My 85g tank

[waters10]

I'm not planning to create a journal per se, but I'd like to post pictures from my tank every once in a while to get some feedback on how everything is progressing and make sure I'm heading in the right direction.

Equipment:
Filter AC110, Sponge IV for bio and Magnum HOT for polishing
Catalina 3x54w T5HO (4 hours of 1 bulb and 6 hours of 2 bulbs)
25-30% water change every other day
no co2
no ferts for now

Tank as it was about 2 weeks ago:
http://i644.photobucket.com/albums/uu163/waters10_discus/P1000114copy2.jpg

Updated pic, after removing background (was too green for my tastes), adding floaters, fissidens and more narrow leaf java fern:
http://i644.photobucket.com/albums/uu163/waters10_discus/P1000198copy.jpg

My manzanita center piece which holds most of my plants: 3 anubias nana, several narrow leaf java fern and some java moss.
http://i644.photobucket.com/albums/uu163/waters10_discus/P1000189copy.jpg

Here's a group shot of most of my discus:
http://i644.photobucket.com/albums/uu163/waters10_discus/P1000194copy.jpg

Fissidens Fontanus:
http://i644.photobucket.com/albums/uu163/waters10_discus/P1000193copy.jpg

Narrow leaf java fern plantlets. Hope it means I'm doing something right ...
http://i644.photobucket.com/albums/uu163/waters10_discus/P1000195copy.jpg

Floaters (Salvinia and frogbit) held to only a side of the tank with two suction cups and fishing line:
http://i644.photobucket.com/albums/uu163/waters10_discus/P1000196copy.jpg


I'm planning to add a background to hide my filters. I'm thinking some kind of gray cloth or fleece. Any suggestions? I'm tired of the blue/green tone, which doesn't give good contrast to the plants.

I'm considering dosing excel in the near future and maybe some other type of ferts. For now, I'm paying attention to my plants to see if they show any signs of deficiency. I got a new leaf for each of my Anubias Nana and I got a lot of NL java fern plantlets, so I hope these are good signs. I'm getting brown diatom algae, which has been a pain to clean ... Any suggestion on how to handle this?

I'm starting to get tired of my floaters! Since I use two HOT filters, there's quite a lot of surface movement and it's a pain to restrict the floaters to one side of the tank like I wanted to. The suction cups with fishing line works to some extent, but there's always some trespassers! Plus it's a pain when I'm doing my water changes! Any suggestions on how to deal with this better?

[Yassmeena]

Hey!!!

I see you have the moss growing in nicely!!! It looks great, an your DW peices are very nicely adorned!

Since you asked for feedback, I think the tank would like REALLY nice if you put the large peice of DW to one side, and the other two intertwined on the other side on the bottom.

Just a thought... maybe it'll look nice???

I like it alot though!!!!!

You have actually inspired me to get moss for the DW I will be getting. I will order it during the summer though... :)

[poconogal]

I think it all looks great, plants look healthy so far and I love your idea of the "floaters."

Brown diatoms, grrrrrr. If I have my lights on for less time, it doesn't appear much at all (and I only have the one regular strip light that came with my 75 setup). But with the plants, you need the light. I ended up getting rid of my Anubias and Java Fern partly because of the brown stuff and partly because they were in pots and I got tired of having the pots in the way. I was told that a UV would definitely help with this problem and with algae growth in a planted tank, but you need to get the correct size UV and the correct flow as well. Amano Shrimp also work well to rid the tank of the brown. Someone awhile back posted pics of her Anubias covered in brown and then after shots of the Anubias all cleaned up by her Amanos. It was amazing. BNs also eat this stuff, mine love it.

[waters10]

Since you asked for feedback, I think the tank would like REALLY nice if you put the large peice of DW to one side, and the other two intertwined on the other side on the bottom.

Just a thought... maybe it'll look nice???

I like it alot though!!!!!

You have actually inspired me to get moss for the DW I will be getting. I will order it during the summer though... :)
Hey! I like the idea of putting those two pieces of wood on the bottom, but the reason they're up there, is to make it easy to clean up the bare bottom. My goal was to have bare bottom with plants. The center piece is not much of a problem, cause I can move it up when I'm cleaning. When my discus all reach at least 4.5", I'm planning to add substrate and I'll change my hardscape a bit more! I might even go full blown planted with CO2 and all since hopefully by then, I'll be more experienced with the plants.


I think it all looks great, plants look healthy so far and I love your idea of the "floaters."

Brown diatoms, grrrrrr. If I have my lights on for less time, it doesn't appear much at all (and I only have the one regular strip light that came with my 75 setup). But with the plants, you need the light. I ended up getting rid of my Anubias and Java Fern partly because of the brown stuff and partly because they were in pots and I got tired of having the pots in the way. I was told that a UV would definitely help with this problem and with algae growth in a planted tank, but you need to get the correct size UV and the correct flow as well. Amano Shrimp also work well to rid the tank of the brown. Someone awhile back posted pics of her Anubias covered in brown and then after shots of the Anubias all cleaned up by her Amanos. It was amazing. BNs also eat this stuff, mine love it.
What I read is that brown diatom are usually associated with new tanks and they then go away. I don't know if this is my case, since the tank is not new, but the lights and plants are new! This might be my case, cause my anubias were getting covered during the first 2 weeks. I removed the driftwood after that to plant more NL java fern and haven't gotten diatoms on them since then! Right now, it's been a problem on the sides and bottom of my tank. I hope it goes away.

Talking about amanos and BN. I'm thinking about adding some tankmates in the future. I was getting a few true SAE that my LFS sells, but I read that they are moss killers! I'm considering adding amanos but I have to read a bit more to find out if they also eat mosses. I may end up going with a BN as my cleanup crew.

[TankWatcher]

That is a nice looking compromise between BB & planted. Very nice.

[waters10]

You have actually inspired me to get moss for the DW I will be getting. I will order it during the summer though... :)
Depending on when you're ordering and which moss you want, I could give you some. I'll have java moss for sure, since I have to trim it right now already! Now fissidens might be a different story, cause it's such a slow grower and I want to expand it more.



That is a nice looking compromise between BB & planted. Very nice.
Thanks! That was exactly my objective. My first thought was to go with pots, but I never really liked the look. Then I saw that famous angel planted tank by Dan and decided to give it a go. While not as good as his, it got the job done.


Any suggestions on good background cloth and color and how to deal with floaters and HOT filters?

[poconogal]

....What I read is that brown diatom are usually associated with new tanks and they then go away. I don't know if this is my case, since the tank is not new, but the lights and plants are new!...
Not so, at least in my case. :D My tank is definitely not new and it still appears... Awhile back I was going to reopen a SW tank (but this time a nano tank) and while speaking with the guy in my LFS, he emphatically told me to go with RO water otherwise I'd have a tank of brown diatoms due to well water. He used to provide RO water for free for anyone that cared to come down with containers so its not as if he'd be making money on it!

[waters10]

Not so, at least in my case. :D My tank is definitely not new and it still appears... Awhile back I was going to reopen a SW tank (but this time a nano tank) and while speaking with the guy in my LFS, he emphatically told me to go with RO water otherwise I'd have a tank of brown diatoms due to well water. He used to provide RO water for free for anyone that cared to come down with containers so its not as if he'd be making money on it!
I'll keep cleaning for now. It wipes off easily, so although a pain, it could be worse! At least the leaves are intact now, so I can sit and wait to see if it'll go away on its own. If not, I'll consider adding a cleanup crew asap.


Here's a pic with long shutter speed of my moonlights on. I gotta say, moonlights are cool! Not only they look cool, my discus are a lot less likely to jump out of the tank when I turn on the lights in the morning.
http://i644.photobucket.com/albums/uu163/waters10_discus/P1000200copy.jpg

[Wouter van Wielink]

I Love the simplicity of your tank! Looks very Nice!

Wouter

[thebigone]

That is a nice looking tank you have there. Love all the discus. I have to say that I like the way you have to moon lights. I thought about doing that myself.

[waters10]

Thanks guys.


That is a nice looking tank you have there. Love all the discus. I have to say that I like the way you have to moon lights. I thought about doing that myself.

I love moonlights! Always wanted to have them and ended up getting them installed on my fixture. If you're not replacing your fixture, you can get them separately from ebay or other stores. Mine are not dimmable, which I thought it was going to be a problem based on what I read, but I think they are just fine now. But if I was getting them separately, I'd try to get dimmable ones.

[waters10]

Quick update to show some fissidens fontanus growth!

This was taken on 3/18/09, the day I tied it down.
http://i644.photobucket.com/albums/uu163/waters10_discus/P1000173copy.jpg

This was taken tonight 4/02/09.
http://i644.photobucket.com/albums/uu163/waters10_discus/P1000235.jpg

Not OMG growth, but better than I expected, based on what I'm doing: no ferts, no co2, no excel and daily water changes (I'm doing daily for the last week, since I'm dosing meds). The black sewing threads are starting to disappear!

Everything else seems to be growing well. Got 2-3 new leaves from my anubias and I need to trim my java moss already. My floaters are thriving now and I can see how these things can take over a tank!

The bad news is I have a nasty copepods infestation! I'm sure these guys came on one of the plants I bought. I didn't dip in a bleach solution as I should and I'm paying the price. It started on my manzanita centerpiece and around the plants. But now it spread all over the tank bottom! I suck as much as I can during water change, but I'm gonna have to do something about it at some point ... :(

[mehran]

Simple and Beautiful. Good job.
Just a suggestion. On the centerpiece driftwood maybe it is better to put most of your plants at the center and leave the end of branches empty and without any planting so when you have good growth you still can have the good contrast B/W plants and bare branches.
Mehran

[newe70]

Very nice bb planted tank...your discuses color look so vibrant:D

[waters10]

Simple and Beautiful. Good job.
Just a suggestion. On the centerpiece driftwood maybe it is better to put most of your plants at the center and leave the end of branches empty and without any planting so when you have good growth you still can have the good contrast B/W plants and bare branches.
Mehran
Thanks! Yeah, I'm trying to leave the end of branches empty. For now, I only got some java moss on one of the branches. I will not allow the other branch with java moss to get to the tips. I think you're spot on. That's how Dan's tank looks and it's great.


Very nice bb planted tank...your discuses color look so vibrant:D
Thanks! It's all about getting fish from our sponsors here! :)

[Scribbles]

Beautiful tank and I love your discus.

[calihawker]

Really great job on this tank:thumbsup:


Steve

[dean9922]

looks awesome...i'm setting up a new 100 gallon in the next week and that has given me some great ideas....thanks

[cfi on the fly]

You were asking about backgrounds....

Maybe you could be a guinea pig and try out something I found today at Home Depot. They have a spray paint that goes on with a finish like stone. They have a greys and tans in color. I was looking for a color for my background and just didn't have the guts to try it out- went with an aqua smoke color, But I thought that it might look really cool, definately give it some texture. If you try it, give us some feed back. It might be my next background.

By the way these spray paints are super easy to remove with a straight blade, at least on glass tanks.

[waters10]

Thanks, guys.


looks awesome...i'm setting up a new 100 gallon in the next week and that has given me some great ideas....thanks
Post some pics either in a new thread or here! :)


Maybe you could be a guinea pig and try out something I found today at Home Depot. They have a spray paint that goes on with a finish like stone. They have a greys and tans in color. I was looking for a color for my background and just didn't have the guts to try it out- went with an aqua smoke color, But I thought that it might look really cool, definately give it some texture. If you try it, give us some feed back. It might be my next background.

By the way these spray paints are super easy to remove with a straight blade, at least on glass tanks.
That sounds cool, but how am I going to paint a tank that's already set up? Emptying the tank and then painting would be way too much work for me ...

One thing I can say about backgrounds. With the exception of black, every color gets affected by the green tint of the glass. I tried white fleece yesterday and I could clearly see the green tint. I think I might stay with no background for now. If I were on the market today for a show tank, I'd look into starphire glass for the front at least.

[cfi on the fly]

Well I did just that today. Took out all my plants, flourite substrate, driftwood and discus. Took me all day to get the tank torn down, strip the black paint off the back and paint it with a blue green, and but in pool sand filter. Result:

I don't like it.

You are right on with the tank glass affecting the color. I used a blue that we have in one of our bedrooms, I took my tank light and lit up the wall to get an idea of how it would look and I loved it, but in the tank its a totally different color, much to aqua blue-ocean like for me. However:

my agenda was to lighten up my discus and this it certainly did do, almost too well. Now my Blue discus looks almost white, it stood out really well against the black. I guess its a tradeoff, but Im already looking for another color. Maybe I will try the stone background next.

[waters10]

Well I did just that today. Took out all my plants, flourite substrate, driftwood and discus. Took me all day to get the tank torn down, strip the black paint off the back and paint it with a blue green, and but in pool sand filter. Result:

I don't like it.

You are right on with the tank glass affecting the color. I used a blue that we have in one of our bedrooms, I took my tank light and lit up the wall to get an idea of how it would look and I loved it, but in the tank its a totally different color, much to aqua blue-ocean like for me. However:

my agenda was to lighten up my discus and this it certainly did do, almost too well. Now my Blue discus looks almost white, it stood out really well against the black. I guess its a tradeoff, but Im already looking for another color. Maybe I will try the stone background next.
Thanks for reporting back! I bet it was a lot of work! I don't even have substrate and just thinking about doing all this ... :)

Yeah, I'm a bit frustrated with backgrounds. I don't think I'll get a color that I'll be happy with considering the green tint. I think I'll stay with no background and later on I'll get a canister filter, so everything can be hidden.

[Adam Robinson]

GREAT LOOKING TANK

[AquatiCreations]

The only way I have ever deminished Diatoms is by starvation, which of course means adding more plants! The plants out-compete the Diatoms for food,and nutrients.

[waters10]

GREAT LOOKING TANK
Thanks!


The only way I have ever deminished Diatoms is by starvation, which of course means adding more plants! The plants out-compete the Diatoms for food,and nutrients.
It's clear my tank is not totally stable. Diatoms started to disappear last week. I was sure that this happened because my exploding population of copepods was feeding off of it. I saw one patch of diatoms full of copepods disappearing in 2-3 days.

Then starting this week, the copepods populations took a major hit! I have no idea why! I was always siphoning the bottom every day and it wasn't effecting the copepods, so I doubt this was the cause.

So now, I have a lot less diatoms (none on the plants and very few on the back glass, none on the bottom), small copepod population, but I'm starting to see what looks like BBA ... I noticed it for the first time yesterday. Let's see how this evolves. I'm planning to get maybe 2 amano shrimp soon. Hope they can take care of it.

[waters10]

So last week one of my young discus laid eggs without ever forming a pair. She was totally on her own and another discus ended up eating all the eggs.

To my surprise, another one laid eggs today! But this one got the attention of my biggest one, a penang eruption. I couldn't see if he did some runs on the egg, but he's taking care of the eggs on his own. The female was with him, but now she's away and he's on his own. The interesting thing is that another discus that I believe is also a male is trying to get to the eggs. He's shimming and shaking, but the bigger male is not letting this guys get close.

Anyway, here's a zoomed in pic. Apologize for the quality. This was taken with iso 800 and manual focus ...

http://i644.photobucket.com/albums/uu163/waters10_discus/IMG_2047_crop.jpg

Oh and before I forget, the female is a discus from Kenny that I bought from another member here: Yassmeena! :)

[ltgoof]

Hi waters,

Nice tank and discus you have!

AquatiCreations is right, the key to solve diatoms is to make your tank densly planted so that plants out-compete those green monsters.

Any thought of doing the full conversion? Can't wait to see your big move ;)

[waters10]

Most of the eggs are gone by today. There's maybe 15% left. I was expecting all of them to be gone ...


Hi waters,

Nice tank and discus you have!

AquatiCreations is right, the key to solve diatoms is to make your tank densly planted so that plants out-compete those green monsters.

Any thought of doing the full conversion? Can't wait to see your big move ;)
Thanks!

I'd like my fish to grow a bit more before I go full planted. But another problems is budget restrictions! :D I want a canister and a pressurized co2 system. Plus I need to learn more. I'm not ready to make the jump just yet.

And to be honest, I'm having second thoughts if I should spend money on this conversion or investing in a small fish corner (not even a room) in my basement. I pitched the idea to upper management AKA the wife, and she didn't freak out like I was expecting her to. ;)

[ApacheDan]

Yeah, I'm a bit frustrated with backgrounds. I don't think I'll get a color that I'll be happy with considering the green tint. I think I'll stay with no background and later on I'll get a canister filter, so everything can be hidden.

I'm going through the same growing pains with my new 300 gal show tank. I found something that works really good for backgrounds: go to Home Depot & get those insulation styrofoam boards, the ones used to seat aquarium tanks on & paint them any color you want! You only have to glue them with clear silicone and you're done. Don't like the color? just rip them off & start again. I use a roller & it pretty much covers even, with some touch-up with brushes. Think about all the painting possibilities... Styro are real cheap & easy to paint, plus it gives the background some 3-D effect versus just straight painting the tank.:D

[Eddie]

Most of the eggs are gone by today. There's maybe 15% left. I was expecting all of them to be gone ...


Thanks!

I'd like my fish to grow a bit more before I go full planted. But another problems is budget restrictions! :D I want a canister and a pressurized co2 system. Plus I need to learn more. I'm not ready to make the jump just yet.

And to be honest, I'm having second thoughts if I should spend money on this conversion or investing in a small fish corner (not even a room) in my basement. I pitched the idea to upper management AKA the wife, and she didn't freak out like I was expecting her to. ;)


Upper management, LOL that is a classic. Good one

Eddie

[Yassmeena]

So last week one of my young discus laid eggs without ever forming a pair. She was totally on her own and another discus ended up eating all the eggs.

To my surprise, another one laid eggs today! But this one got the attention of my biggest one, a penang eruption. I couldn't see if he did some runs on the egg, but he's taking care of the eggs on his own. The female was with him, but now she's away and he's on his own. The interesting thing is that another discus that I believe is also a male is trying to get to the eggs. He's shimming and shaking, but the bigger male is not letting this guys get close.

Anyway, here's a zoomed in pic. Apologize for the quality. This was taken with iso 800 and manual focus ...

http://i644.photobucket.com/albums/uu163/waters10_discus/IMG_2047_crop.jpg

Oh and before I forget, the female is a discus from Kenny that I bought from another member here: Yassmeena! :)

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!! The pigeonsnake!!!! That's so nice to hear Fabricio!!!!!!

Keep us posted!!!! :D:D:D:D

[waters10]

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!! The pigeonsnake!!!! That's so nice to hear Fabricio!!!!!!

Keep us posted!!!! :D:D:D:D
Yep, that's her! Do you recognize her in that picture?? ;)

[Yassmeena]

Yep, that's her! Do you recognize her in that picture?? ;)

LOL - I actually do!

[Yassmeena]

So... what happened with the eggs Fabricio? I was telling my family about it last night. :)

[waters10]

So... what happened with the eggs Fabricio? I was telling my family about it last night. :)
Next morning there were a handful only, with half of them white. Today, there were only 2-3 left and now it's all gone. I was already expecting this.

The interesting thing is that the other fish the other fish (the one in my avatar) that I thought was a male and was trying to get close to the eggs, is actually a female! I know that cause she also laid eggs last night! It's crazy in the last month, 3 females laid eggs ... Only 1 pair formed (Pigeon SS/Penang Eruption) which I don't really care about! I'd like my PE to pair up with my RSG now that I know they are male/female. Let's see how things progress!

[jitbug]

Great tank and fish!
Would you please tell me what type of discus you have in your tank? Thanks!

[Yassmeena]

Next morning there were a handful only, with half of them white. Today, there were only 2-3 left and now it's all gone. I was already expecting this.

The interesting thing is that the other fish the other fish (the one in my avatar) that I thought was a male and was trying to get close to the eggs, is actually a female! I know that cause she also laid eggs last night! It's crazy in the last month, 3 females laid eggs ... Only 1 pair formed (Pigeon SS/Penang Eruption) which I don't really care about! I'd like my PE to pair up with my RSG now that I know they are male/female. Let's see how things progress!

Keep us posted then! :)

[waters10]

Great tank and fish!
Would you please tell me what type of discus you have in your tank? Thanks!
Thanks! I have 8 in my tank: Blue Diamond, Yellow Diamond, Penang Eruption from Michael Beals/Jeff Yang. Then Red Golden Diamond, Blue Scorpion, White Butterfly, Red Spotted Green Domestic and Pigeon Snakeskin from Kenny/Forrest.


Keep us posted then! :)
Will do. At the moment, no eggs.

[saltyshoe_nano]

what kind of drift wood is that its sweet I would love to put something like the hangin ones! how did you do that? glue it to a mag float?

sorry im kinda a newbee lol