Hi Marc,
Your tank looks great! Welcome to SD and thanks for starting your journal. Many folks I think imagine a tank like yours, and it would be great to follow your tank.
Journal time.
I've only been keeping discus for 5 months. My tanks current set up is 4 months old. So please bare with me guys as im not completely clued up on all the terms and what not at the moment.
Tank is L100cm x H50cm x D40cm. 200 Litres, 52 US Gallons.
Stocking: 6 juvenile discus, 30 cadinal tetra, 2 rummy nose, 4 oto cats, 5 cory, 1 electrc blue ram, 1 bristlenose, 4 amano shrimp (soon to be 20!!)
Water changing routine - basically, i have two other tanks. A 5 gallon planted low tech nano and a shallow 7 gallon blackwater. I take out about 5 litres of these a day and refill with water from the discus tank. I then refill the Discus tank. This means that i basically get a 5% change per day, and then on a sunday, i do a big 5% water change with water conditioner.
Filtration - i have a 1000l/hr canister filter with modified trays from manufacturer recommendations (my way has all foam in the bottom tray going from course to fine and two trays of crushed lava rock). Also, a 1800l/hr internal filter for flow and water polishing. I have this facing the glass to obstruct the flow speed but still get the faster filtration.
Soil/substrate - Under the sand capping (1 inch) is a mix of gravel and oliver knot aquasoil and tropica plant growth substrate on the base.
Dosing method is 30ml chelated trace elements. I dont add any phosphates and what not as the waste load is already high with the stocking.
co2 - no idea on specific dosing levels. i use a diy yeast/sugar method that fills two in tank reactors and lets the co2 slowly dissolve throughout the water over the photo period.
Lights - I have 2x T8 tubes and fitted a diy LED 20watt floodlight to the centre of the canopy. the T8's are on for about 17 hours and the LED floodlight for 10 hours. Some say thats way too much light...i have my fish to view them and enjoy them so i like the lights on. Fish seem absolutely fine with it as you can see and are never shy.
Here are some progress shots:
After set up
2018-07-31 20.57.11.jpg
After 1 month
2018-07-31 20.59.36.jpg
After 2 months
2018-07-31 21.00.11.jpg
After 3 months
2018-07-31 21.03.03.jpg
After 4 months
2018-07-31 21.04.43.jpg
So thats the current state of play. Will keep updating as i go each month i think.
Here is a video i made yesterday as well:
That's all for now.
As ever, any questions, don't hesitate.
Last edited by Marc Davis; 07-31-2018 at 04:46 PM.
Hi Marc,
Your tank looks great! Welcome to SD and thanks for starting your journal. Many folks I think imagine a tank like yours, and it would be great to follow your tank.
Great looking scape. The sand looks rather deep in some places. Do you stir it often? Have you considered a runner plant in the foreground instead of a stem? Are those Seiryu stones? If so, they do tend to raise the pH, so be cautious.
The plants have grown in nicely.
Click here to view my 75g Acrylic Tank w/ Bean Animal Overflow with 40g Sump Thread
Also, click here for my 25 group of discus grow out thread
http://i3.cpcache.com/product/162117...ht=75&width=75
Want to look like Al did at his ACA talk with his white Simply Polo shirt?(You can catch Al's awesome Discus talk HERE)
You can get this and many more items such as T-shirts/Polos/hoodies/cups from our merchandise shop:
Cafepress.com
I've got dwarf sag at the front and like the sand area to stay clear for a more clean look to be honest.
The sand is only an inch thick on top of fine gravel mixed with aquasoil. I never stir it up and no gas is released that I have observed
pH from my tap is bang on 7 which is what the discus were raised in. My tank actually settles at 6.5 though everytime.
Nice job Marc. Keep us updated regularly because I sense that this tank changes its appearance on a weekly level
Marc, Great tank and I am glad you started this thread too! Do you happen to have a plant list for your tank?
Al
AquaticSuppliers.comFoods your Discus will Love!!!
>>>>>I am a science guy.. show me the science minus the BS
Al Sabetta
Simplydiscus LLC Owner
Aquaticsuppliers.com
I take Pics.. click here for my Flickr images
Thank you.
I've compiled a plant list. I dont know the Latin names for all of them, but this is what i can remember:
- Staurogyne Repens
- Sagittaria
- Micro Sword
- Anubias Nana Barteri
- Amazon Sword
- Rotala Rotundafolia
- Moneywart
- Cryptocorne Wendtil
- Cryptocorne Beckettii
- Anacharis
- Ambulia
- Nesaea pedicellata
- Hydrocotyle Japan
- Nymphaea Sp. Taiwan (flipper Lotus)
- Tiger Lotas
- Ludwigia Palustris
- Vallisneria Nana
- Dwarf sag.
Would probably have been quicker to list what i haven't got in the tank
what a beautiful tank OP and I love the video, especially the background music. love love love this natural looking scape. your fish all seem so happy
~JACKLYN~
Great tank!
Btw, what is your amano shrimp survival rate?
Water change is not just a chore, it's my life now...
I made a simple stand that i feel anyone with a very basic skills and tools can make: