Son of Kahuna (56K warining!!!)

[scolley]

In my old "Saying Hi - Kahuna... " thread, I had a tank that I really loved. But it was one I built myself, made some mistakes in that process, and one afternoon it ruptured. So the "Kahuna" tank is no more. Bummer.

I put all my Discus and plants in big plastic trash cans (with heaters and filters, and what-not), where they remained for 4 or 5 months while I set up a new tank. In the interim I bought some hi-bodied Leopards (bull dog?) discus from Dan V. at Gulf Coast Discus. They went into their own trash can while they waited for the tank to be set up too.

I finally got it set up. The stand is pretty wicked - or at least the stuff in it. Fairly high tech - it pretty much runs itself. All I've got to do is toss in the food. If you want more details on that, please go take a look at Plantedtank.net, where I have a thread with pics. It's also called "Son of Kahuna".

The tank has been up for about 3 weeks now. Here are a few fish pics.

Sorry that there are so many, I couldn't figure out which ones I like the best. And I'm leaving on a 3 week vacation in a few days, so I'm a bit rushed. I hope the tank fares OK, while I'm gone. And I hope you enjoy the pics. Oh, also, they are clickable if you want to see a really big one.


















































Thanks for looking. Cheers.

[phidelt85]

This tank makes me wanna start over. Steve, I think it is awesome. Not much else to say. Keep raising that bar up, you're doing great.

Jose

[Greg Richardson]

Now that tank has EVERYTHING going for it.
From the tank to what is in it. Fantasic job!
I'd be very proud of it if I was you!

[scolley]

Jose! Don't say that about starting over! You make me want to stop posting. But I do appreciate the kind words. Thanks! Trying to raise the bar makes the hobby fun! But honest to goodness, mostly I just like having something lovely to look at. And fish and plants together do a good job in that area IMO.

Greg - Wow! Thanks!

Too bad I really don't know much about discus. I'm mean, I'm trying to pay attention to things necesssary to keep them healthy. But all the breeding, genetics, good body confirmation and all that stuff goes "WHOOSH!"... right over my head. I just like 'em if they look nice!

Thanks guys. Makes me glad I took the time to post!

[gg5190]

I like the look of those all glass tanks. It almost seems like the water is just floating there. Great job! If only i could set up a tank that looks half as good, ill be happy!

[tacks]

Hi Steve a very nice job and as you said you will have many hours of enjoyment there. Great set up, some nice open areas and plenty of areas to hide. I was wondering will any of your plants in time grow to te top of the tank or waterlevel.? I dont know to much about discus but yours look great in there, just a nice looking complete package of discus and plants. Enjoy your vacation. Ed

[scolley]

I like the look of those all glass tanks. It almost seems like the water is just floating there. Great job!

That's not glass. It's a plexiglass tank. I LOVE that effect too, and IMO you get it when you lose the canopy. And that illusion is helped if you can minimize the stuff going over the top edges of the tank. Plus, you might note, I left off the trim at the top of the stand. Seeing the tank sitting flat on the stand seems to help that "big cube of water" illusion. Cool huh? It's just those simple little tricks that fool the eye.

Great set up, some nice open areas and plenty of areas to hide. I was wondering will any of your plants in time grow to te top of the tank or waterlevel.?

Thanks Ed. I'm frustrated by those open areas. They were supposed to attract the fish. And the left to right slope was supposed to cause the discus to be in the open water to the left, facing the left - which is where most people in the room will be. And initially it did that perfectly.

But now they seemed to have set up some sort of hierarchy, and each discus has a perferred hiding spot in the plants. So rather than schooling in the open areas for comfort, they retreat to their designated hiding area in the plants.

It's not like they hide all the time. Far from it. And they are all out and in my face every time I come in the room. But they aren't just hanging in the open areas like I want. They are up at the top of the water because "Mr. Food" has come around again.

I'm not sure of any of these plants will break the surface. I wasn't planning on it. If they do, it's my plan to cut them. But it worked OK for the Kahuna. So I might see how it looks first. This aquascape is FAR from finished. I just needed to get the tank up and functional so I could go on vacation. Hardcore aquascaping will come later. Thanks.

[fishmama]

Yeah!!! Steve's baaacckkkk.....and over the top again! Looks fabulous! And I'm sure those guys were happy to get out of the trash cans ;-)

[phidelt85]

Hey, Steve. I've got the same issues as far as hiding Discus. They, however, do the opposite for me. They scatter behind the plant figure out what I'm doing. If they realize, "hey he's got the bag of food, or little red cubes of yum yum" then they slowly come out. I wish they would follow the lead of the rams. They are always front and center when I show up. Partly I think it may be due to my work schedule; they don't have a fixed feeding time.

BTW, please don't even think about stopping posting. It's tanks like yours and Darter's just to mention a couple that make me look at mine and see the potential. I follow your threads with excitement, keep it coming.

[scolley]

Thanks Fishmama! But you know what??? I think those fish actually LIKED the trash cans! They were so stuffed with driftwood and plants, that there were massive areas to hide. And they were spawning in there! They may be p*ssed that I took them out.

phidelt85 - Thanks for pointing out Darter02! Some of his later pics are wonderful. Not a biotope certainly, but definitely a nice looking tank. With nice pics!

[Tropical Haven]

Very nice looking tank, I could sit there and stare at it all day long, fantastic job you did.

[Ed13]

In the interim I bought some hi-bodied Leopards (bull dog?) discus from Dan V. at Gulf Coast Discus. They went into their own trash can while they waited for the tank to be set up too.

This is just too funny Steve!! yet they still came out better than most!

Very nice, this tank should be very impressive once it matures and fills in and of course I know when Steve has some free time he'll make some changes.
Steve I also thought the tank was glass. Many acrylic tank manufacturers recomend not using MH on acrylic tanks, because the temp will expand and contract the material making it brittle and fracturing overtime.
You may not have much trouble since your pendants appear to be high enough, but it may void the warranty on the tank. Just in case you ever have any trouble, check the warranty!

BTW, any chance the water level can be higher? not while your on vacation though!

[Blackwater Aquaria]

Steve: You have done a very nice tank it all balances together. I have afew questions.#1 your substrate is it all sand or do you have a substrate under it.I have done a 125 gal tank planted with swords it did not take to long before the root system just rotted so I did the tank back to a flourite and gravel substrate.#2 you have some great looking anubias plants did you buy them that large or did you grow the out if you did buy them where did you get them.#3 do you use any supplements for the plants lastly what type of filltration do you have again beauty of a tank. Mike from Blackwater Aquaria

[April]

nice tank. what size? and whats mh? i have plexi tanks. so curious..the lights?

[Ed13]

nice tank. what size? and whats mh? i have plexi tanks. so curious..the lights?

MH are metal halide lights
plexiglas is a brand name, cast acrylic is the type we want for aquarium related projects, there are several types of plexi not all are suited for tanks, grow out and breeder tanks should be ok though