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155g Discus aquarium with AquaTerra 3D background (picture heavy).
Hello everyone! What a fantastic forum! I thought I would share my Discus “project” with anyone that would care to take a look. I took a leave of absence from the hobby for almost 15 years. Previously I had both salt and fresh water tanks, but never any Discus. My wife, daughter and son encouraged me to get back into it and wow! So much has changed over the years!
In July of this of this year I found a used tank and stand on Craigslist and decided this was it. My wife thought I would start back into the hobby with maybe a 55g tank. Surprise! I cleaned it all up, touched up the stand and started planning on what to do with it. I went back and forth between an African Cichlid tank or a Discus tank with live plants. Since I’m here, I guess you know my decision.
Here’s the basics on my setup:
Aquarium, filtration and lighting:
155 gallons with black 4-door stand and matching black 4-door canopy.
Lights installed within each of the four under tank cabinets so I can see!
AquaTerra Tanganyika rock 3D background.
1 – Rena XP3 canister filter (filled with peat, pads, and various bio-media).
1 – Rena XP4 canister filter (filled with peat, pads, and various bio-media).
2- 300 watt heaters.
2 - Koralia water circulation pump mounted behind the background.
160 lbs of Eco-Complete.
Catalina T-5 HO retrofits: 2 units, each with 2 – 6500k, 39 watt bulbs set for 8 hours.
Temperature: varies slightly from 84-86 degrees.
pH: ~ 7.4.
Fish:
8 – Discus, all different kinds
5 – German Blue Rams
4 – Clown loaches
3 – Yoyo loaches
2 – Upside down butterfly catfish
3 – Ottos
12 – Rummy Nose Tetra’s
5 - algae eating shrimp
1 - Red Tail shark
Driftwood:
Several pieces of Malaysian driftwood to help maintain the pH.
Plants:
Work in progress, some Anubias to start.
The aquarium is now fully up and running, but here’s a pictorial review of how it all started before the fish and plants:
********************
The background has arrived! Just sitting on top for the picture. Now to get it into the aquarium.
Angle view to try and show a little more detail. We are very happy with this background. It is quite stout and very detailed.
Sitting on the floor to show the undulations:
Had to cut it into 1/3's to get it to fit. THAT was a bit nerve racking! The pink high-density foam on the bottom will lift up the background so that it is snug against the glass supports at the top of the aquarium. Obviously the pink foam will get covered by substrate.
Reassembled the three pieces into the tank successfully! Whew!!! I thought long and hard about how to "glue" the pieces and then hold them in place. I used black silicone sealant, T-pins and rubber bands. I stuck the T-pins in at about a 45 degree angle before gluing up and down each section. Then siliconed the two pieces together and then strung the rubber bands across the seam to the T-pins, thus holding it all together! Waalaah! Waited 24 hours and repeated on the remaining section.
Prior to that I cut a rectangular opening that allows water to pass from the front to rear and covered it with some included plastic mesh, glued from the backside. That black blob looking thing is where the mesh is.
Front view of the 'port' that goes through the background. This is the primary pass through for the water to go from front to back where all the filter intakes are. I had to place it high enough to allow for 3 inches of substrate.
It took awhile to figure out where to place all the equipment. Two filter intakes and returns, two heaters and two circulation pumps to move the water around behind the background. My goal was to have as little equipment showing as possible. Facing the back of the aquarium, this is to the right.
This is the view to the left, again when facing the back of the aquarium. The 'looping' return line has an opening through the "rock" wall out to the front. The return line at the top of the picture is for the 2nd filter and I had to run the return to a spray bar that sits in the upper right hand corner and streams water out right to left down the entire length of the aquarium.
This is a top view looking straight down on how I routed the return line from filter #2.
This picture shows the spray bar return and the black circle (to the right of that flash flare) is the return end of filter #1. The spray bar is the only piece of equipment in front of the background. Since it's tucked way up and to the right, it's barely noticeable especially with the canopy in place. Trying to maintain that "clean" look.
Done with the background and hardware! My daughter found pictures of the fish we want to put in the aquarium from the internet, printed them out and taped them to the inside. Hint, hint! Get busy Dad and get it done!
Length-wise shot showing the equipment behind the background.
All ready for the Eco-Complete.
Eco-Complete is in.
Eco-Complete and the pass through port to the back. Looks like I got the height in the right position.
Layout in the aquarium stand. Rena XP3 on the left and a Rena XP4 on the right. I used battery powered LED lights for the two center compartments as I don't electricity there. The outer two each have a 13" light velcro'd to the top.
That's it for the moment. I need to upload more pictures of the Discus and plants, then get them posted into this thread. Thanks for looking!
Last edited by Second Hand Pat; 12-15-2012 at 03:45 PM.
Re: 155g planted Discus aquarium with AquaTerra 3D background (picture heavy).
Nice and neat!! cant wait to c it all set
just a side note on tank mates for Discus , i definitely woudnt put
– Clown loaches
- Red Tail shark
it seems they stress Discuss too much with their constant movement and greedy eating
Best of luck with the project
Natalia
We're here for a good time...not a long time..
Re: 155g planted Discus aquarium with AquaTerra 3D background (picture heavy).
I agree with above I personally realy like clone loaches but after reading what everyone says I'll prob get yoyo's instead. Nice background I picked up a back to nature slimline background for my project yesterday. Keep us updated with your progress
Re: 155g planted Discus aquarium with AquaTerra 3D background (picture heavy).
I like the substrate but everyone says stay away from dark ones because it shows up peppering and makes the discus turn dark
Re: 155g planted Discus aquarium with AquaTerra 3D background (picture heavy).
Looking Nice! Neat looking set up.
just another side note, I seeing in your pics, you are planning to get some red and royal pigeon looking fishes, They more likely will get some peppering with the black sand or gravel you have. if you don't might the peppering is ok, just be advise they will change their clean looking as the week progress.
The background will not influence as much, but the substrate will definately affect them.
If you care try to get some white sand like pool filter sand, or brand names like crystal river, or torpedo beach from caribsea. after all the amazon bottom is for the most white sand.
Re: 155g planted Discus aquarium with AquaTerra 3D background (picture heavy).
Hi. Great job so far! I had a question about your filteration though. I've been looking at the Rena filters and from what I understand of them, the Rena XP3 should be able to handle your tank on its own. Why did you choose two powerful filters? Also, did you condisder using something like the Fluval FX5? I'm going to be getting a 180 here soon and I'm trying to figure out what type of filter to get so your thoughts may help me out. Thanks!
Anthony
Re: 155g planted Discus aquarium with AquaTerra 3D background (picture heavy).
Thank you for the compliment! As I mentioned way back near the top, I'm already up and running with the fish and plants. So far (6+ weeks for the Clown loaches and 1 week for the Red Tail shark) everyone is getting along famously! The Clowns tend to stay at the bottom, moving through the plants and around the driftwood. Sometimes they explore the background and rest on a ledge. The Red Tail shark is a tiny little guy and he is all over the place! Last night I watched him scatter the Rummy Nose tetras and seemed to actually enjoy it! He too explores the entire aquarium, nibbling on the driftwood, swimming through the plants and seems to care less about the Discus.Originally Posted by vera
Nice and neat!! cant wait to c it all set
just a side note on tank mates for Discus , i definitely woudnt put
– Clown loaches
- Red Tail shark
it seems they stress Discuss too much with their constant movement and greedy eating
Best of luck with the project
Thank you! I look forward to seeing your progress too! Regarding the Clowns and the Yoyo's, I've found the Yoyo's, one in particular, to be far more active than the Clowns. That one in particular, is a PIG!!! I think I'm going to have a pot-bellied Yoyo loach! The other two don't eat nearly as much as this one fish! He is something else! In my tank, the Clowns seem to be a better 'fit'. Just my observations anyway.
Hmmmm. I hadn't read any comments about the dark substrate and it's potential effects on the Discus. Honestly, I haven't noticed it having an effect on the coloring of my Discus (a slight darkening perhaps on one). Initially, in the early planning stages, I was going first and foremost for a planted aquarium and the black Eco-Complete fit my requirements perfectly. Plus at the time, one of the main pet store suppliers had it on sale PLUS free shipping! That saved me a ton of money since I bought around 160 lbs of the stuff. Now, I'm trying to walk the line between a planted tank and a Discus tank. Ensuring that all inhabitants needs are met or exceeded.
Thank you Pardal! Regarding my choice of substrate, please see my comments above to RudeDogg's second post. The pictures on the aquarium just happened to be what my daughter found. As it turns out, I think I do have two Pigeon's. One already had some peppering on 'him' and the other with a similar orange color has darkened somewhat, but no peppering that I see at this time. In fact, those two seem to be generating a bond of some kind and hang around together.
Thank you too! A Rena XP3 came with the aquarium, but after spending a whole bunch of time reading posts on the Planted Tank forum, I believed it was not going to be enough for the fish load I wanted to keep. Since I already had a Rena, along with a variety of parts and so forth, I bought an XP4. A friend of mine showed me his FX5 (looked like a small wet/dry vac!), but I don't think it would have fit inside my tank stand. Also, since I have two canister filters, I can clean them on alternating schedules to minimize disruption to the biological filtration that they are providing. For the investment I've made so far, I like having the redundancy of two filters, just in case something was to happen to one of them.
Thanks all for your comments, feedback and suggestions! Now I need to post some pictures that are more recent.
Re: 155g planted Discus aquarium with AquaTerra 3D background (picture heavy).
Quote:
Originally Posted by RudeDogg1
I like the substrate but everyone says stay away from dark ones because it shows up peppering and makes the discus turn dark
Hmmmm. I hadn't read any comments about the dark substrate and it's potential effects on the Discus. Honestly, I haven't noticed it having an effect on the coloring of my Discus (a slight darkening perhaps on one). Initially, in the early planning stages, I was going first and foremost for a planted aquarium and the black Eco-Complete fit my requirements perfectly. Plus at the time, one of the main pet store suppliers had it on sale PLUS free shipping! That saved me a ton of money since I bought around 160 lbs of the stuff. Now, I'm trying to walk the line between a planted tank and a Discus tank. Ensuring that all inhabitants needs are met or exceeded.
its something to do with them trying to blend in with there surroundings im sure someone will pipe in and confirm it. I bought my tank today so wont be long till ill be setting up to
Re: 155g planted Discus aquarium with AquaTerra 3D background (picture heavy).
Sorry for not taking the time to read the posts above...
But your setup is looking good. I will warn you that some discus will probably pepper with your dark gravel. I use semi-dark Flourite in my tank and my Fire Reds have already peppered up a bit. The fish will try to blend into it's surroundings. Also would recommend not using clown loaches, they like strong current, tend to be feisty eaters, and grow to be quite big. Discus like slow currents, and are often scared by big fast moving fish. to Good luck with the setup!
Last edited by aXio; 10-18-2010 at 03:38 PM.
Re: 155g planted Discus aquarium with AquaTerra 3D background (picture heavy).
Everything looks nice in the pictures,but i think your way over stalked.
Jerry
Re: 155g planted Discus aquarium with AquaTerra 3D background (picture heavy).
Oh, thats great!! please share with us yr observation on them , it might be different to their usual behaviour especially when they grow
keep lid tight tho' they r excellent jumpers
best of luck
Natalia
We're here for a good time...not a long time..
Re: 155g planted Discus aquarium with AquaTerra 3D background (picture heavy).
That's OK, there is a lot of information there! Thank you for the compliment and the feedback. Makes sense about wanting to blend. In my tank, the Yoyo loaches tend to be the feisty eaters and rather pushy. At least one in particular is that way.The Clowns are pretty docile. The Discus are pretty assertive at mealtime and are holding their own. No fights, they are just going after the food and not being timid. Regarding water flow, I have the return line from the first filter about 2/3 up from the bottom (coming through the background wall itself) and the other is the spray bar directing water across the surface. There is some current up near the top, but overall it's enough to move the water around and not cause issues. Thanks again! So far, so good!
Thanks for the comments Jerry.
Absolutely! The glass lids are on tight, thanks for the warning.
Re: 155g planted Discus aquarium with AquaTerra 3D background (picture heavy).
It looks as if you have really done your homework and the end result is nice.
Good job placing everything.
Thanks for sharing,
Kraig
Re: 155g planted Discus aquarium with AquaTerra 3D background (picture heavy).
Good thoughts. Thanks for your explaination!A Rena XP3 came with the aquarium, but after spending a whole bunch of time reading posts on the Planted Tank forum, I believed it was not going to be enough for the fish load I wanted to keep. Since I already had a Rena, along with a variety of parts and so forth, I bought an XP4. A friend of mine showed me his FX5 (looked like a small wet/dry vac!), but I don't think it would have fit inside my tank stand. Also, since I have two canister filters, I can clean them on alternating schedules to minimize disruption to the biological filtration that they are providing. For the investment I've made so far, I like having the redundancy of two filters, just in case something was to happen to one of them.
Anthony
Re: 155g planted Discus aquarium with AquaTerra 3D background (picture heavy).
Thank you and you're welcome.
Certainly!
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I uploaded a few more pictures this evening. Again, these are from about a month and a half ago to about 2 weeks ago. Just showing the progression of the aquarium.
Finally filled with water! Sorry, the picture is a little overexposed, but you get the idea. Newly acquired black canopy on top with some very basic shop lights mounted to the inside, top. They have since been replaced with some Catalina fixtures.
The right hand side before adding any Discus. I believe I had the Clowns and the Yoyo's.
Angled view of the whole aquarium. Still trying to figure out placement of the driftwood and the plants. Yes, it's a little too bare. Still working on it.
I ended up buying another piece of driftwood for the right hand side and moved things around on the left and added more plants. I was trying to create an unobstructed space for some of the plants. The long exposure time gave me blurry fish! Oh well. My camera has a hard time with low light and moving objects.
A semi-closeup of some of the plants and a blurry fish!
Left side, a little closer view and more blurry fish. Darn things won't hold still!
Right side, a little closer and those blurry fish again! I asked a friend to come over with his better camera to take some pictures of the Discus. I'll upload some of his pictures a little later.
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