getting pearling from the amazon swords under the aquasky especially after about a week of new root tabs but annubias and ferns nothing
AQUAGUY UK it wasn’t really noticeable if you don’t use a straight edge, but like I said it’s not that bad. The bow is less than the thickness of the glass, which I believe still structurally sound.
I've got one second hand and had to reseal the plastic top, and while water tight its in my garage leak testing I noticed a slight bow on the front pane if you put a straight edge on it its a few mm the level can rock slightly - the rear has a little but not as bad, not sure if to be concerned or not,
Andy C if you are still worried about it, remove the plastic frame and just eurobrace the tank. I bought mine new so I didn’t bother removing the frame. I just siliconed a glass brace just below the plastic brace and the bow is gone.
@@jeffmeisterr Hi Jeffmeister - I'll def look at the extra bracing, currently i've unloaded a load of extra silicone around that area were the current plastic brace is - i'll leave it for a couple of weeks to fully cure and try again a little bow I can live with but it seemed excessive before, thank you for replying and I'll certainly report back if any better.
Get the Fluval Shaker Style 252L Tropical Aquarium and Cabinet Set Bro I've just got it far superior to the Roma the hood on the Roma is total crap can't wait to transfer my fish & get shot of it.
@@AQUAGUYUK it's like i had my tank with the 306 and it threw the bottom it wernt workin properly who does that put an intake next to the flow lolol poor design and also I found the fx 6 went lovely with the 240 I recommend
@@jamescross2787 Agreed although i have spoken to fluval on this they say it creates convection in the tank for superior cleaning lol i thought maybe when the tank is void of everything but water ,,,does the fx6 sit under the tank in the cabinet ?
@@AQUAGUYUK I have tested this, and after years of believing that it's best to have the intake and output at opposite sides of the aquarium, I found out I was wrong.I added blue dye when shutting down and selling my Roma and I noticed it does creates a circular motion across the the top, down the left side of the tank and back along the bottom to the intake (covering all levels of the tank) .I then tested again with the same filter hung over the top of the aquarium with the intake and output on opposite sides (As I have done with all my tanks for years) . The dye went from right to left in a near direct patter with no circulation at the top and bottom of the aquarium ,creating dead spots .I now believe that the same side intake and output is best for this tank if there is no other circulation (powerhead) .Just my opinions and finding .
