My Minimalist Tank Setup

[Kyla]

u could add pure ammonia to the tank to feed the bacteria... prob easier to get a target ammonia reading with ammonia than with fish food or prawns. it is sold at hardware stores in my city. be sure it has no additives or perfumes etc

[ksuyen]

It's pretty hard to find pure ammonia here in Australia. Only one I could find is called Ammonchlor and it's pretty expensive. Otherwise I will just feed the bacteria with whatever food I am going to feed the fish later (beef heart maybe?) My plan is 1 beef heart cube per day, test the water 1 hour later, and another test 24 hour later, then add another beef heart cube (after throwing away the old one). Doing this everyday in conjunction with Stability (and Prime if I did pwc), for at least a month or until my reading is 0/0/<20.

Is API test kit the best water test kit available or is there any other better alternative?

[ruudvk]

Tank looks great! Cardinals will look awesome with the light you have. Don't know how tight they school together..

Never used the API kit, I have the JBL Testlab and am very pleased with it.

[mee]

I have never done it, but I know of quite a few keepers that simply pee in a fresh tank to get the cycle going. It seems Discus keepers do fairly complex fishless cycles compared to most keepers. Not saying it is a bad thing, just maybe a bit of extra work.

Plus, be honest, who doesn't secretly want to stand on a chair while their inlaws are visiting and start peeing in a beautiful fish tank, look over their shoulder and casually say "I am helping to start a cycle of beneficial bacteria for my fish", then calmly zip up and sit down to eat =)

[ksuyen]

Lol, that's something I probably would see in one of the Simson series. Waiting is painful for impatience people like me >< but I need my water bio cycle to be perfect before even putting my tetra school (let alone discus), so I would wait till the day any ammonia turns to harmless nitrite under 24 hours.

[mee]

I don't know with the additives, but with pee or pure ammonia it is about 2 weeks till a tank fully cycles.

[ksuyen]

I am using blood worm put them inside teabag and let it overnight inside the water. I usually get ammonia 2ppm min.

[ksuyen]

Question about conditioning water for Discus. Since I am still waiting for my tank to finish cycling, might as well prepare myself for the eventual discus arrival. Is it true that Discus prefer soft water with PH 6-6.5? Is it safe to add buffer to the tap water since I am not using RO/DI?

[ksuyen]

So I have read some info from forum, and decide that since the water in Sydney is very stable at ph 7.5, and the discus breeder here keep their fish in slightly acidic water (6.5), I would throw in:
1. seachem Discus Buffer

My target is only 6.5. I will add in also the PH sticker, just as a clue to monitor my PH stability, before jump to liquid test. I think keeping my water at 6.5 everytime I do WPC will be the best. Also, just in case, the lower PH will help containing toxic ammonia level. Just in case.

[ksuyen]

Updated:
FullSizeRender.jpg

The water is clearer today.
Ammonia and Nitrite are zero despite the fish food from yesterday still inside.

[ericNH]

Looking good! I LOVE minimalist tanks and I really look forward to seeing what you create with yours. You mentioned earlier that you wish you could go without a hood or cover on your tank. Most people recommend having some sort of cover to kepp your fish from jumping out. It's wise to follow that advice. Even so I have kept my tank without any cover on top for about 2 years and have never lost a discus due to jumping out. But I did have a cory jump out once. Anyway, I found that maintenance was simplified without a cover, as the cover would look cruddy after a while with mineral deposits building up and algae and whatnot. It also diffused the light in a way that lost the rippling light effect. So I got rid of mine about 2 years ago and I like it better without. I just think the whole setup looks nicer without a cover.

[rickztahone]

Looking good! I LOVE minimalist tanks and I really look forward to seeing what you create with yours. You mentioned earlier that you wish you could go without a hood or cover on your tank. Most people recommend having some sort of cover to kepp your fish from jumping out. It's wise to follow that advice. Even so I have kept my tank without any cover on top for about 2 years and have never lost a discus due to jumping out. But I did have a cory jump out once. Anyway, I found that maintenance was simplified without a cover, as the cover would look cruddy after a while with mineral deposits building up and algae and whatnot. It also diffused the light in a way that lost the rippling light effect. So I got rid of mine about 2 years ago and I like it better without. I just think the whole setup looks nicer without a cover.

I agree with this. However, there is something so nice about a rimless tank without a cover . The tank I am currently working on is rimless and I bought some clips to put on the side of the tank. I will put glass on top of these clips and hopefully keep the cool like and at the same time I will prevent fish from jumping out.

[ksuyen]

I always love rimless tank, so If possible I will hold on the cover until I can judge myself how the fish behave.

Day-8
image.jpg

Starphire glass really shows the clarity of the water, as if there was no glass in between.

And finally my ViV intake plus skimmer has arrived. It is a very good product, it removes the surface oil/film make the water exceedingly clear. I attached it to my Filter intake. There is also a flow control at the bottom, but I keep it max, and control the flow only from filter. The water flow in from the top (surface) and bottom (through slits).

image.jpg

[ericNH]

Your pics show the clarity of the glass and water - keep those pics coming I enjoy following along as you develop this tank. Thanks for sharing.

[Phillydubs]

Looking really nice! I love the basic set up and can't wait to see it progress! Looks so clear and pristine!