Saying "Hi" w/planted tank pics - Kahuna's Revenge

[scolley]

Hi folks. Just wanted to introduce myself, say "Hi", and say "Thanks!" for the TONNES of help I've already gotten from this board, even though I'm a discus newb and have barely posted here. I'm not much of a fish keeper either. I started messing around with planted tanks a little over 2 1/2 years ago, and have had a few of them since then. Some successful. Some outrageously unsuccessful. Learning can be painful. But the entire time I've lusted over the prospect of someday being mature enough in the planted tanks craft to actually have a planted discus tank!

I call my most recent planted tank "Kahuna's Revenge". It's a kind of a inside joke over at PlantedTank.net where I hang out. It's a 75g that I built myself, reasonably high tech for a planted freshwater tank. It's about 3 months old, and has had my very first discus in it for just under a month now.

I cannot express how excited I was about getting discus! And scared. I've read the horror stories. Having a decent planted tank is hard enough, but having a decent planted tank with discus was downright scary. But discus are sooo beautiful, with such interesting personalities. It was inevitable.

So the aquascape was laid out with discus in mind. All plants are compatible with moderately warm water. The scaffolding of driftwood supporting the anubias is chock full of nooks and crannies for a discus to get cozy in. But the right half of the tank, along with a somewhat open area in the middle, is designed attract congregating discus. And the sand along the front and the right side is to facilitate feeding. A gentle current runs along the front of the tank, moving from right to left. So any food dropped in the front corner gets gently spread along the sand in front, and all the discus get a shot at it. And it's not too hard to clean when necessary.

Also to facilitate having discus in a planted tank, I set up an automatic water changing system. The tank has no sump, just outflows through bulkheads in the tank bottom, running to canister filtration and other in-line water processing (CO2, heat, fert injection, temp and pH sensing, stray voltage ground) back to a couple of lily-pipe inflows. There are two solenoids in that in-line loop that open at timed intervals that either drain or top off the tank. There is another hole drilled in the bottom of the tank with a water pressure sensor under the tank that acts as a failsafe for the fill/topoff process. If perchance it the timer does not cut it off in time, the sensor will detect a "deep water" condition and cut the power to the fill solenoid before the tank can overflow.

I wanted a tank that would be open topped, low-iron glass, with minimal equipment in the tank. So drilling bulkheads in the bottom was required. But the cost of having a 75g all glass tank shipped to the Connecticut where I live was so high, I decided to build the tank myself. I've included a pic below of one of the seven (yes, that's right 7!) times the thing sprung a leak when I was testing what I built. But I got past all that and it's been holding water like a champ for over a year now (knock on wood!).

When I went to finally get some discus, I had some great email exchanges with David Grim of DiscusDave.com. He was incredibly helpful! Thanks Dave. But as I reviewed all the risks, I talked myself out of discus. Yet as I reviewed the other fish I could use as the showpieces for the tank, NOTHING but discus seemed adequate. Long story short, I was put in touch with Dan Villasenor of GlufCoastDiscus.com, who showed the patience of a saint in answering my excessive number of questions. Thanks Dan! And he had a number of discus (Cobalts) just the right size that I bought. I wanted sub-adults, to avoid so many of the juvenile health issues.


So here's the various details of the tank...

Water

84 Degrees
7.0 pH normally, 6.1 to 6.2 after CO2 injection
0 ppm Ammonia or Nitrite
8 ppm Nitrate
0.8 ppm Phosphate
15 ppm Potassium (estimated)
30-40 ppm CO2
1.75 KH degrees
3.0 GH degrees
multiple small changes daily equivalent to 50% every two days

Animals

40+ Caridina japonica (Amano shrimp)
20+ Otocinclus vittatus (Oto cats)
60+ Paracheirodon simulans (Green Neon Tetras)
7 Symphysodon spp. (Cobalt discus 4"-5")

Plants

Anubias barteri
Anubias barteri var. nana
Anubias barteri var. nana petite
Crinum calamistratum
Cryptocoryne crispatula var. Balansae
Marsilea minuta
Vesicularia fasciculata (Taiwan moss)

Ferts

Daily stock solution of K2SO4 to add 3.5 ppm Potassium
Daily 0.5ml ADA ECA (Fe)
Daily 2.5 ml ADA Green Brighty Step 1
Daily tapwater water change adds 2ppm Nitrate
Daily tapwater water change adds 0.2ppm Phosphate

Light

8 hours / day
1 54w T5 HO 10,000K bulb
1 54w T5 HO "Planta" mixed spectrum plant bulb

Substrate

ADA Powersand "Special"
ADA Tourmaline BC
ADA Aquasoil, Amazonia
ADA Bright Sand

Enough talk... here's some pics!

First, like I mentioned, I went through 7 iterations of assembly trying to get it right. This is the results of one of my "leak tests". It took a while to get it right!



Finished tank, basic setup showing bulkhead drain pre-filters, O2 airstone used at nightime, and the little tube to the right used by the pressure sensor to sense water depth.



Substrate and hardscape assembled as scaffolding for the plants



Initial Planting - day 1



The tank almost 3 months later (a few weeks ago) with discus (finally)! Yahoo! They've since adjusted rather well and look "relaxed". I'll get some more recent pics...



And a right side shot of that tank and fish, also a few weeks ago, shortly after I got the fish.




Being a discus owner (at last!) is tremendously exciting to me. And the value that "Simply" has had to my being able to take this on is enormous. It's a wonderful information resource. So thanks for the help you've provided so far!

I look forward to your thoughts and comments.



PS - sorry about the long post!

PPS - The tank is still in kind of a "grow out" phase. It'll look a bit more manicured and balanced in a month or two.

PPPS - And that wacky first pic is the tank, just a few days old, with the little LED backlights that come on every evening. Mood lighting I suppose.

[Squiggy]

Looks really good, scolley...Thanks for posting that.

Joe

[Timbo]

WOWZA!

very nice: aquascaping!
photography!
discus!
post!

[TRAKURT]

I like the tank. I wish I could buy one like that with no trim.

[wolfbane]

Scolley, that's a gorgeous tank! Discus look good in there.

[pcsb23]

Very nice indeed, glad to see you have gone with near adults, much better for this type of project. Stunning aquascaping too, very impressed.

Welcome to the dark side of discus keeping

[tpl*co]

Love the tank it looks so beautiful, but I don't think I'll ever be brave enough to drill though, will have equipment visible in my tank. Will take some of your ideas on planting for my tank though . Do you have to worry about the moss plugging the intakes? The moss and riccia in my tanks always end up in the intakes How did you secure the wood and the anubias?

Tina

[lhforbes12]

I LOVE your aquascape! I also like that you choose all RTs and only 6 for that tank. If I had a suggestion it would be to perhaps add some cories as clean up crew. The cardinals and otos were a very good choice IMO, but I wouldn't have a planted discus tank without either of them in it <grin> Your design shows both good knowledge and creativity, it is a very well executed too. Excellent job!

[marilyn1998]

Scolley,

I did the opposite of you. Came here first, grew out my discus, then succumbed to the "dark side" by planting my tank.
I have followed your threads on plantedtank.com. Very interesting! You will be a valuable resource to us here. And I know there are those here that will do the same for you and your discus!!!
Welcome to simply!!

[scolley]

Welcome to the dark side of discus keeping

Woo hooooo! I love that... "Welcome to the dark side..."! Thanks! I've been a glutton for punishment for a long time. Mixing discus with planted tanks was just inevitable I suppose. Thanks a mil!

Looks really good, scolley

Thank you Joe.

WOWZA!

very nice: aquascaping!
photography!
discus!
post!

And thanks Timbo! But realistically, those hand full of pics, shown in a single post, actually represent 15 months of work. So not as big a deal when viewed that way, I suppose. But thanks!

I like the tank. I wish I could buy one like that with no trim.

You can if you go to ADG's website, and have the cash to pay for a ton of shipping cost. I couldn't affort that personally.

Scolley, that's a gorgeous tank! Discus look good in there.

Thanks! I was hoping discus would look at home there. I'm so used to seeing discus in totally empty tanks that this seemed on one hand, the opposite end of the spectrum. But on the other hand, had to be a bit closer to nature than a all-glass sterile cube.

Love the tank it looks so beautiful, but I don't think I'll ever be brave enough to drill though, will have equipment visible in my tank. Will take some of your ideas on planting for my tank though . Do you have to worry about the moss plugging the intakes? The moss and riccia in my tanks always end up in the intakes How did you secure the wood and the anubias?

Tina the moss holds together pretty much. As do the anubias and other plants. Now when I used this same arrangement in a discuss-free tank filled with stem plants, those filters were CONSTANTLY clogged with dead plants and leaves. But not with these plants. I'm really happy with the choice.

I secure the moss with thread, until it attaches. And when I trim it, I have to be REAL careful to take out all the stray bits, or it will indeed wind up in the filter. As for riccia - don't get me started. I'm an official charter member of the Riccia Haters Club. It's beautiful, and it so easily gets totally out of control.

The anubias I secured with the ADA "Wood Tight" product. They should have called it "Brown Twist Ties". Wouldn't be able to charge as much if they called it that. But the fact is, I'd buy more of it. You feel stupid paying that for twist ties. But they work perfectly. And being brown, you don't even notice them.

I LOVE your aquascape! I also like that you choose all RTs and only 6 for that tank. If I had a suggestion it would be to perhaps add some cories as clean up crew. The cardinals and otos were a very good choice IMO, but I wouldn't have a planted discus tank without either of them in it <grin> Your design shows both good knowledge and creativity, it is a very well executed too. Excellent job!

Thanks a mil'! Except they are supposed to be Cobalts. I'm sure that is a bit more evident now (three weeks since these pics). I'll post more and you'll see.

And 6 are showing. But I really bought 8. Five originally, and they all hid in the weeds. Being more mature fish I avoided a lot of the juvie illnesses, but I inherited their lack of adaptability to new environs. So they hid most of the time.

So to mix up the tank dynamic, I bought three more from Dan V. I wanted to make sure that I got them from the same batch as the first 5 (I did), but the largest fish had all been sold. These 3 are a wee bit smaller. Just enough that they get picked on and wind up hiding. But... (this is an important "but") they changed the tank dynamic and flushed the others out. Now the original 5 are out almost all the time, and the smaller three take turns hiding instead.

One of the three jumped from the tank one night last week, so now the number is at 7. Truth be told, I never really wanted more than five anyway. The tank is only a 75, and they are only going to grow. So if I have another jumper or two over time, it's not the end of the world.

Scolley, I did the opposite of you. Came here first, grew out my discus, then succumbed to the "dark side" by planting my tank.
I have followed your threads on plantedtank.com. Very interesting! You will be a valuable resource to us here. And I know there are those here that will do the same for you and your discus!!!
Welcome to simply!!

Thanks for the welcome! I look forward to the being here, and I feel like I've already got a lot of payback I've got to do for all the great knowledge, experience and tips I've gleaned from reading the great posts here! Thanks!

And BTW Marilyn, I didn't have the courage to start discus, then do planted. Too hard IMO. I took the cowards way out. Plant's first, then discus. And to make sure we are clear... plants I can do. But the jury is out on discus. Time will tell!

And please don't hesitate to say "hi" at PT!

[pcsb23]

Scolley have to laugh, I thought I was the founder of the riccia haters club its like unruly teenagers on crack looks great in show tanks for the show then just goes nuts and you end up ripping it all out and swearing you'll never ever use it again (but you do....)

[tpl*co]

Wood Tight? Never heard of it, can you take a picture of it (or the package). I've tried fishing line and other things but lose plecos that get tangled up .

Tina

[tpl*co]

looking up some of the other plants you have in there, how hard to find is that Marsilea minuta? I've never seen it before. (shameless plea if you have any extra cuttings of it please send them my way, LOL, so I can join Riccia annonymus).

Tina

[scolley]

Scolley have to laugh, I thought I was the founder of the riccia haters club its like unruly teenagers on crack looks great in show tanks for the show then just goes nuts and you end up ripping it all out and swearing you'll never ever use it again (but you do....)

Paul, IMO it's worse than crack, and if you were socially responsible you wouldn't even talk about it here... children have access to this board I believe!

Seriously though, outside of it's nasty invasive tendencies, I've had a perfectly good tank ATTACKED by it's submersed form. When the normal emersed from morphs to the other form it turns downright vicious. I hope for your sake you haven't experienced that!

But if you haven't tried "mini riccia" I highly recommend it! It has a much smaller thallus (is that what you call it?) so it does not get entangled in stuff so easily. It forms BEAUTIFUL little pearling clusters, and it is not inclined to turn to the evil submersed form. The downside is it grows REAL slow.

I'd offer to send you some. I had some floating (for faster growth) in my grow-out tank. But some bozo sent me a plant with some hidden duckweed. Next thing I knew, I was throwing out EVERYTHING floating in that tank to eradicate the stuff - including the mini-riccia.

But I salvaged a tiny, tiny bit and if you are interested, in 4 to 6 months there may be some to send. Just lemme know.

Wood Tight? Never heard of it, can you take a picture of it (or the package). I've tried fishing line and other things but lose plecos that get tangled up .

Tina - The fish are sleeping. Too lazy for a picture. But just imagine brown twist ties. That's all it is! I comes in a big roll so you and cut off the length you want. It works GREAT! Doesn't come lose. You don't notice it. And when the plants don't need it anymore, a quick snip with the trimming scissors and it's gone! They sell it here.

looking up some of the other plants you have in there, how hard to find is that Marsilea minuta? I've never seen it before. (shameless plea if you have any extra cuttings of it please send them my way, LOL, so I can join Riccia annonymus).

Marsilea minuta is a wonderful plant IMO. I don't know if you can see it in the pics, but it's a ground cover. But much less finicky, or difficult, than riccia, Hemianthus Callitrichoides (HC), Hemianthus micranthemoides, or Glossostigma elatinoides (glosso). In this tank it can possibly be seen in small clearing in the middle mid-ground of the tank.

It has not grown in well. But IMO the important point is that is IS growing, even though I keep the lights and ferts low to avoid Green Spot Algae (GSA) on the anubias. It would be happier with more fert and light, but it tolerates the low conditions and continues to slowly spread.

Unfortunately is it really hard to find. Mine was a gift, and I would be remiss if I mentioned the source - then everyone would be asking them. There is one retailer that will sell it to you, and I'm not going to bad mouth them here. But if you find that retailer, my advice to you is DON'T BUY.

Instead I'll ask this... please send me a PM is 3-4 months. I'm SURE I'll have extra then, and would be HAPPY to send you some.

[greyhoundfan]

WoW..Home made tank. It has a really clean profile with out the tank trim. Glad to see your Colbies are out and about.

Your tank doesn't have a cener bracket. That's cool. Your engineering skills are very impressive.