5-19-2009: Getting ready.

[Ryan]

A few months ago my co-worker offered to sell me a 55 gallon, stand, filter, and lights for $100. I said, "Why not? Someday I'll have a house and there will be tons of fish that I want." Well, I finally got my house and now I have the fish. :D

My fish will be here on Wednesday morning. It has been raining for about 24 hours straight in central Florida and my yard is flooded. Hopefully the weather will not delay FedEx because it's supposed to rain through Wednesday. I now have a cold/flu, also! It's making fish tank maintenance a lot of fun. It's certainly a memorable way to start the contest.

I'd painted the tank a while back and it's been sitting in the garage. I dragged it inside tonight to clean it up and get it ready. I used PP to clean the tank. Here are some before and after pictures.

I will add seeded sponges once the fish get here. For now they're staying cycled in an established tank.

[2075turner]

Hey Ryan,

Sorry to hear that your a little under the weather. If anything there is always an end to it as well as the crappy weather.

I have lots of those empty tanks sitting around just waiting for fish;)
What great timing for me enter a contest. It felt like winning the lotto:D

I have made so many changes in my mind as to where and how I will set up the tank, I'm still in the process of the final set up and I'm getting my fish tommorrow, lol:o:D

[Darren's Discus]

Ryan,
you are good to go !


cheers

[Eddie]

Nice and clean set-up Ryan, best of luck!

Eddie

[Kenny's Discus]

Ryan,

Can't wait to see it filled with the new fish, all the best!:)

Kenny

[calihawker]

Those fish are gonna look real nice in there Ryan.:D
Get well and let's raise some discus!

[kirkp]

Hey Ryan,

It looks good with the new background color (very similar to the color I have). Much better than the purple although my daughter would probably like it.

Good luck,
Kirk

[Ryan]

Kirk, the purple was actually just the color of the water during the PP treatment. :D It's funny because it did actually look like a background in the picture.

I got all my food today. How long do you think it'll take to burn through all this?

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j49/ryansmith83/contest/IMG_6199.jpg

[Eddie]

3 months for me! :D

[acroken]

Nice looking tank Ryan.I am sure those discus will make you feel better:D

Best of luck to you!

Kenny

[Ryan]

3 months for me! :D

In all honesty, this is for some of my other cichlids, too. :) I don't have other discus right now but I do have a group of young Uaru that get treated the exact same way.


Nice looking tank Ryan.I am sure those discus will make you feel better:D

Best of luck to you!

Kenny

I hope you're right, Kenny! As of now the cold/flu is actually getting worse. I'm sure I'll forget all about it in the morning; I'm always like a kid on Christmas morning when I'm getting new fish.

[kirkp]

Hey Ryan, couple questions.
Do you always use PP for sterilization of your tanks? I've always use chlorine, typically using a rag to put straight chlorine on all the surfaces then washing everything down. Sometimes I'll also use a chlorine water mix. Is there a advantage to the PP?

Who is it that makes the beefheart plus? I've only ever seen beefheart by SFB. Also suprixed you don't make your own mix.

Kirk

[Ryan]

Kirk,

I just used the PP because it was on hand. I've used a mild bleach solution in the past. I don't know that it really matters.

The Beefheart Plus is also San Francisco Bay brand. I have been using it for a long time. I've considered making my own, but last group of discus turned out so well that I decided I wouldn't change anything.

Ryan

[Armandi_Fishcarer]

Fab looking tank set-up Ryan

That food would last me a day to eat...Oh, its not fit for human consumption :D

Regards
Ahmed ;)

[Chad Hughes]

Ryan,

That's quite a spread! All I keep on hand in blister packs is blood worms. I go through a single blister pack in about 4 days. That's for about 30 discus though. Looks like they'll be eating well!

Good luck to you!

[GrillMaster]

Hmmmmmmm...None of Al's beefheart Ryan? ;) :D :D

Nice setup ya got! They will grow up nice in there no doubt. :thumbsup: