150g Planted Discus Tank - Goh Eng Khoon Line

[Bala de Plata]

Hello all @ Simply, I have been a lurker mostly from time to time but heavily involved in the Aquarium Hobby and Planted Tanks for close to 30 years. I recently met Ricardo (Rickztahone) through another forum that I am mostly on (SCAPE) and while planning out my next large tank, decided that I really wanted to take a stab at keeping Discus again. Last time I raised Discus I think AOL just becoming big.. lol

So here are the build details for those that like the details..

Tank

150 Gallon SCAquariums Rimless Low Iron Tank with Center Overflow. I drilled another 3 holes myself in the bottom, two for returns and one for a drain fill line.
The tank came with a glass sump setup for reef's, I removed all the baffles and set it up for a three chamber sump.
The sump is setup for a full siphon line that goes into the filter and an overflow line that goes into a filter sock. The third hole in the overflow is being used as a pass through for wires to/from sump and canopy.
The main Filter is the new to our Market Theiling Rollermat, this is an automatic filter that uses rolls of fine filter fabric that keeps it fresh so to speak and you only need to replace the roll every couple months.
The center sump chamber is the bio chamber and has approximately 64 liters of Black Lava Rock for bio in the 18x18x12 chamber.
A Sicce pump passively pumps water from the first chamber of sump out Purigen Reactor -> Carbon Reactor -> 25w Emperor Aquatics UV -> then back to the last chamber of sump. Pump runs at about 60gph for most effective UV contact time.
The return pumps are two Tunze 1743.050 DC Variable Speed Pumps connected and Controlled via Apex
Heater is a Finnex Titanium 800w heater controlled via Apex
There is also a 20" Filter Chamber with Bio Bale in it being used as a Co2 reactor. Co2 is controlled via Apex pH Monitoring for a stable Co2 concentration fed into a Needle Wheel pump. (I know this one will make a few squirm)
There are a few Floats connected to a Break Out Box for help in controlling the Water Level and Auto Water Change System.
Tank is being lighted by two Ecoxotic E-Series 120 LED Lights and a Solar Flare 6700k spot for some spot lighting effect with Apex dimming for sunrise/sunset/moonlight.



Controls

Full Neptune Apex System with a Conductivity Module and all the bells and whistles (Love the Apex)
Monitors and trends tank Conductivity (dirty water)
Monitors and controls tank pH for Co2 addition
Monitors and controls tank water temperature
Monitors and controls tank water levels via RO top off
Monitors and controls reservoir water temps and levels
Controls and performs water changes per set schedule, currently 50/60% daily WC's.
Order me more Beer when Im low.. sorry, they haven't implemented that update yet. haha



Water Change Setup

Tap water filtered through 1 Micron Sediment Filter and triple Carbon Filters from BRS
Two 50ish Gallon Brute NSF Containers
Two Stainless Steel NC Valves for opening Drain and opening Fill. This system uses one pipe for in and out. By controlling the valves for when one opens and the other closes it makes it possible.
Drain line is connected to a P-Trap I installed on a clean out in my garage.




I will note that I am by trade a General Contractor in Residential and Commercial, so that helps and also hurts in some ways as things I have done may not all be to code but are to a level with which I am personally comfortable.

Most of these photos are taken from my build thread on the other forum I mention, not sure if links are allowed to cross link on other forums but I can post if that is kosher.

Build Pics..

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[Phillydubs]

man that looks awesome so far... keep the pics and updates rolling and welcome!

[Bala de Plata]

Thank you, was waiting for Mod to approve post so I can continue posting pictures etc.

More Photos of Build...

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[Bala de Plata]

Time lapse of the hardscape..



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Le_1mulDkjk&feature=youtu.be

[Bala de Plata]

Continued...


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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvxIOcyApII&feature=youtu.be

[Bala de Plata]

Now the main event...


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[rickztahone]

Love how everything is all time-lined here Rory. Thanks for updating on this side. Love the way the discus look in there. I could not have asked for a better buyer of my last batch "thinning". Thanks again.

[Pardal]

Beautiful fish! and nice looking set up.

[Second Hand Pat]

This is a beautiful tank with the build process nicely illustrated. The fish look wonderful. Keep the pictures coming.
Pat

[ruudvk]

Wow! This is going to be inspiration for my future tank! Thanks for posting.

[marinum]

lovely I really like

[Bala de Plata]

Thank you Ricardoo and all others for your comments, this has so far been one of my most enjoyable builds. No the maintaining and flourishing of it will be the measure of success I am striving for!

[Filip]

All i can say is Wow.
I will carefully read the whole thread tommorow , but from the first glance this looks like when Oliver Knott or Takashi Amano give tutorials on making dream aquariums.
Ricardo's discus have a whole new different colour and meaning in this tank :). This is exactly why I love planted tanks.
Bravo.

[rickztahone]

Just FYI, in case I missed it here on the thread, Rory has told me that he is currently doing daily ~60% WC's and no dosing. He is still feeding the discus a good amount and I have no doubt that they will grow to a very good size.

Many times on the forum I have ushered people away from planted tanks. It isn't because I do not think it can be done, but simply because I don't think the average person wanting to do a planted tank can actually pull it off. It takes a lot of planning and dedication to make something like this work. I don't want to put the wagon in front of the horse here since Rory's setup is still new, but like I said before, I have no doubt that the discus will thrive in there.

[Kyla]

gorgeous

[Phillydubs]

What type of rock are you using in there?

It looks as if you like to use the rock almost as a foundation to plant in and around and as a base, is that correct? Really awesome. Rick showed me your tank after he sold you the discus and I was like wowowowow!

Cool to see you made it here and are contributing... Again welcome and can't wait to watch this one as it goes...

[Bala de Plata]

Thank you Phil.

The exposed rock to the best of my knowledge is a type of Basalt Rock. A couple of my construction projects have literally tons of rock used as rip rap (velocity reducers) in storm water concentration areas. So I always keep an eye and cherry pick rocks when I can. They come out all different colors and types, but I have identified this common type which is dark grey and has some very nice shapes. I pick up some other random rocks to break them up, but I focus on the dark grey ones for sure. It is very similar and may be identical to what Aqua Design Amano calls Yamaya or Koke stone.

I use these types of rock as a border from the ADA Aquasoil and the ADA Colorado sand, it hold the Aquasoil back and yes I do plant in it a little. But if you are talking about what I put in the back area first in that time lapse, that is regular black lava rock (1 inch +/-) that I add Mineralized Topsoil and Black Humus and mix up as a plant base. Then I sprinkle more Mineralized topsoil and finally cap that with the ADA Aquasoil. The purpose is to give the plants a long term nutrient source in the soil so that I would be able to avoid dosing by using mostly root feeding plants. But the tap water itself and fish waste->Nitrates make plenty of nutrients available to the plants in the water column as well.

[Magoo40]

whats your impression of the Theiling Rollermat, i see you have a filter sock is that for an over flow?

[Bala de Plata]

whats your impression of the Theiling Rollermat, i see you have a filter sock is that for an over flow?

Sorry for not replying sooner, really have been trying to get some time on the tank and filter to give a decent opinion.. Yes the sock is for the safety overflow since I am using two overflows, a full siphon main and then the safety overflow.

So the filter is awesome and works as good as expected, but it is way over capacity on my 150 :( I have gone through one roll in at little as two weeks and at $30 a pop this was not what I was hoping for. It's my fault, I thought it would still be manageable but I need to make some adjustments to at least try to double the life of a filter roll. I will also say that up until I put the discus in it was doing really well, the feeding for the discus is what gets the filter I believe even with daily 50% WC's. But berfore discus it was working well and the roll was lasting pretty good.

I'm thinking of using the overflow line as basically a bypass line to filter sock so the capacity running through the rollermat is less. Or another idea I have been thinking is to put a recirc line on and sending it through a spare ocean clear canister with micron filter I have sitting around.

[rickztahone]

Sorry for not replying sooner, really have been trying to get some time on the tank and filter to give a decent opinion.. Yes the sock is for the safety overflow since I am using two overflows, a full siphon main and then the safety overflow.

So the filter is awesome and works as good as expected, but it is way over capacity on my 150 :( I have gone through one roll in at little as two weeks and at $30 a pop this was not what I was hoping for. It's my fault, I thought it would still be manageable but I need to make some adjustments to at least try to double the life of a filter roll. I will also say that up until I put the discus in it was doing really well, the feeding for the discus is what gets the filter I believe even with daily 50% WC's. But berfore discus it was working well and the roll was lasting pretty good.

I'm thinking of using the overflow line as basically a bypass line to filter sock so the capacity running through the rollermat is less. Or another idea I have been thinking is to put a recirc line on and sending it through a spare ocean clear canister with micron filter I have sitting around.

That is a shame Rory. Can you control at the rate that the filter cycles the roll? Will this just make way for way too many nasties on the filter?

[Bala de Plata]

Well you know me Ricardo, I will figure something out lol.

Yeah I had tried that using the Apex controller, I have played around with putting an OSC statement on the filter outlet so that it only would let it turn on for 3 secs every 5 mins or so, but occasionally that would get it to by pass out the filters own overflow port cause if the internal water level gets too high it can get past the filter media. So even with the OSC statement it seemed to work better on its on, I just control the amount of water going into it by closing the valve on that siphon line a little. Next idea is to raise it higher out of the sump, the thinking there is if the water in and out of the filter will not be in equilibrium as much, there would be more internal pressure forcing water through the filter media maybe. With more static water pressure on the roll I think it may last longer as the water level may not rise internally as much..? Dont know, but bottom line is that filter cant be removed from the sump unless I drain the tank completely as I have to remove a brace to be able to slide sump out and lift the filter out. So it's staying.

[rickztahone]

Well you know me Ricardo, I will figure something out lol.

Yeah I had tried that using the Apex controller, I have played around with putting an OSC statement on the filter outlet so that it only would let it turn on for 3 secs every 5 mins or so, but occasionally that would get it to by pass out the filters own overflow port cause if the internal water level gets too high it can get past the filter media. So even with the OSC statement it seemed to work better on its on, I just control the amount of water going into it by closing the valve on that siphon line a little. Next idea is to raise it higher out of the sump, the thinking there is if the water in and out of the filter will not be in equilibrium as much, there would be more internal pressure forcing water through the filter media maybe. With more static water pressure on the roll I think it may last longer as the water level may not rise internally as much..? Dont know, but bottom line is that filter cant be removed from the sump unless I drain the tank completely as I have to remove a brace to be able to slide sump out and lift the filter out. So it's staying.

lol, staying for sure! That is what you call being invested in a system :)

I'm sure you will figure it out Mr. Macgyver

[Bala de Plata]

FTS picture update.. Hopefully image quality is not too bad.

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160329/48756dd20cff5353af27edf1157fa9b8.jpg

[nofearengineer]

I really like your H. pinnatifida grouping on the wood. You just confirmed it will work in my tank too. =)

[zergling]

Hi Rory, you have a very beautiful and inspiring setup right there! It's amazing to see the results of countless number of hours planning, building, and fine-tuning a high tech aquascaped planted tank! That alone already is an accomplishment, even before factoring the care requirements that discus bring in.

Hope you don't mind, I have a few questions for you -
1) What are the dimensions of the tank? It's seems 5'x2'x2' to me, but I'm just guessing..
2) What's your pH with CO2 on? What would your pH go up to if you leave CO2 off and let it off gas?
3) Do you have any issues with small fish/critters getting into the overflow?
4) Any Cory cats in there, or planning to bring in?

Thank you!

[Phillydubs]

Awesome shot! Keep them coming!! Love this tank so much!

[Bala de Plata]

Awesome shot! Keep them coming!! Love this tank so much!

Thank you Philly


Hi Rory, you have a very beautiful and inspiring setup right there! It's amazing to see the results of countless number of hours planning, building, and fine-tuning a high tech aquascaped planted tank! That alone already is an accomplishment, even before factoring the care requirements that discus bring in.

Hope you don't mind, I have a few questions for you -
1) What are the dimensions of the tank? It's seems 5'x2'x2' to me, but I'm just guessing..
2) What's your pH with CO2 on? What would your pH go up to if you leave CO2 off and let it off gas?
3) Do you have any issues with small fish/critters getting into the overflow?
4) Any Cory cats in there, or planning to bring in?

Thank you!

Thank you, here is some info to the best of my knowledge.

1) Yes, it is a 5x2x2 approx
2) With PH off its is around 6.95 (+/- .05). I have been varying the ph quite a bit trying my best to ease the discus into the co2. I have been using my apex to control the ph within +/- 0.02 degrees, so the co2/ph has been very stable and I have been stepping it down more in the past two weeks as they have adjusted and settled to the tank very well I believe. So at this moment I have the ph controlled at 6.66/6.64 as the hi/low setting.
3) I have noticed that a RCS and Snail colony have taken up residency in my sump. Bu that is it so far and I am fine with them in there :)
4) Yes there are 10 Panda Cories in the tank.


I really like your H. pinnatifida grouping on the wood. You just confirmed it will work in my tank too. =)

Glad I could help and thanks :)

[ktm4us6]

Great looking tank, I hope my tank looks as nice eventually. I'm also going with a planted tank.

[Chef]

Very nice tank!!!!!! giving me great ideas on next tank

[Akili]

FTS picture update.. Hopefully image quality is not too bad.

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160329/48756dd20cff5353af27edf1157fa9b8.jpgLove the rock work and driftwood,very nice setup overall.

[Davidzil]

Awesome!!!

[Bala de Plata]

http://youtu.be/lkipejxAdyM

https://youtu.be/lkipejxAdyM

[rickztahone]

http://youtu.be/lkipejxAdyM

Looking very good Rory. I see one is really big! He must be the boss of the tank.

[Bala de Plata]

Been a little while..

Been non co2 for almost 8 weeks now. Have the lights dialed way down, plants are ok. Little melt and transition here and there but ok overall. Plan was always to get plants to grow and spread as much and as quick as reasonably possible without algae issues too much. Now that they got there I'm taking the foot off the gas so it just maintains a full and very slow/sustainable (little to no trimming) state. Only doing two 50% WC's a week by apex control now, was daily for first 60+ days.

Fish are happy. Deitritus accumulation has been an issue as the tank has filled out. Looking at adding a closed loop micron filtration cartridge that I can also incorporate/use some pool/solenoid valves for auto back flushing/cleaning the cartridge in an overall attempt filter the finer debris and lessen the burden on the rollermat.

Tinker, tinker, tinker.

Sorry guys if these pics look like sh ite. I only ever use my phone for the forum and not a desktop, so I'm not sure if they are all pixelated crap or what... Sigh[emoji20]

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160610/8351ea658a077e61c6e06416386b29a7.jpg

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160610/ba2cdebf567a3cee4e950c5a5d224457.jpg

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160610/990c9a5345137d72d1ffc4c8aee8b539.jpg

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160610/cd8d60e31a3ad23f28722bdca2599c33.jpg

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160610/7a7a990a989ed0a9506f95dd930e5de9.jpg

[pastry]

Absolutely beautiful, Bala. Loooove the lay out and complimenting group of fish.

[rickztahone]

As I told you yesterday Rory, that is looking stunning. Let us know how your tinker goes ;). You are a regular MacGyver :laugh:

[Davidzil]

Good stuff Rory,
What is the size of your discus?

[Bala de Plata]

Thanks guys.

I have never measured but since you asked tried to compare one of the bigger ones to the size of my hand while it was parrell to the glass. After measuring my hand to the approx size id say it is about 6.25" to 6.5" nose to tail

[pamdb33]

Pretty looking tank!

[Bala de Plata]

Been a while since posting. Here's a bit of a quick update..

The tank has now been set up for a full year and 95% automated in WC and filter Maintenance. In this year I have used 7 rolls of the Rollermatt fabric. I did lose one discus over the summer I believe, it was always the odd one out. Two have paired off and have been breeding about every other week or so for a few months. But they always breed above the WC line so it never last more than a day or two. Luckily with the layout the fish are not too aggressive with each other and there is room to be spread out and have their own territory. Im really not interested in trying to change any thing to get a succesful breed, just think its funny that they keep going at it and I have not done a thing to encourage it, in fact I have tried to discourage lol!

Daughter helped me "clean" the plants a month or so ago. Unfortunately her version of cleaning resemblse tearing plants to bits. Try not to thing about the huge clumps of NLJava Fern and Anubias Petite I lost. oh well, going for a Amazon forest now. here is some video last night cathcing them in action.



https://youtu.be/QACYCxZ0UHY



https://youtu.be/vB2IYgfYF5I



https://youtu.be/ksjqH90bAxk

[two utes]

Thanks for the updates. Nothing better than looking at a well set up planted tank with beautiful discus in it...l didn't catch what strain they are though.
Since the clean up your plants have been thinned out dramatically, but l'm sure they will bounce back in no time. I also think that its fantastic that you are able to get your daughter involved with it, shredded plants or not. Well done all round

[rickztahone]

Well don't Rory.

Joe, Rory's discus come from the same batch mine came from, so they are eruption leopards and fine line snakes, 14 bar

[two utes]

Well don't Rory.

Joe, Rory's discus come from the same batch mine came from, so they are eruption leopards and fine line snakes, 14 bar

Thanks Ricardo. Very nice!

[rickztahone]

Well don't Rory.

Joe, Rory's discus come from the same batch mine came from, so they are eruption leopards and fine line snakes, 14 bar

Lol,meant to say done, not don't.

[axl10]

Hey mate,
great looking tank and setup, what do you feed your discus? How often are they getting feed?

[Bala de Plata]

They get fed these about twice a day using just freeze dried Australian black worms with either the color enhance or Spinach.

[HappyFace]

Such a beautiful setup Bala De Plata.

[Filip]

Great job Rory . Your Planted Tank set up and Ricardo's Eruptions , they both looking great.

I'm curious though , how do you maintain and siphon the Jungle of plants and decor behind the stones Rory ?
Do you siphon that plant substrate part of the tank ?

[Bala de Plata]

I have never siphoned the tank. Once or twice a year I may move plants but that's it. I will rake the sand as well but just to get aqua soil out of it.

Occasionally I will use my hand to wave water around and kick up mulm to allow the filter to pick it up, but not often. This setup is all about zero maintenance by me. Water changes and filters are automated 95-99%.

[adrian31@outlook.com]

Occasionally I will use my hand to wave water around and kick up mulm to allow the filter to pick it up, but not often. This setup is all about zero maintenance by me. Water changes and filters are automated 95-99%.

Very nice fish and tank. How are you automating the filters? If you have any info online please provide link.

[Bala de Plata]

I use the Rollermat filter as the main filtration for this tank. It requir changing a roll of filter floss material about 6 times a year or so.

However it is rather maxed out at this tank size and with Discus. There is a filter sock for the 2nd flow of the "Herbie" drain, but this receives very little flow.

The water is also changed 50% 3x a week via Apex programming as setup with filtered tap water stores in my garage.

[Adive]

Great tank! I see congo tetras with the discus. How is feeding managed? Congos are so fast to their food whereas discus are kind of slow. How does it work out? How do the discus get their fair share?

Non-discus fish species could cause infections to discus. Did you do any special quarantine procedures on your non-discus fish before adding them in with discus?

Thanks.

[Bala de Plata]

Feeding is done via worm cone feeders and Congos have always remained secondary to Discus when feeding. I only purposely feed the the discus and all other fish sustain on the scraps from the discus. Only the ABNP and panda cories will try to feed from the cones if the discus are feeding. But all fish bow to the "Big Guys" as my daughter says.

The discus were the last introduction to the tank. Sourced all non discus from very reputable LFS's and they were in tank 4-6 weeks monitored prior to discus. That was it

[navarro1950]

Your tank looks so great in my next life I'd like come back as one of your fish, any one.

[skanderson]

I may have missed this in the thread but I was wondering what kind of discus these are. I am new to discus and starting to gather info for a large planted discus tank, and find this thread very inspiring. thanks, steve

[bigdreams]

Awesome tank and build. I need to save up for a Rollermat and Apex. Automation is key, really impressed with how you set things up. May need to do something similar if/when I eventually get discus. Thanks for the great ideas!

[alron2]

I

The water is also changed 50% 3x a week via Apex programming as setup with filtered tap water stores in my garage.

can you please tell me more about the stainless steel value you are using to drain the tank? I am having trouble finding one that will open with near zero preSure on it. If you could give me the part number, brand and where you purchased the values I would really appreciate it.

Beautiful tank and great setup, too expensive for me, but maybe I can copy part of it.
Thanks
Ron

[aeneas]

Hi Rory, reviving your old thread - this was a fantastic read, a very inspirational build and one of the few descriptions of the Theiling Rollermat in action.
After several years running, I was wondering if you were able to dial-in the rollermat further by now? looking back, would you go again with it, or would you rather choose a mechanical sponge filtration which can easilly be cleaned up at no cost?
I am currently building a 300gal discuss tank which I intend to scape in a really nice heavily planted "nature aquarium" style. I am really intrigued by the Rollermat idea to simplify the maintenance, but when I look at Theiling's site and their instruction manual, they suggest one roll should last 4-6 months, meaning 2-3 rolls per year. You seem to be running more than twice that speed.
Really curious if you could give us some tips now with your accumulated experience with this device?
Much appreciated!