MarcVargas
09-12-2018, 10:34 PM
Ok first i want to apologize out of the gate since this will be a very long post. Out of my 46 years on this earth I have had fish in one way shape or form for 40 years. With several tropical tanks when I was younger I dove in to a 180g reef tank about 12 years ago. Due to a divorce I had to get rid of everything. After a few years out of having a tank I dove back in to the reef hobby with a used 135g. I don't like to go cheap on anything so I would rather wait then buy something twice. So for a year I accumulated everything that I would need for this tank and dove in 1 1/2 years ago. I have decided to get out of the saltwater hobby go back in to Discus. My decision is based on that i have found saltwater can either break you or it will break you. Its very expensive and I have tried to beat several different issue in my tank and once I get ahead something else happens. So I am throwing in the towel on that and starting a new chapter. SO I am going to list my equipment let you know my thoughts on what I want to do and then ask for some advice or suggestions. I dis have a discus tank 15+ years ago but I do know things have changed dramatically.
Equipment:
135 gallon tank (4'w X 2' deep X 28" tall) (tank is on the main floor of my house)
Custom built advanced acrylics sump 60 gallon (sump is in a dedicated fish room in the basement)
75 gallon fuge in basement
2x AI (aqua illumination) Hydra 52's
1x AI Hydra 26
GHL Profilux 4 controller ultimate set includes ph, conductivity, 2x temp probes and redox
GHL KH Director
GHL 2.1 Stand alone doser
GHL 2.1 Slave Doser
GHL Expansion Box
3x GHL Powerbars
3x 5000ml dosing tanks with GHL magnetic stirrer
2x Maxspect 230xf gyre with controller
2x Maxspect 250xf gyre with controller
8 stage RO/DI 150 gpd (2x sediment, 2x carbon block. 1x big blue chloramine remover, 2x di and the membrane)
2x 60 gallon holding tanks
1x Tunze ATO
2x 500watt Finnex heaters
Blueline 70HD return pump ( moves water vertically 16' and horizontally 12')
I have been reading a lot. Have asked a few questions. But want some opinions on my thoughts. I am going to clean everything very thoroughly. Tank with muratic acid to get rid of coraline and other things that have grown in it. I will clean the fuge and sump. Try and clean the pipes as best I can. Sump and fish room will stay in the basement as is.
I want to have a planted Discus tank. I will take thieving very slow initially and start off with some simple easy potted plants. But if everything goes good I would like to increase the amount of plants and possibly add a CO2 system if required. The tank will have driftwood and aquascpaed very nicely.
Should I go with plant media as a base with fine black sand over this. I really like the look of a darker tank with very bright Discus?
I will start the tank with about 12x Rummy Nose Tetras and then add about 12x Cardinal and or Neon Tetras. I will also have a couple of Cory cats and some sort of rare smaller Pleco. This will take a couple of months to accomplish and then I will add 2x 3-4" Discus per month after that until I get a total of around 8.
The main tank will dump into the fuge initially and this will have about 40-60lbs of Miracle Mud with plants to suck up alot of the nutrients and shrimp in the fuge. The fuge then dumps in to the sump which will have mechanical and biological filtration.
I plan on selling the AI LED lights as they are not needed for Freshwater and I can buy a new freshwater light and equipment with the money I will get for these lights. I would like some recommendations on lighting that will be needed. (GHL does make a freshwater light but its not cheap)
I do not plan to breed anything so I dont think I need the RO/DI but you never know :). From what I was told I could use regular old aged tap water. I will be checking my water parameters out of the faucet as I am not sure what they are since I used a RO/DI and did not care what they were initially. I know my TDS is 320 before it goes in to the ro/di. But my water here in the country seems to have a lot of minerals as we get black rings in our toilets.
If I can use tap water then I will keep the 2x 60 gallon drums to age and heat my water. To perform my water changes I was thinking about getting a GHL Maxi doser to perform this all day long. Here is my thoughts on this 120gal in main display, 60 gal in the fuge and 30 in my sump that is a total of about 210 gallons. since I estimate 120 gallons in the display if I change out 30 gallons a day then I would be changing out 25% daily. The water in the sump and fuge should not be adding to the bio load of the system correct? Would this be enough?
I keep 1x heater in the sump and 1x in the tank controlled by my P4. Are there any trace elements that will need to be dosed?
I plan on selling a lot of my equipment that will not be used.
I am sure I will think of more but I think this is enough to start with....
Equipment:
135 gallon tank (4'w X 2' deep X 28" tall) (tank is on the main floor of my house)
Custom built advanced acrylics sump 60 gallon (sump is in a dedicated fish room in the basement)
75 gallon fuge in basement
2x AI (aqua illumination) Hydra 52's
1x AI Hydra 26
GHL Profilux 4 controller ultimate set includes ph, conductivity, 2x temp probes and redox
GHL KH Director
GHL 2.1 Stand alone doser
GHL 2.1 Slave Doser
GHL Expansion Box
3x GHL Powerbars
3x 5000ml dosing tanks with GHL magnetic stirrer
2x Maxspect 230xf gyre with controller
2x Maxspect 250xf gyre with controller
8 stage RO/DI 150 gpd (2x sediment, 2x carbon block. 1x big blue chloramine remover, 2x di and the membrane)
2x 60 gallon holding tanks
1x Tunze ATO
2x 500watt Finnex heaters
Blueline 70HD return pump ( moves water vertically 16' and horizontally 12')
I have been reading a lot. Have asked a few questions. But want some opinions on my thoughts. I am going to clean everything very thoroughly. Tank with muratic acid to get rid of coraline and other things that have grown in it. I will clean the fuge and sump. Try and clean the pipes as best I can. Sump and fish room will stay in the basement as is.
I want to have a planted Discus tank. I will take thieving very slow initially and start off with some simple easy potted plants. But if everything goes good I would like to increase the amount of plants and possibly add a CO2 system if required. The tank will have driftwood and aquascpaed very nicely.
Should I go with plant media as a base with fine black sand over this. I really like the look of a darker tank with very bright Discus?
I will start the tank with about 12x Rummy Nose Tetras and then add about 12x Cardinal and or Neon Tetras. I will also have a couple of Cory cats and some sort of rare smaller Pleco. This will take a couple of months to accomplish and then I will add 2x 3-4" Discus per month after that until I get a total of around 8.
The main tank will dump into the fuge initially and this will have about 40-60lbs of Miracle Mud with plants to suck up alot of the nutrients and shrimp in the fuge. The fuge then dumps in to the sump which will have mechanical and biological filtration.
I plan on selling the AI LED lights as they are not needed for Freshwater and I can buy a new freshwater light and equipment with the money I will get for these lights. I would like some recommendations on lighting that will be needed. (GHL does make a freshwater light but its not cheap)
I do not plan to breed anything so I dont think I need the RO/DI but you never know :). From what I was told I could use regular old aged tap water. I will be checking my water parameters out of the faucet as I am not sure what they are since I used a RO/DI and did not care what they were initially. I know my TDS is 320 before it goes in to the ro/di. But my water here in the country seems to have a lot of minerals as we get black rings in our toilets.
If I can use tap water then I will keep the 2x 60 gallon drums to age and heat my water. To perform my water changes I was thinking about getting a GHL Maxi doser to perform this all day long. Here is my thoughts on this 120gal in main display, 60 gal in the fuge and 30 in my sump that is a total of about 210 gallons. since I estimate 120 gallons in the display if I change out 30 gallons a day then I would be changing out 25% daily. The water in the sump and fuge should not be adding to the bio load of the system correct? Would this be enough?
I keep 1x heater in the sump and 1x in the tank controlled by my P4. Are there any trace elements that will need to be dosed?
I plan on selling a lot of my equipment that will not be used.
I am sure I will think of more but I think this is enough to start with....