Devon's 240

[Debow]

This is the tank when first planted89076
This is the tanks 2 months later89077
And here are some of the discus from Chicago Discus. 4-4.5'' at this point 7/29/15
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[timvriens]

nice, i wish i could have a large tank like that :(

[Debow]

Here is a video update taken 8/01/15

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KndmCBjVMTs

[timvriens]

:thumbsup:

[dprais1]

As much as this is a discus site...I'm sure I'm not the only one interested in more info on that frog and stingray in the tank!

[Phillydubs]

Frog what frog? Am I blind today.. lol... Let me go back and re watch... I second that motion on more info though!!!

[Debow]

They are African claw frogs fully aquatic, they can get kind of large 2-3'' will eat anything that can fit in its mouth (tertas are a no) but make interesting peacefull additions to the tank as they jump around and swim I have 2 of them and they eat off the bottom which is nice. The ray is a reticulated (AKA Tea Cup) and gets to be about 10'' at the best but takes years. He is fun to watch surf on the sides and he forages the bottom digging in the substrate for leftovers vary friendly I hand feed him sometimes when I feed the discus just don't touch his tail.

[dprais1]

FROG

bottom of the video about sec 00:32

[Phillydubs]

I see it now! Thanks dprais1, I need to get my prescription checked!! Hahah...

Devon, you have had no issues with the frogs clawing or going after the discus or other fish?

Do you plan to stock that tank any further... seems like you have a lot of space in there for more round inhabitants! Then again this is coming from a guy who tends to overstock a wee bit ;)

[Debow]

The frogs do not bother any of the fish they spend most of there time hanging out at the surface or under the drift wood or in the plants or just swimming around. I do plan to stock with at least another 10 discus from Chicago later this coming spring. I think that is going to be it for fish unless I find some rare unique fish that is discus friendly. There are a few BN plecos and rubber lip plecos in there also and maybe some more torpedo(roasline) barbs.

[DiscusBR]

Beautiful tank! Is the yellow discus cleaning the cone? Signs of spawning?

[Debow]

Yes she has laid 2 spawns with the male mandarin passion, had wigglers both times but next morning they were gone. She is cleaning it now and I plan to but a mesh shield around in once the wiggle. And thanks it is a labor of love to vacuum 8 feet of substrate every 3 days and not miss a spot and wipe down 24 square feet of acrylic.

[Debow]

Did some re-arraigning of the plants and rocks still haven't found my ideal scape yet waiting for it to hit me I guess.
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[pavlos]

Very beautiful... Your discus are really beautiful.. May I ask, how do you keep your sand so clean? What filter do you use?

[jmf3460]

Devon this looks awesome!! I was worried about you in the beginning tying to do discus in a planted tank but it seems you have got it going really successfully here. Might I make a suggestion about the scape that you say you are still trying to figure out? You might try bunching your plants all together at one side maybe taking up ½ of the tank and leaving the other half a “beach scene” or go for the island effect with all the plants bunched towards the middle and the edges a beach scene. If you go for the middle approach don’t do it exactly center, offcenter it a bit for a more natural feel. I love the island theme I am currently redoing my planted 46bowfront in an island theme actually.
This ofcourse is just suggestions, it looks beautiful as is!

[rickztahone]

Devon this looks awesome!! I was worried about you in the beginning tying to do discus in a planted tank but it seems you have got it going really successfully here. Might I make a suggestion about the scape that you say you are still trying to figure out? You might try bunching your plants all together at one side maybe taking up ½ of the tank and leaving the other half a “beach scene” or go for the island effect with all the plants bunched towards the middle and the edges a beach scene. If you go for the middle approach don’t do it exactly center, offcenter it a bit for a more natural feel. I love the island theme I am currently redoing my planted 46bowfront in an island theme actually.
This ofcourse is just suggestions, it looks beautiful as is!

Actually, what I believe Devon's scape needs is depth. Depth is achieved by using multi-tiered placement. For instance, you can have mid level growers and have swords behind them. Swords are notorious for being substrate hogs, so don't place them next to another heavy root feeder. HM is a good plant to keep mid level. I would suggest adding a much larger DW piece, or a branchy type of DW to either side. This will give the overall tank some depth and a more interesting look. This is not to say that it doesn't look fine as it is, but the reason you may not be satisfied with the current scape is due to the fact that it is lacking depth.

[Debow]

Actually, what I believe Devon's scape needs is depth. Depth is achieved by using multi-tiered placement. For instance, you can have mid level growers and have swords behind them. Swords are notorious for being substrate hogs, so don't place them next to another heavy root feeder. HM is a good plant to keep mid level. I would suggest adding a much larger DW piece, or a branchy type of DW to either side. This will give the overall tank some depth and a more interesting look. This is not to say that it doesn't look fine as it is, but the reason you may not be satisfied with the current scape is due to the fact that it is lacking depth.

I need a larger drift wood piece and have a eye on one buy its out of the budget right know. And I want to add more depth but every time I try and re-scape I cant visualize it. Its the down side of a big tank you cant see what your doing from up top. I like the swards and the wife likes the left side of the tank. I have been looking for a model to look at to get a plant layout.

[Debow]

Very beautiful... Your discus are really beautiful.. May I ask, how do you keep your sand so clean? What filter do you use?

I vacuum the sand every 3 days and do 35%-40% wc. I have a sump/fuge and a fx6 running now Ill post a picture of it later. It takes about 45 min to clean all the sand but its worth it and has to be done, its amazing what gets trapped in there. I have a small vac to get between the plants.

[Debow]

Devon this looks awesome!! I was worried about you in the beginning tying to do discus in a planted tank but it seems you have got it going really successfully here. Might I make a suggestion about the scape that you say you are still trying to figure out? You might try bunching your plants all together at one side maybe taking up ½ of the tank and leaving the other half a “beach scene” or go for the island effect with all the plants bunched towards the middle and the edges a beach scene. If you go for the middle approach don’t do it exactly center, offcenter it a bit for a more natural feel. I love the island theme I am currently redoing my planted 46bowfront in an island theme actually.
This ofcourse is just suggestions, it looks beautiful as is!

Thanks! I dove into this really fast and didn't know much and I had some troubling times and still trying to get over it. My wife thinks I'm crazy with this hobby. I still have so much to learn and understand its a long road ahead but with you guys it helps. I also like the beach idea and almost did it last weekend as Rick said I need to get a larger driftwood center piece to work off of. Think it will come together better.

[rickztahone]

I need a larger drift wood piece and have a eye on one buy its out of the budget right know. And I want to add more depth but every time I try and re-scape I cant visualize it. Its the down side of a big tank you cant see what your doing from up top. I like the swards and the wife likes the left side of the tank. I have been looking for a model to look at to get a plant layout.

google "Planted Tank Depth" and you can hopefully find a lot of inspirational scapes :)

[Jack L]

I vacuum the sand every 3 days and do 35%-40% wc. I have a sump/fuge and a fx6 running now Ill post a picture of it later. It takes about 45 min to clean all the sand but its worth it and has to be done, its amazing what gets trapped in there. I have a small vac to get between the plants.

how are you siphoning sand? when i try it all is sucked out the tube. plus, it seems that all the detiris remains on top of sand, you are not seeing that?

[Jack L]

also, cool tank.
but after seeing what i see in that photo, i'm surprised wood is out of budget ; )

[Debow]

also, cool tank.
but after seeing what i see in that photo, i'm surprised wood is out of budget ; )

The tank came at a bad time but I couldn't pass up the opportunity, but as I just got married it was a unexpected expense. Waiting to recover from the initial start up cost and then wood and more fish will come in the spring.

And I use a extra large siphon and I have nothing on the top, the only thing left over after is the fresh fish poop that they like to drop on a already vacuumed area. I have got lucky with not having algae and detiris and a low ph.

[Debow]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kuta1-Xk3CY

[Jack L]

The tank came at a bad time but I couldn't pass up the opportunity, but as I just got married it was a unexpected expense. Waiting to recover from the initial start up cost and then wood and more fish will come in the spring.

And I use a extra large siphon and I have nothing on the top, the only thing left over after is the fresh fish poop that they like to drop on a already vacuumed area. I have got lucky with not having algae and detiris and a low ph.

what kind of sand are you using?
i will have to try a larger siphon.

[Jack L]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kuta1-Xk3CY

looks great, very clean, if you want to see a variety of algae i'll post a video of mine : )

[Debow]

I finished the 2 month qt/metro treatment and the pair of carnations is back in the tank. Had 3 and at the vary last week had a jumper so from 5 to 2 it went. Ironically he jumped out missing another QT tank by about 2''...and fell in between was a nice 6''+ fish. But now the others are healthy, active and have no intentions of hiding. Still wonder how the first 2 died so sudden. All is well so far.

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[rickztahone]

beautiful looking snakes.

[Debow]

Looks like I will be redoing my plumbing this weekend, Before I do this I have right now 3/4'' vinyl inlets and 1'' drain outlets to 3/4'' pvc. I believe I should run 1'' pvc all the way down to the sump correct? and I will just replace the vinyl 3/4 with pvc?

[Debow]

So I couldn't resist any longer and I bought a piece of wood from Rich, It should be here by the end of the week any suggestions on what to do when I get the wood? should I try soaking it? It is quite large. Or can I hose it off and poor boiling water over it and then put it in the tank? I could put it in the shower and soak it in hot water?
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[rickztahone]

That piece is huge! I usually suggest boiling, but others may have a better idea for something so large? I remember a member suggested using bleach before. I forgot who it was, but they said it has never hurt anything in their tank. Personally, I was skeptical about the bleach because I believed it would release the bleach later down the line, but this member hasn't had that problem. Again, I am blanking on who it was but if it comes to me, I will chime back in.

[Filip]

That piece is huge! I usually suggest boiling, but others may have a better idea for something so large? I remember a member suggested using bleach before. I forgot who it was, but they said it has never hurt anything in their tank. Personally, I was skeptical about the bleach because I believed it would release the bleach later down the line, but this member hasn't had that problem. Again, I am blanking on who it was but if it comes to me, I will chime back in.

I use bleach bath on large pieces of driftwood and never had any troubles with it. I just rinse it with burning hot water and let it sit overnight in hot water with dechlorinator and a pump with air.
Although it looks kinda white-ish for a couple of days afterwards from the chlorine residuals I guess.

I have also done it with Pp bath strong violet solution. And also nothing wrong, except this time wood ends up s bit yellowish and kinda rusted just for a couple of days.

[Debow]

What about peroxide followed by a hot shower? I have a good thing going so far with my tank and don't want to screw it up.

[Filip]

What about peroxide followed by a hot shower? I have a good thing going so far with my tank and don't want to screw it up.

H2o2 is weaker of other 2 mentioned above and easiest to rinse and evaporates quicker.
I'm just not sure if its strong enough to disinfect all of the potential nasties.
Maybe you can try with stronger solution such as 9% H2o2.

[Jack L]

the wood is dry....
curious, what are you expecting it to bring into tank?

can parasites that affect fish survive on dry wood like this, asking, i'm curious.

[Debow]

I am just being cautious as I had issues in the start up process and don't want to introduce anything that will mess this up. The wood is from a great source that I think most of Simply uses, so I would expect Rich to have cleaned the wood knowing that it is for aquarium use. I just can never be too cautious now. That is why I asked what should I do with this piece of wood being dry, and coming from Rich.

[rickztahone]

I am just being cautious as I had issues in the start up process and don't want to introduce anything that will mess this up. The wood is from a great source that I think most of Simply uses, so I would expect Rich to have cleaned the wood knowing that it is for aquarium use. I just can never be too cautious now. That is why I asked what should I do with this piece of wood being dry, and coming from Rich.

No such thing as too cautious IMO. Better safe than sorry.

[Debow]

So I received my new drift wood from Rich and its a great piece. I had to move a little around to get it to fit right but its in there and not I hope I can leave everything alone for a wile. I think besides a few java fern and some Anubis I'm happy for now.
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[Jack L]

looks very nice, i might have tried to reverse it so the saw cut is hidden, but also look nice like this

do you add any fert/co2 anything for plants?

[Debow]

No not any more I use to run pressurized co2 and dose but decided to do it with out it. I just run the lights on 5%-10%. If I get more demanding plants I'll go back to the co2. Trying to keep it low tech.

[rickztahone]

I think it looks awesome! The wood gives the scape a lot verticality which it was lacking prior. Looks great.

[Debow]

Thanks, It was driving me crazy every night I would look at it. Big tanks seam hard to scape so much room to fill up or make look natural but not cluttered. i was smart and took out the smaller pieces of wood as they didn't look like something that should be in there looked odd.

[Jack L]

No not any more I use to run pressurized co2 and dose but decided to do it with out it. I just run the lights on 5%-10%. If I get more demanding plants I'll go back to the co2. Trying to keep it low tech.

so in this photo, those 3 lights are at 10%

[Debow]

From left to right 10% 5% 10%, and some days 5% 5% 5% at night if my wife and I are watching a movie i'll turn them all down to 1% I tend to highlight the sides or vise versa. I have never ran the lights over 20% and I never turn on the blue channel except at night the middle light switches to 1% blue till the morning.

[Jack L]

Thanks, It was driving me crazy every night I would look at it. Big tanks seam hard to scape so much room to fill up or make look natural but not cluttered. i was smart and took out the smaller pieces of wood as they didn't look like something that should be in there looked odd.

big tank > bigger decor > bigger price tag

[Jack L]

From left to right 10% 5% 10%, and some days 5% 5% 5% at night if my wife and I are watching a movie i'll turn them all down to 1% I tend to highlight the sides or vise versa. I have never ran the lights over 20% and I never turn on the blue channel except at night the middle light switches to 1% blue till the morning.

k thanks, makes me hopeful that dropping lumuns will help, i have just lowered my lights 50% to see if it helps with algea, i have low light plants but like "bright" tanks...so a bit of conflict there ;)

[Debow]

^^^ done even get me started on price, My wife grills me every time there is a new package at the door or I pull out something new, Like the wood, last night I came dowm stairs from the bathroom tub and she was like whats that? I said wood she said How much? I grinned and acted like i didn't here her she soon resumed watching tv.

[Jack L]

^^^ done even get me started on price, My wife grills me every time there is a new package at the door or I pull out something new, Like the wood, last night I came dowm stairs from the bathroom tub and she was like whats that? I said wood she said How much? I grinned and acted like i didn't here her she soon resumed watching tv.

make friends w/ neighbor, have items delivered there ;)

but u r right, putting littles in huge tank, doesn't look right. some sprinkling is fine, but not as primary ingredient

[Debow]

k thanks, makes me hopeful that dropping lumuns will help, i have just lowered my lights 50% to see if it helps with algae, i have low light plants but like "bright" tanks...so a bit of conflict there ;)

I have zero algae I don't know why, I run a 55w uv, I have a nano reef that I have a battle with algae but I just put the light on a timer and have it turn on and off through out the day and it limits the photo period for the algae to grow. I have it so when I'm home the lights are on but when Im at work they are on for 2 hr and them off for 2 hrs. so far so good I run a quad t5 on a 10g nano reef so the light is way over kill.

[Debow]

Little video of my pair spawning. They soon ate the eggs after but they are still learning.

http://youtu.be/YgMdx0lyPB0

[Debow]

Video update

http://youtu.be/6x2xDKu1OGA

[Jack L]

on glass, they are asking to be filmed...

nice update, what is the plant in back left, the stringy one?

[rickztahone]

Those blue diamonds look really nice! TFS

[Debow]

Thanks guys this tank is a labor of love. And I forget the type of plant that I have its a stem plant, that's all I know I got it from aquariumplants.com

[Filip]

Beautiful updates Debow. Pair looks very nice.
The new wood fits just great in that corner and the tank looks awesome overall.

[Debow]

Thanks, It is releasing tannin's and I kinda like the way it looks. The wife thinks it looks more natural. I cant say it looks bad but cant say I'm going to add the tannin's back after they are cycled out. I have noticed the fish like to go under the wood in between the roots and hang out till dinner is served. They seem to have spread out rather then clumping on the right side of the tank.

[jmf3460]

you may not know it, but your fish are loving those tannins. love that piece of wood by the way, I buy all my manzanita from Rich he has great pieces.

[Debow]

Ya I have been stalking his site waiting for the right piece of wood. What do the fish get out of the tannin's? I know you use the tea to get yours that way and I might try it.

[jmf3460]

the rooibos tea I use has antifungal, antibacterial and antibiotic qualities. much like drinking teas. the main thing I have noticed is how quickly wounds heal in my tank. my fish scratch on the wood from time to time and their scratches heal in days. ive never had any bacterial infections (knock on wood) but idk if its all because of the rooibos tea, maybe partly. your piece of wood is doing the same thing.

[Debow]

I think I saw you say you got it on amazon?

[jmf3460]

yes amazon, its cheap and lasts a long time for me. and I now use it in all 5 of my tanks.

[Debow]

Well I came home today and have 3 discus pairs spawning two on the DF and one on a Amazon sword. 3 sets of eggs. These fish are active! It's seams it's all they try and do.

[Debow]

So far they are still all there. Waiting for the free swimming stage to see if they disappear. Not sure when I can take them out of the main tank and put in a smaller tank to raise out.
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[Jack L]

So far they are still all there. Waiting for the free swimming stage to see if they disappear. Not sure when I can take them out of the main tank and put in a smaller tank to raise out.
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Cool, what is behind them? This is in your big tank right?

[Debow]

Yes this is the 240, and they are attached to the DF stump.

[Debow]

Well haven't had much to update about (that's a good thing in some cases) , but there is always surprises... I went down to my fish room and do the morning check and found my sump low on water; I found that odd because I topped it off the night before, so I walked around to top it off again and found the platform the sump is on to be wet. Well the water had to come from the sump so I have determined that the sump has a leak somewhere on the bottom. Now the fun task of closing that system off and getting a new sump set up in some kind or record time. Thankfully I can close the sump off and still have the FX6 as the back up, just have to transfer the heaters into the display, and store all my media, and bio balls, refugium bamboo in my spare tank. Not exactly how I wanted to start my Friday off.

[rickztahone]

Well haven't had much to update about (that's a good thing in some cases) , but there is always surprises... I went down to my fish room and do the morning check and found my sump low on water; I found that odd because I topped it off the night before, so I walked around to top it off again and found the platform the sump is on to be wet. Well the water had to come from the sump so I have determined that the sump has a leak somewhere on the bottom. Now the fun task of closing that system off and getting a new sump set up in some kind or record time. Thankfully I can close the sump off and still have the FX6 as the back up, just have to transfer the heaters into the display, and store all my media, and bio balls, refugium bamboo in my spare tank. Not exactly how I wanted to start my Friday off.

ugghhhh, that's terrible. A nightmare situation for sure.

[Debow]

So I water tested the sump over night and found no leak, cleaned everything and put it all back together. At first I was sure it was a bad seal but I think I found what happened. When I change my water I fill the sump up to the top with fresh water to heat it wile I clean the main tank, so what happened is the water was up to the plastic rim and seeped between the top of the glass and the plastic rim. I realized this as I changed my salt water tank today and the tank started to leak. This was a case of user error but it gave me the chance to see what I would do if I had a catastrophe failure of the system, I ran the whole tank on half the equipment for 2 days with out any issues. So guess there was a silver lineing, I reorganized my fish room shortened some plumbing and cleaned the sump which was over due. Lesson learned the plastic rims are NOT completely sealed around the glass.

[Jack L]

Cool that you figured it out though

[Debow]

Ordered some new plants to add to the tank. I got some Echinodorus Argentinensis for the background and some more Anubias Nana for some foreground. I will be getting rid of the grass like plants in the background. I would have got some val but I seam to kill it every time I try it.

[Debow]

So I figured I'd try and utilize my aquarium for something my wife likes so I am doing some aquaponics with my sump. I started peas, tomatoes, and sunflowers. I started them Saturday and by Sunday they already sprouted. 9588895889

[rickztahone]

Well that's different! Cool project

[Debow]

Thanks, here are some pictures of the sprouted seeds at day 3. I also put the new plants in the tank last night so now its a waiting game for everything to grow to the high i want, I share pictures on that later.
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[Debow]

So back to the discus, I set up a 20g bin that I am running off of the main 240 tank in an effort to isolate the fry once they start free swimming. Every time these guys spawned when the fry would free swim they would be snacks for the other tank mates. So looks like they laid a nice batch. As far as the container goes I have a small pump taking water out of the sump and made a DIY pvc over flow that foes back into the first phase of the sump. I have some plants in there that I was going to throw out but figured just toss them in there to give the pair a sense of home.
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[rickztahone]

How will you prevent fry from being sucked up by that intake?

[Debow]

I plan on putting a piece of sticking over it. There are only holes in half the pipe sort of like these little intake socks for HOBF 96105

[Debow]

Well I had to re-do my lights, over time my DIY holders were loosening up and starting to slip and lean. I have 1 huge challenge to over come and that was they were strapped to the back of the tank. Moving the tank was not really an option so I had to figure out something else. I ended up getting some ceiling hooks rated for 35lbs each and installed them in the ceiling and hung the lights. I love it and the wife is now off my back, as she hated the way it use to look. Doing it this way draws less attention to the lights and more to the tank. Now when I do my maintenance I don't have to fuss with moving the lights out of the way any more. they are also centered better, prior they were favoring the front of the tank causing slight spots of algae.
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[jmf3460]

B-E-A-utiful tank (best jim carrey impersonation) this is really stunning, you have done such an excellent job combining the needs of discus and the beauty of a planted tank!!!

[rickztahone]

Looks so much better IMHO

[Debow]

B-E-A-utiful tank (best jim carrey impersonation) this is really stunning, you have done such an excellent job combining the needs of discus and the beauty of a planted tank!!!

Thank you !!! I really try hard to make the fish happy and still maintain a nice planted tank. The needs of my fish always come first. I see this tank ageing well and it keeps looking better as time goes on and as I learn and gain experience.

[Debow]

Looks so much better IMHO

Rick, I couldn't agree more! I look back and can say I truly hated the setup prior every time I had to fuss with it and it was a eye sore the wife hated it from day 1, its just what I came up with at the given time and when with it, even though it wasn't the cheaper route.

[Kyla]

love the hanging lights, they are much more subtle without the thick bars. what type of lid are u using? is it a sheet of acrylic laid across the top?

[Debow]

No, the top is one solid sheet of acrylic that the company machined out 3 panels that are the lids.

[axl10]

Awesome tank mate, I'm so impressed with the setup and what wc program do you run on this tank? Also are you dosing ferts as well?

[Debow]

Thanks! I do water changes every Sunday, Wednesday, and Friday about 75-100 gallons. I do not run any frets. I vacuum the substrate and stay about 3'' or so away from the plants roots. I run a 9 hr full spectrum light cycle with a 11 hr night cycle with only blue channel on 1%. I noticed better growth with the blue on at night.

[axl10]

Thanks for the info mate, can you please tell more about your light program. You run yuor lights a 100% for 9 hours and then run the blue channel for 2 hours or 11 hours at night only?

[Debow]

I run the lights at 1-10% sometimes on 15%. They are vary bright total of 495w of led. The program runs the full spectrum from 12:00 pm - 9:00pm, blue from 9:00-8:00am then no light at all just natural sun light through the window till 12:00.

[Debow]

Did a quick video update. Cleaned up a bunch of plants and trimmed lots of leafs.

http://youtu.be/p4JTsYIh1XY

[cedar]

wow, i just read the thread and am in love!, I too will have a planted tank one day....still learning with my 125 bb and fake plants for now. :) you inspire me!

[zergling]

Beautiful!

[Debow]

Update:
I have added my newest addition to our family and Mr.Fish is eager to meet his new friend.
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[Dhavalsp]

Congratulations!

I am assuming the red melon is the new addition and you actually named your new born Mr. Fish Discus Piworski-stendker ?? ...kidding!

[jmf3460]

beautiful fish and congrats on the new addition

[Debow]

Thanks,
I cant wait till she is old enough to take part in the tank.

[Jack L]

Thanks,
I cant wait till she is old enough to take part in the tank.

that will be a while : )
congrats..

in the meantime she can stare at this instead of tv though.

[Debow]

that will be a while : )
congrats..

in the meantime she can stare at this instead of tv though.

That is the plan, I rather have her entertain herself with the fish rather than the crap on t.v.
now a days

[Debow]

Little update. I finally installed my two St-1000 controllers. I mounted them inside the stand and ran the power outlets down stairs to the sump. Its so nice to see the actual tempature of the tank and have two controllers. I also ran my water line from the basement up to the display so I dont have to fill the tank from down stairs through the sump. Added a timer for my light for the refugium and hooked up my Co2 again. Trying to make as much stuff automatic or easier to do.

[Allwin]

Very nice..

[Debow]

Well after many long months and many failed attempts I have been able to get the fry to the free swimming stage ! All other spawns have become fish food or got taken over by fungus. What I did this time around is once the pair laid their eggs, I took all of the non-discus fish out and put in my sump/breeding tank. After they became wigglers and started to detach I removed the fry and parents and swapped them over to their own breeding tank. Not exactly an easy task and Im sure there are better ways but whatever I would do they would not spawn anywhere else execpt on the DW stump. So small milestone for this fish keeper :bounce2:. Cell phone pictures are not so great but you get the idea.
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[two utes]

Congratulations on the addition to your family, and the recent success with your discus. Love your display tank.

[Dhavalsp]

neat...congratulations...

[talkdiscustome]

nice.. love your huge tank! wish we have bigger apartments in NYC for that kind of tank. awesome!

[RDFISHGUY]

Very nice set-up. Congrats on the new addition.

[Debow]

Very nice set-up. Congrats on the new addition.

Thank You!

[Debow]

Update:

The fry are growing and starting to eat, they disregard the BBS but show an interest in the fdbw when the dad is eating. cant wait to get these guys in there own tank and start power feeding them and growing them out.
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[Debow]

So far they are 17 days old and eating and pooping =)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7jTKTZ3gW0

[DanDiscus]

Great video !!! I love those little guys.

I hope that in my new Discus tank I am lucky and there will not be any discus paired. Yes, sounds crazy I do not want a pair. You know why ? Because I know myself. If I have a pair (male +female) formed, then I will have to take them out of the tank, correct. So then I will place the guys in a breeding tank and from there....... I will not stop !!!!.

20 years ago, I had Angel's fish. It happens that in the tank 4 paired. Next, I have them on separate tanks laying eggs. Then I have hundreds of fry in custom made, very shallow, 150 G tanks...... I couldn't stop....LOL. I have selling the young angels for a few $$$ to stores.

Now my wife have another Angel tank. There are 7 and from those 4 have paired and are laying eggs every month. As of today I was able to avoid doing what I did 20 years ago.

But, with Discus , I am so fascinated with them, that I already told my wife what will be happening..........you got the picture.

Best with those fry .....!!
Daniel

[HappyFace]

Aw so cute! Congratulations!

[Debow]

Well I just placed my order for 100 Cardinal Tetras from John (SNOOK21) at Freshwater Tropics. They should be here thursday and will start their 8 week QT. Going to be interesting to see how they fit in after, I am rehoming 2 angles. Going for a discus only theme sorta.

[Jack L]

Well I just placed my order for 100 Cardinal Tetras from John (SNOOK21) at Freshwater Tropics. They should be here thursday and will start their 8 week QT. Going to be interesting to see how they fit in after, I am rehoming 2 angles. Going for a discus only theme sorta.

might want to give him a quick call and get 101, they will look better in odd numbers ; )

[Debow]

He sent me 120 and I lost about 11 I think. 2 days down of the 8 week QT. Ill post pictures soon.

[Neptune]

He sent me 120 and I lost about 11 I think. 2 days down of the 8 week QT. Ill post pictures soon.

Can't wait to see the tetras in this tank.
Congrats on the new born...just fyi...
My son had a fish tank in his room from day 1. He is 22 now and and he is a HUGH aquarium nut!! Be ready to buy her new tanks! LOL..

[Debow]

Fry update how do they look?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxzYrL646Xk

[jmf3460]

Looking great devon. you got a monster in there and other smalls. will you cull?

how are the tetras doing now?

[Debow]

I plan on getting as many as I can up to a reasonable size so I can judge the others that are not up to the same level, is some have oblivious issues yes, I will cull them. Right now I'm letting them just do there thing, I'm not expecting much with my first time many get 10 nice fish I'd be happy. The tetras seem o.k John told me to add some salt and I lost one in 3 days so that might be an improvement. It's just too early to tell only had them 14 days many weeks to go.

[Debow]

So after almost 2 years in going to be redoing my plumbing, first I have built a new rack for all my tanks and sump. Bottom shelf will hold a 40g breeder, next shelf will hold the sump and the last will hold several 10g tanks that will be ran off of the sump and drain back down. I will also be replacing my return with a much more powerful and energy efficient DC pump and increasing the plumbing sizes, doing a proper durso or hurbie over flow and getting rid of the fx6. I will be adding some automation to the water change schedule on top of my 3 time a week vacuums with the help of three 60g barrels. Going to be an interesting over haul but it's over due. I just don't have the time to mess around in cluttered and hassle filled tank maintaince I'll explain that later.

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[Jack L]

So after almost 2 years in going to be redoing my plumbing, first I have built a new rack for all my tanks and sump. Bottom shelf will hold a 40g breeder, next shelf will hold the sump and the last will hold several 10g tanks that will be ran off of the sump and drain back down. I will also be replacing my return with a much more powerful and energy efficient DC pump and increasing the plumbing sizes, doing a proper durso or hurbie over flow and getting rid of the fx6. I will be adding some automation to the water change schedule on top of my 3 time a week vacuums with the help of three 60g barrels. Going to be an interesting over haul but it's over due. I just don't have the time to mess around in cluttered and hassle filled tank maintaince I'll explain that later.

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if you don't want to hear a toilet flushing sound ALL the time time, skip the durso

[rickztahone]

if you don't want to hear a toilet flushing sound ALL the time time, skip the durso

2 words, Maggie muffler

[Debow]

Rick,
Could I pull off a bean animal with only 2 stand pipes? I wouldn't have an emergency pipe but I could have one pipe under the water line with a gate valve and the other adjustsed so there is just a trickle.

[rickztahone]

Rick,
Could I pull off a bean animal with only 2 stand pipes? I wouldn't have an emergency pipe but I could have one pipe under the water line with a gate valve and the other adjustsed so there is just a trickle.

No, that would be a Herbie. Nothing wrong with that at all. Way safer than a Durso

[Filip]

Oh , if only i would have a spare room , in my appartment for a rack like this with automated WC plumbbed ... :) . A dream come true for a regular hobist , im sure .
Enjoy your new toy Devon . Im sure that you will .

[Jack L]

No, that would be a Herbie. Nothing wrong with that at all. Way safer than a Durso

i run herbie, VERY happy with it over durso.

[Jack L]

Rick,
Could I pull off a bean animal with only 2 stand pipes? I wouldn't have an emergency pipe but I could have one pipe under the water line with a gate valve and the other adjustsed so there is just a trickle.

and you will have an e-pipe

in the herbie one is 100% flow, the other 0% (or a trickle) , if you hear noise, the e-pipe is in use and it needs your attention.

FWIW, i use the gutter spout guard, couple bucks and they give me some piece of mind that, i don't know... a discus somehow gets stuck on the hole and plugs it up.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Amerimax-Aluminum-Downspout-Guard/3009326

[Debow]

That's a funny but sad idea of a discus stuck to the drain. By I get what your saying. The plumbing overhaul and sump move is going to be a task for sire

[Debow]

I added the tetras, I like them and they add some movement to the upper 1/3 of the tank. I will probably get another 50 and some corys in the spring. The 2 month qt was a challenge with a 20g tank, it was vary hard to keep the water stable. I noticed that if I changed 5g and added the fresh water right back in I lose one or two fish, if it ran it in on a slow streem with some air line tubeing I didn't lose any. I lost quite a few in the process but I haven't ever had cardinals or did a long qt before. I took a picture but it's hard to see them in such a big tank but they go from a tight school to almost stretching end to end of the tank. Vary cool to watch. They also are great for getting all the small particles of beef heart. I also have some new growth on the plants, had a rough couple months with them, they kept dieing I think lack of nutreients, so I did the diy root tabs and they have sprung back to life. I also like the 2 spin streams I put on the outlets has nice random flow and doesn't blow anything around.

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[Debow]

So I bit the bullet and took advantage of Universal rocks 30% off black Friday sale and bought a 3D crevice background. Even with the discount it still was $400 shipped. Hope it is worth it and is of good quality. Now I just have to figure out how to tackle the 102 inch piece and securing it. Anyone with experience comments welcome.

[Second Hand Pat]

Devon, where is Universal Rocks having a Black Friday sale? I see nothing on their website.
Pat

[Second Hand Pat]

Devon, where is Universal Rocks having a Black Friday sale? I see nothing on their website.
Pat

Found it Devon :) There are some threads which go thru the build process with a 3D background. Here is one of them http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?83201-155g-Discus-aquarium-with-AquaTerra-3D-background-(picture-heavy)&highlight=.
Pat

[Debow]

Devon, where is Universal Rocks having a Black Friday sale? I see nothing on their website.
Pat

I got an email with the code 'Thanks16"

[Debow]

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[Second Hand Pat]

Thanks Devon, I found it online on their Facebook page of all places.
Pat

[Debow]

It was too good of a deal to pass up! I had to buy it.

[Jack L]

in a smaller tank, i just let the sand in bottom of tank hold it in place, pushed it to back, and it was snug on sides, then just some clips on top and it stayed put.

[ebaybrad]

I have the universal rocks holey rock setup that I used when I had my 210 setup for Cichlids. The quality is excellent. You will love it immediately out of the box. Looks better when it hits the water. After a month or two it looks super realistic as it ages.

terrific company.

[Debow]

Thanks, can't wait I think it will add a whole new depth to the setup

[Debow]

So I finished the fish rack and moved the sump, saltwater tank, qt tank, and hospital tank over. Still have ways to go but glad I freed up the room space to make room for the 3 barrels. Still need to paint and seal the wood but that wil come. I also plan on doing some planted shrimp tanks on the top shelf when everything is all finished.
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[Debow]

So after a few weeks of looking at the new background laying around I decided to tackle the monster and get it in the tank. So for those that have not worked with one of these I have to say this was not for the faint of heart. This material is a polyurethane rubber coated with stone, It is extremely heavy, rough, stiff material. I ordered 102'' to compensate for the overflow box. So I had to figure out a way to get the monster inside the tank with only 2 access panels in the top. Another challenge was figuring out how to bend/from the center section to conform to the over flow box. This is where calling the manufacture helps, I called Universal Backgrounds and had a long chat with 2 of the employes and thought of a method to install the back ground, They also sent me a scrap of the background to test the method on which was very nice of them.

So I went ahead and made a 2x4 form that was the exact shape of the overflow box the angles were 45 degrees. I measured and marked the points that the bends had to be and began to heat with a heat gun along the part that needed to be bent about 15min. Once it was hot (very hot) i took drywall screws and began to screw it to the form, I was not skimpy on the screws the more the better. Once screwed down I heated again and then let it rest a hour or so. I repeated this on the other side and then again on the remaining 2 sides. So not I had a total of 4 bends, with which I cut the center section out and doing it this was insured I would have a perfect seam on the cut as it was already shaped, and would just go right back together. The rest was just trial and error measure and trim a little here and there on the ends to get a tight fit. I took off my returns and drilled out the holes, screwed everything back together and its done. I spread the substrate back against the bottom and did a water change.

I am very happy with the quality and extremely pleased with the look of the tank. I would suggest to anyone that is on the fence of getting a Universal Rocks background to do it. In my case I have a difficult tank wot work with and that's why I had to do so much work but I was worth it. The guys at Universal Rocks are great people to work with too.

Here is the form with the background attached after heating. I inserted a small piece of wood the exaggerate the bend to compensate for any bend back after forming. Best part of the material is you can not see the screw holes once the screws are removed.
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[Phillydubs]

That sounds like a lot of effort, but it looks well worth it as that tank has just transformed! Beautiful!

[Jack L]

I used their background before you are right it is not flimsy stuff. I had to use a RotoZip to cut holes in it for my biocubes intakes. it looks good but I cannot see what you were trying to get around from your earlier pictures ,what was there?

[Phillydubs]

How did you approach the whole space or gap behind issue and the possibility of left over food and nasties being back there? Can you slip it in and out to clean if needed?

[Debow]

How did you approach the whole space or gap behind issue and the possibility of left over food and nasties being back there? Can you slip it in and out to clean if needed?

The sides are tight and the bottom is flush, the only spot there would be any gay would be the center section where the overflow is as this is below water level and the rest is above. I have a 1/2 gap on the bottom to vacuum anything that might get trapped behind. I will learn more once I have to start cleaning it. I can move the panels with a little patience if need be.

[Debow]

I used their background before you are right it is not flimsy stuff. I had to use a RotoZip to cut holes in it for my biocubes intakes. it looks good but I cannot see what you were trying to get around from your earlier pictures ,what was there?

I think your talking about the reason why I had to bent the center section? I have a center overflow box that is on a 45 degree angle that come out towards the front of the tank, I had to wrap the background around it or it would just be a straight sheet across the tank and that would not work. everything had to be flush and tight.

[Phillydubs]

Very cool! Sounds like you did your homework and really approached it the right way. I love how it looks, you must sit there and watch for hours!

Keep us posted on the progress!

[Debow]

I fell in love with the tank again! I need to order some new plants and fill it in with a few more rocks and I think it will look even better. In the spring or summer some more discus might be a idea. I was getting tired of the plain black background it made the tank look dark and I don't think the fish cared for it much. This was not a cheap addition cost $400 on sale with 30% off! This is why I have been putting it off for the last 2 years. But once I saw the sale I had to buy it! I have to say when it arived and I saw how ridged it was I was a little defeated and concerned I would not be able to make it work, and being a custom cut they do not take returns. So I had to figure it out one way or another.

[Debow]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtOjCDCtfEU

[Phillydubs]

It really looks great! I was going to ask you for a ball park price.. lol! Wow, pretty penny...

I was also going to say... MORE DISCUS! You have so much room there, that tank would look amazing bustling with fish. I love your school of cards!

[Debow]

So far I have put all my money into the tank and equipment, I plan on saving up for the fish.

[Jack L]

school of what fish at 10 secs?

[Jack L]

the sawed off stump, is there a way to bust that up some to make it look more broken and less sawed? just a thought.

[Debow]

school of what fish at 10 secs?

Those are Rose Line Sharks, (Torpedo Barbs) I have 6 of them, they are a nice medium size schooling fish that don't bother anyone.

[Debow]

the sawed off stump, is there a way to bust that up some to make it look more broken and less sawed? just a thought.

I am afraid it will just split up and fall apart, a risk I am not willing to take on an $280 piece of wood lol

[Phillydubs]

Yea, I don't blame you! I actually really like the stump and was going to comment on how nice it looked earlier, i would leave as is...

I always heard gripes about the barbs being too fast for discus... I had them once and they seemed to be fine, what is your experience?

[Debow]

They are always in motion but never too erratic, they take there turn when eating usually eating what the discus miss or floats by. I have had zero issues with them and I got them when they were small only 1 1/2 so they grew out fine. Id think about getting a few more if I found them. Not many places have them around here.

[Phillydubs]

Yea, when I do see them at a LFS they are always priced high!

[Jack L]

Those are Rose Line Sharks, (Torpedo Barbs) I have 6 of them, they are a nice medium size schooling fish that don't bother anyone.

oh...i thought maybe they were SAE

[arunk]

The first thread I read on this forum is Devon's 240. Its epic! Real labor of love, commitment, and time. Looks like there hasnt been any updates recently? Eagerly waiting for the latest news on this awesome tank.

[Debow]

The first thread I read on this forum is Devon's 240. Its epic! Real labor of love, commitment, and time. Looks like there hasnt been any updates recently? Eagerly waiting for the latest news on this awesome tank.

Thanks, I have not done much on this tank lately. It's is kind of on autopilot till I get the funds to buy a large group of 5''+ fish. I will be updating soon with the plumbing redo and water storage system that is going to be in place that is to come in the next month or so.

[Debow]

Well I bought some new plants for the refugium that sat empty for sometime. I hd bamboo that worked great for the first year but then slowly started to rot and die off. I bought 3 water lettuce plants and 3 water hyacinths and will see how they do. They arived partially frozen due to a shipping delay and the seller said if they don't make it he will send another batch. So this post is just to document the growth rate.
https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/581/32564759914_85de58233d_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/RBCUzQ)image (https://flic.kr/p/RBCUzQ) by devon cropley (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152419998@N06/), on Flickr

[Debow]

Well I finished a long over due project. I changed out all my plumbing and redid the whole thing top to bottom. I swapped out the 3/4" parts to 1" with Spears gate valves and Cepex true Union ball valves. I reduced the amount of 90 degree bends and changed them to 45's to help with flow. I took the Fx6 out of the system and changed to a bean animal kind of set up just without the 3rd emergency drain. The system is whisper quite and for days I kept thinking the tank wasn't on. I installed and hard plumbed my new Waveline DC12000 pump with the controls extended so they could be up stairs in the cabinet. This pump is silent for having 3170 gpm and works great. I put some pictures of how I added a 10' extension to it. I love having pump and heater controls at the tips of my fingers when needed. I also had a small leak and had to swap out a bulkhead which wasn't too hard. Now I feel like the tank is running the way it should. I might get a 75g tank and make a new sump with a K1 fluidized section and a refugium, also throw some Swiss tropics foam in there also, but not for a while. So this is my update and now the tank goes back on auto pilot till the next adventure.

Plumbing before.
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Plumbing after
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Waveline conttoler extension.
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[DatDiscusDude]

Really nicely done !

[Debow]

Well no leaks! This makes me happy lol. I need to start thinking about expanding my discus stock but am having a internal battle over whether or not to grow out sub adults 3.5-4'' or just go all in and buy 5''+ fish? Could I dedicate the time to grow out a group for 6-12 months yes, do I want to is the question ? My current fish room allows the filling and draining of the grow out tank fairly quickly and I have 100g of water storage ready to go. But working 55+ hours a week and having a 9 month old, along with a full time saltwater tank, nano reef, and my 240g tank this seems not practical to add more to the pile and the only ones that suffer would be the fish not growing to potential. Is a high flow drip system advised for grow out tank? I have sunk a lot of money into this tank as far as equipment and building it but it only holds 5 discus along with the other miscellaneous fish. It is time to invest in a sizable group of 15 or 20 fish to complete this tank I just don't know what direction to go. Do I spent $150+ a fish or do I spent $50-$90 a fish?

[Jenene]

When you think about all the time and effort it takes to grow them, plus food energy and water, you are not really saving any money by growing them out. IMO if you want the experience of growing them out go small. If you just want to enjoy them go big. It is a win win either way- you end up with more discus!

[two utes]

Well no leaks! This makes me happy lol. I need to start thinking about expanding my discus stock but am having a internal battle over whether or not to grow out sub adults 3.5-4'' or just go all in and buy 5''+ fish? Could I dedicate the time to grow out a group for 6-12 months yes, do I want to is the question ? My current fish room allows the filling and draining of the grow out tank fairly quickly and I have 100g of water storage ready to go. But working 55+ hours a week and having a 9 month old, along with a full time saltwater tank, nano reef, and my 240g tank this seems not practical to add more to the pile and the only ones that suffer would be the fish not growing to potential. Is a high flow drip system advised for grow out tank? I have sunk a lot of money into this tank as far as equipment and building it but it only holds 5 discus along with the other miscellaneous fish. It is time to invest in a sizable group of 15 or 20 fish to complete this tank I just don't know what direction to go. Do I spent $150+ a fish or do I spent $50-$90 a fish?

I understand your situation, with limited time, and l really do think that its important to allow for family time especially since you mentioned that you have a nine month old baby. They really grow too fast and there is so much that you can miss if not careful....back on the discus.... I get lots of satisfaction watching my discus grow and develop knowing that l had a lot to do with it, and the reason l started with the smallest discus l could buy. Not only where they very cheap, but l was able to purchase a much bigger group than l wanted to keep. This allowed be to pick the better ones from the group as l thinned them down as they grew, and made a little money along the way to pay for some discus food.
The best part was watching them develop, and able to select the better ones to keep in my now display tank.

Good luck with whatever you decide

[cjvdhx]

Tank looks amazing!

[Kyla]

i had so many tanks and obligations that my hobby was starting to become a source of stress instead of pleasure. i was always behind in maintenance and having to give up family time to work on tanks or leave home to help friends with tanks or fulfill volunteer roles i had taken on with tanks at local establishments. i finally took a step back, sold off tanks and discontinued the bulk of my volunteer work. i now have a single tank at home and a single tank in the community and it feels like a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. dont get me wrong, i love spending time caring for and maintaining tanks, i would do it all day if i could! but at this point in my life it was taking so much of my fleeting family time away that it no longer made sense.

u will know when it gets to that point (but be careful because it creeps up on u). if u walk into the room and sit down in front of the tank and feel joy and pleasure and look forward to maintenance, its working! if u feel sadness, stress, or longing for more family time, u may want to pay the extra $ and save urself the stress.

I also agree with Jenene, u might not be saving as much in the long run as u think.

[Jack L]

very slick

[Debow]

Small update,
This weekend was busy for me. I Moved my rack again to make room behind it for my three 55k barrels so I had to shorten the plumbing and drain all the tanks. I have the barrels prepped for plumbing and bought the pumps needed to evacuate the waste water out of the house and pump the aged water into the needed tanks. I also painted half the room while the rack was out of the way which was needed. I placed a order for some 1'' uniseals and hope to have them plumbed this weekend. I am doing all this in an effort to make changing the water easier and more efficient, I am sick of lugging 5g buckets up and down the stairs to do water changes on the smaller tanks. Also I will have 110 gallons of aged water ready for the 240 and the other smaller tanks. I will no longer have to run a hose out to the yard in the winter to drain the tanks I'll just be able to drain it into one of the barrels that will pump it into the gutter drain. I will probably add some timers and such to help automate the process but I will get to that later.

[Debow]

So long overdue update. It pains me to do it but I have decided to take down the tank and move to two smaller setups in the meantime. We have fell on some harder times this year and need to cut cost where we can and this beast is a money sucker. I have already moved the tank and stand into the basement where it will stay for the next year or so, I have kept in place the water change set up to take care of the other tanks but left the plumbing that was ran through the wall and the floor. It was one of the hardest this to do and when I pulled the plug (literally) I was a sad day. In some ways it feels like defeat but it others it is a relief. I don't plan on selling any of the equipment seeing that has been the brunt of the cost and it will be easier to start back up when the time comes. The whole project took 2 weekends and was very depressing... I have had it down for a month now and have noticed a $70 decrease in my electric bill which is helping a lot. Right now this tank being down allows me more time to play with my daughter and spend time with the family which I really enjoy. As easy as I made it to go 100 gallon water changes 3 times a week I still didn't have enough time to spend with my daughter and not miss all the little things she is learning. I will keep my discus and the roseline barbs and have gave away the plecos kept the plants that were in good shape and ditched all the substrate. I'll have to post some pictures of the two current setups soon. Right now I will save the money regroup and hit it hard when the finances allow. I will me going a diffrent route next time for sure. Well that is it for now. Sighhhhh.

[Altum Nut]

Must have been a hard choice Devon but family is most important. Your monster tank will be there when your good and ready.

...Ralph

[Jack L]

sorry man, been there before, but you can always get back into it.
keeping the tank is a smart move if you can. i didn't and wish later i would have.

[Debow]

Ya, I think there is a silver lining here so not to bad of a choice. I already have plans and a vision of the new setup rushing around in my head lol Figured if I keep the gear I will definitely be able to start up a big tank again but if I were to sell it off I'd never be able to find the money to repurchase it again at this time in my life. Only problem is everytime I see the empty tank I get a little sad lol So I try and stay away from it for the time being.

[Second Hand Pat]

Sorry to hear Devon, glad you are keeping your discus. I am sure the time spend with your daughter really helps ease the pain but the tank and fish will be there when you are ready. The time spend with your daughter can never be recovered.
Pat

[geo57]

Hi Dev and sorry to hear you had to taken a step back, the tank was looking super! reading thru your journal was great and good luck.

[Debow]

Well I took a deposit on the 240 today. This tank is going to make its way to South Carolina with a very nice lady and her husband. I’m not going to lie but it makes me sad to see it go but it had to be done, I couldn’t stand walking in the room I had it in and just seeing it empty collecting dust. I hope one day I can do it again but for now we have to say good by. I still will keep discus and love the hobby just in a much smaller scale. Just going to enjoy the time watching my family grow just like I watch those beautiful flat fish grow.

[Second Hand Pat]

Hi Devon, it will be like seeing an old friend left but sometimes it is time to move on. I will be getting my 230 back online soon. It has been sitting for 2 years :crazy:
Pat