Grow out tank

[yliuta]

Hi,
I just wanted to get some feedback on an idea I'm currently thinking about for a barebottom growout / planted tank hybrid!:o

I have a 50Gallon tank, it's about 1 meter long. I'm thinking of dividing the tank up, into 1/3rd section for about six 2.5" Discus to grow/eat, and 2/3rds section for plenty of plants and maybe an algae scrubber too.

Use a simple Hamberger Mat filter at the fish end, drawing the dirty water from the fish section, and bring it to the far end of the planted section and using a spray bar to get plenty of gas exchange - Would this be any good?! I'm trying to minimise water changes, by using up as much nitrate and phosphate as possible. I guess it's like a bare bottom refugium with the fish sectioned off!

My thinking is, I could decrease the size of the discus area during feeding times, to minimise excess food floating off, by moving the divider, so maybe only 1/4 of the tank is available to the fish during feeding. This divider could be made of the same material as the Hamberger Mat filter. Then any excess food that I don't siphon out, would be drawn into the Hamberger Mat filter, with nitrates eventually going to the plants, before reaching the Discus again.

Does anybody have experience of using Miracle Mud? Could it be used in several small planters to grow plants in? I like the idea of a totally clean bottom!;)

Hope that makes sense,
Thanks in advance for any help.
Cheers.

[zchauvin]

Hi,
I just wanted to get some feedback on an idea I'm currently thinking about for a barebottom growout / planted tank hybrid!:o

I have a 50Gallon tank, it's about 1 meter long. I'm thinking of dividing the tank up, into 1/3rd section for about six 2.5" Discus to grow/eat, and 2/3rds section for plenty of plants and maybe an algae scrubber too.

Use a simple Hamberger Mat filter at the fish end, drawing the dirty water from the fish section, and bring it to the far end of the planted section and using a spray bar to get plenty of gas exchange - Would this be any good?! I'm trying to minimise water changes, by using up as much nitrate and phosphate as possible. I guess it's like a bare bottom refugium with the fish sectioned off!

My thinking is, I could decrease the size of the discus area during feeding times, to minimise excess food floating off, by moving the divider, so maybe only 1/4 of the tank is available to the fish during feeding. This divider could be made of the same material as the Hamberger Mat filter. Then any excess food that I don't siphon out, would be drawn into the Hamberger Mat filter, with nitrates eventually going to the plants, before reaching the Discus again.

Does anybody have experience of using Miracle Mud? Could it be used in several small planters to grow plants in? I like the idea of a totally clean bottom!;)

Hope that makes sense,
Thanks in advance for any help.
Cheers.

I read the first part and stopped there... Six 2.5" discus in 1/3 of a 3' tank is horrible idea. Just use the whole tank bare bottom for the fish. If you absolutely have to have plants, wisteria will grow fast, need little light, and use excess waste. If you want swords, put it into a stocking of substrate and put in terra cotta pot.

[Crunchy]

Yea you'll need the whole tank for growing out. My growout tank is 90x45x45cm, just enough for 7 growouts.

[yliuta]

Ok. Well thanks for the advice. Kind of hard to judge the idea, as the only feedback has been on the tank size in relation to the number of fish! Does anybody have experience of using an algae scrubber on a grow out tank? it might need to be a fairly large scrubber.

[lipadj46]

Ok. Well thanks for the advice. Kind of hard to judge the idea, as the only feedback has been on the tank size in relation to the number of fish! Does anybody have experience of using an algae scrubber on a grow out tank? it might need to be a fairly large scrubber.

You are not the first or the last person to come here with a plan to reduce water changes via (fill in the blank) method. You won't find many here supportive of the idea in a grow out tank, its just not a good plan... but should you decide to go through with it keep a tank journal here or elsewhere so others can learn from your successes or failures.

sent from an undisclosed location using morse code

[zchauvin]

You are not the first or the last person to come here with a plan to reduce water changes via (fill in the blank) method. You won't find many here supportive of the idea in a grow out tank, its just not a good plan... but should you decide to go through with it keep a tank journal here or elsewhere so others can learn from your successes or failures.

sent from an undisclosed location using morse code

While he's at it, he may as well open a journal in the disease section with all the problems he'll have