The Beginning.....

[Chad Hughes]

Well tomorrow is the day. Should be picking up the shipment first thing in the morning. I just finished up with the planting of the new tank and ran the diatom to clear any residual cloudiness. I'm anxious to see it grown out. Regardless, the showpiece of this tank will obviously be the discus.

I was just about to snap off a bunch of shots tonight and realized that I needed to charge the battery on the camera. I got the blinking battery of death on the LCD. Not good for tomorrow's arrival. Anyway, put that on charge and snapped a quick shot with the cell phone. It's not the best, but tomorrow I'll be able to get better shots with a real camera.

More to follow!

Best wishes!

[Mr Wild]

Chad that is looking great! I am sure they will love it. Its already Thursday here how much longer do you have to wait?

[Chad Hughes]

Hey Kath!

Well, it's 11:00 pm here now. I figure they should be available for pickup around 8 or 9 am? I'm about to go to bed, so no real waiting, just a wake up! LOL! Thanks for the kind words! I'm sure they'll love it too.

Best wishes!

[two utes]

I know exactly what your feeling. Good luck with the pick up tomorrow. I look forward to seeing some pictures of your new arrivals in their new home. :)

[Mr Wild]

I know exactly what your feeling. Good luck with the pick up tomorrow. I look forward to seeing some pictures of your new arrivals in their new home. :)

Agreed two utes, it is very exciting!

[rickztahone]

good luck tomorrow Chad, the tank looks great.

[Eddie]

Looks great Chad! Even for a camera phone, great photo. Can't wait to see them beauty's in tank!

Eddie

[TankWatcher]

Looks very nice Chad. Not long to wait now. Dream nice dreams full of discus in the meantime.

[Chad Hughes]

Hey guys and gals!

Thanks for the great comments. I really appreciate the support. So here's the the results of the FedEx tracker...... They're here!

May 21, 2009 6:51 AM
At local FedEx facility
SAN DIEGO, CA

May 21, 2009 4:41 AM
At dest sort facility
SAN DIEGO, CA

May 21, 2009 4:36 AM
Departed FedEx location
INDIANAPOLIS, IN

May 21, 2009 12:10 AM
Arrived at FedEx location
INDIANAPOLIS, IN

May 20, 2009 7:52 PM
Left FedEx origin facility
NORTH HAVEN, CT

May 20, 2009 4:39 PM
Picked up
NORTH HAVEN, CT


The facility doesn't open for another hour or so. I'll be the first one at the door! LOL! I'll be posting a bunch of pictures later today.

Best wishes!

[Eddie]

woohoo! Excited for you Chad!

Eddie

[calihawker]

Exciting stuff Chad.:D
The tank looks awesome! Can't wait to see those babies in there.;)

[kirkp]

Chad,

Tank looks great. Can't wait to see your fish in there. Gotta go. My fish have arrived at the facility and in fact just got a call.

Kirk

[Chad Hughes]

Thanks guys!

Kirk,

GO GET THOSE FISH! LOL!

[2075turner]

I agree with everyone,
Your tank looks great!
Your going to love them.....I do. Mine have colored up very nicely:)
Hope all goes well. I will be checking to see some new pics;)

[Scribbles]

The tank looks great! Can't wait to see pics of the discus in it. Good Luck!

Chris

[Chad Hughes]

Thank you everyone!

I've had the shipment for several hours now, but this is the first moment that I've had to sit down and shoot you all an update. Sorry Al! I know you're on pins and needles shipping all these fish! Shipment arived without any issues whatsoever. No leaks at all. The temp was a bit cool. Bag water was 78 and tank was 85 so I floated for an hour.

I removed each fish by hand and placed them directly in to the tank. Every one of these guys was ready to rock and roll the second they hit their big new home. At hour 4 they had their first bloodworm feast. I plopped the cube in, went in to the kitchen, came back and it was GONE!! Very hungry little buggers!

Anyway, attached are some additional photos. Enjoy!

Best wishes!

[Chad Hughes]

More.....

[Chad Hughes]

And more...

[Chad Hughes]

And some more....

[Chad Hughes]

Last one...

[brewmaster15]

Glad they made it there in good shape Chad!
Tank looks great!


Now.. Best of Luck in growing these beauties up!:):):):)

-al

[calihawker]

Smokin' cool Chad.:D Most impressive!

Love your dogs!

[acroken]

That is a great looking tank Chad! Beautiful discus you have there.

Good luck,

Kenny

[2075turner]

They look great.....Good luck with them:)

[Eddie]

Wow Chad, they look phenomenal in that tank! Super nice! Glad they arrived without any issues. Bet you are a happy camper!

All the best my friend,

Eddie

[wgtaylor]

Hey Chad, new fish and tank looks great. Thanks for doing it "Your Way", now we will have something nice to look at through the year. Good job.
Take care,
Bill

[Mr Wild]

Chad they all look fabulous! Love the labs too! Good luck!

[fishyj]

Looks great!! I need a better camera now!

[kirkp]

Chad, nice looking tank (and fish). What kind of cories you have in there?

Kirk

[rickztahone]

looking good Chad. they look so tiny in that tank :D. it's something about the tank that makes their color a little more vibrant IMO but i can't pin it down to something specific. maybe they are just really happy and they have brightened up for you already? good luck

[seanyuki]

Love the design of the tank Chad and of course the discus and the dogs....what kind of sand that you are using?
Thanks for the updates.


Cheers
Francis:)

[pcsb23]

Fish and tank look great Chad, all the best with them. btw love the two dogs :)

[MostlyDiscus]

LMAO.... Chad, I know your taking this to heart when you hire guard dogs to protect the shipment... haha

Ed

[Chad Hughes]

Glad they made it there in good shape Chad!
Tank looks great!

Now.. Best of Luck in growing these beauties up!:):):):)

-al

Al,

Great job on the packing! It's actually the pest I've seen other than from Eric from N. Carolina. Thanks for all your hard work. I'll do you and the forum proud on this grow out! Thanks again for everything that you do. Words cannot express my appreciation!


Smokin' cool Chad.:D Most impressive!

Love your dogs!\

Thanks Steve! As you well know, I'm a big fan of planted tanks! ;)

Best wishes my friend!


That is a great looking tank Chad! Beautiful discus you have there.

Good luck,

Kenny

Kenny,

Thanks brother! I really appreciate all the ind words.

Best wishes!


They look great.....Good luck with them:)

Thanks for the well wishes!


Wow Chad, they look phenomenal in that tank! Super nice! Glad they arrived without any issues. Bet you are a happy camper!

All the best my friend,

Eddie

Hey Eddie!

Thanks for the props! Yes, I am super thrilled with these guys! Beautiful fish and super energetic! They are a bit sensitive to light (albinos). They get super active under the night time LED lights. I'm going to try to take a video and post it.

Take care brother!


Hey Chad, new fish and tank looks great. Thanks for doing it "Your Way", now we will have something nice to look at through the year. Good job.
Take care,
Bill

Thanks Bill!

I am looking forward to seeing both the tank and the fish grow out.

Best wishes!


Chad they all look fabulous! Love the labs too! Good luck!

Hey Kath!

Thanks for the kind words. The pups were super curious about the new comers to the house! They made me laugh out loud when I sat the box down. They acted like it was Christmas. LOL!

Best wishes!


Looks great!! I need a better camera now!

I am using a 10 mega pixel Sony cybershot. I like it because it allows me to adjust the exposure and really cuts down on glare, allowing the close up shots without flash.

Best wishes!


Chad, nice looking tank (and fish). What kind of cories you have in there?

Kirk

Hi Kirk,

Thanks for the compliments. I have two types cof corys in this tank. There are 4 Schwartzi and 4 Julii. They are great for cleanup and also act as great dither fish. They are high energy fish, but not so much that they disturb or frighten the discus. These two types have nice detail and look great in a sand bottom tank.

Best wishes!


looking good Chad. they look so tiny in that tank :D. it's something about the tank that makes their color a little more vibrant IMO but i can't pin it down to something specific. maybe they are just really happy and they have brightened up for you already? good luck

Rick,

Thanks for the compliments! I purpously took that full tank shot so that everyone could see just how tiny they look in a tank that big. The height of the tank also makes them look small. It's a 110 tall. The combination of contrasting colors from the plants and the light blue background really makes the fish pop. The fish were full color out of the bags. I can't say that I've done anything special to contribute to good color. I'd say great work by Forrest, Kenny and Al is the biggest factor! They are certainly happy in their new double wide (or tall) LOL!


Love the design of the tank Chad and of course the discus and the dogs....what kind of sand that you are using?
Thanks for the updates.


Cheers
Francis:)

Hello Francis!

Thank you for the kind words. I use quickcrete play sand from home depot in all my tanks. This tank took three 50lb bags (150lbs) to create a 4" sand bed. The plants love it, the tanks stays clean, and the discus love to forage around in it.

Best wishes!


Fish and tank look great Chad, all the best with them. btw love the two dogs :)

Thanks so much for your kind words! The two labs are basically my kids. LOL! The chocolate lab's name is Isis and she's 18 months old. Ares is the yellow (nearly white) and he's 2 years old. They are quite the security team! I actually didn't get mail one time for two days because the mail man was afraid of them! LOL! A formal introduction took care of that. Who's afraid of labs? :confused:

Best wishes!


LMAO.... Chad, I know your taking this to heart when you hire guard dogs to protect the shipment... haha

Ed


Ed,

These days you can never be too careful! LOL! Whoever came close to that box would likely succomb to death by licking! :p

Take care!

[GrillMaster]

Chad...I have to say, the tank looks excellent and the fish look right at home in it! Good luck with these guys. Lookin forward to seein the discus grow along with the plants! :)

[Chad Hughes]

Chad...I have to say, the tank looks excellent and the fish look right at home in it! Good luck with these guys. Lookin forward to seein the discus grow along with the plants! :)

Thanks Mark! They're really enjoying their new diggs! I've always grown out young discus in planted tanks. Now that we have been provided with such excellent stock (from Forrest/Kenny/Al) I'm anxious to see where this is going to go. Have a great weekend!

Best wishes!

[Armandi_Fishcarer]

Great looking tank Chad, I can't wait to see the look of a tank in this comp. different to the other's BB's. :D

The guard dogs at the fish arrival really caught my eye, lov'em!

Brother, hope all goes well for you.

Regards
Ahmed ;)

[Chad Hughes]

Great looking tank Chad, I can't wait to see the look of a tank in this comp. different to the other's BB's. :D

The guard dogs at the fish arrival really caught my eye, lov'em!

Brother, hope all goes well for you.

Regards
Ahmed ;)

Thank you for the well wishes Ahmed! I typically get great growth with my methods. The challenge will tell! In the mean time, lets all enjoy these great discus!

The pups guard the contest tank day and night. LOL!

Have a great weekend!

[pcsb23]

Thanks so much for your kind words! The two labs are basically my kids. LOL! The chocolate lab's name is Isis and she's 18 months old. Ares is the yellow (nearly white) and he's 2 years old. They are quite the security team! I actually didn't get mail one time for two days because the mail man was afraid of them! LOL! A formal introduction took care of that. Who's afraid of labs? :confused:

I really like labs, don't know why anyone would be scared of them, harder to find a gentler animal imo. I have a black lab called Mishka, she's an old lady now and as gentle as they come. My German Shepherd on the other hand .....:D

[Chad Hughes]

I really like labs, don't know why anyone would be scared of them, harder to find a gentler animal imo. I have a black lab called Mishka, she's an old lady now and as gentle as they come. My German Shepherd on the other hand .....:D

Paul,

My labs are pretty mild mannered. A few months back when I was laid up after an appendicitis I saw the female go crazy when the mail man came to the door. She is rather protective of the house, which I like, but this was NUTS! When he came to the door I swear she jumped 5 feet in the air barking. I checked her, gave her a bit of a swat and she's been much better since.

At night she likes to patrol. She'll race from the back yard, through the house to the front door investigating every little noise that she hears. If nothing is really going on, she'll post in the center of the back yard and just watch and listen. She's quite the guard dog.

Best wishes!