125 updates

[pastry]

I've had shipments of different things lost at least once by each UPS and USPS. I'm sure FedEx will someday do the same at least once. Sucks because that wood looked great but I'm sure the next will be just as good, Marc!

[Mgus]

I hope so. I'm not as much worried about wood as I am the fish hopefully they are here first thing in the morning and in good health. The new piece I picked out I think looks a little nicer I might set it up a little different and hang it from the top of the tank like tree roots.

[pastry]

The fish will be good, Marc. Don't worry about them! I actually just got some new wood (chuckle... sorry...) from the lake I originally sourced for my 150. I put one piece in already (boiled in extra large pot under propane burner... then flipped the piece to boil the other half) in my tank and have one more to do the same. A new pair comprising of old pairs just decided to "sleep together" and spawn on the brand new piece. Didn't see that coming. Once I get the new piece in then I'll update/finalize my old thread with one last entry (not just for current pics but primarily for how my "experiment" turned out). Keep us updated with pics once you get the new piece and fish in, Marc!

[Mgus]

Made a couple minor changes to the sump. Added egg crate to first chamber on top of bio balls so the foam sits level. And removed a couple inches of bio balls from the third chamber and added egg crate and foam to keep debris and snails from getting in the pump. New fish are doing good in qt. still waiting on driftwood.

[Mgus]

Didn't even notice my foot in the middle of the picture until after I posted it whoops! I've got some pulled tendons in my right knee so I've been having to sit with my leg in front of me instead of kneeling.

[Mgus]

New guy is coloring up nice and settling in with the rest of the gang.

[Mgus]

Just added the new driftwood today I'll add a few pictures tonight. To much glare on the tank right now to get a decent pic.

A little background on the tank.
It was set up last December and has undergone a few rescapes since I'm happy with how it looks now and probably won't be changing anything for a while. My first venture into discus didn't go so well. My first fish were from Petco and I didn't qt anything. I ended up losing a few fish. I also had gravel in the tank that was way to hard to keep clean. I found this site and treated the fish and change pretty much everything. Water changes scape and filtration and also order some quality fish from Kenny. Since then everyone's been happy and healthy. My current water change schedule is usually 2 50% changes a week and most nights I siphon the poo off the bottom and change 5 gallons of water. My filtration is two fluval 406s and a 20l sump with refugium and a 36watt uv sterilizer. The sump flow is slow probably 2-250gph to make the refugi and uv more effective. The lights are the only thing that need upgrading there are 3 t8s and a small led the plants are doing ok but eventually I'm going to upgrade to full LEDs. Thanks to every one on this forum that has given me tips and help along the way.

[Mgus]

Video and a few pics

htt

p://youtu.be/D-CcehPWB7Q

[Mgus]

[Mgus]

[Mgus]

My checker board pigeon is growing fast it's as long as the tiger turq. I think this is going to be a big fish.

[jmf3460]

crypts are looking great! hygro is doing its normal "getting out of control" thing I see but I like it!

[Mgus]

I like those cryps a lot I think they are the wendi. The hygro grows like crazy it's stating to smother one of the sword plants. I like the look of it though another month it should be to the surface and covering up the overflow box.

[DJW]

Its a little astonishing to see what folks pay for manzanita driftwood. Where I live the stuff is everywhere. I probably throw $10,000 a day worth of the stuff out of my way in the course of a day at work.

It looks like they are starting with green wood that still has the reddish smooth outer layer. It takes time and effort to season it in that form. I just find a piece that has been dead for a while and after two hours of boiling it sinks, or nearly sinks.

[Mgus]

Its a little astonishing to see what folks pay for manzanita driftwood. Where I live the stuff is everywhere. I probably throw $10,000 a day worth of the stuff out of my way in the course of a day at work.

It looks like they are starting with green wood that still has the reddish smooth outer layer. It takes time and effort to season it in that form. I just find a piece that has been dead for a while and after two hours of boiling it sinks, or nearly sinks.

You should start selling the stuff. All I have for hardwood out my way is oak. The branches are really straight. I thought about using it but didn't like the look.