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It's coming along!
Okay, so I am setting up my 55 gal. 4ft tank for discus. So far, I have drilled for the drain and return for my sump/freshwater fuge. I haven't put any baffles in the sump yet... that'll be next weekend... but I did get it plumbed up, except for a little bit in the return, and also the spraybar. But, here's what it looks like so far with my driftwood in there, waiting on water, baffles, and media! Tell me what you think!
Here is a whole tank shot
Both tanks as they stand right now
Right side
Left side
And here is the pool filter sand substrate. Just the right color I think. Not too bright, but not too dark either! Exactly what I was wanting to get!!
Re: It's coming along!
What do you have planed for the fuge, plants?
Fuge, baffles....something tells me you are coming from the reef world or at least using it as a guide. Either way seems like this will be an interesting tank. For some reason I can't get my mind of some nice wild browns swimming in the tank.
When science and magic collide, the story begins.
Re: It's coming along!
Yes, Ed, your right! I'm coming from a reef backgound and still have one!! I will have plants in the fuge, low light plants, and fast growing plants like anacris are coming to mind. These will be used as more of a nitrate sponge than anything. You see I have a UV filter down there too, so I will have that going, along with a lot of bio filtration after the fuge. I will have sponges and the sort before, and of course one on the pump going up.
You have any wild's you wanna send my way? I would love to have them once I get this bad boy up and running!!
Re: It's coming along!
If I had a chance to get some nice wilds period, i would not let them go because of their rarity on the islandOriginally Posted by 80in55
. I'm just saying that for some reason when I took a look of the tank wild browns pop to mind.
Just a thought, but to me hygrophila difformis is the closest to caulerpa on the fresh water world. Other hygrophilas will also work personally I like hygrophila "rosanervig" a lot and will also grow like a nuisance weed with some co2 a plenty of light to the point were you might need to add nitrogen to supplement them. If it was my tank I'd place low light plants in the main tank and the fast growers in the fuge
When science and magic collide, the story begins.
Re: It's coming along!
looking good.
cheers
Darren Burgess
Townsville Queensland Australia
townsvillerocks@gmail.com
Re: It's coming along!
I'll have to look into the Hygrophila! I would much rather have that in the sump, and have the slow growing plants up in the tank! I'm thinking swords, anubias, maybe some java moss, and some lowlying grass to cover the bottom as well.
Re: It's coming along!
If its going to be a discus tank you could leave the front as a sand foreground so they can feed easier. If you add some corys they'll look really nice foraging and playing in the sand, dwarf cichlids as well.
In the main tank you could also try some cryptocorines, java fern, bolbitis, narrow leaf java fern and windelov's fern, and vallisnerias. If its a 55g maybe you should avoid large plants as most swords, parviflorus are ok. A nice and easy carpet plant is echinodorus tenellus, but in order to form a thick carpet you'll need to pump up the light Co2, and nutrients.
BTW, you have not mention how are you going to inject Co2
When science and magic collide, the story begins.
Re: It's coming along!
CO2 may be another DIY project in itself. I work at an LFS, so I'll be able to get the CO2 system that they sell, along with all the other good stuff. I only have 2 watts per gallon, 110watts of light over top. One 55 on each side. So, really about 1 per gallon per side. I will definately look into all of those plants and see where I can get the best deal. I will have cory's for sure, and definately some Rams!! Really looking forward to getting this finished!
Re: It's coming along!
That's enough light in each tank. DON'T rely on the WPG rule.
DIY co2 its way easier, cheaper and will allow you to inject even more CO2. Since you work in a LFS, I'm guessing you are talking about the HAgen system. I've use it a lot in the past for those low budget tanks or were pressurized is out of the question. What I like most of the Hagen system is that you can hide it behind the tanks and that it won't leak gas. What I do is I buy the yeast at the grocery store, bakery and in some case in a wholesale store, this will allow you to inject more cheaper.
When science and magic collide, the story begins.
Re: It's coming along!
Yea, I'm talking about the Hagen system! I like the way it works, and it'll be cheap for me to buy it at my store. Yeast is always around my house... my wife bakes bread like it's going out of style... so i'll have no trouble with that. I always get 3 liter bottles, so maybe I'll just use one of those for my reactor, get a bubble counter from work, and go that route!
Re: It's coming along!
Sounds good, now my last advise will probably be to get discus at least 4" or more or to grow them in a third 55g you'll be happier with the way they turn out and don't go crazy adding a lot of fish even with as much plant matter as I suspect you'll have. Take a look at Amano's tanks and you'll notice that even huge tanks seem to have a small number of fish.
When science and magic collide, the story begins.
Re: It's coming along!
I'm only looking to get 5 discus at the most, maybe 5 or 6 cory's, and probably the same in rams. I don't want a huge load, I just want it to look nice! I love Amano's tanks! If only I could get mine to look anywhere near his!
Re: It's coming along!
Alright!! I got it all plumbed up, filled it up, and everything works as planned!! I did have to remove the added piece of PVC from the drain, and just let the elbow do the work. Keeps it exactly where it should, and is actually pretty quiet! I still need to get some Teflon tape for the threads, but other than that... IT WORKS PERFECT!!! I'm getting excited, and I can't wait to get discus!!
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