Trung's 170 gals discus setup

[trungnguyen]

Hi all,

I'm working on my new setup for my discus. This time will be a display tank where houses around 10-15 discus.

Tank is acrylic, made by Advanced Acrylic. Dimension 60x24x27, thickness is 3/4"
Sump is acrylic also, dimension 40x18x20, thickness is 1/2", wet and dry

Sketches:
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Products:
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[trungnguyen]

About the stand, I built the stand by myself and it came out very good to me.
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Did the waterproof painting inside and had a chance to install the moldings outside
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and final product
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[trungnguyen]

Tank and sump are up on the stand
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[BmoreBraap]

Wow fantastic job on the stand. Overall great setup. Thats my next project also, need to get rid of this crap mdf board petsmart stand asap!

[magplate]

Very nice tank and great work on the stand!

[Second Hand Pat]

Wow, super nice job on the stand. Looks very professional. What a nice tank, sump and stand combo. You will have fun with this. Guess the plumping is the next step?
Pat

[PAR23]

Very Nice.....Can't wait to see the finished product

[Dhavalsp]

great craftsmanship...and nice tank...looking forward to more pictures..

[Leland F.]

Very nice. Who built the tank and sump?

-Leland

[trungnguyen]

Wow fantastic job on the stand. Overall great setup. Thats my next project also, need to get rid of this crap mdf board petsmart stand asap!

Thank you Matt. I just enjoyed building it.

[trungnguyen]

Very nice tank and great work on the stand!

Thanks Steve

[trungnguyen]

Wow, super nice job on the stand. Looks very professional. What a nice tank, sump and stand combo. You will have fun with this. Guess the plumping is the next step?
Pat

Thanks Pat. I took a break last year due to wedding and personal issues. Now I am coming back, so I just want to take time to build my dream tanks. Guess what? Tank and sump are gifts from my wife....hehe

[trungnguyen]

Very Nice.....Can't wait to see the finished product

Thanks buddy


great craftsmanship...and nice tank...looking forward to more pictures..

Thanks Dhaval. More pictures to come for sure

[trungnguyen]

Very nice. Who built the tank and sump?

-Leland

Thanks Leland. Advanced Acrylic built the tank and sump for me.

[trungnguyen]

Applied the frosted window film as background for my tank. I thought putting the screen protector for iphone/ipad is hard already, but this one is even harder. However, I managed good. There are still some bubbles here and there though
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[atlantadiscus]

Looks great! The finishing touch will be to build a matching canopy!

[Phillydubs]

Really nice I can't wait to see it wet!!!

[Jack L]

looks great, nice use of molding on the stand.

[Jenene]

Love the clean look of it and the stand it gorgeous. I particularly love the blue inside the stand. It sets the sump apart and will make it easier to see during maintenance instead of the clear and white walls and floor of the sump blending in to white paint in the stand- very smart.

I noticed the smaller tank in the back ground- you have it all going on at once! What will you do with that one? Can't wait to see the finished and furnished tank with fish.

[trungnguyen]

Looks great! The finishing touch will be to build a matching canopy!

Thanks but I never like the canopy for some reasons. Keeping discus means high temp water and the evaporation is very high, so canopy would not last long. Plus, I love the open space on top of the tank for easier maintenance.


Really nice I can't wait to see it wet!!!

I will soon.


looks great, nice use of molding on the stand.

Thanks


Love the clean look of it and the stand it gorgeous. I particularly love the blue inside the stand. It sets the sump apart and will make it easier to see during maintenance instead of the clear and white walls and floor of the sump blending in to white paint in the stand- very smart.

I noticed the smaller tank in the back ground- you have it all going on at once! What will you do with that one? Can't wait to see the finished and furnished tank with fish.

Thanks Jenene. I painted a coat of water protection inside the stand before painting blue. In case if water drips or sump or hoses got leaked, the water would not damage much inside the stand.
The small tank was a reef tank, and I just took it down and planning to do the planted tank. Not sure it will be up or not since I have been so busy with this big tank already.

[trungnguyen]

Update on tank:
I had a chance to work on plumbing, light hanger, and driftwoods.
Plumbing: I basically use soft plastic water hose for draining and return water. Return pump is Jebao DCT Marine Controllable DCT-12000
Lighting is my old light, Current USA LED light and 2 yellow LED lights from iKea for night time
Driftwood: I attached the small pieces together by zipties and they look like a big tree root under the water. My tank theme is about Amazon biotope
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and it is wet...

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[rickztahone]

Very nice. This is exactly the type of build I would make myself. I love all DIY. You should be very proud of yourself for that stand.

Have you considered painting the bulkheads white? That may clean up the distraction point of the black.

subbed and following.

Where are you getting the discus?

[Jack L]

Thanks but I never like the canopy for some reasons. Keeping discus means high temp water and the evaporation is very high, so canopy would not last long. Plus, I love the open space on top of the tank for easier maintenance.



I will soon.



Thanks



Thanks Jenene. I painted a coat of water protection inside the stand before painting blue. In case if water drips or sump or hoses got leaked, the water would not damage much inside the stand.
The small tank was a reef tank, and I just took it down and planning to do the planted tank. Not sure it will be up or not since I have been so busy with this big tank already.

i agree about canopy, i always had them before. but now with the simplicity of LED lighting i do not have all the hardware to hide. I wasn't sure if i'd like it without the hood, but now prefer the look without the hood. my son commented on his own that tanks with hoods make the aquarium seem smaller.

[Jack L]

its looking really nice.
idea for the wood, you could drill and connect with plastic dowels or wooden dowels, and not have zip ties.

[trungnguyen]

Very nice. This is exactly the type of build I would make myself. I love all DIY. You should be very proud of yourself for that stand.

Have you considered painting the bulkheads white? That may clean up the distraction point of the black.

subbed and following.

Where are you getting the discus?

Thanks Ricardo. I enjoyed your building thread as well along with a reef build. I thought about the idea of painting the bulkheads and those draining dishes as well, but for some reasons I don't want to use any kind of chemical inside the tank even some of them are safe for aquarium and many people have proved using them.

About fish, I have been quarantining and growing a small group of discus since Christmas. I got them from David USA Angelfish, and they are about 2.5'' - 3". I am also doing a quarantine for a group of wild caught altum angelfish as well. They are all doing well. I will post pics of the fish later.


its looking really nice.
idea for the wood, you could drill and connect with plastic dowels or wooden dowels, and not have zip ties.
Thanks for the idea. I will look into that.

[trungnguyen]

Small group of discus has been in QT and growing. They are 4 super blue angel, 4 super galaxy, and 1 heckle corss. They are from David USA Angelfish and Discus in Florida. They are doing good so far with eating bh mix, bio gold pellets, and FDBW
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I also have had 8 wild caught altum angelfish have been in QT with meds, and they will go to the main tank first when the tank is cycled. My goal is to grow the altum in the main tank and the discus in the grow out tank. I will move the discus into the main tank when they are about 5 inches and above.

20 Sterbai cory catfish, 6 roseline sharks, 10 balloon rams, and 2 albino bushynose plecos are also in QT process as well.

[Filip]

Great tank , stand and discus Altogether Trung .
Can't wait to see the grown discus swimming alltogether with Altums and Sterbais in this beauty .

[Dhavalsp]

this is going to be a massive project...cant wait for next update...

[trungnguyen]

Great tank , stand and discus Altogether Trung .
Can't wait to see the grown discus swimming alltogether with Altums and Sterbais in this beauty .
Thanks Filip. The tank seems doing good so far. I just did 90% wc today to help the cycle along with taking out the tannin color in water out. If everything is good, the. i will put a bottle bacteria in and move fish in next weekend.

this is going to be a massive project...cant wait for next update...
Thanks Dhavalsp.

[pastry]

Beautifully simple set up. Put them in already!!!!! J/k :antlers: can't wait to see more

[Kyla]

love the frosted background. wish i had thought of it before placing and filling my tank! excited to see the fish go in there

[rickztahone]

love the frosted background. wish i had thought of it before placing and filling my tank! excited to see the fish go in there

The frosting backing is so easy to install that I can tell you with confidence that isn't too late for you to do it in your tank. Even if it is up and running

[Kyla]

The frosting backing is so easy to install that I can tell you with confidence that isn't too late for you to do it in your tank. Even if it is up and running

maybe you are right. i would need to think of a way to press it down tho. the tank is a 180gal so im not sure how i would reach behind it to press it down in the middle area.

[trungnguyen]

maybe you are right. i would need to think of a way to press it down tho. the tank is a 180gal so im not sure how i would reach behind it to press it down in the middle area.

Kyla, is that anyway you could pull the tank out a bit so you could go behind the tank to install the frosted window film. The process to apply it is the same way we install screen protectors for iPhone and iPad. All you need is a small spraying bottle mixing drinking water and few drop of dishwashing soap. The soap will smoothen the film when we apply it. Then you can use a card like old credit card to sweep the bubles and water out and let it dry. I did my best but there are still some tiny bubbles here and there. Lol

[Kyla]

it would be a job to move the tank, i cant budge it even when its empty lol, but ill think about it

[trungnguyen]

Update:
I moved the altum and other fish to the main tank, and they have been doing good with 20-30% daily water change. I notice the altum have grown a bit faster than I expect.
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[trungnguyen]

Discus is still doing good so far in grow out tank with daily feeding and wc
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[Phillydubs]

Looking so nice ! I love that piece of wood it's gorgeous.

If I may make a suggestion. Ditch that clay cave looking thing andnlook up cichlids stones or a real looking rock that hollow as a cave. You have this gorgeous bootie feel then boom this man made clay lump. Again just my opinion

[Jack L]

Very nice,
+1 to Philly dubs clay hut idea

[trungnguyen]

Looking so nice ! I love that piece of wood it's gorgeous.

If I may make a suggestion. Ditch that clay cave looking thing andnlook up cichlids stones or a real looking rock that hollow as a cave. You have this gorgeous bootie feel then boom this man made clay lump. Again just my opinion


Very nice,
+1 to Philly dubs clay hut idea

I agree with you guys about the clay huts, but wife and family love them, so I just leave them there for now. Maybe when the fish grow bigger, I will have the excuse to remove them. Hehe
Thanks everyone for the compliments and suggestions to make my dream tank process becomes betters. I really appreciate you all.

[ktm4us6]

very nice tank. Love your Altums and Discus

[trungnguyen]

Some updates:
I was growing the discus group in the patio, but there was an electric issue and lost the power in the patio due to storms. I had to move them into the main tank and been having growing them along with altum angelfish. I feed them multiple times with bh mix, bh flake, fdbw, and frozen worms during the day along with 50%. I hope they will turn out good.
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[rickztahone]

Nice. The tank looks huge

[trungnguyen]

Nice. The tank looks huge

Thanks Ricardo. It's 170 gals and fish is still small. Haha