Evan's Planted 125

[Evansdiscus]

Hey everyone, I figured I would start this thread to journal the progress of my 125.
A bit of history :
I have had a really hard time with this tank. I bought it last year around this time on craigslist as a leaky old tank that the original owner really let go. I got the stand, lights, and tank for $50. I got it home and after surveying things, I realized I had my work cut out for me. The lights were shot, and the balasts were so old, that they were falling apart. The joints on the list were plastic and worn. The tank had some nasty old water in it.
Over the course of the next month I stripped every bit of silicone (which was disintegrating) off of the tank; easily one of the hardest parts of the rebuild on the 6ft long tank. I resealed the tank soon after, and unfortunately, was very unhappy with the results. So it was again time to remove the new silicone and start from scratch. Fortunately, I was much happier with the results the second time. Painters tape saved me a lot of trouble. It's kinda funny how those stray strings of silicone can get all over the place and make clean-up quite difficult.
Over the course of the next month, I filled the tank up with water and left it in the garage to leak test. So far, so good. In the mean time, I went out and bought some brushed metal cabinet knobs and some cans of black outdoor paint. The garage was my workshop that month, and I was in there all day, every day that I didn't have to work.
The next step was quite daunting, as I knew I wanted a planted tank, but wasn't sure what to put in it. I always wanted angels, and my research into them brought me to a beautiful picture of a Red Pigeon blood discus, which changed everything. I did my homework:
Filtration-check
Parameters-check
Tankmates-check
Cost-check
Husbandry regimen-obtained
By this time I had determined that my tank was safe.
I ordered new LED lights, a wet/dry filtration system, two big heaters, some circulation pumps, test kits, lids, and filter media. Needless to say, this was an expensive endeavor. I knew it would be, but the sheer excitement of owning the king of the freshwater fish had captivated me.
Setting up the filter was probably the hardest part, as the tank was tucked into a corner where the filter was; my first mistake. The darn tubing never fits either, so warming it in some water fixed that problem.
Everything else went into place nicely. Before I knew it, I had a nice looking aquarium in the living room. Unfortunately, at this point, it was still empty. About 3 days later, a Monday, I set out to a few local fish stores to get substrate, plants, and some other supplies. Got some cool driftwood too.
I got home around 6pm and began working on the tank. By 3am, my tank was done. Hardscape looked good, plants were in. I was happy.
I had my heart set on a month-long cycle. I watched my parameters do exactly what they should. Cloudy water became crystal-clear. 2 weeks into my cycle, I went to the aquatic experience in chicago. It was an awesome convention. Tons of stuff going on. I picked up some beautiful angels there, as well as a few more plants and TONS of free food. I was so thrilled! I would later learn the importance of limiting your sources of livestock.
I brought the fish home and began the quarantine process. I had a smaller tank set up and cycled for exactly that. I suffered a few losses, but very minimal. I wanted to be sure of everything before I bought my discus.
About a month after the cycle was done, I bought my first two discus. A small snow white and a 3.5" blue turq. Both of them really liked exploring the long tank, but I could tell that 2 was not enough.
I bought 5 quarter size babies from a local breeder. This was quite naive of me and I quickly realized how tricky fry are. Even with constant water changes and many small feedings, I lost all of them. For that period of time, I gave up on smaller babies and bought some larger fish. I had success feeding my discus a good beef heart mix twice a day and big water changes throughout. Keeping my tank super clean was my #1 goal.
After some time, I realized that something was wrong. The fish just were not as happy as they used to be. I determined that the water was being fouled by some older plants and some of the substrate.
That week, I was determined to fix that. I ordered an FX6 for the opposite side of the tank, and did a clean out. I removed the fish, pulled some plants, vacuumed, and changed the water.
I put the fish back in the water and the next day, I lost all of my German blue rams and 1 of my breeding blue angels. I determined the cause was a number of factors and mistakes I had made (disturbing the ground, change in water parameters, stress).
A while passed and things really were frustrating. The discus were not acting normally and that really bothered me. I had angels and GBR's breeding successfully in the same tank with no problems. Neither of which were acting aggressively towards my discus.
I monitored my parameters meticulously, and nothing seemed awry. Finally, things came to a point, most recently, where 3 of my discus went on a hunger strike. My blue turq, a super red honeycomb, and a blue snakeskin. Something happened one night in the tank, and I woke up to find that the super red had cut itself badly on something in aquarium, and he died the next day. The other two followed suit about 2 weeks later. I still had a few normal discus left, but I was a bit discouraged.
From that point on, I was determined to limit my mistakes. I did a lot of reading on here and discovered quite a few things I could be doing better.
Finally, fast forward to today.
I am raising my first batch of discus fry. I am doing everything i can to be successful. I have about 40 angelfish fry (in a grow out tank) that are getting big. All but two of my discus (a wild caught that was given to me and a galaxy turq) are acting normally. I have put together plans to deworm and treat my fish for things I neglected in the past.

This hobby teaches me something new every day. I will never claim to be an expert, because I believe that there is so much more to this "art" than meets the eye. I am simply hoping that maybe through my experiences, I can help other newcomers just as this forum has helped me. I will continue to share my experiences on this thread and will hopefully continue to learn alongside all of you. I appreciate the feedback and the advice I have recieved.

[Evansdiscus]

As a side note, I will post pictures in a timeline format when I get home.

[Filip]

As a side note, I will post pictures in a timeline format when I get home.

Please put full tank info along with the pics.

[rickztahone]

Very cool story. I like your honesty and play by play :-). This forum has single handedly saved me hundreds of dollars with advice over the years

[Evansdiscus]

Thanks Rick! Unfortunately, I lost my proven female today to a mishap during a levamisole treatment. It's a shame, but her babies are being raised artificially thanks to big tucks contraption and a little less free time.

[rickztahone]

Thanks Rick! Unfortunately, I lost my proven female today to a mishap during a levamisole treatment. It's a shame, but her babies are being raised artificially thanks to big tucks contraption and a little less free time.

Man, I haven't heard the name big tuck around here for a while. Please share some pics if you got them

[Evansdiscus]

I had heard that he left the hobby some time ago. What a shame, considering his contribution to the art of raising fry. I will definite do that. Unfortunately, my desktop is being worked on, so I am limited to my phone currently. I didn't see a way to add pics from my phone, so I'll have to add them once I get my desktop parts in.

[rickztahone]

I had heard that he left the hobby some time ago. What a shame, considering his contribution to the art of raising fry. I will definite do that. Unfortunately, my desktop is being worked on, so I am limited to my phone currently. I didn't see a way to add pics from my phone, so I'll have to add them once I get my desktop parts in.

yeah, currently that is the only way. We await the pics no less