Waterbox 230.6 Blackwater Discus tank build

[lpsouth1978]

This will be my first time keeping Discus, and after doing a lot of research, reading, and watching videos, I decided on a blackwater discus tank. I have been keeping fish for more than 20 years and reef tanks for more than 15, so I am not new to aquaria, just Discus. Now onto the build!

After selling my home and moving recently, I knew one of the first things I wanted to do was to purchase my "dream" tank, a Waterbox 230.6. I love the clean lines and the beauty of the LARGE rimless tanks. I ordered the tank and about 10 days later it was sitting in my garage.

https://live.staticflickr.com/7812/32654799757_840ed680f2_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/RKAohV)20190412_152155 (https://flic.kr/p/RKAohV) by Lyle Southard (https://www.flickr.com/photos/166227805@N05/), on Flickr

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After getting the tank in thee garage and opening the crate, I immediately started the process of assembling the stand. Unfortunately, this was a bit more difficult than I had hoped, since there did not seem to be any instructions, just a diagram of the parts and a single picture of the stand assembly. After some effort and redoing a couple of parts, I had the stand assembled (no doors on it yet) and in its chosen location. This is when I ran into my first minor complication with the assembly. The stand was missing a few small anchors used for attaching the hinges to the stand. 1 email later and the parts were on their way from Waterbox.

https://live.staticflickr.com/7912/33720254138_aedd575458_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/TnK7L3)20190408_220511 (https://flic.kr/p/TnK7L3) by Lyle Southard (https://www.flickr.com/photos/166227805@N05/), on Flickr

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Unfortunately, at this point I was forced to wait before moving the tank into the house. I had to try and find some help with moving the tank and especially lifting it onto the stand, I made a few phone calls, got a few commitments, and scheduled the move for Saturday morning. In the meantime I made a plan for the move. I have an 8 foot gate on the side of the house with a walkway all the way to the back patio, and a double wide opening sliding door in the back. My plan was to move the tank ontto 2 furniture dolly's and roll the tank around to the back door, where we could easily get it through the extra wide sliding doors and right to the stand. I had planned on 6 people being there to help with the move, but there were only 3 of us. Luckily I had also purchased 6 glass suction cup handles. With a Lot less effort than I had expected, the 3 of us were able to lift the tank onto the stand, and move it into place.

Now it was time to start filling the tank. I had been soaking some manzanita branches for several days, so I started with that water first. Then I started making lots of RO water. I have a 400gpd light commercial system that made this go pretty quick. I treated the water with R/O right and added it to the tank. I also added the branches and some boiled Indian Almond Leaves and alder cones, as well as some of the extract created by boiling the leaves and cones. Then I powered on the system. Finally, I started to cycle the tank by adding ammonium chloride and Dr Tim's One and Only to the tank. Now all I can do is sit back, relax, and research.

https://live.staticflickr.com/7862/40634494023_bf195ab08d_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/24UJpox)20190413_110520 (https://flic.kr/p/24UJpox) by Lyle Southard (https://www.flickr.com/photos/166227805@N05/), on Flickr

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System Stats:

- Waterbox 230.6 Aquarium
- 41g glass sump w/7" filter sock and 7" media cup
- 18g Auto top off container
- JBJ Auto top off controller
- 2 x 500W Finnex Titanium heaters
- Inkbird Temp. controller
- American Marine Pinpoint pH Monitor
- 2 x large Marinepure blocks
- Jebao DCP 13000 return pump (turned to it's lowest setting)
- 4 x Lohas smart Wifi LED bulbs from Amazon
- 4 x Gooseneck light mounts from Amazon
- 100lbs pool filter sand (I will be removing a lot of it as I have learned from this site that I likely have way too much)
- 3 x Manzanita branches (more on the way)
- Indian Almond Leaves (currently 75)
- Alder cones (currently 200)

Still coming:

- Additional Manzanita branches
- several round river stones (Tannin Aquatics)
- Various Amazonian seed pods (Tannin Aquatics)
- Custom Acrylic lid from Octo Lids

Planned stock:

- 10-12 Discus (Probably from Discus Hans)
- School of glowlight or cardinal tetras
- School of hatchetfish
- a variety of Cory Cat's

I would also like to add some German Blue rams, but I am not sure if that would be a good match or not. I welcome any thoughts or suggestions from all of you. Your expertise is very valuable to me. I would like to do this right the first time.

[harper]

My kind of tank, looking great so far! Your planned stocking is almost identical to mine when I set up about a year ago. In the end I never got any hatchets. I had 9 rams in my tank, they are fine with discus and like higher temps too. I'm not convinced feeding beefheart was good for them though. A few of them got quite bloated and eventually died.

[LizStreithorst]

I agree. Rams are a much better choice.

[lpsouth1978]

My kind of tank, looking great so far! Your planned stocking is almost identical to mine when I set up about a year ago. In the end I never got any hatchets. I had 9 rams in my tank, they are fine with discus and like higher temps too. I'm not convinced feeding beefheart was good for them though. A few of them got quite bloated and eventually died.


I agree. Rams are a much better choice.

Nice, it sounds like Rams are officially on the menu (so to speak). :)

Do you have any recommendations on good places to get all of the fish? I know where to get my Discus, but am at a bit of a loss for everything else. I know there is always live aquaria, but, you know, it's live aquaria (aka Petco). I have only found 1 decent LFS around me and it is nearly a 3 hour round trip.

Now it is time to exercise that patience you learn from reef keeping, while waiting for the tank to cycle. :(

[gators111]

Looks great! If you do go with hatchets, make sure every last gap is sealed off on the lid. I've lost a couple that way. You'd be amazed how those boogers can find their way out of the tank. But once they get used to everything, it's not bad. They make great dither fish for my discus and add some action to the tank.

[lpsouth1978]

I will have to see what I can find. I know I can get some decent hatchets locally, but quality rams are harder to find. Do you have ant suggestions for online sources for dither fish? I know there is always Live Aquaria, but I'd prefer not to get what is essentially petco fish.

[lpsouth1978]

I am roughly 36 hours into the tank cycle and things already progressing nicely. I started the cycle by dosing Dr. Tims Ammonium Chloride to a concentration of 2ppm. I then added an entire bottle of Dr Tims One and Only for freshwater. I just tested the water for ammonia and nitrites and the results were:

Ammonia - 1
Nitrites - 0.50

I still have a good amount of waiting to do, but I am happy to see things moving in the desired direction so quickly. Another day or 2 and I may have to add more ammonia.

[lpsouth1978]

One more question for you all. Is it worth the extra $ to get the 5" discus over the 4"? We're talking almost $700 extra for a school of 12 Discus. I am happy to pay it if there is good reason to go 5" over 4", but it is a lot of money if there are no major advantages.

[LizStreithorst]

Take a look on Aquabid for them. Read the seller's feedback before you bid.

[danotaylor]

700 extra? I bought 8 x 4.5-5.5" discus from Dennis's Discus Fish, SD sponsor, for around 700 total. He ships for free on orders >399. Worth checking in to see of he has any bigger fish in stock.
The benefit of 5" over 4" is that the rapid growth phase is done around 4-4.5", so the influence of less than ideal water conditions on their growth is remitted. Clean water is king, but there is less pressure with adult fish.

[lpsouth1978]

700 extra? I bought 8 x 4.5-5.5" discus from Dennis's Discus Fish, SD sponsor, for around 700 total. He ships for free on orders >399. Worth checking in to see of he has any bigger fish in stock.
The benefit of 5" over 4" is that the rapid growth phase is done around 4-4.5", so the influence of less than ideal water conditions on their growth is remitted. Clean water is king, but there is less pressure with adult fish.

My plan is to get 10-12 German Wonders from Discus Hans. The 5"+ are @150 each, while the 4"+ are @95 each. For 12 discus the difference is $660.

[Swedgin]

Looks great. I’m a little biased, but wilds would be the best choice for this kind of setup. Hardier than domestics and well priced in the US.

[lpsouth1978]

The day is coming that the tank will finally see its first inhabitants. I have made several changes to the aqua-scape in the tank:

1. I removed about 2/3 of the sand and left just a very thin layer in there.
2. I removed ~50 IAL and added a large variety of different seed pods and twigs to the bottom of the tank
3. I added 15 round river stones
4. I doubled the quantity of Manzanita

I think the tank is looking amazing. Some of the branches have not fully sunk yet, but I expect them to in the next few days. Also, the cycle is almost complete. The ammonia was near 0, so I added a little more (raised it to 3ppm) a couple of days ago and now it is almost back down to 0. I will keep with the ammonia additions and testing until the tank goes from 2ppm to 0 in a single day. Then I will just do maintenance doses of ammonia until I am ready to add the fish . My plan right now is to add the fish next Friday (10 days from now). Fridays are my only day off during the week so I have arranged for Fri. delivery. The Discus will be coming from Dennis' Discus. I am in the process of selecting the discus now. He just got a new shipment, so there should be a very nice selection.

Current params:

Temp - 83.9
pH - 6.44
Ammonia - 0.25
Nitrite - 5
Nitrate - 20
GH - 3
KH - 1
TDS - 175

And now for updated pics, starting with the before pic. Also keep in mind that not all of the branches have fully sunk yet, so it will be a little different. Let me know what you think.

https://live.staticflickr.com/7827/40645235513_cd324e5aff_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/24VFssD)20190414_175800 (https://flic.kr/p/24VFssD) by Lyle Southard (https://www.flickr.com/photos/166227805@N05/), on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/47683859941_b82df13d7e_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2fDEfhe)20190423_185755 (https://flic.kr/p/2fDEfhe) by Lyle Southard (https://www.flickr.com/photos/166227805@N05/), on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/33806398528_c3e48775f1_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/TvmCu9)20190423_185817 (https://flic.kr/p/TvmCu9) by Lyle Southard (https://www.flickr.com/photos/166227805@N05/), on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/46767920195_3fd9a94ea9_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2efHPiD)20190423_185800 (https://flic.kr/p/2efHPiD) by Lyle Southard (https://www.flickr.com/photos/166227805@N05/), on Flickr

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[gators111]

Nice black water setup. I'm surprised your pH is only 6.4 with that much botanicals. Anyways, vacuuming that thing is going to be fun with all the nooks and crannys that can trap food. As for the rams, I know Imperial Tropicals breeds their own. But they can be a little high. You might want to check out their site.

[lpsouth1978]

Nice black water setup. I'm surprised your pH is only 6.4 with that much botanicals. Anyways, vacuuming that thing is going to be fun with all the nooks and crannys that can trap food. As for the rams, I know Imperial Tropicals breeds their own. But they can be a little high. You might want to check out their site.

The pH has been slowly dropping and I expect it to continue for a little while. Most of the botanicals have only been in there for a few days, so it will likely get lower over the coming week. as for vacuuming, I don't expect this tho be the "cleanest" Discus tank out there, which is why I am focusing on getting 5"+ fish from the start. Also, thanks for the recommendation, I will check out Imperial Tropicals.

[danotaylor]

I reckon it looks mint mate. My only concern would be the sharp points on the manzanita branches. Discus often skitz out and dash about the tank so they could really damage themselves on some of those sharper branches...I know Patty (Pisces) uses manzanita and dedicates sanding time to smooth off anything that may damager her precious discus. Watching your thread closely...love it!

[Filip]

Very eye pleasing and aesthetically done Biotope Lyle.
This tank looks so natural that it would be unnatural to put anything other than wilds In it :) .
Where do you want your pH to be , and why do you want go that low if you plan on getting Stendkers ?
I'll be closely following this thread , that's for sure .
Keep up the good work Lyle .

[lpsouth1978]

Very eye pleasing and aesthetically done Biotope Lyle.
This tank looks so natural that it would be unnatural to put anything other than wilds In it :) .
Where do you want your pH to be , and why do you want go that low if you plan on getting Stendkers ?
I'll be closely following this thread , that's for sure .
Keep up the good work Lyle .

I have actually been working on raising the pH a bit. I now have it balanced @ 6.5. I placed a small amount of aragonite in a media bag and placed it in the sump, after a few days is stabilized. I feel this is a better pH for the bacteria. Right now I am waiting for the cycle to complete. The ammonia is being processed in less than 24 hours, but the Nitrites are still REALLY high. Hopefully they will drop soon, so I can focus on adding the fish!

[Filip]

I have actually been working on raising the pH a bit. I now have it balanced @ 6.5. I placed a small amount of aragonite in a media bag and placed it in the sump, after a few days is stabilized. I feel this is a better pH for the bacteria.

Just make sure you'll be able to maintain it there and prepare the proper water pH in the aging barrel prior every waterchange.

[lpsouth1978]

Just make sure you'll be able to maintain it there and prepare the proper water pH in the aging barrel prior every waterchange.

So far the pH is staying stable at about 6.5. I had to use some aragonite in a media bag to get it stable, so the GH and KH are a bit higher, but still in acceptable range. I have found that by mixing RO/DI with tap water at a 1:1 ratio and adding some of my homemade blackwater extract to the aged water, I can match the 6.5 pH.

Now if only the cycle would complete. The ammonia dropped almost 2 weeks ago. I add ammonia every other to 2ppm and it is processed in less than 24 hours. Unfortunately the nitrites are still somewhere between 2-5ppm, hard to tell exactly. I am hoping that the nitrites drop soon. it has been 5 weeks since getting the tank wet.

On another note, I am not sure that I will still be putting Discus in this system. The more time I spend thinking, reading, and planning, the less confident I feel about my plan. Keeping my first blackwater system will already be a challenge, but making my first blackwater system my FIRST Discus system, seems like too high a risk. I don't feel that I would be able to maintain it to standards that discuss demand. It seems it would be nearly impossible to remove all the waste and detritus with the leaf litter and other botanicals in the system. For this reason I have decided to forego the Discus in this system. Instead, I will be doing a more forgiving community blackwater system with Angel's, tetras, German Blue Rams, and corydoras. I will still update my progress here until (if ever) there seems to be no interest in the tank from others in this community.

[Swedgin]

So far the pH is staying stable at about 6.5. I had to use some aragonite in a media bag to get it stable, so the GH and KH are a bit higher, but still in acceptable range. I have found that by mixing RO/DI with tap water at a 1:1 ratio and adding some of my homemade blackwater extract to the aged water, I can match the 6.5 pH.

Now if only the cycle would complete. The ammonia dropped almost 2 weeks ago. I add ammonia every other to 2ppm and it is processed in less than 24 hours. Unfortunately the nitrites are still somewhere between 2-5ppm, hard to tell exactly. I am hoping that the nitrites drop soon. it has been 5 weeks since getting the tank wet.

On another note, I am not sure that I will still be putting Discus in this system. The more time I spend thinking, reading, and planning, the less confident I feel about my plan. Keeping my first blackwater system will already be a challenge, but making my first blackwater system my FIRST Discus system, seems like too high a risk. I don't feel that I would be able to maintain it to standards that discuss demand. It seems it would be nearly impossible to remove all the waste and detritus with the leaf litter and other botanicals in the system. For this reason I have decided to forego the Discus in this system. Instead, I will be doing a more forgiving community blackwater system with Angel's, tetras, German Blue Rams, and corydoras. I will still update my progress here until (if ever) there seems to be no interest in the tank from others in this community.

You can syphon around all that, moving the litter etc while you do it. No problem at all. Don’t give up so easily ;)

Would make an excellent biotope for some wild type angels as well though, at this point you have the luxury to choose freely. Mesonauta are great, as are severums.

But if you stay on top of your maintenace, keeping discus in there will be very rewarding I’m sure....

[Swedgin]

And we’re looking forward to seeing the process on this no matter which species you choose

[lpsouth1978]

No going back now. I picked up 12 4-5" Discus this weekend. They seem to be settling in pretty well and some have already dropped the black bars (pics were taken just a few hours after putting them in the tank. They already swim to the front of the tank to greet me anytime I come near and all are eating well. They don't seem to have any interest in the pellets or Cobalt flakes, but greedily eat the blood worms, beef heart, and other frozen foods. I know they may not be the absolute best specimens, but I think they are beautiful and have some great potential. I also added a school of Rummynose Tetras. Let me know what you think.

Sorry about the pictures, my reflections kind of washes them out.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/32899954987_71404d023e_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/S8fSpe)20190513_132759 (https://flic.kr/p/S8fSpe) by Lyle Southard (https://www.flickr.com/photos/166227805@N05/), on Flickr

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[Filip]

I think they will be great addition to your excellent looking tank Lyle. I'm glad you have decided to go discus after all and I hope you won't regret it .
As for your discus , are they your planed German wonders?
They seem to me like a decent discus with a lot of growt potential In Them .

[lpsouth1978]

Unfortunately, they are not German wonders. They are red turquoise, blue turquoise, red blood pigeon, and a single yellow blood pigeon.

[lpsouth1978]

Things in the tank are going relatively well. Unfortunately, I have lost most of the rummynose tetras that were added to the tank. I purchased 30 of them and they were doing great for the first couple of weeks, but then they started to die. Now they ALL have ich. I raised the temp from 84-87 in hopes that the heat will solve the problem. All of the discus look fine, are eating and acting normal.

Another issue I am having is that the water will NOT clear up. It has been somewhat cloudy since the beginning. I cleared for about a day, but clouded back up after a water change and has stayed that way since.

On another note, I have discovered that feeding Discus frozen foods can get VERY expensive. I purchased a variety of frozen foods for them as well as Cobalt Discus Flakes and NLS discus pellets. They WILL NOT touch the flakes or pellets. Now I am preparing to make my own fish food, but would like your thoughts on my plan. her is what I am thinking:

Beef heart - ordered 3 hearts trimmed
Salmon
Shrimp
FD Cyclops - already ordered
Wheat Germ - already ordered
Spirulina flakes - already ordered
Cobalt Discus flakes - already have
Paprika - have
Garlic - have
Spinach
Banana - have

I will basically be grinding this all together with the meat grinder, placing it in freezer bags, and using as needed. I am just not sure on the quantities of each ingredient to use. Let me know what you think.

[lpsouth1978]

Quick update:

The discus are doing GREAT!! They are eating VERY well and seem to growing well so far. Unfortunately, I have lost 26 Rummynose tetras and 1 GBR to what looks like ich. I have bumped the temp to 89 and the remaining fish seem to be improving. I have set up a semi-automatic water change system. It changes 30 gallons every night over a 6 hour period. It is working VERY well, as my nitrates, before starting the change last night, were at 0.

The only other change was that I finally received my Octo Lids top yesterday. I LOVE it. It looks so clean and is VERY well made. No more worries over fish going carpet surfing. :)

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/47909759071_642f852655_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2fZC3dP)20190522_055508 (https://flic.kr/p/2fZC3dP) by Lyle Southard (https://www.flickr.com/photos/166227805@N05/), on Flickr

[slicksta]

Looks great.
I've always found Tetras to be more of a challenge than discus.
They seem to do better with traditional fish foods in my opinion such as Tetra Color Bits, Hikari Discus Bio Gold Pellets, Hikari Micropellets, flakes etc...
I'd stay away from frozen and freeze dried foods. I know that it sounds like I'm recommending inferior foods but in my experience the Tetras really do much better with them.

I'd add that with the frozen and homemade foods, you better be very diligent with vacuuming.

[Dee1958]

The only concern I would have in reading what you've done so far would be the amount of alder cones you put in

[Revan]

That is one heck of a tank. And you've aquascaped it wonderfully.

I really like the Red and Blue Turquoise in there. They look close to wilds, which matches the setup, but you can enjoy a bit more coloration and patterning from them than wilds.

As for homemade frozen food, I personally recommend the below mix. I copied it from King of DIY, so it's a popular recipe. Since you have the yellow I might consider losing the astaxanthin though.

- Beef Heart 1 lb (trim it very well, remove every trace of fat)
- Raw Shrimp 1 lb
- Tilapia 1 lb
- Peas 1/2 lb
- Spinach 1/2 lb
- Spirulina 2 tbsp
- Astaxanthin 2 tbsp
- Egg Yolk Qty 2
- blended in food processor and frozen in sheets, later cut into cubes

[lpsouth1978]

Looks great.
I've always found Tetras to be more of a challenge than discus.
They seem to do better with traditional fish foods in my opinion such as Tetra Color Bits, Hikari Discus Bio Gold Pellets, Hikari Micropellets, flakes etc...
I'd stay away from frozen and freeze dried foods. I know that it sounds like I'm recommending inferior foods but in my experience the Tetras really do much better with them.

I'd add that with the frozen and homemade foods, you better be very diligent with vacuuming.

Unfortunately there are only 3 tetras left, but they seem to be doing great. So far, by changing thirty gallons daily, the nitrates stay at <10ppm, usually @ about 5ppm. On the weekends I increase the water changes to 30g twice a day.


The only concern I would have in reading what you've done so far would be the amount of alder cones you put in

Why does this concern you? is there something I should be watching out for?


That is one heck of a tank. And you've aquascaped it wonderfully.

I really like the Red and Blue Turquoise in there. They look close to wilds, which matches the setup, but you can enjoy a bit more coloration and patterning from them than wilds.

As for homemade frozen food, I personally recommend the below mix. I copied it from King of DIY, so it's a popular recipe. Since you have the yellow I might consider losing the astaxanthin though.

- Beef Heart 1 lb (trim it very well, remove every trace of fat)
- Raw Shrimp 1 lb
- Tilapia 1 lb
- Peas 1/2 lb
- Spinach 1/2 lb
- Spirulina 2 tbsp
- Astaxanthin 2 tbsp
- Egg Yolk Qty 2
- blended in food processor and frozen in sheets, later cut into cubes

Thanks for the recipe! I already made my food using the items listed in my above post. It looks pretty similar, though I did not put mine in the food processor, I just ran it through the meat grinder a couple times. It made a TON of food, so I think I will be good for at least 8 or 9 months. They seem to LOVE the homemade food. I only feed a small amount at a time, so almost none of it ever even makes it to the bottom of the tank. What little does is quickly cleaned up by the rams and cory's.

I will post updated pics once Flickr is up and running again.

[lpsouth1978]

As promised, Here are some new pics. I tried to get pics of as many individual discus as possible, but it is hard to keep track of each fish. Let me know what you think of them.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48013566307_d79601c7c4_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2g9N5uK)20190605_185232 (https://flic.kr/p/2g9N5uK) by Lyle Southard (https://www.flickr.com/photos/166227805@N05/), on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48013566477_bcc5c57e26_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2g9N5xF)20190605_185115 (https://flic.kr/p/2g9N5xF) by Lyle Southard (https://www.flickr.com/photos/166227805@N05/), on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48013480221_8f8751e103_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2g9MCUv)20190605_184959 (https://flic.kr/p/2g9MCUv) by Lyle Southard (https://www.flickr.com/photos/166227805@N05/), on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48013491908_80d4fdd6d0_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2g9MGo1)20190605_185026 (https://flic.kr/p/2g9MGo1) by Lyle Southard (https://www.flickr.com/photos/166227805@N05/), on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48013566977_b4b21b6f81_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2g9N5Gi)20190605_185030 (https://flic.kr/p/2g9N5Gi) by Lyle Southard (https://www.flickr.com/photos/166227805@N05/), on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48013492203_b9e879623f_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2g9MGt6)20190605_184939 (https://flic.kr/p/2g9MGt6) by Lyle Southard (https://www.flickr.com/photos/166227805@N05/), on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48013480736_b5eca9b5de_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2g9MD4o)20190605_184818 (https://flic.kr/p/2g9MD4o) by Lyle Southard (https://www.flickr.com/photos/166227805@N05/), on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48013492528_dd8a93c639_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2g9MGyG)20190605_184929 (https://flic.kr/p/2g9MGyG) by Lyle Southard (https://www.flickr.com/photos/166227805@N05/), on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48013480926_608c246b27_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2g9MD7E)20190605_184814 (https://flic.kr/p/2g9MD7E) by Lyle Southard (https://www.flickr.com/photos/166227805@N05/), on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48013481196_9c7145eaec_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2g9MDcj)20190605_184750 (https://flic.kr/p/2g9MDcj) by Lyle Southard (https://www.flickr.com/photos/166227805@N05/), on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48013568227_948e817d91_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2g9N64R)20190605_184807 (https://flic.kr/p/2g9N64R) by Lyle Southard (https://www.flickr.com/photos/166227805@N05/), on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48013568367_58235f0a8b_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2g9N67g)20190605_184727 (https://flic.kr/p/2g9N67g) by Lyle Southard (https://www.flickr.com/photos/166227805@N05/), on Flickr

[Second Hand Pat]

Both the fish and tank look great Lyle :D You decided to mix some PBs with the German Wonders!
Pat

[lpsouth1978]

Both the fish and tank look great Lyle :D You decided to mix some PBs with the German Wonders!
Pat

Thanks Pat. I had planned on ordering either from a sponsor or from discus Hans but I got such a great price locally, I decided to purchase them at a LFS. They were sold to me as Red Turquoise, Blue Turquoise, Red Pigeon Blood, and Yellow Pigeon blood. I got all 12 for just over $700. It seemed that the same number of discus of the same size would have been at least double from sponsors and triple from discus Hans, not including his shipping costs.

[Sturiosoma]

What is the one in the sixth picture

[lpsouth1978]

Quick update:

It has been a few weeks since my last update. Only a few changes since then. I did have a single fish that developed a bacterial infection of some sort. He went into QT and was treated with Furan 2 and he has been dong great since. As you can see in the pictures, I have also started to grow some green algae on the driftwood. I have the light intensity almost ALL the way down on my bulbs, and mu nitrates stay at <5ppm, so I am really not concerned about the algae.

The biggest update is that I added a few more Discus to the tank. I found some BEAUTIFUL Red and Yellow Marlboros and couldn't pass them up. After a QT period, I added them to the DT yesterday. So far all seem to be quite health and doing well. The Red's seem to be more outgoing and hang with the school more, whereas the Yellows tend to be more skittish and hide in the branches more.

Here are a few new pics, please ignore the spider in the tank, It was a gift, given with the intentions of putting it in the tank, so I feel obligated to have it in there. :)

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48120932678_161e4b20d4_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2gjhmM5)20190624_083808 (https://flic.kr/p/2gjhmM5) by Lyle Southard (https://www.flickr.com/photos/166227805@N05/), on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48120990722_993a6682a1_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2gjhE2Q)20190624_083635 (https://flic.kr/p/2gjhE2Q) by Lyle Southard (https://www.flickr.com/photos/166227805@N05/), on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48120991052_9564ca253e_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2gjhE8w)20190624_084534 (https://flic.kr/p/2gjhE8w) by Lyle Southard (https://www.flickr.com/photos/166227805@N05/), on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48120991397_955b2d971b_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2gjhEet)20190624_083445 (https://flic.kr/p/2gjhEet) by Lyle Southard (https://www.flickr.com/photos/166227805@N05/), on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48120991437_91602ca717_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2gjhEfa)20190624_083508 (https://flic.kr/p/2gjhEfa) by Lyle Southard (https://www.flickr.com/photos/166227805@N05/), on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48120990622_bcd91a3370_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2gjhE17)20190624_083546 (https://flic.kr/p/2gjhE17) by Lyle Southard (https://www.flickr.com/photos/166227805@N05/), on Flickr

[LizStreithorst]

That is a beautifully natural looking tank, Lyle. I'd have wanted all wild types in there but most folks like the colors you get from the domestic types. Very pretty tank either way.

[tv4184]

Looks great man. Always wondered about the build quality of waterbox tanks. My LFS used to be partnered with them but stopped for some reason. I think it was to promote his own stuff.

[des275]

Great looking tank! I actually used your set-up for inspiration. I am currently trying to figure out an automatic water change system and hoping you could provide info/pics on yours. Thanks!

124234

124235

[lpsouth1978]

Great looking tank! I actually used your set-up for inspiration. I am currently trying to figure out an automatic water change system and hoping you could provide info/pics on yours. Thanks!

124234

124235

Nice looking system! I have thought about adding some plants to mine, but I need to bring the pH up a bit first.

I don't really have an auto water change system set up yet. Right now I just have 2 x 44g brute trash cans, Both have float switches installed in them. I use 1 brute as a dirty water container. I have a 3/8" tubing hanging in the tank with a ball valve in line. I connect this tube to the float switch and when I open the ball valve, water is slowly removed from the tank until the float switch raises and stops the flow into the brute. As water is removed, the float switch from my ATO turns on a pump in my other brute can and adds clean water to the tank. it takes about 6 hours to do a 40g water change, but I don't need to be as cautious about water temp and parameters because it adds the clean water so slowly.

I let this run overnight. In the morning I connect the, now empty, Clean water brute to my RO/DI and let it fill while I am at work. I have a LARGE RO/DI system, so it only takes about an hour to fill. I also place a power head in the brute to get the water moving and aged, and add my R/O Right to mix while I am away. After work I set it back up on the tank and start all over again.

I am in the process of planning out an AWC system that will hopefully do away with the RO/DI water and allow me to filter the incoming water before going into an aging barrel an then into the tank. Right now I am wasting A LOT of water making RO for the tank, and a filter would not have any wasted water, I just have to test out a filter setup and see if it removes enough contaminants to do the job.

[lpsouth1978]

A couple of big updates with the tank. I finally got around to working on the Auto Water Change system and it seems to be working VERY well so far. It has only been running for about 2 days, but I have not had to even think about hauling water around for water changes and so far the water is in good ranges. I will continue testing over the coming days to ensure the water does not get too hard. If the hardness becomes an issue, I will have to replace the current filters with an RO system and feed some of the waste water back into the tank along with the clean RO water. I already have a plan for making this work if needed.

My system is a pretty simple one. The tank sits against and in front of a window. Just outside the window is a hose bib which I am using to supply my water. I placed a digital hose timer on the bib and have a 1/4" line running from the timer into a filter housing a sediment filter and two GAC Carbon blocks. From the filter the water line is connected to a float inside a reservoir, which has a pump running in it to help age the water a bit. I then have a 1/4" line placed inside the main display. This line is run out the window and into an irrigation hose that we buried and ran across the back yard and past the fence into the wash behind us. This line is under siphon and the flow is controlled via an inline ball valve.

As the water is slowly drained from the tank, My ATO kicks in and pumps clean water back into the tank. I have it set to change about 3.5g/hour, or 85g/day, which is about 50% daily. Every three hours the hose time opens and refills the reservoir. This allows for more of the aged water to be used rather than constantly adding new water to the mix.

The second change was unexpected and not really my doing, but still pretty exciting. As if in response to the new AWC system, two of my discus (the two larges in the tank) paired off and spawned. Both are Blue Turquoise discus, about 5-5.5", and seem to be a good body shape and color. I installed the AWC on Friday and on Sunday, they laid eggs. I had not noticed any pairing off, or spawning behavior, but noticed this morning that they had cleaned off a section of one branch, and then watched as one laid eggs and the other followed behind to fertilize them. So far only one egg has turned white so we will see if they develop any further. I do not currently plan on actually breeding, and have nothing in place to do so, but this has me considering it.



The Female


https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48286666241_7156eddad1_h.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2gyVMAi)20190714_183952 (https://flic.kr/p/2gyVMAi) by Lyle Southard (https://www.flickr.com/photos/166227805@N05/), on Flickr



The Male


https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48286764587_9da7f12855_h.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2gyWhPV)20190714_183900 (https://flic.kr/p/2gyWhPV) by Lyle Southard (https://www.flickr.com/photos/166227805@N05/), on Flickr


The Eggs


https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48286665391_7eca6ce987_h.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2gyVMkD)20190714_185431 (https://flic.kr/p/2gyVMkD) by Lyle Southard (https://www.flickr.com/photos/166227805@N05/), on Flickr

[Sturiosoma]

Those are some pretty fish and congrats on the spawn is there any way you could put a divider in the tank so the parents could raise the fry without being bothered by the other fish, are you monitoring your ph since your doing something new and how are you removing chlorimines

Jeanne

[lpsouth1978]

Almost 24 hours in and only a handful of eggs have turned white.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48290207756_bd73c2eac7_o.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2gzeWmU)2019-07-15_07-27-19 (https://flic.kr/p/2gzeWmU) by Lyle Southard (https://www.flickr.com/photos/166227805@N05/), on Flickr

[lpsouth1978]

Things are going ok. My one pair has now spawned 3 times and are preparing for a fourth. None of the eggs have turned into wigglers, so I may have a pair of females, I really don't know. I also have a couple of PB's that seem to have paired and spawned for the first time. One is a Red PB the other is a yellow PB. Despite having happy, healthy Discus, I am considering leaving the world of Discus. I LOVE my Discus, but I am to a point where I just don't have an opportunity to enjoy them. Instead, I find myself always doing water changes. I have VERY little time at home, so I find myself working on the tank whenever I have a moment, leaving no time to enjoy the tank and fish.

I was not around long enough this last weekend to do my water changes, and so the Discus began to suffer after 3 days of no fresh water. I would just feed them when I walked by the tank, but could not find time to do maintenance. I hate that these beautiful fish have to suffer if my schedule gets too hectic, so I am considering switching to either a community tank (with no Discus), or upgrading my reef to this tank. Both require far less time and maintenance than this tank does.

[lpsouth1978]

OK, so there have been some changes to this system. It still has the Discus in it, at least for now, but I removed all of the sand, rocks, organics, and manzanita. I replaced all of these things with fake decorations. I think the tank looks fantastic even though I am a big fan of the more natural set-up I had before. I think this will be much easier to maintain and may allow me to perform fewer water changes. I also think the new look brings out the colors of the discus really well. Let me know what you think of the new look.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48575479841_2c8eabd6ce_h.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2h1s2P8)2019-08-19_06-47-24 (https://flic.kr/p/2h1s2P8) by Lyle Southard (https://www.flickr.com/photos/166227805@N05/), on Flickr

[des275]

OK, so there have been some changes to this system. It still has the Discus in it, at least for now, but I removed all of the sand, rocks, organics, and manzanita. I replaced all of these things with fake decorations. I think the tank looks fantastic even though I am a big fan of the more natural set-up I had before. I think this will be much easier to maintain and may allow me to perform fewer water changes. I also think the new look brings out the colors of the discus really well. Let me know what you think of the new look.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48575479841_2c8eabd6ce_h.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2h1s2P8)2019-08-19_06-47-24 (https://flic.kr/p/2h1s2P8) by Lyle Southard (https://www.flickr.com/photos/166227805@N05/), on Flickr

WOW! What a 180 from the original set-up. Did something happen to the auto water change system? I have a drip go into my sump at about 3 gph and the overflow goes to my garden and I am hoping to maintain this current set up for a while. My dozen discus and 150 rummies arrive tomorrow....

124531

[Mesmerick]

WOW! What a 180 from the original set-up. Did something happen to the auto water change system? I have a drip go into my sump at about 3 gph and the overflow goes to my garden and I am hoping to maintain this current set up for a while. My dozen discus and 150 rummies arrive tomorrow....

124531

thats a beautiful tank! You gotta post your own thread when the fish arrive! :bounce2:

[lpsouth1978]

WOW! What a 180 from the original set-up. Did something happen to the auto water change system? I have a drip go into my sump at about 3 gph and the overflow goes to my garden and I am hoping to maintain this current set up for a while. My dozen discus and 150 rummies arrive tomorrow....

124531

It is a huge change for sure. My AWC system went to the garbage. I was having too much trouble with the waste water. There was simply too much water for the garden and the HOA kept plugging the outlet that went into the wash behind me. In the end it was just too much hassle for too little return.

Your tank is stunning, can't wait to see it full!

[danotaylor]

Lyle the new scape looks great mate...I agree that it profiles your discus better than the previous, and will be easier to maintain. Good choice bud ��

[rickztahone]

I know this is a very old post but Al directed me here and wanted to bring this to the top :)

anyone know the OP for this build?

[LizStreithorst]

The OP was here for a bit, then poof! Gone. I don't think that anyone knows the OP personally.

[brewmaster15]

I actually sent an email today to them.. hoping for an update.:)

al

[rickztahone]

An update would be amazing. I’m preparation to build out my SW tank I started getting more comfortable with the idea of automation. Still a dream of mine to do a big build like OP