800 Litre Stendker Alenquer

[harper]

Hi, first post on here - been looking on the site for a while now.

I've kept discus before quite successfully, but my recent tank was only 280 litres and I started thinking about discus again, but decided it was too small for what I wanted. I had a wooden stand that I'd had built for a bigger tank and sump a few years ago so I decided to go for it. The plan is for an (approximate) biotope, tank about 600 litres and sump about 140 (total water volume about 195 US Gallon), with an internal overflow leading to an external box with Bean Animal overflow setup. The tank size is 53"x28"x28", and decor will be a thin layer of sand on the bottom with some indian almond leaves. Didn't realise just how much planning and design this was going to involve - its probably taken 4 months to get to this stage!

This is my old tank :

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So after strengthening the floor where the tank was going to sit, re-flooring the room, building a hood, pipework etc etc, I got set up and filled one week ago.
My planned stocking for the tank is going to be :-

6 Corydoras Sterbai
6 Corydoras Duplicareus
20 Marble Hatchets
25 Cardinals
8-10 Stendker Alenquer Discus

Some pics so far :-

Floor Strengthening
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Tank Arrived and Original Sump Set-up
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I had originally set up with a Eheim 5000 pump mounted externally, but the vibration and hum was so loud I could hear it in my bedroom above the room where the tank is! I've changed the set-up to have the pump inside the sump with the return pipe now on hangers so it can move - this has worked a treat and cut down the noise massively. The Bean Animal overflow is completely silent - there is only a slight trickle of water as the water overflows the internal overflow box. Not sure I'd buy another Eheim 5000 mind you, there must be something quieter available. When I filled the tank some of the wood has floated, hence the temporary rocks. Still to rearrange and also remove a lot of sand as I have far too much in there.

Wood In & Light Unit fitted
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Tank Filled
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Any comments or questions are welcome, especially about my planned stocking levels!

Cheers

[Adam S]

Looks good.

I think you'd be better off with 12+ sterbai instead of 6 of each. Cories school and interact much better in larger groups of their own species.

[kalawai]

The tank looks great! I have to agree with Adam on having one big school of single species of Cories but sometimes it can be hard to find this time of the year..
I dig the layout .....you are right planning and setting up a big tank can take a while...I’m still planning and getting items for my big monster tank. I think it’s a good thing to take it slow on setting up a tank anyway,so you can get what you want and putting the plan together.

[DiscusBR]

Very beautiful setup! Great work. However, it is not a biotope. As per Wikipedia:

"The term 'biotope' is also used by aquarium hobbyists to describe an aquarium setup that tries to simulate the natural habitat of specific fish. The idea is to replicate conditions such as water parameters, natural plants, water type (fresh, saline or brackish), lighting, and to include other native fish which usually live together in nature".

To qualify as biotope your tank would need to have all plants and fish from the same river/natural habitat in the Amazon.

But who cares! You have built an amazing setup and that is what matters. Congratulations.

[Jack L]

looks good, nice updates.
where is the pump now though, you said sump but i don't see it.

[harper]

Thanks for the comments!

DiscusBR I agree its not a proper biotope with my planned stocking, more a generic South American 'biotope-style' tank. I get the comments about having a single species of Corydoras - I've kept multiple species together fine before, if the Duplicareus in my LFS weren't so expensive I'd maybe go for 12 of those, we'll see - I like Sterbai too.

Jack L, the pump maybe wasn't clear in the pics but here it is in the photo below. I'm thinking my sump is maybe too small - I'm topping up every 2-3 days due to evaporation, and the operating level is lower than I'd like, so thinking about going a bit bigger, and getting glass covers for the sump and the main tank. Sorted the tank out a bit more now so its looking more like I planned

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[harper]

Thanks for the comments!
I agree the tank isn't a strict biotope, more a loose South American blackwater style tank. I get the comments Re: the Corydoras, I have kept groups of multiple species before, but the reason I was going to have 6 Sterbai and 6 Duplicareus is that the Duplicareus in my LFS are really expensive - however I may have sourced some from a breeder so may go for 12-15 Duplicareus. Also thinking that the sump is a bit smaller than I'd like, I'm topping up every 2-3 days due to evaporation, so I'm going to look into a bigger sump and glass covers for sump and tank. Sorted out the wood now, and pic below showing the pump in the sump Jack L
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[harper]

Time for an update, tank is cycled and doing well - I've gradually added fish and my stocking is now :-

40 Cardinals
16 Corydoras Duplicareus
7 German Blue Rams

Decided not to go for the marble hatchets as I think the surface agitation might have been too much for them. I've also got 8 Stendker Alenquer on order! They arrive from Germany next week with the supplier (Devotedly Discus in Essex), so I should get them in 2-3 weeks.

I've also upgraded my sump, the new one is full length underneath the main tank and slightly taller with a volume of 200 litres, so this takes me up to 800 litres total volume (210 US gal.)

Some poor quality pics :-

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[harper]

These are my Stendker Alenquers, courtesey of Devotedly Discus's webcam - they arrive on friday!

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[Jack L]

coming along nicely i like the corys

[pastry]

I can't wait to see those alenquers in your tank! Please please plenty of pictures!

[Luke in Phoenix]

Dang, I've never seen anybody make their floor stronger for a big tank. That's dedication! I guess we're lucky to have mostly slab foundations in the Southwest.
Tank looks awesome! I like the sump.

[harper]

Thanks! Didn't want to take any risks with the floor - as you can see in the photos the joists aren't evenly spaced, and were also further apart than I'd expected so better safe than sorry. Having to take it down to repair the floor would have been a real pain!

Cories are growing well, still to show full colour I think

[harper]

Fish have arrived! I acclimatised them for about 3 hours before putting into the tank, so happy with them. They are all 5.5" - 6" total length, think the other fish got a bit of a shock when they went in - the cardinals have always schooled pretty well in this tank, but even more so now! The rams constant squabbling seems to have calmed down a bit, but I'm sure once they all get used to each other everything will go back to normal.

Once the discus have settled better I'll try and get some decent pics and maybe a video. This is the first time I've had Stendker discus and I'm delighted with the quality of them, also glad I only went for 8 discus as the tank doesn't seem too busy which is what I wanted.

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[pastry]

Well done, Harper! Shoot, at that size I'll be surprised if you don't have action before a month's time

[Cosmo]

Nice :)

[jmf3460]

Holy cow OP this setup is absolutely stunning. You should enter it in the photo contest

[harper]

Thanks for the comments! I'm thinking about entering the photo contest, if only I could get a good photo with my phone!

The discus are settling in well now and the stress bars have diminished a lot, also had my first eggs today (8 days after they arrived) - all gone by tonight though.

The rams are also spawning a lot, had three spawns by different pairs this weekend, again they don't last too long though - not seen any get to the wriggler stage yet. In the bottom photo you can see the pits they are digging, one in each corner of the tank

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[Second Hand Pat]

A beautiful tank harper and nicely done. That larger sump was needed IMO :)
Pat

[4qua]

Beautiful tank you have there

[harper]

Time for an update, need to change this thread title as I've changed things a bit and gone planted!

Discus are doing really well, and although I hadn't really noticed, comparing some of my older pics I think they have grown a bit too.
I have lost a couple of rams so down to 1 male and 5 females, and my cardinals numbers have been slowly diminishing, think I am down to around 20 now

I've also completed my HMA filter/aging barrel set-up, a pic of that included in mid-build. I notice the fish definitely look more colourful than they did pre-HMA, and the water seems to be really crystal clear

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[dagray]

very nice setup. Great looking tank.

[Filip]

Your tank planted set up and your Alenqs look stunning Harper . Great job. Allthough not a biotope looking set up , I like your current tank look better .
I wonder what's your curent feeding and WC regime given the fact that you have almost 100 l of water per discus?

[harper]

Thanks! I feed 3 times a day, beefheart mix, frozen brine shrimp & tetra prima. My aging barrels hold 220 litres each so I can change 440 litres at a time, I do that once a week at the moment

[Adam S]

Harper, I nominated your second picture on post 21 for the October photo of the month contest. I really like the simplicity and black/white contrast your tank has. It gives the fish a nice distant effect, and the anubias really stand out.

On the full tank shot though, the plants tend to draw attention non-specifically towards the top of the tank. It would really balance out the appearance if some of the plants were situated lower and drew attention to something more specific, like an opening in the wood, a left or right third of the tank, etc.

[Mando]

The fish, aquarium, stand, everything is stunning! because of you, I went to Jack Wattleys today and got me an Alanquer. :) Keep up the good work and keep us posted.

[Paul Sabucchi]

A big thumbs up from me too

[Pices]

How did I miss this thread? Your tank and discus are beautiful!
Patty

[FischAutoTechGarten]

When I was single, 25 years ago, I rented a Duplex. The landlords lived in the other unit. When I told them I wanted to purchase a 120 gal aquarium (61cm x 61cm x 122cm) w/ oak stand and canopy they asked me go into the basement and reinforce the floor joices immediately underneath the tank before I did anything. I obliged.

Interesting a house in Scotland without a full basement. Is that common? To have just a crawl space under the homes there?

Back on topic. Very nice selection of fish!

[xKevinx]

This is really nice looking!! So awesome! Black background is sweet.. Makes plants and fish pop!
What is HMA your talking about?

[harper]

Thanks for all the comments! And thanks Adam S for the nomination - I have since got a couple of decent sized Anubias Hastafolia which are at a lower level, going to try and post a video soon.

Mando I'm quite old school when it comes to fish varieties, I generally prefer wild-type colour variants - and really glad I went for Alenquers. If I had a fish house I'm sure I'd have more varities of discus, but not at that point yet.

ODwyerPW, basements are absolutely not the norm in Scotland, if they were I'd already have my fish house!!

And HMA stands for (I think) Heavy Metal Axe - sounds like a guitar, but mine is a three stage filter that I run the water through on its way into my aging barrels, it has a 1 micron sediment filter, carbon filter to remove chlorine & choloramine, and a third filter to remove traces of heavy metals, for example from lead piping

[harper]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btzrfxRyKE0&t=9s

[danotaylor]

beautiful mate...what a serene combo of aquascape & aquatic species...very peaceful to watch... thanks for sharing!

[Mando]

I re-read your post and realized you did not talk much about your water setup. How is this process? I see an RO system, but are you solely using RO water or you mix? do you add any additives/minerals?

I purchased a redsea aquarium, but I'm not liking how their sump directs the water through it. Might go with something like yours however, my space is limited.

[harper]

Thanks danotaylor. Mando I use a HMA filter which isn't as comprehensive as RO, my tap water is very soft so a RO unit isn't needed. I add some GH boost to the barrels, some trace elements for the plants, and aerate and heat for about 24 hrs before a water change. I also have some crushed oyster shell both in my aging barrels and in my sump to give some buffering capacity, since the water here is so soft