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Thread: Roy's 30 Gallon Red Spot Green Discus F1

  1. #1
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    Default Roy's 30 Gallon Red Spot Green Discus F1

    Hi All,

    Last weekend I tore down my 30 gallon to make room for a new species (for me). The this will be the first time I have kept the species and from doing some reading, research, and talking with the breeder I am doing a set-up I have not done before.

    2020/07/19

    Here is my old (15+ years) 30 gallon tank (36"X12.5"X16.75" high). Note the scratches on the glass showing years of use! Thank goodness most of those scratches disappear when water is added.


    After cleaning the heater and canister filter I added four (4) Osmocote Plus "00" root tabs. Based upon my experience with the 45 gallon which showed residual ammonia for about 2 months when I used one root tab per 2 gallons I decided to go stingy this time. There will be some species of plants in this tank but the fish will be the primary consideration.


    I covered the four tabs with a handful of sand substrate to keep them from shifting and added the rest of the sand substrate.


    This is the first time I have used sand as a substrate in a tank and I went with HTH Pool Filter sand which is made from crushed quartz, contains no shells to effect water hardness, and is definitely white! I am not a fan of white substrates because they can show all the detritus and other stuff but I want to keep this tank clean and pristine as possible.


    I put in a total of 50# of sand which is one bag. It cost me $9 including tax. This gave me sufficient for 2-1/2 inches in the back of the tank sloping to 1.5 inches in the front of the tank; an average depth of 2 inches. I did not wash or rinse the sand first, it went straight from the bag into the tank.



    2020/07/20
    Next come the filling. I could have done the three (3) gallon bucket and made eight or nine trips up and down the stairs but I chose to use my weekly water change hose instead. I put down wax paper and a dinner plate to minimize disturbing the substrate during filling and added the water slowly.








    This is how it looked when filled before turning on the filter.


    I set the heater for 83 degrees and took some tap water readings for a benchmark, then called it a day.

    Tap Water
    pH = 7.0 (degassed 24 hrs)
    dKH = 2.0
    dGH = 3.0
    Ca = 20 ppm
    Mg = 0.9 ppm
    NH3 = 0.00
    NO2 = 0.00
    NO3 = 0.00

    And here is the equipment list:
    Aqueon 30 gallon aquarium
    Aqueon glass top
    Fluval 2.0 LED fixture (36"-48")
    Marineland C-220 canister filter (two sponges; filter floss; bio-balls X2 trays; Purigen)
    50# HTH Pool Filter Sand (crushed quartz) 2-1/2” back / 1-1/2” front
    Osmocote Plus root tabs ( 4 each “00” size)
    Inline CO2 diffuser
    Fluval CO2 drop checker with 4.0 dKH indicator solution

  2. #2
    Administrator and MVP Dec.2015 Second Hand Pat's Avatar
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    Default Re: Roy's 30 Gallon Red Spot Green Discus F1

    Hi Roy, are you setting up this tank for discus? Based on the title it sounds like you are? Have you done any research on discus or keep them before? Before bring them home you may want to do some reading here.
    Pat
    Your discus are talking to you....are you listening


  3. #3
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    Default Re: Roy's 30 Gallon Red Spot Green Discus F1

    Pat, Roy posted his new member information yesterday. I suspect that his experience, background, and common sense will serve him well in this set up.

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    Default Re: Roy's 30 Gallon Red Spot Green Discus F1

    Roy, I had forgotten about sloping the sand from back to front. It allows for sediment to collect at the front for easier cleaning. I am looking forward to your journal on this set up. I sent a pm to you as well.

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    Default Re: Roy's 30 Gallon Red Spot Green Discus F1

    Hi @Second Hand Pat,

    Thank you for the comment and suggestions. No, I have never personally kept discus before although I have cared for discus several times over the years. I have been on this forum several times over the years as a 'lurker', registered as a member in mid-July, but just did my first posts yesterday evening. I look forward to learning even more about this species and always appreciate suggestions and support. I have been busy reading the 'stickies' the last few weeks. -Roy

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    Default Re: Roy's 30 Gallon Red Spot Green Discus F1

    Hi @peewee1 (aka Norm)

    I read your PM, thank you for the warm welcome! I've been in the hobby a long time and sloping gravel was just one of the 'old skool' tricks we used to do when I first started. -Roy

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    Default Re: Roy's 30 Gallon Red Spot Green Discus F1

    Hi @peewee1 (aka Norm)

    I read your PM, thank you for the warm welcome! I've been in the hobby a long time and sloping gravel was just one of the 'old skool' tricks we used to do when I first started. -Roy

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    Default Re: Roy's 30 Gallon Red Spot Green Discus F1

    Hi All,

    2020/07/20
    The tank is currently at 85 degrees and the water had started to clear. The drop checker is medium green and with 4.0 dKH indicator solution that means I should have about 30 ppm of CO2.

    I decided to add a few plants that came out of the previous 30 gallon set-up. I added two pieces of Malaysian driftwood to the tank. One piece had an established thicket of Microsorum pteropus 'Windelov' and the other had a not fully established thicket of Microsorum pteropus 'Trident'. I also added 17 plants of Eriocaulon sp. 'Vietnam' to the center area. How are these plants going to do in 85 degree temperatures? I guess we will find out!

    30 gallon 24 hours after filling

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    Silver Member Iminit's Avatar
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    Default Re: Roy's 30 Gallon Red Spot Green Discus F1

    Good to see you Roy. Looking forward to your build!

  10. #10
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    Default Re: Roy's 30 Gallon Red Spot Green Discus F1

    Hi @Iminit

    Thank you for the welcome! Here is the next installment!

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    Default Re: Roy's 30 Gallon Red Spot Green Discus F1

    Hi All,

    2020/07/24
    So with a temperature of 85 degrees this is definitely a warm water tank. Did you ever wonder what species would do well at a temperature in the mid-80's? How about with high temperatures and very, very lean dosing of nutrients? I did so I grabbed a bunch of plants from my emersed plant bank and one species from another tank and planted them along the back of the 30 gallon. This is what they looked like when I planted them.


    All of the plants are cuttings without roots, so what did I plant?

    1) Persicaria sp. 'Kawagoeanum' (from stems growing submerged in another tank)
    2) Myriophyllum sp. 'Guyana' (cuttings from emersed growth in plant bank)
    3) Hygrophila serpyllum (cuttings from emersed growth in plant bank)
    4) Oldenlandia salzmannii (cuttings from emersed growth in plant bank)
    5) Limnophila rugosa (cuttings from emersed growth in plant bank)
    6) Ludwigia sp 'Red' (cuttings from emersed growth in plant bank)

    I am curious to see what species can adapt to the 85 degree temperature and which ones will not. The light level measured at the substrate (through an Aqueon Versatop) is PAR@50 measured with an Apogee MQ-510 PAR Meter.

    Here is one of the shelves of my 'plant bank', just a bunch of species I grow emersed because I don't have enough tanks to grow them submerged. Many are 'uncommon' (i.e. not common in a LFS) and not always available on the forums.

  12. #12
    Registered Member coralbandit's Avatar
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    Default Re: Roy's 30 Gallon Red Spot Green Discus F1

    Good to see you here Roy ..
    I have been following your tank already but look forward to watching here !
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhFp68wjRUU
    ^^ My fish room tour by Richsfishes ^^
    Got rams ?

  13. #13
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    Default Re: Roy's 30 Gallon Red Spot Green Discus F1

    Roy, the plants are growing at room temperature and I notice by a window. Is 85F the temperature of the water that the parents of your F1 were raised in? I am curious why you chose 85F. To me the plants apperar to be much like the ship in the bottle. The pot is much larger that the mouth and neck of the bottle. What am I looking at?

  14. #14
    Administrator and MVP Dec.2015 Second Hand Pat's Avatar
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    Default Re: Roy's 30 Gallon Red Spot Green Discus F1

    Hi Roy, can you describe the discus you are getting for this setup. Gathered from the title they are F1s from wild parents. How big are they? and do you feel good about raising them in a planted setup? BTW your expertise with plants is certainly evident and the tank will be killer.
    Pat
    Your discus are talking to you....are you listening


  15. #15
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    Default Re: Roy's 30 Gallon Red Spot Green Discus F1

    Hi @Coralbandit - You are everywhere! lol -Roy

    Hi @peewee1

    The breeder said 85 to 88 degrees would be fine, the fish room where they were raised is typically about 78 degrees at floor level and 82 - 84 degrees on the top tier of tank. The discus were raised on the top tier. I guess I could say I smashed the pots and re-assembled them in the bottles with superglue gel but those are just 2 liter Coke bottles where I cut off the base and then cut about 3" off the length of the remainder. I make a cut about 3/4 the way up the top half and put the two pieces together. High humidity, little watering even in the summer. The high humidity helps the stems transition emersed to submerged with minimum 'melting' because the cuticle layer of the leaf is very thin. -Roy

    Hi @Second Hand Pat

    The breeder collected the parents in Peru on the Rio Nanay; the parents were juvies when they were collected. These are from the first spawn of the wild fish which was a small spawn. The fish are 1-1/2 to 2-1-2 inches in diameter. Do I feel good about raising them in a planted tank? Good question! I have done planted tanks for over 12 years but I always put the needs of the fish in my tanks ahead of the plants. That is why I am trying several plant species, I want to see which ones can survive / thrive in the conditions that the discus require. Thank you for the kind words Pat. -Roy

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