Solar Powered Plant Tank Build

[jdhuyvetter]

At this time last year, I had two 300 gallon reef tanks plumbed together with a 100 gallon frag tank and a 150 gallon sump/refugium. I thought I was going to be moving early this year. So, I had the bright idea to break the system up last fall into two separate systems to make the move easier. Well, didn't go so well. I did not properly adjust my dosage and ended up killing most of my acros. Did not lose any other corals. So, instead of replacing what I lost, I decided to downsize to a single 300 gallon reef tank. Been slowly tearing down the system. Kept my favorites of what was left and moved them into the remaining 300. I am converting the tank into a discus tank with live plants. The primary light on the tank is solar tubes with LED supplements. To see the reef tank build and pics at it's prime, go to Reef Central and search the thread Gone Solar Too (there are several Gone Solar threads, so make sure you have "Too")

So, this build will occur over the next several months. I have 6 fish left in a 150 gallon terrarium set up that were kind enough to "volunteer" to cycle the tank once I get it converted. I will then by the baby discus and grow them out for a couple months in the 150 before I tear it down. Below are the pics as of today.

First pic is the tank showing the lighting and coralline algae growth I can't reach in the back. Pic was taken Friday night. Tank is now completely drained and sand is out.

Second pic is a close up of the back of the tank showing the coralline algae growth

Third pic is a sump I bought on Friday with a new Mag 3 pump. It is sitting on 20 gallons of vinegar. I will be hooking the sump up tonight with the Mag pump. I will then fill the tank with water and the vinegar and let it run for about a week. When I get back from MACNA, the coralline should come off very easy (I hope!). I will then drain it back down for a final cleaning before prepping for the plants.

I'll add more pics as each step is completed.

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/Coraline%201_zpsagn5dk9s.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/Coraline%201_zpsagn5dk9s.jpg.html)

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/Coraline%202_zps9cezhors.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/Coraline%202_zps9cezhors.jpg.html)

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/Vinegar_zpsflviothh.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/Vinegar_zpsflviothh.jpg.html)

[jdhuyvetter]

Picked up some new scraper blades at MACNA. Slowly draining and cleaning it now. Coraline algae is coming off easier than I expected.

Tank when I got home from MACNA last night.
http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/Tanks%20after%20soak_zpsl6xjcldq.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/Tanks%20after%20soak_zpsl6xjcldq.jpg.html)

Draining and cleaning as I go.
http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/Cleaning%20Tank_zpsb8wdhjpa.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/Cleaning%20Tank_zpsb8wdhjpa.jpg.html)

[jdhuyvetter]

Cleaned
http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/Cleaned_zpsbffkfkcz.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/Cleaned_zpsbffkfkcz.jpg.html)

New background going in. Ceramic tile, aged wood look. Much more appropriate for a discus tank than coralline algae.
http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/New%20background_zpsghdmhker.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/New%20background_zpsghdmhker.jpg.html)

[Pardal]

Interesting, keep us posted

Julian

[alron2]

What did you use to attached the tile to the glass?
Thanks
Ron

[jdhuyvetter]

Silicone

[jdhuyvetter]

Plant terraces are in. The area to the front and sides will be open, no plants. About a half inch of sand only. Smaller terraces will be for foreground and mid-ground plants. The big terrace (Back half of the tank) will be a mix of driftwood with a couple larger plants (swords, val, wisteria, etc.) Should start putting in sand, gravel, laterite and peat this afternoon. Terraces are slate from Home Depot.

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/Terraces%202_zpswfbpezkc.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/Terraces%202_zpswfbpezkc.jpg.html)

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/terraces%201_zpsuootuaap.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/terraces%201_zpsuootuaap.jpg.html)

[jdhuyvetter]

Terraces are partially filled. Used 6 bags of Seachem Flourite, 7 bags of Caribsea Eco Complete Red and 2 bags of peat moss. They are all mixed together. As I plant the terraces, I will top off with Caribsea Peace River coarse sand. I moved the few remaining plants from the terrarium into the tank. They consist of Crypt. balansae, and unknown Crypt species (probably wendtii), two stems of Rotala indica, a small piece of Anubias nana and a few loose pieces of java fern. When I picked up the sand from the LFS, I also picked up 3 lotus bulbs. I have one very large dry piece of Cyprus root that needs to soak. It is screwed down to a large piece of slate on one end, but still floats on the other end. So, only adding a couple inches of water every 2-3 days. The balance of the wood in the picture consists of 3 pieces of plastic wood, two smaller pieces of cypress (one has the A. nana), two medium size pieced of cypress and 6 pieces of Mopani root. A couple days ago I move about half of the wood listed and my tiger pleco moved with it. He seems to like the bigger tank. So, tonight I moved the balance of the fish into the tank: 2 dwarf rainbows, 1 Golden Killie, 1 gold tetra and 1 orange stripe cory cat. Balance of the plants are ordered and should be here Thursday or Friday.

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/Filling%20tank_zpschx074ll.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/Filling%20tank_zpschx074ll.jpg.html)

[jdhuyvetter]

Most of the plants are in. Current plant list is:

Anubias nana
Anubias barteri
Crypt. balansae
Crypt. wendtii
Hygro. difformis (wisteria)
Rotala indica
Rotala wallichii
Rotala macranda (narrow leaf variety)
Java Fern
Echino. tennellus (narrow leaf chain sword)
Echino. martii (ruffle sword)
Echino. rubin (red rubin sword)
Echino. angustifolia (Vesuvius sword)
Nymphaea zenkeri (red tiger lotus)
Nympaea sp. (red lotus)
Bolbitis heudelotii (African water fern)
Pogostemon helferi
Crimum calimistratum
Aponogetan crispus

Plants to add:
Jungle Val
Cabomba furcata

[jdhuyvetter]

Photos from 10 am this morning. Clear sky. Tank is still cloudy from the peat. Driftwood still floats, but water is a little higher. Tomorrow I will add some bricks on top of the wood and go ahead and top off the tank. In the meantime, there is an Aqueon recirc pump on the left end of the tank for circulation/aeration. Tank is currently heated to 78.

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/20150919_100738_zps2mbxx419.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/20150919_100738_zps2mbxx419.jpg.html)
http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/20150919_101533_zps9fe9ldqi.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/20150919_101533_zps9fe9ldqi.jpg.html)

Current top view. I guess I should start cleaning up my mess.
http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/20150919_101655_zpsnu9p9yco.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/20150919_101655_zpsnu9p9yco.jpg.html)

[jdhuyvetter]

Several years ago after the tubes were installed, I framed in the top to hide the tubes. I covered the tank with cardboard while cutting the drywall. Took a pic to show the light spread from the tubes.

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/PICT0096.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/PICT0096.jpg.html)

Pic of the tubes after they were installed, before being framed in. Lots and lots of free light! (Although, it wasn't free cutting holes in the roof to get it)
http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/PICT0057.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/PICT0057.jpg.html)

[Disgirl]

We have two solar tubes in our home, to bring in extra light to dim areas. I would not have thought to do it for fish tanks. But what a great idea, though expensive, you have had. Well done! Will you be putting discus in this tank?
Barb

[quattrok04]

Very nice build, can't wait to see discus swimming in there, good luck!

[jdhuyvetter]

We have two solar tubes in our home, to bring in extra light to dim areas. I would not have thought to do it for fish tanks. But what a great idea, though expensive, you have had. Well done! Will you be putting discus in this tank?
Barb

I was running nearly 2000 watts of light on the reef tank in the beginning. The tubes have paid for themselves in the energy savings. My power bill dropped almost 125/month in the summer and 100/month in the winter.

Discus have been ordered and will be here next week. They will be going in another tank for a couple months. That tank has been set up for a couple years now and I moved the few fish that were left into this tank last weekend. I will be cleaning it up a little this weekend, but leaving the sand and filtration in place. Basically doing a heavy maintenance. Discus will stay in that tank for 1-2 months while I slowly add the rest of the tetras and other fish to the 300. I will be feeding heavy and doing every other day water changes on the discus. Much easier to do with 60-70 gallons vs. 300 gallons. Once they have grown a bit and I am confident this tank is stable, I will move them and tear down the other tank.

All discus that have been ordered are wild types. F1 to F4. Discus that have been ordered are:

3, Tefe Green (adults should have full stripes, but variable amounts of spots)
3. Red Spotted Green (from Tefe origin)
3, Royal Blue (unkown origin)
3, Royal Blue (Rio Purus origin)
3, Alenquer
3, Ica Red/Heckel cross

I plan on adding some blue heckle as soon as I find a breeder or John (snookn21) gets some in later in the season. If I get from John, they will be the only wild discus in the tank.

[jdhuyvetter]

Murphy's Law just kicked in. Filled the tank all the way up and started running the temp sump. Overflow on the left side is leaking. I knew it had a very slow, very small leak at the bulkhead. Five gallon bucket solved that problem. Now the water is running along the bottom of the tank and down the inside of the stand to the floor. So, turned the pump off and draining about 2 inches out of the tank. Looks like next weekends project will be tearing out the plumbing to seal the bulkheads. I thought FW was supposed to be less trouble!

[jdhuyvetter]

Well, after 12 years, I am officially back into discus. The tank raised arrived this afternoon and my Friday night will be spent on a water change and acclimation.

Also stopped by John's on the way home and picked up some corys. The 300 now has the fish I originally moved, some Apisto. cacautoides, lemon tetras, green laser and orange laser corys and a couple emperor tetras. Not added all at once, spread out over the past couple of weeks. Over the next month or so, I will add some gold tetras, rummy nose, cardinals and some kind of pleco. Still up in the air on the pleco species. Currently leaning towards L183 - white seam.

[jdhuyvetter]

So, one trip to Home Depot, two trips to ACE Hardware and redid all the plumbing, cleaned and moved the sump. Around 8 pm last night plugged in the pump and the corners of the tank were leaking even worse. Earlier in the day, I sealed the bulkheads and they were dry. Water was coming from under the tank somewhere.

Pics after I plugged in the pump. Outside and inside the stand at the same corner.
http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/Tank%20Leak%201_zpsmpfdmyou.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/Tank%20Leak%201_zpsmpfdmyou.jpg.html)
http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/Tank%20Leak%202_zpsa7133oyt.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/Tank%20Leak%202_zpsa7133oyt.jpg.html)

This morning pulled the bulkheads and found water between the glass. Bottom of the tank is double glass. So, sealed the inside of the holes, added a bead of silicone to the bulkhead for extra measure and put the back. Pics are the water and gunk between the glass. Third pic shows silicone I was able to force about 1/8 inch between the glass. Hopefully this does the trick.
http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/20150927_103344_zpsmrdt0rhw.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/20150927_103344_zpsmrdt0rhw.jpg.html)
http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/20150927_103723_zpsegsbqdzr.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/20150927_103723_zpsegsbqdzr.jpg.html)
http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/20150927_105055_zpsoxudxbnd.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/20150927_105055_zpsoxudxbnd.jpg.html)

[rickztahone]

So, one trip to Home Depot, two trips to ACE Hardware and redid all the plumbing, cleaned and moved the sump. Around 8 pm last night plugged in the pump and the corners of the tank were leaking even worse. Earlier in the day, I sealed the bulkheads and they were dry. Water was coming from under the tank somewhere.

Pics after I plugged in the pump. Outside and inside the stand at the same corner.
http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/Tank%20Leak%201_zpsmpfdmyou.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/Tank%20Leak%201_zpsmpfdmyou.jpg.html)
http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/Tank%20Leak%202_zpsa7133oyt.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/Tank%20Leak%202_zpsa7133oyt.jpg.html)

This morning pulled the bulkheads and found water between the glass. Bottom of the tank is double glass. So, sealed the inside of the holes, added a bead of silicone to the bulkhead for extra measure and put the back. Pics are the water and gunk between the glass. Third pic shows silicone I was able to force about 1/8 inch between the glass. Hopefully this does the trick.
http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/20150927_103344_zpsmrdt0rhw.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/20150927_103344_zpsmrdt0rhw.jpg.html)
http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/20150927_103723_zpsegsbqdzr.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/20150927_103723_zpsegsbqdzr.jpg.html)
http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/20150927_105055_zpsoxudxbnd.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/20150927_105055_zpsoxudxbnd.jpg.html)

Hopefully that holds the leak. I have known a few people with leaks over at RC and they say that once is starts leaking at the bulkhead, it is difficult to get it to seal properly. Have you eliminated the bulkhead being the problem?

[jdhuyvetter]

Not, yet. Both bulkheads had water between the glass. Got them both sealed with silicone. I'll let it cure and then plug the pump back in. Crossed my fingers, knocked on wood and said a little prayer.

[rickztahone]

Not, yet. Both bulkheads had water between the glass. Got them both sealed with silicone. I'll let it cure and then plug the pump back in. Crossed my fingers, knocked on wood and said a little prayer.

well good luck my friend. You know this will only be a partial temporary fix. Sooner or later, that silicone will give way again, and it may happen when you least want it to.

[jdhuyvetter]

There was no silicone between the glass pieces where the glass was cut for the bulkheads to begin with. So, I put a bead at the joint between the glass and worked it into the joint with my finger. Then I put the bulkheads back in with the gasket. The second bead of silicone is on top around the gasket. So, the bulkhead gasket is the seal and the silicone is just overkill. Only leak I had was on the disconnect. The moron that put it in forgot to tighten it all the way down before he plugged in the pump! No leaks, happy camper.

[rickztahone]

There was no silicone between the glass pieces where the glass was cut for the bulkheads to begin with. So, I put a bead at the joint between the glass and worked it into the joint with my finger. Then I put the bulkheads back in with the gasket. The second bead of silicone is on top around the gasket. So, the bulkhead gasket is the seal and the silicone is just overkill. Only leak I had was on the disconnect. The moron that put it in forgot to tighten it all the way down before he plugged in the pump! No leaks, happy camper.

glad to hear.

[jdhuyvetter]

Couple pics of the discus. Had them one week as of today. Put them in the old tank. All that is left is one piece of artificial driftwood and the original sand. Sand was all black so I mixed in some white play sand to lighten it up. Discus stayed hidden under the driftwood all week. They would come out and feed whenever I was not in the room. Two days ago I put the brick in to make a shelter on the left side of the tank (driftwood is on the right. They have been out the last two nights. Think they are finally getting used to me. In the morning I feed them frozen bloodworms and Mysis shrimp. As soon as I get home from work I feed them live blackworms. Then I eat, wait and hour or so and then do a 75-80% water change. After the water change, I feed them another portion of blackworms. I fed them on the left side of the tank tonight to get them to bunch up for a pic. Normally I spread the blackworms out across the front of the tank. It's fun watching them. The cichlid definitely comes out and they are establishing a pecking order. I plan on growing them out in this tank with daily water changes and no other fish, plants, etc until I get them to at least double in size. Maybe a little more depending on if I can keep the water quality with this many fish in the tank. Definitely don't plan on going to two water changes a day. Then, they get moved into the big tank and I get rid of this little tank.

Tank lights are some 10k LED's from the earlier set up. Hence the bluish tint in the pic. Does make the colors on the fish "pop".

I promise before I tank any more pics of them, I will clean the glass! Didn't realize how dirty it was until I looked at the pic.
http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/20151002_212901_zpspxslm5t3.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/20151002_212901_zpspxslm5t3.jpg.html)
http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/20151002_212929_zps2lpeaipg.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/20151002_212929_zps2lpeaipg.jpg.html)

[Filip]

Wish you all the best raising them Jeff . They look nice here but definitely this light distort their real colours, please add some neon bulb on your next photo session.
How many you got and how big is this tank?
Whats their current size? They look allready good grown semi adults to me.

[jdhuyvetter]

Tank is a 120 XH. But the center brace broke and I tried to turn it into an orchid terrarium. I drilled the back about 12 inches above the water. So it only holds 12 inches of water. There is a sump under the tank that holds another 5-8 gallons of water (when running, about 20 gallon capacity). Smallest fish are around 2.5 inches. There are 18 fish.

[jdhuyvetter]

Permanent home for the fish. Still have a few things to tweak. Permanent placement of heaters and powerheads, finish soaking driftwood (so I can remove the bricks), algae balls need to go to the sump (once I get the light for the sump), filter trays for the sump.

Also having some minor cycling issues. Started with aged driftwood and only 6 fish. Up to about 40 fish now. Lost a couple fish and plants due to a small ammonia spike. I jumped the gun a little on the fish. Ammonia peaked at 1.0 ppm. Water changes, bacteria dosing and water change eliminated that issue in two days. As of last night, Nitrites are at 2.0 (before a 30% WC). I still have 3 more groups of tetras to add. But, I will be stretching this out over the next month to six weeks. Again, pending water quality.

Current fish load is:
1 - Golden Killie (from old system)
1 - King pleco (from old system, had him 18 years, did not have an L-number back then)
8 - Green Laser cory
8 - Orange Laser cory (one from the old system)
2 - Emperor tetra (lost a couple with the ammonia spike)
6 - Apisto cacautoides (had 12 lost a few. 6 is an estimate, still juvies)
6 - Lemon tetra (these guys are mean and beating the hell out of each other, lost 2 with shredded fins)
7 - HY 511 tetras

The plants I lost are:
Crinum calastrium (lost 2 of the 3 bulbs, 1 almost immediately after delivery)
Bulb. fern (lost both, 1 immediately and 1 after 2 weeks)
Pogo. hellfire (lost 1 of 2, it was bad coming out of the tissue culture bag, 2nd is growing)

Most of the other plants are showing new growth, either leaves, roots or both. Exception being the Rotala macranda and the remaining Crinum.

Pic as of 930 this morning.
http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/20151003_094300_zpszsamphel.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/20151003_094300_zpszsamphel.jpg.html)

[Eddie]

Nice tank!

[rickztahone]

What spectrum is that fixture? :laugh::laugh::laugh:

[jdhuyvetter]

It's a variable output, variable spectrum fixture. Came preprogrammed from the manufacturer. All four fixtures automatically synced. No wires, no remotes, no timers. Costs more than a comparable LED fixture but cheaper to run. Although, sometimes for no reason, in the afternoon it will dim for 30-60 minutes. Usually happens in the summertime.

I added a tannin filter to boost the yellow look.

[rickztahone]

It's a variable output, variable spectrum fixture. Came preprogrammed from the manufacturer. All four fixtures automatically synced. No wires, no remotes, no timers. Costs more than a comparable LED fixture but cheaper to run. Although, sometimes for no reason, in the afternoon it will dim for 30-60 minutes. Usually happens in the summertime.

I added a tannin filter to boost the yellow look.

Have you contacted the manufacturer about the issue? May I have their number? Lol

[pastry]

Jeff, loooove the strains you went with. Following this thread close too.

[strawberryblonde]

Hi Jeff,

I'm in love with your big tank - what a great layout and the plant terrace is awesome!

Just a couple of things I wanted to mention - might make life a wee bit easier for you, and better for the discus.

First up, not for the discus, add a couple of teaspoons of salt to the big tank and you won't lose any more fish to ammonia or nitrite poisoning. It's about the only time I ever use salt and it works like a charm.

And for your wee discus, can you up the feedings a bit? I've found that juvies and sub-adults grow out better if they get 5-6 feedings per day. You could use some of Al's fantastic freeze dried blackworms for the extra feedings since you can stick them to the glass and walk away during the day. Then toss in a couple more cubes after your nightly WC so that they get a bedtime snack.

Here's a pic of the cubes stuck to the glass:

90802

I use 3 cubes per feeding for 10 growing discus and they eat them 4 times per day, cuz I don't feed live blackworms. The other 2 feedings are a mix of discus flakes - just about every sort you can think of including beefheart and spirulina flakes.

Mine grow at a rate of about 1 inch per month till they reach 4", then 3/4" till they reach 6", then slow growth for another year till they reach 8". (Females are smaller - only 7")

Hope that helps and keep the updates and pics coming! :wave:

[pastry]

Even your females make my biggest look inadequate, Toni... Damn you! Lol

[strawberryblonde]

LOL Elliot! See those 2 little 2.75" yellow discus up there? That was when I bought them back at the end of July. They are currently 5.5" and still growing like weeds. =)

[pastry]

LOL Elliot! See those 2 little 2.75" yellow discus up there? That was when I bought them back at the end of July. They are currently 5.5" and still growing like weeds. =)

Just keep rubbing it in, Toni :p.

Waiting to get employed again then getting new house since current house just has the worst scheme. Then I'll try to grow some big studs. Sort of why I'm following this thread... Loooove the info going into this. Definitely planning ahead of time.

[jdhuyvetter]

Hi Jeff,

I'm in love with your big tank - what a great layout and the plant terrace is awesome!

Just a couple of things I wanted to mention - might make life a wee bit easier for you, and better for the discus.

First up, not for the discus, add a couple of teaspoons of salt to the big tank and you won't lose any more fish to ammonia or nitrite poisoning. It's about the only time I ever use salt and it works like a charm.

And for your wee discus, can you up the feedings a bit? I've found that juvies and sub-adults grow out better if they get 5-6 feedings per day. You could use some of Al's fantastic freeze dried blackworms for the extra feedings since you can stick them to the glass and walk away during the day. Then toss in a couple more cubes after your nightly WC so that they get a bedtime snack.

Here's a pic of the cubes stuck to the glass:

I use 3 cubes per feeding for 10 growing discus and they eat them 4 times per day, cuz I don't feed live blackworms. The other 2 feedings are a mix of discus flakes - just about every sort you can think of including beefheart and spirulina flakes.

Mine grow at a rate of about 1 inch per month till they reach 4", then 3/4" till they reach 6", then slow growth for another year till they reach 8". (Females are smaller - only 7")

Hope that helps and keep the updates and pics coming! :wave:

I wish I could feed 5-6 times per day. I actually do on the weekends when I am home. My regime so far is this: Before work I feed 3 cubes of bloodworms and 3 cubes of Mysis shrimp. As soon as I get home, I feed a very big portion of blackworms (equivalent of about 6-8 cubes of frozen food).An hour or two after the blackworms are gone, I do the big water change. Immediately after the water change I feed another, slightly smaller portion of blackworms (about 4-6 cubes worth). I have gradually increased the amount of food in all the feedings based on consumption. As long as they continue to eat everything in the tank, I will up the quantity. The first couple of days, they did not eat all of the frozen food so I was slow to increase that amount. Not sure if it was new environment or new to frozen food. I had always used live blackworms in the past with new fish and with sick fish. I am yet to meet a discus that doesn't jump on them immediately. Eventually, I will not feed them live blackworms as a daily feed, just the occasional treat. I will be weaning them over to frozen foods completely. With my next order of blackworms, I will get some of the FD and give that a try. May add them to the mix. I used to do the same thing with FD Tubifex worms in the late 80's. Then they got the bad rap and I stopped. Never personally had any issues with tubifex just didn't want to risk it.

[jdhuyvetter]

I'm on the fence with flakes and pellets. The big tank has coarse sand, not fine sand. Flakes and pellets sink pretty fast. I'm concerned with them getting down in the sand and fouling the water. I've got these guys eating everything out of cones attached to the glass. For the frozen food, I cut slits in the cones so they can pick the frozen through the cone. For the live food, no alterations. Obviously, a lot falls to the bottom and they eat if off the sand. Just concerned about the grain size of the sand between the two tanks.

I deliberately set the tank up with the terraces to leave the front unplanted. I want to give the discus a "feeding zone" to pick/blow food off the bottom. I may add fine sand to the mix so that any pellets or flake will not settle into the sand. I figure I have about 2 months to make that decision. That is also part of the reason I left the sand in the small tank I am growing them up in. I wanted them to be used to sand and it was biologically active from the previous residents.

[jdhuyvetter]

And one more thing. I do plan on introducing other feeds as I increase feeding size. I will be trying the following frozen foods over the next several months. Whatever they eat with gusto will be added to the mix.

Frozen gammarus
Brine shrimp
Hikari's frozen discus blend
Glass worms
Beef heart

Open to opinions on the following: live scuds (gammarus), live cherry shrimp, Hikari's frozen tubifex. For the live food, I was toying with growing a colony in the big tank. Not a primary food, but give them something to chase and nibble on between feedings. As for the tubifex, I've heard good things about Hikari's Bio Encapsulated foods. Used the blood worms without issue. Again, looking for experiences/comments on these items. When I was doing discus before, the live foods mentioned were not an option. I did feed them live ghost shrimp from time to time. Always fun to tell the person at the LFS that I don't want the big ones, I want the small ones!

[jdhuyvetter]

Sump work is almost finished. Sump is a custom sump I had made for a reef tank I used to have set up. It's two part so I could fit a bigger sump through a single door in the stand. Left half has a sliding tray for the filter floss. I filled the section under the tray with bio balls. These are the floating kind, so I put in a piece of egg crate to hold them in place. Next chamber is the refugium area. I have a hydroponic LED over the chamber for algae growth. I will be putting java moss in this chamber. Timer is set to run at night when the other lights and the sun are "off". This should help offset some of the pH swings that plant tanks are prone to have. Then goes through a 2-inch connector into the skimmer chamber. I filled this chamber up with bio balls too (the sinking type). From here it goes over a baffle and through another layer of filter floss. Below that is a rack with chemi-pure elite. Below that is a rack with filter bags of activated carbon. Then, goes to the return pump.

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/20151007_205911_zpsn6ykpnmk.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/20151007_205911_zpsn6ykpnmk.jpg.html)

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/20151007_205952_zpsfejgmpoo.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/20151007_205952_zpsfejgmpoo.jpg.html)

[rickztahone]

Ohhhh, this is YOUR tank! Very nice.

[jdhuyvetter]

Plugged in the hydroponic LED. Very red. Does have some blue and white as well, but does not come out in the pic. Grew macro algae very well for the reef tank. Hope it grows java moss. If not, I'll switch it out for a more conventional light.

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/20151007_213002_zpswzyvoqth.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/20151007_213002_zpswzyvoqth.jpg.html)

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/20151007_213011_zpsetly3gpc.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/20151007_213011_zpsetly3gpc.jpg.html)

[jdhuyvetter]

Q: How do you get the last of the live blackworms that are stuck between the screen and the frame?
A: Dwarf cichlids
http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/20151012_183655_zpsgezztnxz.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/20151012_183655_zpsgezztnxz.jpg.html)

[CrazyAngels]

sure love the setup, that is one nice big piece of wood and complements the tank well. Congrats

[jdhuyvetter]

Been about a month since the first big batch of plants was put in the tank. So, time for some update pics. Pics were taken at 11:15 am today. Clear sky, full sun when the pics were taken. LED supplements were off. After the first batch of plants, I lost a couple. Also had so much driftwood, decided I need a couple more Anubias and ferns. I started at 75 degrees and have gone up in a couple of increments. Currently at 80. In a few weeks, I will bump up to 82. Plan on keeping it there. So, first pic is a FTS.
http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/October%2017%202015%20FTS_zpsqrydqnji.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/October%2017%202015%20FTS_zpsqrydqnji.jpg.html)

Next pic is the left side of the tank. Far left on the driftwood are two Anubias hastefolia. These are new. Hygro. difformis has grown about 3 inches and also put down runners. In front of that are 4 Crypt. balansae from the original tank. Did not melt when I moved them. Finally showing some new leaves. To the right are what's left of the Pogo. helfiri. I got two tissue cultures. One was bad in the bag and melted almost immediately. The second grew well for about a week and then melted. All the new growth survived. So now I have 7-8 little Pogos. Behind that is Cabomba furcate. Another newer plant, been about 10 days on this one. At the very back is an Apon crispus. Put up new leaves but hasn't grown much taller. Under the Apon to the right is a female Apisto cacautoides with fry!!! On the driftwood above and in front of the Apon are Anubias nana (2 clumps tied together. 1 from the original tank, 1 is new). Also a piece of java fern, normal variety and several pieces of java fern "trident"
http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/10-17-15%20Left_zpsbhagb7h7.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/10-17-15%20Left_zpsbhagb7h7.jpg.html)

Middle pic from the tank is African Fire Lotus on the left, Echino tenellus in the middle foreground, Red Lotus on the right. Behind the first terrace on the left is Rotala wallichi. All stems have grown 2-3 inches since adding to the tank. Not very red. Could be the shorter days at this time of year. Curious to see any color changes with the season changes. Right of that is a ruffle sword that actually bloomed under water. New swords are starting to develop. Anubias barteri on the driftwood above that. At the very back is Jungle val. This kept getting uprooted and floating. Ended up weighting the roots and burying the weights under the sand. Seemed to have worked, new leaves new runners. Between the val and the red lotus are two surviving stems of Rotala magenta. Originally put in front of the right overflow and most of it melted. These stems have roots and new growth at the tips. Also is 1 stem of Ludwigia inclinata "pantanal". Base rotted, but new growth at the tip....got my fingers crossed. There is a gold tetra in front of the brick holding down the driftwood. Immediately below the tetra is a single stem of Bucaphalandra. I had never heard of this plant. So, I got one to give it a try. Leave all turned black. But, there is new growth on the stem. Got my fingers crossed on this one too.
http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/10-17-15%20Middle_zps7mtpbsi7.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/10-17-15%20Middle_zps7mtpbsi7.jpg.html)

Pic from the right side. On the driftwood at the top is another java fern "windelov". Front terrace is an Echino. Vesuvius. Lost a few leaves, but new ones have grown in. Also has a runner. Behind that a Rubin sword that my pleco thrashed last night. To the right is the one surviving Crinum. Finally showing a little growth. Hope it makes it. Lower right terrace is my mystery crypt. Had it for nearly 20 years now. My oldest continuous plant. Behind the Crinum is a single stem of Rotala indica that survived the neglect of the other tank. In front of the overflow is Ammania gracilis. Never kept this plant. Got it to replace the melted R. magenta. Seems to be doing OK. On the driftwood to the right are Anubias lanceolata and a Bolbitis species. Hidden in the driftwood are two, controllable Korallia 1's. They are set on the lowest setting and give the tank a very gentle right to left flow for the top half and a gentle left to right on the bottom half.
http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/10-17-15%20Right_zpspdqqthuw.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/10-17-15%20Right_zpspdqqthuw.jpg.html)

[jdhuyvetter]

Couple of shots from the left side looking down the tank. Driftwood and peat are still leaching a lot of tannins in the water. These pics were taken after a 30% water change.

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/20151017_120545_zpsc3lmnwkm.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/20151017_120545_zpsc3lmnwkm.jpg.html)
http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/20151017_120553_zps2zweqt7o.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/20151017_120553_zps2zweqt7o.jpg.html)

[rickztahone]

Do the sky lights increase tank temp?

[jdhuyvetter]

Nope. Zero heat off of these guys. One of the advantages. I went with the Solatube brand. One year warranty on labor and ten years on product. Domes have an internal reflector to capture early morning and late evening sun. They also filter out the UV.

[jdhuyvetter]

Really bad cell phone pic update time. Had the discus in the growout tank for a month now. 18 fish, 1 runt. On average, 17 of the fish have grown about 3/4 inch. One has not. His color is still good, but he is not the greedy little pig the others are. He is perfectly content to stay in the shade most of the time. Definitely stunted at this point. Another fish still shows good color, but bars have darkened and he stopped eating two days ago. Tends to hide in the shade, but is not skittish. I checked the water last night and Ammonia was 0.25, Nitrite was 1.0 and Nitrate was around 5. So, starting this weekend, we are now doing two water changes per day. Water quality had been fine and I stopped checking it about 10 days ago. Fish have grown and feedings have increased...so, back to more water changes and more water testing. Hopefully, that solves my problem with this fish. Fish have taken a liking to beef heart, but not gammarus shrimp. So, they are now getting feed a mix of live blackworms (favorite), Mysis (second favorite), bloodworms and beefheart. Largest fish is 3 3/4 inch from nose to tail. Average size is about 3 1/4 inch. I had hoped to get them all to 4"+ before moving them into the plant tank. But, WC may dictate otherwise. Since the initial pics, I have removed the old plant terraces and about 5 gallons of sand from behind the terraces. Makes my life a little easier. Average sand depth is now about 1/4 inch. Fish have more swimming room, more water volume and easier to siphon. Used the bricks and slate from the terraces to make the shade areas in the pic.

First pic. Largest fish is on top of the herd. Runt is immediately below and behind him in the pic. Unhappy noneater is the heckle cross to his left.
http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/20151024_174632_zpses25rfv1.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/20151024_174632_zpses25rfv1.jpg.html)

Good pic of most of the herd. Biggest fish is up front and the runt is in his favorite spot.
http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/20151024_174658_zps0tjrkofz.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/20151024_174658_zps0tjrkofz.jpg.html)

Another shot of the big guy up front and the runt in his spot. During the day, the fish hang out on this side of the tank with the brick and slate shelters. At night, they go to the other side of the tank where the big driftwood is and "sleep" under it.
http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/20151024_174506_zpskgamoyi9.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/20151024_174506_zpskgamoyi9.jpg.html)

Just a cool shot of the solar tubes. Pic was taken just after the sun set but there is still a little light from the west. LED light is going up the tubes and giving them a blue/white glow on the roof. You can clearly see the internal reflectors. Orange cast on the roof and walls is the street light behind me. There is a street light on the property line between me and my neighbor behind the house. When every thing is dark, the tank still has a very faint light. It takes a couple minutes for your eyes to adjust, but the tank at night is not pitch black.
http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/20151017_193413_zpsmcbwqdb2.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/20151017_193413_zpsmcbwqdb2.jpg.html)

[rickztahone]

In a large group you will always have runts. Keep him in there and grow it out with the rest.

[pastry]

Geez... Just when you think it couldn't be anymore bad @$$... Really hope you continue this thread for at least a year, Jeff.

[jdhuyvetter]

And then there were 17.....

Well, after a couple days of twice a day water changes, the runt is schooling with the group again and being more aggressive with feeding. The heckel cross that stopped eating was showing interest in food again and was also back to schooling with the group. Sunday afternoon, out of the blue, this guy had one cloudy eye. No change on Monday. No change this morning before I left for work. Got home from work and both eyes were cloudy and he was laying on the bottom of the tank. Thought he was dead. Went to pick him up and he swam to the corner and then flipped upside down. He was gone within an hour. Tested the water again. Ammonia - 0.25, Nitrites - 1.0, Nitrates - 5. Completely baffled how this was the case after 2x a day (75-80%, each change) water changes. So, tested my tap water. Ammonia was 0.5. It has never been like this. Not sure what's going on here. But, going to double up on the Prime for a while and keep testing my water source.

[rickztahone]

And then there were 17.....

Well, after a couple days of twice a day water changes, the runt is schooling with the group again and being more aggressive with feeding. The heckel cross that stopped eating was showing interest in food again and was also back to schooling with the group. Sunday afternoon, out of the blue, this guy had one cloudy eye. No change on Monday. No change this morning before I left for work. Got home from work and both eyes were cloudy and he was laying on the bottom of the tank. Thought he was dead. Went to pick him up and he swam to the corner and then flipped upside down. He was gone within an hour. Tested the water again. Ammonia - 0.25, Nitrites - 1.0, Nitrates - 5. Completely baffled how this was the case after 2x a day (75-80%, each change) water changes. So, tested my tap water. Ammonia was 0.5. It has never been like this. Not sure what's going on here. But, going to double up on the Prime for a while and keep testing my water source.

That is super weird since you are doing twice a day WC's. The only thing I can think of is that there is some kind of bad agent in the water itself. I keep reading about twice a year lake turns and it changing the water. Maybe this may be happening? In that case, the water would be the big issue.

[jdhuyvetter]

Got my dwarf cichlid/cory huts in today. Thanks Disgirl, they blend in perfectly.

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/20151029_181831_zpsthzcqm9v.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/20151029_181831_zpsthzcqm9v.jpg.html)

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/20151029_181812_zps2yyyxui7.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/20151029_181812_zps2yyyxui7.jpg.html)

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/20151029_181743_zpsj5boalql.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/20151029_181743_zpsj5boalql.jpg.html)

[jdhuyvetter]

You could use some of Al's fantastic freeze dried blackworms for the extra feedings since you can stick them to the glass and walk away during the day.


Got some and tried it last night. I thought it would take them several feeding to get used to the FD worms. Took them about 2 minutes and then they all attacked it. I got the ones with the beefheart and tetra bits mixed in. Very happy with how fast they went after it. Definitely planning on using this as one of my main foods moving forward.
http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/20151028_200551_zpswh0nkehj.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/20151028_200551_zpswh0nkehj.jpg.html)

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/20151028_200502_zps6bayx7v1.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/20151028_200502_zps6bayx7v1.jpg.html)

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/20151028_200114_zpsxecupydx.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/20151028_200114_zpsxecupydx.jpg.html)

[pastry]

And then there were 17.....

Well, after a couple days of twice a day water changes, the runt is schooling with the group again and being more aggressive with feeding. The heckel cross that stopped eating was showing interest in food again and was also back to schooling with the group. Sunday afternoon, out of the blue, this guy had one cloudy eye. No change on Monday. No change this morning before I left for work. Got home from work and both eyes were cloudy and he was laying on the bottom of the tank. Thought he was dead. Went to pick him up and he swam to the corner and then flipped upside down. He was gone within an hour. Tested the water again. Ammonia - 0.25, Nitrites - 1.0, Nitrates - 5. Completely baffled how this was the case after 2x a day (75-80%, each change) water changes. So, tested my tap water. Ammonia was 0.5. It has never been like this. Not sure what's going on here. But, going to double up on the Prime for a while and keep testing my water source.

Did you test straight from tap? If so then you'll get a reading of ammonia due to chloramine. Once put into tank with safe/ prime then that won't be the same story.

[jdhuyvetter]

Well, it's now been about 2 months with the first round of plants. Lost a few, most are growing and added a couple since the last update.

First pic is a FTS. Pic taken at around 1030 in the morning. Skies were overcast, so tank is not quite as bright (in person, looks plenty bright in the pics)
http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/November%2015%202015%20FTS_zpsdguaputk.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/November%2015%202015%20FTS_zpsdguaputk.jpg.html)

Second pic is the left side of the tank. Wisteria has reached the top and branching out from the base. Definitely needs pruning. Lost one of the Crypt. balansae. Added a Bolbitis (Asian variety) to the driftwood. Anubias are finally starting to put down roots. Java ferns don't seem to be putting down roots, but they are throwing up a few new leaves. Cabomba is slowly falling apart except for one stalk which has now grown to the surface of the tank. Probably not getting enough light. Currently under one of the braces so it is partially shaded from the solar tubes. Curious to see if it bushes out in the summer.
http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/November%2015%20Left_zps7cdrhk2n.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/November%2015%20Left_zps7cdrhk2n.jpg.html)

Third pic is the middle of the tank. Pogostomon is slowly coming back. Ruffle sword babies are growing. Rotala walichii has grown all the way to the surface and is bending over in the flow. Lotus send up surface leaves every couple of days. Constantly pruning those back.
http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/November%2015%20Middle_zpsexka7suo.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/November%2015%20Middle_zpsexka7suo.jpg.html)

Last pic is the right side. Ammania is growing. Bolbitis (African variety) is falling apart. A couple pieces are still on the wood and seem to be holding on. On piece broke off and drifted to the far left and is sitting on the gravel. It seems to be doing well. I am leaving it there to see if it roots before I move it back to the driftwood. Ludwigia stem I had is slowly falling apart. Got another bunch from someone else and it is sitting in the gravel. Want to see if it roots before I pull the weight and break up the clump to plant it. Vesuvius is now throwing up nice curly leaves
http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/November%2015%20right_zpsotcu7tjl.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/November%2015%20right_zpsotcu7tjl.jpg.html)

I foolishly added three new discus to the growout tank. They were 3 small wild heckles from John. Fish are the same size as the largest ones I was growing out. No problems for 2 days. Then one got dark and slimy. Next day, 3 or 4 more. Next day all but the wild heckles were dark and slimy. Group was hiding in a tight clump in the top corner of the tank. Took them off food for a couple days and treating with Lifeguard. Started to perk up after a couple days and starting eating live blackworms. Each day is a little better. Yesterday, started eating frozen again. Today, color is almost back to normal. I new I should have waited but, they were there and the right size. Bad Jeff......Bad Jeff!!!

[jdhuyvetter]

Some crappy cell phone pics of the discus. Been about 2 months now. Had hoped to move them this week to the plant tank. But, they are not quite 4 inches yet. Will hold them a little longer in the growout tank. Added three Heckels from John. They are doing well. Ticked the other guys off and most off them got dark and slimy by day three with the new guys. Did 5 days with Lifeguard followed by 5 days of Rid Ich. Everybody seems fine now. Heckels are 4 inches to 4 1/4 inches. Want the rest to get that size or bigger before I move them. Still doing twice daily water changes. Feeding is a mix of Frozen Mysis, bloodworms, brine shrimp, beef heart, glassworms, FD Plankton, FDBW and Live Blackworms

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/20151122_173851_zpsz736kleu.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/20151122_173851_zpsz736kleu.jpg.html)

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/20151122_172026_zpsc5yemose.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/20151122_172026_zpsc5yemose.jpg.html)

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/20151122_173945_zpsozh2yehz.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/20151122_173945_zpsozh2yehz.jpg.html)

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/20151122_174009_zpsyct6uvep.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/20151122_174009_zpsyct6uvep.jpg.html)

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/20151122_174114_zpsx9eetxae.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/20151122_174114_zpsx9eetxae.jpg.html)

[DiscusGino]

Great build and awesome tank. Love the lights hahahaa!

[pastry]

Still love that mix but any concern with water parameters for heckles over time? Not thinking you'd have to keep them as low as a solely-focused heckle tank but wondering trying to still keep ph in low low6s and water a little softer than needed for tankbred.

They look really happy in there from the pics

[jdhuyvetter]

I have a whole house water softner. It used salt to recharge. So, has high sodium. Not good for the plants. I moved my water change set up outside to the pool deck. I am running a 5-stage RODI off of a faucet by the deck. Ironically, the same RODI unit I bought about 15 years ago for my discus. It was a 3-stage then, I added 2 new DI canisters when I got into reefing. I now have a separate brute can (42 gallons) to do water changes in the plant tank (the sodium is bad for the plants). So, the long term plan is to do weekly (or as needed) 40 gallon water changes with RO water. I am using Seachem Equilibrium to bring the hardness back up to about 2-3. I am using tap water for the growout tank. Decided to keep them in the growout tank for one more month. I know that when I get them moved into the plant tank, feedings will be less and water changes will be a lot less. So, want to maximize the growth a little more. I figure one more month is about all this tank can handle with the number of fish and heavy feedings. Two times a day water changes are a pain and I don't want to go to three times a day. Tank slimes up pretty heavy now. Not sure if it is the discus or the blackworms (or both). I am changing the filter floss every other day now as a result.

The worse part of this whole little experiment is that I now have the bug again....real bad. I was planning on getting rid of the growout tank after I moved these discus. I am now thinking about euro-bracing the top (plastic center brace broke and the tank bows very badly) so I can fill it all the way up. It would make a perfect tank for 4 or 5 Nhamunda Blue Heckels.

[pastry]

The worse part of this whole little experiment is that I now have the bug again....real bad. I was planning on getting rid of the growout tank after I moved these discus. I am now thinking about euro-bracing the top (plastic center brace broke and the tank bows very badly) so I can fill it all the way up. It would make a perfect tank for 4 or 5 Nhamunda Blue Heckels.

LOL... Just remember that's "normal". I only have one tank but would love to have a whole seperate building full of many discus tanks.

[jdhuyvetter]

So, we just had the winter solstice. Meaning the least amount of light my tank will get during the year. I have noticed some die off of the lotus leaves and some of the high light loving plants have poor color or growth (or both). when this was a reef tank, I noticed slower growth and poorer color this time of year. but, I had almost 2.5x the LED's as light supplements. So, below are the PAR readings from this Sunday. I will compare them again at the summer solstice. Readings were taken at the water line, below the left-center tube. Weather was clear, almost no clouds.

7 am - 2
7:11 am - Sunrise
8 am - 38
9 am -95
10 am - 150
11 am - 240
12 pm - 260
1 pm - 250
2 pm - 210
3 pm - 155
4 pm - 100 (Half of LED supplements on)
5 pm - 35 (all LED's on)
5:39 pm - Sunset
6 pm - 30 (all LED's on)
7 pm - 30 (all LED's on)
8 pm - 15 (half LED's on)
9 pm - 15 (half LED's on)
10 pm -15 (half LED's on)
10:15 - LED's off

[seankelly]

I am very leery of Solar Power, mainly because,I can't find a single instance, of where government has figured out a way that works better than what we have already,I'm just saying, that if it really worked why wouldn't private enterprise be all over it...I must say that I worked in high voltage area , for over 30 years and I really can't see, how any of this really saves us anything,I'm sure I'm putting myself out there for folks to rip me apart,but honestly if you really think this stuff works,why hasn't anyone who can make a buck off of this,tried to make it????

[Jbell]

Seankelly he's not using solar power the way your thinking. In essence he is using skylights for natural lighting .


I am very leery of Solar Power, mainly because,I can't find a single instance, of where government has figured out a way that works better than what we have already,I'm just saying, that if it really worked why wouldn't private enterprise be all over it...I must say that I worked in high voltage area , for over 30 years and I really can't see, how any of this really saves us anything,I'm sure I'm putting myself out there for folks to rip me apart,but honestly if you really think this stuff works,why hasn't anyone who can make a buck off of this,tried to make it????

[jdhuyvetter]

First off, not sure what your post has to do with the thread, at all. My thread title is slightly misleading in that the tank is not actually solar powered (ie, pumps and heaters). It is solar powered from the perspective that I am not running lights on the tank, I have solar tubes. Meaning, my light source for the tank and plants is the sun itself.

Second, what does government have to do with the power source? They don't own the power companies, they just regulate (or in some cases, over-regulate).

And lastly, no idea where you live, but in Florida, it is happening. Private industry is expanding into solar power. The following link is about 3 solar field currently under construction. Two are new fields and one is an expansion to an existing field. This does not address solar fields already built (I know of 3 others in the state). http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/consumer/fl-fpl-solar-update-20150128-story.html

[jdhuyvetter]

Well, finally got the discus moved....about 1.5 months after the original plan. But, it allowed them to grow a little more. Biggest fish are now at 5 inches. Smallest are 4 inches. the only fish I did not move were the 3 Rio Negro Heckels and the runt. I did not move the heckels because I broke down and got 3 more Jatapu heckels. Incredible fish, I'll post pics after they settle down. Had them 2 days now. I may end up keeping this tank and fixing the bracing so I can fill it all the way up. If I do, it will be a heckel discus tank. Figured it would be easier to leave the Rio Negros a little longer with the Jatapu's while I quarentine them. Not the ideal scenario, but best option for me given my indecision on whether or not to keep this tank. Easier to leave these guys in the tank than it would be to try to pull them out of the 300 with all the plant and wood. I left the runt because he started a nice growth spurt. He is fairly round again, but his eye is slightly disproportionate. I'll leave him in here to grow some more before moving him in with the rest. Of the original 18 fish, I lost the one heckel cross. A couple have high bodies, not thrilled with the shape, but they have great color. The RSG's actually slowed down in growth and the other passed them in size. Still the best colored of the group, but not the biggest. A few pics. Been in the 300 for 2 days.

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/20160121_154240_zpsuy4k89us.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/20160121_154240_zpsuy4k89us.jpg.html)

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/20160121_153657_zpskcmtfblc.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/20160121_153657_zpskcmtfblc.jpg.html)

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/20160121_153823_zpsntqyhqqj.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/20160121_153823_zpsntqyhqqj.jpg.html)

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/20160121_153905_zpss9vjke46.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/20160121_153905_zpss9vjke46.jpg.html)

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/20160121_153944_zpscaiaqgly.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/20160121_153944_zpscaiaqgly.jpg.html)

[jdhuyvetter]

Well, the last two month have been interesting. Had a nasty algae outbreak. Put one of the filters back on one of the solar tubes and stopped dosing with Excel. Algae is still there but is dying back. Added some new tetras without proper quarentine and caused a massive ick outbreak. Lost almost all of the tetras and a couple cory cats. Discus heavily slimed and had a few frayed fins. Waited a few days and still no change. Started dosing with Herbtana and noticed improvement in the discus almost overnight. By the third day of dosing, all were eating again, half were back to normal color. By day five, all were back to normal color. In the past month, I have only done one water change. I pulled the carbon because of the medication and still have not put it back. the tank is now tea colored and the plants are growing over the top of the water on one side. Cherry shrimp population has exploded in the sump. Discus still hang out around the front glass, except for an alenquer red, a royal blue and a tefe green. They hang out in the corner. Red and blue at the top corner of the tank by an algae magnet that hasn't moved in over a month. Green just below them. At one point I thought they spawned, but did not see any eggs. So, last night I decide I'm going to do a water change with another one on Friday and again on Sunday. Want to get the tank cleared back up. So, getting ready to drag the hose and notice that the two discus in the corner are spawning. So now, I have an algae magnet covered with eggs on two sides.

[pastry]

All things that can easily be overcome... Without meds, Jeff. Keep us posted

[jdhuyvetter]

So, been slammed at work, neglected the tank ( 4-6 weeks without a water change). Smallest discus have grown slightly, but seem to have stopped around 4.5 to 5 inches. Largest have gotten huge. I have one pair that lays eggs fairly regularly (alenquer and a royal blue) and another trio that can't figure out who to pair up. Sometimes it's a royal blue and a rio purus royal blue. Last go round was the royal blue and one of the heckles. Finally did a water change yesterday and cleaned some of the algae. Discovered that I have 3 baby serpae tetras around 1/2 inch.

Anyway, went canoeing this weekend, fell in the river (or was helped by a friend.....), phone got wet just enough to fry the battery. So, a few pics with the new phone.
http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/20160509_153851_zpss6mpec6n.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/20160509_153851_zpss6mpec6n.jpg.html)

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/20160509_153955_zpszvulpr7m.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/20160509_153955_zpszvulpr7m.jpg.html)

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/20160509_154015_zpsacbzdqha.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/20160509_154015_zpsacbzdqha.jpg.html)

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/20160509_154112_zpszsxutq06.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/20160509_154112_zpszsxutq06.jpg.html)

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/20160509_154120_001_zpsperfy9jv.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/20160509_154120_001_zpsperfy9jv.jpg.html)

[rickztahone]

Your discus are looking really nice. Way to go, especially considering you said you have neglected them a bit.

[Kyla]

love that reddish discus with the bluer halo, what kind is that?

[jdhuyvetter]

It was sold to me as a Rio Purus Royal Blue. About 4 generations removed from the wild.

[ktm4us6]

I'm very impressed with your setup. Discus look very nice.

[jdhuyvetter]

Two pairs have been spawning pretty regularly, did get a few wigglers from one of the pairs. Getting ready to do a water change and noticed two of the fish were hiding under the log at the back of the tank and pretty dark. They never acted like a pair until now. Sorry for the bad pick, but you get the idea. Didn't want to use the flash and spook them.

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/20160905_131849_zpsrxzskmnx.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/20160905_131849_zpsrxzskmnx.jpg.html)

[Dhavalsp]

cant make much out of that pic...looking forward to some full tank pics

[jdhuyvetter]

When trying to zoom in to take a pic of a different fish, one of the RSG's swam right in front of the camera. I thought it was a cool shot.

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/20160905_165951_zpszmqfabwd.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/20160905_165951_zpszmqfabwd.jpg.html)

[jdhuyvetter]

Hard to believe it's been a year. Took a few pics last night and just now. The dark, crappy pics are last night after the sun set. Only the LED supplements were on. Out of the batch of original discus, I have 3 confirmed pairs (confirmed as in eggs have hatched.......)

Interesting notes after I moved the fish into the 300. A couple stopped growing completely. Three really slowed down the growth rate and have since stopped growing. The runt of the batch went through a huge growth spurt. Five kept growing and got nice and huge. The heckles barely grew. The balance, are average (as far as growth)

On to the pics....
This is the last fish I added. He was a trade in/rescue from an LFS. A little stunted when I got him. Growing well now and has "rounded out" some over the past month. I doubt he will get huge, but love the color. Spots are on the glass, not the fish
http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/20161105_110107_zpsutxj5hda.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/20161105_110107_zpsutxj5hda.jpg.html)

The runt
http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/20161105_105925_zps37hmvw1t.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/20161105_105925_zps37hmvw1t.jpg.html)

Still my favorite. One half of one of the three confirmed pairs. No babies yet.
http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/20161105_110451_zpsgaozi2sy.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/20161105_110451_zpsgaozi2sy.jpg.html)

[jdhuyvetter]

Of the three pairs, this was the third that I know laid eggs. Still not 100% sure where they are laying eggs. Did not even know they had eggs the first time until I saw free swimming fry. They are spawning on the backside of on of three pieces of driftwood that are tangled up at the back of the tank. There is an open spot underneath and that is where I see them with the babies. First batch, got them to just under a quarter inch and then overnight...gone. Second batch, got about 30 to just over a quarter inch and about 8-10 to a half inch. Same thing, overnight....gone. Third batch.....got 5 to dime size. Seem to be over the hump with these 5. When I fed them last night, the parents came out with the babies. Babies roamed around a little bit and everyone left them alone.
http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/20161104_160926_zps2ayk0151.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/20161104_160926_zps2ayk0151.jpg.html)

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/20161104_164634_zpssfsej8dr.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/20161104_164634_zpssfsej8dr.jpg.html)

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/20161104_160306_zpsd9rxh8y0.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/20161104_160306_zpsd9rxh8y0.jpg.html)

Dad (I think, based on behavior)
http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/20161105_110516_zps9n1gwea1.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/20161105_110516_zps9n1gwea1.jpg.html)

Mom
http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/20161105_110405_zps6iuvybl9.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/20161105_110405_zps6iuvybl9.jpg.html)

[Filip]

Nice looking discus Jeff . And congrats on the free swimers in your community tank . You must have a very soft and perfect water for discus spawn to hatch in your main tank ?
Do you use RO water?

[jdhuyvetter]

Yes. I do about 60 gallons a week. RODI with about 2 tblsp of Equilibrium.

[jdhuyvetter]

Did not plan on getting back into breeding....but willing to do some grow out if I can catch them. The five big ones (quarter size) are from the Alenquer x F2 RSG cross. The little ones (12, under dime size) are from the Alenquer x Rio Purus cross.

A fourth confirmed pair has formed up now. An F2 RSG female and one of the Tefe Greens. Both are awesome fish. I'm soooooo tempted to pull this pair for breeding.

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/20161218_182553_zps8tlczdvh.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/20161218_182553_zps8tlczdvh.jpg.html)

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/20161218_182620_zps5wnfpzey.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/20161218_182620_zps5wnfpzey.jpg.html)

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/20161218_182559_zpsmmxocvu0.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/20161218_182559_zpsmmxocvu0.jpg.html)

[pastry]

A fourth confirmed pair has formed up now. An F2 RSG female and one of the Tefe Greens. Both are awesome fish. I'm soooooo tempted to pull this pair for breeding.



DO IT! Love seeing updates on this thread Jeff. Reminds me how mine was several years ago with spawns that made it, baby tetras here and there, ... overall loads of entertainment. Trying to get back to that but withought as many plants as I once had.

[Jack L]

just found this thread, pretty neat progression!

[LoGeek]

I just love those solar tubes! Never seen them before but found out they actually sell them here too. The problem is that we're having four hours between sunrise and sunset this time of year, so probably a bad investment. Love the idea of having actual sunlight in your livingroom though ..

[jdhuyvetter]

Well, the Alenquer x Rio Purus pair figured it out. I have a dozen babies in the grow out tank and they immediately spawned again. Raised about 40 up to nickel size in the main tank. Also have confirmed spawns (confirmed as in I have babies in the tank or in the sump) from the Lemon Tetras, Serpae tetras, Gold tetras and Apistogrammas. Snapped a couple quick pics before cleaning the glass and doing a water change

Left side of the tank
http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/20170212_121748_zps8e0mligh.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/20170212_121748_zps8e0mligh.jpg.html)

Right side of the tank
http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/jdhuyvetter/20170212_121804_zpsxsny82uq.jpg (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/jdhuyvetter/media/20170212_121804_zpsxsny82uq.jpg.html)

[Filip]

Great News Jeff . It seems like your whole display tank discus batch had paired :) .
I would just advise you to leave the growout tank BB instead if a sandy bottom.You will have much better results raising those Young's in a BB tank .
Leave a couple of potted plants in the back for your pleasure if you must .