Miracles custom 120 rimless reef to discus

[Hart24601]

I think adding plants is helping, the vertical orientation of the java ferns seem to give them some comfort. It's fine with me if they hide in the plants as long as they are doing ok! The lights are already dimmed to the very max they allow. I think 10% of output. I still have some more plants to try, will put some anubias on rocks too and maybe some of the tiny anubias varieties on the wood.

[Hart24601]

I appreciate all the help, thanks everyone!

[rickztahone]

no problem. I'm just trying to voice all the usual suspects for discus remaining hidden. Like I said before, sometimes it just takes them a while to venture out.

[Hart24601]

Any other plants that can take the heat and grow on rock or wood? Have several varieties of anubias and java ferns coming. I plan on just attaching them to rocks and not the bottom.

[Hart24601]

Picked up some bucephalandra blue hill plants. Will ship out this week, from what I can tell grows well and ok with discus temps and attaches to rock. Got a pretty good size clump on ebay, they won't add vertical structure like the ferns, but will hopefully help.

[Jack L]

I think adding plants is helping, the vertical orientation of the java ferns seem to give them some comfort. It's fine with me if they hide in the plants as long as they are doing ok! The lights are already dimmed to the very max they allow. I think 10% of output. I still have some more plants to try, will put some anubias on rocks too and maybe some of the tiny anubias varieties on the wood.

so in that photo, with the crisp shadow...that is the light running at 10% output?

[Hart24601]

I think all the photos are with the light turned down. 10 or 15%, whatever the min kessils can go to.

[Hart24601]

Just adding plants may have done the trick. For the 1st time that I can remember the shy leopard snakeskin ate some fd blackworms. Apparently for this tank it either has to have more or less hiding spots.

[rickztahone]

Just adding plants may have done the trick. For the 1st time that I can remember the shy leopard snakeskin ate some fd blackworms. Apparently for this tank it either has to have more or less hiding spots.

do what you see working. The discus will always tell you what they want with their behavior.

[Hart24601]

It's a step in the right direction! At least I don't want to make a discus smoothie anymore, haha.

I picked up a 36w turbo twist UV unit powered with a sicce pump. Installed well and seems nice. I took the ozone offline, it really works better in saltwater in a protein skimmer, could never really get it how I wanted - but I had it left over from the reef so it was worth a try. So the equipment in the sump currently is 2 filter socks, large marine pure block, eheim SUBSTRAT pro (big bag), siporax media (another big bag), another bag of ceramic media I had from somewhere, 1L purigen in seachem's "the bag" and ROX activated carbon in another "the bag" and now the UV. OH! And the 800w titanium heater with controller and the various APEX probes. The line to the floor drain and the lines from the DOS auto water change system.

All the other fish have been doing great!

[rickztahone]

great equipment. Only suggestion? Pull out the carbon. Not needed with discus unless you are trying to remove meds.

BTW, I don't think I ever mentioned it, but your group of tetras is insane! I love it! My goal was to one day have a tank full of small dither fish, and the closest I came was a 55g with chilies. However, my inspiration was a 240g in an LFS with over 2k cardinal tetras!

[Hart24601]

That would be amazing! The tetras get more attention than anything else! The Shedd aquarium in Chicago has an Amazon tank with thousands and thousands of either cardinals or neons, I can't remember, but the system still sticks out in my mind, it is just amazing.


The carbon and purigen are a bit redundant, they both work in exactly the same way with nanoscopic pores that bind some compounds, they might have slightly different affinity for some molecules, but I really am only running the carbon since I have a lot of it from the reef and I might as well use it.

At least that mechanism is what Randy Holmes-Farley says how they both work and he should know!

Post 16 although he has said the same thing a few times.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...9#post13612099

[rickztahone]

That would be amazing! The tetras get more attention than anything else! The Shedd aquarium in Chicago has an Amazon tank with thousands and thousands of either cardinals or neons, I can't remember, but the system still sticks out in my mind, it is just amazing.


The carbon and purigen are a bit redundant, they both work in exactly the same way with nanoscopic pores that bind some compounds, they might have slightly different affinity for some molecules, but I really am only running the carbon since I have a lot of it from the reef and I might as well use it.

At least that mechanism is what Randy Holmes-Farley says how they both work and he should know!

Post 16 although he has said the same thing a few times.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...9#post13612099

This may be a unique thing to discus, but when you run carbon, the discus seem to be affected along the lateral line. This isn't scientifically proven, but over the years I have heard this correlation.

[jmf3460]

pull the carbon and add tannins!

[Hart24601]

The same thing has been seen in tangs quite a bit and the best explanation I have seen is that there are several grades of carbon and the lower grades release fine microscopic particles that are quite abrasive. It's not 100% proven, but I stay away from the dusty grades. Rox .8 is extruded in pellets and doesn't have dust issues as much. There is still a lot of debate. Here is one article and the gem is boomers contribution as well in comments.

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/blog...r-hlle-disease