is this a good set up for my first discus tank? [Archive]

Coralife205

06-25-2009, 08:48 PM

150 gallon
3 sunpod DE metal halides 150 watt each, 6700K...for the discus i may put some T5 lighting to bring out theire color better, a differnt K temp.
5lb presurised co2 ( i may or may not upgrade to a 10 lb )
factory bottom drilled overflow
Berlin sump
Fluvl E-heater
Ph Controller
Flourite Black
2 fluval U1 filters

I will probably be adding some powerheads depending on how the flow in the tank is. I decided not to go with substrate heating cables. ( you all convinced me).

I have not decided if i want to make this a discus only tank or not. i probably wont cause that will get boreing fast. i will probably add some cardinals and corrys and some sort of algea eater(suggestions please?)

im puting a number down on how many discus i will get. i will have no more then 6 discus. i dont want to overcrowed the tank, or overstock the tank. so i will be asking for stocking suggestions from all of you experts ...if you dont mind.

my plan for this tank is this: get all of the equitment necisary to run the tank. star the tank up, plant it, scape it do all of that.. let it sit for 2 months. yes, two months. it will be hard to wait, but i promise to my self i will wait because i want everything to start to fill in and i want the tank to cycle completely. (should i do this with seachem stability, or will the plants on theire own just make the tank cycle?) i Want to use RO-Water.i have the 4 stage spectra pure RO/DI system. I want to do everything the right way this time around. where i made my biggest mistakes in my old 29 gallon was cycleing the tank, and i dident know what i want or how to do it.

with my personal experience, shared knowledge between us, hopefuly this tank will turn out very well and be enjoyable by everyone who sees it, wether by miapg, anywhere else on the web, or who ever wants to come over.

in a month, more or less, i will be ready to start the tank the sooner Preuss gets my order in, the sooner we can start!

here is a list of plants i want to use. any thoughts? i want to narrow down the list.

Anubias
Anubias Nana
Anubias Gracilis

Aponogeton
Aponogetons Ulvaceus
Aponogetons Boivinianus

Lillys
Red Tiger Lotus
Barclaya Longifolia

Ferns/Moss
Java Moss
Bolbitis Heudelotil

Cabomba
Cabomba Caroliniana

Crypts
Cryptocoryne Beckettii
Cryptocoryne Walkeri
Cryptocoryne Wendentit ‘Brown’

Swords
Echinodorus Major ( Ruffled Amazon Swordplant)
Melon Swordplant

Miscellaneous
Hygrophillia Corymbosa
Crinum Thaianum
Ludwigia Glandulosa
Monosolenium Tenerum
Drawf hairgrass
Limnophilia Aromatica
Rotala Macrandra
Cardinal Plant Lobelia cardinalis

miapg.com

here is a photobucket link to what i have so far.
http://s387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/?albumview=slideshow

http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/IMG_4619.jpg
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http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/IMG_4612.jpg
http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/IMG_4608.jpg

Mr Wild

06-26-2009, 01:20 AM

Good Lord! What can I say. Beats a BB with a flouro light strung over head! LOL This is past my expertise I will wait for others to chime in. But I do know if you are planning to buy adults your plans should be fine. Juvies on the other hand need BB and lots of wc's and that tank is way to big for juvies they get lost and stress and get sick. HTH

Armandi_Fishcarer

06-26-2009, 07:30 AM

Man a greatness of things to soak in, although once its there & in the tank it will look awsome. You are on the right track for the time frame before putting fish in, & some may even prefer an extra month or two so plants & levels are adequate. Fish wise I would go adults & 6 is a good number, with rummy's, cory's, if you plan on good hiding space(logs etc...) Bristle nose. Whiptails are great I found with Discus & tend to keep to their own. Another thing to think about would be CO2 injection.

Regards
Ahmed ;)

Coralife205

06-26-2009, 07:46 AM

im planning on useing melysian driftwood and i do have a 5lb pressursed co2 tank. im planning on like 30 cardinals, give or take. not sure on the type of corrys or algea eaters. im hesitant with plecos cause of what ive read on how they suck on the side of the discus. i the discus i was planning on gettng were going to be about half-dollar size. some people tell me that the lighting i have is goign to be too bright for them and ohers tell me that the lighting thing is a myth. its 150 watt fixtures. 6700k bubls. though im thinking about makeing one of the lights on there a 10,000k bulb, to help make the discus "pop". probably the middle fixture will be 10k. or.i could leave the halides 6700k and get T5HO reto kits

Eddie

06-26-2009, 09:20 AM

Coralife205

06-26-2009, 09:33 AM

but how big is the smallest size adult? ive alredy spent 3,500$$$. and adults are like 600$ per fish....thats why i was hopeing for like, half dollar size, 25$ per fish

Eddie

06-26-2009, 09:39 AM

but how big is the smallest size adult? ive alredy spent 35,000$$$. and adults are like 600$ per fish....thats why i was hopeing for like, half dollar size, 25$ per fish

No no no, there are some seriously amazing quality sub adults for sale in the sponsor section running less than $200 per fish. I'm talking superb fish at 5" and you will not be disappointed.

Eddie

Coralife205

06-26-2009, 09:43 AM

oh i see. and corection... not 35 thousand... 3,500 lol big difernce.....can you show me a pic of the size discus your talking about?

Eddie

06-26-2009, 09:46 AM

Run through this post to view actual shots of fish, sizes and prices.

http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?t=72162

Eddie

Peachtree Discus

06-26-2009, 10:20 AM

sounds like you have pretty big plans. i can't wait to see pictures after you get it established.

Coralife205

06-26-2009, 10:27 AM

thank you

mmorris

06-26-2009, 12:31 PM

I think definately adults in such a huge, planted tank. It sounds like your substrate will be black. What strains of discus were you considering? Some become quite dark or peppered in a tank with a dark substrate.

Coralife205

06-26-2009, 12:42 PM

i havent fully decided yet. i like a lot of the verity of colors. i do like the natural discus, and i could have them cause i have an RO/DI.....however...they are more difficult to take care of. and this will be my first discus tank. also, i just do not really like them as much as the non-natural kind. it wont be till november or later before ill add the discus though. i want to go through this set up process very slowly. ive been working on geting this tank set up since april. im almost ready to start it up. i was goign to plant the tank. let it sit for a month or two. then slowly add fish... i want cardinals and corrys. but as far as algea eaters go...im not sure what to get. i love plecos. but...i also love otos too cause of how they are about eating off of the leaves. when it comes to picking an algea eater, ill take the suggestinsfrom you guys on this site. cause i realy dont care in the end, as long as it does the job. what would you do?

Scribbles

06-26-2009, 03:46 PM

Adults or sub-adults would be better suited to your large tank. Also, I would decide on the strain of discus before putting in a black substrate. As mmorris stated, many discus strains will darken or pepper with a dark substrate or background. You might go with a lighter substrate so as not to limit your options.

Awesome set-up by the way.

Chris

Elite Aquaria

06-26-2009, 06:04 PM

That is going to be an awesome display tank...I can't wait to see it in its full glory...

shoggoth43

06-30-2009, 08:00 AM

With that much light you're going to need that CO2 to keep the plants running full tilt so the algae stays in check. Make sure you go heavy on the stem plants initially as well until the other plants get established. The effect should be stunning though.

I would also second the lighter substrate. Even the "normal" discus seem to darken considerably above black. Not so much it seems for the background color though. Mine definitely change colors depending on what they're over. If you're not really sure you can always do half the tank one color and half the other and just replace or cap the half of the tank you don't like.

For a Clean Up Crew you can look into the usual. Corydoras ( Sterbai or other ), ottos ( I've heard paraottos tolerate the higher temps better but have no idea ), and certain kinds of plecos. I usually see rubber lip plecos as recommended or the bristlenose ones as they seem less inclined to latch onto the discus. If you're up for it, you could look into some cherry red and ghost shrimp. Both should breed in fresh water and if the discus like them you've just gotten a source of live food. If not, they're pretty interesting in their own right. If you don't want to deal with a population explosion of shrimp, you could try Yamato/Amano shrimp. They need brackish water to breed so there's no risk of them breeding. I always laugh when a couple of shrimp try to swim off with an algae pellet from under a cory feeding frenzy.

-
S

Coralife205

06-30-2009, 06:35 PM

i like ghost shrimp case of the price. i can keep them very easily and had no problem in my old planted 29 gallon. ive herd that they are hardry too.

do you think i should let the tank sit for about a month and let things grow , then start adding fish? i want the plants to be established when i add the fish.

Coralife205

07-09-2009, 05:34 PM

i got the driftwood today. and i get the tank tomrrow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! allmost there. im looking at 3 more weeks! 3 weeks cause im getting the auto shut off valve, i gotta order plants, and get the RO system hooked up.

http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/IMG_4644.jpg
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you cant really see it, but the melysian is in the green tub. and the african stuff is what you relaly see. the one big one is relaly really sweet! its exactly what i was looking for. i wanted it to be close to the water surface so i can put some plants there. ive been soaking the melysian DW for 3 days. gosh i tell you the tannis was incredible. coudlent even see the bottom of the tub. not sure i can do anything about the african driftwood. ill just rinse it off and put it in the tank. too big to try to cure. besides, itel be about 1 month and a half before i add my first fish.

Mr Wild

07-10-2009, 05:57 AM

OOh you have some nice peices there! Exciting isn't it!:D

Coralife205

07-10-2009, 07:58 AM

yea im thinking i might use my dads batery-operatede saw and cut the big piece. i want to maintain its general shape, and i want to put it in the tank how i have it in the pic. but i may need to cut the bottom to the point where it will be completely underwater. i want to grow some crypts, and the true aquatic cardinal plant emerced. that piece was 250$, the melysain was all together 95$ and the other african was 75$ yea thats alot. i might sell some of the melysian, doubt ill use it. but who knows i could cut it up and scatter it around the tank, and make the sides that i cut NOT visible that way it looks natural ? :)

Mr Wild

07-10-2009, 08:15 AM

Coralife205

07-12-2009, 08:10 AM

Ocasionaly I have read some places online and have talked to some people and they said that I could bleech my plants for a few miniuts to kill all the algea and any snails / snail eggs that may be on them to prevent them from getting in to your tank...

is this safe for the plants?

How long do you bleach them for?

Are there some plants that are more sensitive to this or not?

Its just something that I have thought about from time to time and have had some qustions about, but has never gotton around to asking about it...

Coralife205

07-12-2009, 08:58 AM

http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/DSCN0247.jpg
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ok so i wastee 100 bucks on goign to fantastic fins and buying a bunch of melysian...im not going to use it :( ithink josh said he'll take it. these are the pieces im planning on useing. i need HELP. ive spent an hour comeing up with this design. i like it, but at the same time i dont. because it really limits me on the amoutnt of plants i an have in the tank to make it look nice. im trying to achive a goal where the discus can have a lot of room to swim but at the same time i can have a pretty densly planted aquarium. as a reminder, these are the plants i REALY want to use...

Anubias
Anubias Nana
Anubias Gracilis
Anubias barteri 'Coffeefolia'

Aponogeton
Aponogetons Ulvaceus
Aponogetons Boivinianus

Lillys
Red Tiger Lotus
Barclaya Longifolia orchard Lilly

Ferns/Moss
Java Moss
Bolbitis Heudelotil
Taxiphyllum ferriei

Crypts
Cryptocoryne Beckettii
Cryptocoryne Wendentit ‘Brown’
Cryptocoryne petchii

Swords
Ruby Melon Swordplant
Echinodorus "Rubin" Red Rubin Sword

Miscellaneous
Hygrophillia Corymbosa
Crinum Thaianum onion plant
Ludwigia Glandulosa
Drawf hairgrass
Limnophilia Aromatica
Rotala Macrandra
Cardinal Plant Lobelia cardinalis
Polygonum 'Sao Paulo'
Ludwigia inclinata var. verticillata 'Pantanal'
Ludwigia Inclinata
Hornwort
Phyllanthus fluitans
Crystalwort
Bacopa sp. 'Colorata'

Mr Wild

07-13-2009, 04:12 AM

Hi again
well you can add some plants attched to your wood ;

Anubias
Anubias Nana
Anubias Gracilis
Anubias barteri 'Coffeefolia'
and
Java Moss

Then plant in some of these swords;

Ruby Melon Swordplant
Echinodorus "Rubin" Red Rubin Sword

Then I would take a step back and have a good look!

Coralife205

07-13-2009, 11:30 AM

well, this is the experiment i just did about 5 miniuts ago...'if you bought two pieces of driftwood thats way too big, clap your hands' haha i think i need to get my dads electric , portable, saw... i dident realise the pieces were SOO big. and i have to take in to acount, im going to have glass on all 4 sides, and its going to take about a half inch of of the perimeter of the tank being there, so its going to be even more enclosed then this.....damn.

still narrowing the list. Anubias Nana
Anubias Gracilis
Anubias barteri 'Coffeefolia'

Aponogetons Ulvaceus
Aponogetons Boivinianus

Red Tiger Lotus
Barclaya Longifolia orchard Lilly

Java Moss
Bolbitis Heudelotil
Taxiphyllum ferriei

Cryptocoryne Beckettii
Cryptocoryne Wendentit ‘Brown’
Cryptocoryne petchii

Crinum Thaianum onion plant
Ludwigia Glandulosa
Limnophilia Aromatica
Rotala Macrandra
Cardinal Plant Lobelia cardinalis
Polygonum 'Sao Paulo'
Ludwigia inclinata var. verticillata 'Pantanal'

im starting to wonder , if i should even bother to use the rocks. i think it will look cool, except that they take up so much space. i mean lets think about it, i want to have a lot of plants, 6 huge fish,like 30-40 cardinals, and so on...i dont know. i defently have to cut the driftwood.i guess my tank isent as wide as i thought it would be.

http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/DSCN0253.jpg

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Disgirl

07-13-2009, 04:05 PM

Hi,can I make a suggestion here please? I have lots of experience with planted tanks that have wood and rocks in them. Since you are going to have discus in this tank, hopefully adults that you will get, you need to keep cleanliness in mind. I suggest you don't use the rocks and just go with wood, plants and gravel. Keeping the gravel clean, with a vac, will keep you busy enough without having to wonder what all is down in amongst all the rocks. All those rocks can also hurt fish that scrape into them. Perhaps pick 3 of your favorite rocks and leave the rest out. Are you going with a light colored sand or gravel? Your tank will be beautiful, let the fish and plants take the stage with the pretty wood and gravel accenting them. Good luck!
Barb:)

Coralife205

07-13-2009, 04:16 PM

why does everybody keep suggesting light colord sand or gravel. ive already bought 16 bags of flourite black.

Disgirl

07-13-2009, 04:20 PM

Because a dark substrate will make your discus turn dark as they try to "blend" in with it. My turquoise discus looked gray with the black painted bottom glass. I painted it tan and within seconds he turned turquoise again and has stayed that way. We are just trying to help you. I have other things I could be doing but I am trying to offer advice since you have asked. :)
Barb

Coralife205

07-13-2009, 04:53 PM

thank you! i never would of known that discus have a "chemelion" efect on there inviroment. should i jsut place ligher gravel over the flourite black then?

Disgirl

07-13-2009, 05:11 PM

Yes indeed, discus can change their coloring depending on how they are feeling. That is one reason sick discus often turn black. They try to make themselves become invisible to hide from predators, back in the Amazon. The best thing would be to avoid the dark gravel completely. You could put lighter over the darker but as soon as you use your gravel vac, which you will need to do to get debris out, you will end up mixing it all together. Maybe you could sell your flourite and go with the plain sandbox sand from HD or Lowes that so many people here at SD use. Plants love it I am told. Ask all the questions you need to. I don't mind helping and others will too. :)
Barb

Coralife205

07-13-2009, 05:15 PM

what about just big pebbles that is sold as gravel at petsmart. (i work there). it will be big enough that it cant mix in withthe flourite.

Disgirl

07-13-2009, 06:22 PM

No those wouldn't work at all. You see, since you are keeping discus, they really require things to be done differently to keep them from getting sick. Most people seem to keep them bare bottom, glass only, with some plants on wood or in pots, sitting on the glass. See my tank pic in the Photo Gallery here, "My 1st picture here" from a couple weeks ago. See the tank bottom? This is done to make it easy to keep the tank bottom clean. Discus make lots of large poo, eat lots, and there is a lot of waste produced everyday. This waste and uneaten food will just collect in the large gravel,or rocks, where they can't get to it and neither can you to clean it up. BUT you can have substrate for your large and beautiful plant collection you want. The plants will grow well in the sand, and all debris will sit on top of the sand where you can easily vacuum/siphon it up. Your tank and water will stay quite healthy. You can look through the pics in the photo gallery and see lots of tanks with sand and plants and wood. Look at Chad's tank set up in the Discus challenge going on here. He can tell you all about setting it up.
Barb :)

scottthomas

07-14-2009, 09:29 AM

I too like to use black sand in a planted aquarium. It is a great contrast against the green plants. However, I agree with others here who suggest that you will be unhappy with the black substrate and discus. The fish really will turn darker and lose much of thier color. I would go with white sand-keep it easy to vacuum and clean.

Scott

Coralife205

07-14-2009, 09:42 AM

well, im not going to change the whole thing to white sand. but i will the forground. the rest of the flourite will be coverd with plants it wont make a differnce. but the foreground ill make a light colord sand. you all convinced me. okay, now, where to buy the sand. should i get it from ADA or pool filter sand or play sand for little kids sandboxes from home depo / lows ?

Disgirl

07-15-2009, 01:00 PM

Yes, just plain sandbox sand will be fine. Some use the pool filter sand also. Lowe's and Home Depot both have sand. Cheap too! I think having part of your tank with sand will be a good compromise. Just an idea for you, make the gravel and plant area higher so that debris will naturally fall into the lower sand area where your can see it and collect it for removal. Post a pic of your tank so we can all see how beautiful it is when you get it set up, even without fish yet.
Barb:)

Coralife205

07-19-2009, 07:19 PM

http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/DSCN0271.jpg

Eddie

07-19-2009, 07:20 PM

Wow, the wood looks great in there. Should be a killer tank!

Take care,

Eddie

Coralife205

07-19-2009, 07:33 PM

haha i just set that up an hour ago.

Coralife205

07-19-2009, 07:54 PM

http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/DSCN0272.jpg

Coralife205

07-20-2009, 12:54 AM

http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/DSCN0277.jpg

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http://s387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/?albumview=slideshow

Scribbles

07-20-2009, 03:25 PM

Wow, that tank is going to look spectacular with discus in it.

Chris

Coralife205

07-20-2009, 09:48 PM

is this better look?

http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/DSCN0286.jpg
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Disgirl

07-20-2009, 10:58 PM

Please check out post #1 Brunette to Blond in Discus Discussions right under Beginners. Look at both You tube videos.
Barb

Coralife205

07-20-2009, 11:15 PM

can you please send a link. i cant find it.

Disgirl

07-21-2009, 08:09 AM

In General Discus Discussion it is the 3rd one down, Brunette to Blond. GDD is right under the Basics for Beginners. Good luck with your tank.
Barb:)

Coralife205

07-25-2009, 08:43 AM

okay, ive got the sump and the RO unit hooked up. i have a couple qustions.

what kind of filer media do i put in the sump, like the size of it, brands, etc. like, do i just use filter media that you would put in a regular canister filter..is what im asking. or is there any kind of special filter media designd for sumps. ? another dumb qustion but i dont know, where do i put the filter media, in the sump. is there a specific spot for it to go to be most effective, or does it not matter as long as water passes through it? how much filter media is TOO much?

heres qustions about the RO/Di unit...is the 4th stage, DI chamber/canister, suposed to completly fill up with water, just like the micron and carbon block ones do, or is it just suposed to fill up about half way? cause i have the RO runing right now, (tanks goign to be filled up this weekend. im not waiting for ALL the plants. i want the dust to settle and get filterd out first) and the DI chamber is not filled up with water completely. im new to RO unites, and sumps, so i dont know how either completly work yet.

i aprecite your help

Coralife205

07-25-2009, 11:48 PM

ok. heres where i am!!!!!! almost there!!!!!!

http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/DSCN0298.jpg
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http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/DSCN0307.jpg

Eddie

07-25-2009, 11:53 PM

WOW, that set-up is killer! Love the wood and it just looks amazing!

Eddie

Coralife205

07-25-2009, 11:59 PM

Eddie

07-26-2009, 12:20 AM

thank you! dont worry, im goign to provide shade for the discus. the light is much much bluer then i thought. they ARE 6700K bulbs. i dont thikn im goign to have much trouble growing rotala macrandra or glosso or very hard plants. i just know im goign to be pumping co2 like crazy. i hae a pin point ph controller. by the end of the week, well see plants in it!

Dude, I just can't believe the canopy is like an inch from the roof! How are you gonna get in there to clean that thing? Hope you got scuba gear and a crane! LOL

Eddie

Coralife205

07-26-2009, 12:42 AM

Eddie

07-26-2009, 12:48 AM

LMFAO! LOL yea. the doors open up on the canopy and i have enough room. i did a lot of mesurements before i got the tank. i was goign to get a 125, but i realiseed i had enough room for a 150, so im like...hey, 25 gallons more = more stable water quality, more fish, more room for error. AND,more glass showing.

For a 150, that thing looks massive! Might have to get a few of those when I get around to it. :D What type discus have you decided on?

Take care and best of luck with the tank/plants.

cyberhog05

07-26-2009, 06:16 AM

Tank looks stellar! One thing I have learned is cleanliness is absolutely key. It is priority!! Anything that makes it more difficult is only going to hurt you in the long run. It takes some serious dedication. Planted discus tanks take more time than you realize. With the wpg, Co2 is going to be crucial you need to really have it dialed in because if you dont...HELLO ALGAE!! Trust me I have a 180gal hi tech tank. I put at the very least 15-20hrs a week maintaining it. I suggest going to rex griggs site and reading everything on there and re reading it. On that site you find the answers to all your questions you will have. Buy a gram scale if you dont have one yet and find Chucks Planted aquarium calculator for figuring out dosing. Please dont buy juvie discus. Its just not a good idea. I learned that the hard way. Pay close attention to the list stickied here on the planted tank section for good plants. You may think a certain plant will work but use others knowledge instead of wasting your money. I am really looking forward to seeeing this tank progress. Good luck man!

Coralife205

07-28-2009, 02:37 PM

http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/IMG_4892.jpg
http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/IMG_4893.jpg
http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/IMG_4894.jpg
http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/IMG_4895.jpg
http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/IMG_4896.jpg
http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/IMG_4897.jpg
http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/IMG_4899.jpg
http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/IMG_4900.jpg
http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/IMG_4901.jpg

Coralife205

07-30-2009, 10:52 AM

does anybody have any idea as to what this fuzzy stuff is on the wood...is it normal? i get my plants on friday, and saturday. im geting things shiped to me from aqua botanic (thanks for that link john) and the other plants are comeing in the weekend following from minisota. , i am planing on a huge water change before i plant.

http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/IMG_4902.jpg
http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/IMG_4903.jpg
http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/IMG_4904.jpg
http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/IMG_4905.jpg
http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/IMG_4906.jpg

Eddie

07-30-2009, 12:03 PM

Looks like fungus, it happens. Better have some type of pleco to keep it clean, thats why I removed all my wood, discus only and hated the fungus on the wood. ;)

Eddie

Disgirl

07-30-2009, 12:50 PM

This happens on wood that hasn't been soaked for months I have found. I have been soaking some pieces of wood for over a year and they are waterlogged by now but still have this stuff on them in the trashcan I use for soaking. Bad smell too. Some wood is not good to be in an aquarium at all.
Barb

mmorris

07-31-2009, 09:49 AM

I can't tell from your photos what you have. I have some wood, sold for aquarium use, in my killi tank that grows a whitish, opague fungusy stuff on it. I have used this wood for years and it doesn't seem to bother the fish but I have to take it out and clean if off now and then. I haven't noticed a smell. I've bleached the wood, boiled it, you name it, and it always comes back. Nitrates were very low. I have a bnp in the tank and he doesn't touch it. When I had the wood in a planted community tank I didn't have this problem and I wonder if it's because of the algae eaters. No idea.

Coralife205

08-01-2009, 11:04 PM

http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/IMG_4916.jpg
http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/IMG_4917.jpg
http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/IMG_4918.jpg
http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/IMG_4919.jpg
http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/IMG_4907.jpg
http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/IMG_4908.jpg
http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/IMG_4909.jpg
http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/IMG_4910.jpg
http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/IMG_4911.jpg
http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/IMG_4912.jpg
http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/IMG_4913.jpg
http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/IMG_4914.jpg
http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/IMG_4915.jpg

Eddie

08-01-2009, 11:21 PM

The tank looks amazing but as mentioned before, the dark substrate/soil is gonna really affect your fishes colors and make them very dark. :o

HTH

Eddie

Disgirl

08-02-2009, 09:08 AM

The large tank, wood and plants are all great. But I wouldn't put discus in there, not juvies and not even adults. You might be wasting a whole lot of $$$. Just my opinion. Dozens of different tetras would look great!
Barb

Coralife205

08-02-2009, 10:02 AM

im sorry i went with a dark substrate. i already bought it before i knew i had to have a light one. besides its going to be all coverd anyway. AND, im not planing on keeping ALL of thoughs plants. i have a alot right now BECAUSE i want to avoid algea problems;i know ill get them anyway but not as bad. if you plant a lot of plants to begin with you have a less chance of haveing a severe algea out break. PLUS, they help cycle your tank much much faster.i understand that the water is cloudy, but give me a break, its been up for a week. EVERY TANK gets that cloudy at first. there ARE a few discus tanks out there that are heavily planted too, you know. please dont tell me you think i dont know what im doing on the planted tank side of this, ive spent over 5 grand geting this tank set up. i bought all the equitment necisary to keep discus AND live plants. if you knew anything about keeping planted tanks, you know you have to plant havily first. if its swiming room that concerns you, donnt worry its going to be thind out weekly.

mmorris

08-02-2009, 10:24 AM

Now's the time to change the dark substrate to light. You'll only be doing it later. ;) Can you minimize your pics down to thumbnail size? It takes so long to down-load your pages and then the pics over-fill the page.
The tank is going to be a work of art. You've invested a lot of time, skill and money - don't skimp on the discus! Be sure to buy adults from a reliable seller.

Disgirl

08-02-2009, 10:27 AM

Good luck then, hope it all works out for you. We here at SD have just been trying to help you. LOTS of experience here with all of us, me 38 yrs of fishkeeping, so, just offering advice to a beginner.
Barb :)

Disgirl

08-02-2009, 11:27 AM

Your troubles are not going to be with the plants, wood, algae or swimming space. It is going to be the cleanliness for discus. Way too much stuff in there, especially if you do choose to go with young fish. You will find out how important tank cleanliness is to discus health. Other fish can survive fine with your conditions. Discus are a whole different matter. You will soon discover this. Good luck and remember we are trying to help. This is why I have been on your thread so much. I guess this will do it for me.
Barb :)

Eddie

08-02-2009, 11:34 AM

Can you minimize your pics down to thumbnail size? It takes so long to down-load your pages and then the pics over-fill the page.

ROTFLMAO, so funny!

Eddie

Coralife205

08-02-2009, 08:12 PM

Coralife205

08-02-2009, 08:12 PM

im also planing on not adding any fish what-so-ever until at least a month from today, i want the plants to establish and be sure im through the algea crisis

Disgirl

08-02-2009, 09:29 PM

i dident mean to sound or be rude disgirl. im sorry. from the time when i wrote that i was stressed out. i apologize. also, i do understand at how clean the tank needs to be. i really do. ive been doing reserch on discus for at least 5 months, and im not planing on puting discus in it , for at lesat another 3 months.. umm mmorris , i do not know HOW to change the picture thing to make it smaller. i honestly dont know much about computers when it comes to the photo stuff.

OK then. Let us help you and try to be open to our ideas. Could save you a whole lot of time and money. Discus are the most expensive of fish to care for and very time consuming to do it right. Go to Photorazor.com and you will easily be able to downsize your photos to post here. I use it and it works well. Keep us informed and we will keep trying to help you, at least I will.
Barb:)

Daniella

08-03-2009, 02:39 PM

In deed. I learned the hard way and had to choose between growing up my small discus the proper way or going with poor stunted discus and a planted tank. Young discus eat like pigs and they are very messy but they need that much food. No way to do this with a planted tank.

I had to throw away all my plants and go bare bottom. Much better for the youngs. If I had knew I would have go only with adult discus.

Hey there, I have very little experience with planted tanks but one thing I do know, they are not ideal for growing out young fish. I personally would recommend that you get adults. They are more forgiving in some ways and having them large already will be a better experience for you.

HTH
Eddie

Daniella

08-03-2009, 02:46 PM

Not at all. I got some really nice 5,5 to 6 inches adult discus from a local importer. You can expect to pay maybe 80$ to 120$ for good quality but not show quality discus at adult size.

I paid 80$ each for a nice super eruption and a nice tiger pigeon blood. My female melon 5,5 inches was 90$.

Usualy you can get some really good quality fish for much less if you buy from a local importer or buy from a sponsor here. I prefer local importer since that greatly reduce the cost of shipping and you can hand pick those that you like. My local importer is a sponsor here, at least one of the 2 I buy from.

but how big is the smallest size adult? ive alredy spent 3,500$$$. and adults are like 600$ per fish....thats why i was hopeing for like, half dollar size, 25$ per fish

cyberhog05

08-03-2009, 03:33 PM

Aquabid! You can get some nice fish for good prices. baylees fish sells stendker discus from Discus Hans that go for amazing prices on there with shipping included. Not adults but not 2-2.5" juvies either. I got 6 4" for 150-160 or so shipped. I was in your shoes not listening to all of the experience of all these great people on here and I have had to do things I really didnt want to do. A lesson learned the hard way is no way to learn a lesson when you have such good advice from people who know what they are talking about. I have needed their advice many times!!!!:o

Coralife205

08-05-2009, 05:15 PM

http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/SDC10438.jpg

bs6749

08-05-2009, 07:47 PM

Ouch, lose the black gravel! Your discus will most likely be dark and won't show there "best colors" in a tank with a dark substrate. I would go with something like pool filter sand.

If you want good quality discus at affordable prices you can't do any better than our sponsors on here, guaranteed. There are even some regulars on this forum that aren't sponsors that have excellent quality stock available from time to time.

Coralife205

08-05-2009, 11:07 PM

Eddie

08-05-2009, 11:32 PM

my problem with lighter gravel.......i cant stand looking at fish tanks when the gravel gets more attention then the foreground plants hopefuly that glosso and otherplants will COVER ALL THE FLOURITE and it wont make a differnce....keep in mind, thats not the only reason why i have black. i have it cause i need something good for the plants too..it will be a while before i have discus. im starting to think about going with 4 discus, in stead of 6. 4 because i can have more cardinals and my tank is going to be more planted then i originaly thought. less discus = more swiming room.

No worries man, if you can get the ground cover totally green, than you will be GOLDEN. Do you think Takashi Amano used sand in this tank, well....maybe ADA power sand underneath the soil. Don't be discouraged by others, do what you want.

http://truthinart.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/amanotank1.jpg

Coralife205

08-05-2009, 11:38 PM

thats so funny that you show that tank, because THAT IS the tank on why i keep saying "the glosso will cover ther whole thing" that tank is a perfect example. thanks eddie.

Coralife205

08-05-2009, 11:39 PM

i look at all of thoughs tanks from AGA all the time.

bs6749

08-05-2009, 11:57 PM

You could still do pool filter sand and root tabs and/or liquid ferts along with CO2 injection and high lighting to get the desired effect. I'm not saying that it looks bad, just that your discus would probably show better colors in a tank with a different substrate. I prefer dark substrates myself, just not in my discus tanks.

I think you should keep no less than 5 discus in your tank to start with. 6 would be a much better number than 4 because of the hierarchy that they will form. Any less than 5 and you most likely will encounter problems unless you buy a mated pair.

Daniella

08-06-2009, 04:20 PM

Nice tank! I think discus will love it. Very nice piece of wood. Is it all menzanita?

http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/SDC10438.jpg

Daniella

08-06-2009, 04:23 PM

I am wondering how the fish find the food that fall at the bottom in such heavy veggetation cover? It just rot there?

Must be hard to syphon it out as well??

Beautiful though.

No worries man, if you can get the ground cover totally green, than you will be GOLDEN. Do you think Takashi Amano used sand in this tank, well....maybe ADA power sand underneath the soil. Don't be discouraged by others, do what you want.

http://truthinart.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/amanotank1.jpg

Disgirl

08-06-2009, 05:41 PM

Daniella, please go and read this whole thread. You will see how some of us have been trying to help him...
Barb

Eddie

08-06-2009, 09:29 PM

I am wondering how the fish find the food that fall at the bottom in such heavy veggetation cover? It just rot there?

Must be hard to syphon it out as well??

Beautiful though.

Really depends on how you feed the fish, what you feed the fish and how you maintain your tank. Everyone does it different so I can see why you are confused.

Eddie

Daniella

08-07-2009, 09:17 AM

yes I did read it and your replies to it, but I just have a different opinion about it. I understand why you don't like the tank since you had so much problem in the past and you seem to have pointed it to bare bottom vs gravel, but I know quite a few people who have discus in planted tank (adults) and they are thriving and healthy. I just love the tank and would not hesitate to use it for adult discus. Not for babies of course. I do beleive a planted tank water can be top quality water. I always had planted tank before I got my discus and went bare bottom because I have babies..but as soon as I will only have adults, I will return to planted tank.

Daniella, please go and read this whole thread. You will see how some of us have been trying to help him...
Barb

Coralife205

08-07-2009, 11:57 AM

hey daniella, you should go to this site. miapg.com its a plant group of michigan, im apart of it.you might find it intresting..i dont know.

well i wont have discus in the tank for a long time. or any fish for that matter. i want to get the plants established, get them going and growing, and geting used to useing RO water.the RO water is a whole new thing to me, and its easier to learn withOUT fish. i wont have fish in the tank for at least september.

rickztahone

08-07-2009, 12:23 PM

Coralife205

08-07-2009, 01:03 PM

oh i know what your talking about. no worrys. here try this link. same site but it wont take you to the home page. there has been issues with the home page and the administartor (whom i know) is working on it. but heres the better link. http://www.miapg.com/forums/index.php?

Coralife205

08-07-2009, 09:37 PM

Tank still has quite a bit of maturing to do. The plants health needs to improve. I believe im starting to see some diatoms on some plant leaves…all perfectly normal. Im really going to try to wait before I add any fish to let things stabilize. Im very eager to add fish, but my better judgment says I need to wait…well, enjoy the pictures. I took them about an hour ago. Warning, a lot of pictures. This will be the last time, I promise, that I will ever post this many at once…sorry.

http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/IMG_4921.jpg
http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/IMG_4922.jpg
http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/IMG_4923.jpg
http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/IMG_4924.jpg
http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/IMG_4925.jpg
http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/IMG_4926.jpg

http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/IMG_4927.jpg
http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/IMG_4928.jpg
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http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/IMG_4931.jpg
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http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/IMG_4933.jpg
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http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/IMG_4938.jpg

http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/IMG_4939.jpg
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http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/IMG_4945.jpg
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http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/IMG_4949.jpg
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http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/IMG_4951.jpg
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http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/IMG_4957.jpg
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http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/IMG_4965.jpg
http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/SDC10438.jpg

Coralife205

08-07-2009, 09:39 PM

mmorris

08-07-2009, 11:58 PM

Perhaps this helps:
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?t=38346
I used the powertoys.

Eddie

08-08-2009, 12:05 AM

Perhaps this helps:
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?t=38346
I used the powertoys.

ROTFLMAO!!!!

You are killing me Martha

Eddie

rickztahone

08-08-2009, 12:08 AM

im sorry for the pictures being soo huge. however, i went to that website you guys told me to, it did not work. the link i mean. i wish i could make them smaller for you guys :( i apologize for the inconvence.

one very simple way i find to resize the pictures, keep in mind you will need to save them as "save as" so that the originals do not get shrunk, by opening the pictures with your "paint" program. every PC has it and you just open the pic there and just resize it. once you upload it it will be much smaller.

HTH

Disgirl

08-11-2009, 08:23 AM

What is going on in your tank now? Plants and water doing OK? Keep us posted, we are hoping it will all turn out well.
Barb :)

Coralife205

08-11-2009, 10:25 AM

What is going on in your tank now? Plants and water doing OK? Keep us posted, we are hoping it will all turn out well.
Barb :)

water has cleard up a bit. the only thing thats changed is that the R. macrandra is not doing too well (no suprise there). you would think with the MH that it would grow pretty darn well. the way i fertilize is not EI. im doing something differnt. im doing PPS PRO. go here for more info : http://www.miapg.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=22 if my plant health does not get better in about two weeks, ill go back to EI.

I had to add fish ahead of schedule. I was/am perfectly willing to wait, but i had to add because one day, i tested my water and my basicly from the readings told me that the Cycle started...without fish. and i know about that fishless cycle stuff, but when i dident do anything to the tank, it made me wonder. so i figure, ill just add some fish to get the cycle going up to speed and that way there is always a "constant supply" of ammonia that way the bacteria dont starve and die off and then i have to go through the cycle all over again.

my tank is the home now of 6 panda corrys. had them in there since saturday and, the only thing that bothers me is that they are not eating there pellets...they probably dont notice them. im useing Shrimp Pellets, OSI.

Coralife205

08-13-2009, 09:36 AM

rickztahone

08-13-2009, 12:28 PM

Here are some discus types that i am considering. i havent decided if i should go with all 6...or limit my self to 3 types, and get 2 of each. or any other variation..

Blue Turquoise
Red Turquoise
Blue Diamond
Leopard Skin
Brilliant Turquoise
Red Scribbelt

i still want to do much much much much MUCH more research on thease, as much as anyone could, but thease are what im considering.

you can not go wrong with just turquoise discus. Red scribblet and BD would be out of place in there IMO. the Leopard you can still pull off i think. at the end of the day is your opinion that matters. if you want to have 1 of every strain and then some then you are withing your rights to do so ;)

Disgirl

08-13-2009, 01:58 PM

Have you decided what size discus to get? The biggest you can afford will be most likely to thrive right off in your new tank!
Barb :)

Coralife205

08-13-2009, 06:47 PM

i havent made any final decisions yet

Coralife205

08-15-2009, 11:25 PM

http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/IMG_4972.jpg
http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/IMG_4976.jpg
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http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/IMG_5009.jpg

Coralife205

08-15-2009, 11:27 PM

http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/IMG_5015.jpg
http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/IMG_5016.jpg
http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/IMG_5017.jpg

im sorry again for the large pics. on other forums it automaticly resizes them for me and they arent all that huge. i dont know why. im trying to not post a TON of pictures. like 50. cause of the size. ive tryed downloading all this computer softwhere and stuff to resize pics, and everything. i Just cant find the programs to do it nor do i know how to do it :( im terrible with computers. i really really wish i could resize them for you guys :( make you all happy.

Coralife205

08-15-2009, 11:29 PM

also, the crooked pics. its not me. theres something wrong with the camera. i always take good pics with other cameras. but for some reason, it looks straite in the lense but on the computer it always comes out crooked. i dont know why. crooked and fuzzy. but this is the best camera we have. i COULD use our samsung s860, but its not as good as the camera that i use above, the caNNON EO5

Eddie

08-15-2009, 11:48 PM

Tank looks great!

Eddie

Coralife205

08-15-2009, 11:56 PM

thanks. its come a long way in a short period of time. its still has a ways to go, but it looks 100% better then a few days ago... plants are just now starting to get healthy

Disgirl

08-16-2009, 09:48 AM

Yes, it is coming along well. Try photorazor.com again. It works great and is very simple to use. Good directions, step by step. You can resize a single picture or a whole bunch all at once.
Barb

lkevin

08-16-2009, 11:40 PM

The tank looks really nice, it's come a long way. May I make a suggestion for types of discus to go with? I would get some nice big albinos, maybe some albino pearls diamonds or albino RGD's. That way the dark surroundings won't really alter their color, since they don't have a choice to get dark:)

Obviously adult albinos might cost a little more, but you'll be pleased at how they look in the tank. A couple hundred extra bucks is nothing compared to the money you have already put into this.

Good luck with the tank.

Coralife205

08-24-2009, 10:01 PM

Time for an update…

24 cardinals
4 rams
5 amano shrimp
5 corrys
3 BN plecos; 1 Long Fin, 1 Albino, 1 Regular
1 clam
26348246875624 snails; trumpet, rams horn, and the common little black ones that I don’t know the name of.

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Coralife205

08-25-2009, 10:38 PM

I think this guy was posing for me  , does anybody know if my glosso is growing correctly? Jw…

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Coralife205

08-28-2009, 08:50 PM

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i went to fantastic fins today to buy a fish net, i got some sissors and cut the net off from the handle part, got some plant weights, and "tied" them to the net around the over flow as you see , to hold it down. i did this because i got sick of finding shrimp in the sump....so far its working pretty good...

the clam has not moved in a few days, i was curious as to how it was doing...well i dig him up,he burried him self, and this is what he looks like. im suprised he wont close his shell or move at all...i dont know crap about clams, so my qusiton is, is he even alive??? thats what he looks like, wont even close his shell or move what so ever...jw

Disgirl

08-28-2009, 10:15 PM

Sorry but I think your clam has died. Saltwater clams would never stay open like that, especially if you touch it. I assume freshwater clams are the same. It probably smells bad by now and is decomposing. Remove it. But your plants are looking good and your pleco is really nice! Decided on discus or not?
Barb :)

Coralife205

08-28-2009, 10:41 PM

yea i just took the clam out...:( yea, im defently going with turquoise with the discus, wether they are all going to be turquoise or not, i dont know. the cardinals had ich a week ago, but now its gone...im still goign to medicate the tank, temp at 81.5, for at least another week or two. im looking maybe getting the discus in mid-october to early november.

Disgirl

08-29-2009, 08:47 AM

Don't forget that discus do best at 86 degrees or higher. And once again, I know you have already been told this :D, you are going to need to get discus that are almost grown to do well in your set up. No juvies, the ones that are 4" or less. They wouldn't do well at all for you IMO. And plan on 5 or more. You see, this is a big tank you have here and you want it to come out right! Good luck!
Barb

Coralife205

08-29-2009, 10:55 AM

you know what barb? ive been doing a lot of thinking, and traveling around the state talking to people at differnt stores that carry discus at what they say and all. one thing is common, dont get tiney discus. im goign to get discus at lesat 5inchs. yes, my initiual cost will be more, however,i probably wont lose as many. i hesitate to get more then 6 discus, cause of the other fish i have and also, haha they wont have room to swim! before i get the discus though, im going to change out SOME of the stem plants, after my algea issues are over with, ill get more swoards and crypts. ill keep the rotala macranda, provideing it survives, and ill keep the limphnophila aromtica and the pogo stalatus. but all the ludwigia reapens and pennywort can all go...ill take out the giant hygro, and ill get hygo sunset.

so evently the only stems ill have will be, hygo sunset, R. macrandra, aromatica, stalatus.... :)

Disgirl

08-29-2009, 01:19 PM

Good plan! Just try to get all your discus at once, from the same person. Why not go with one of the sponsors here? I hear they are all good and have fabulous discus at reasonable prices. They will offer you all the help you need with their fish, something you wouldn't likely receive at a lfs. You know a lot more about aquarium plants than I do :D so I can't help you there.
Barb

Coralife205

08-31-2009, 09:37 PM

one thing i dont understand, why is my water THAT cloudy???
my R.macrandra is starting to get better, starting to turn redish, slightly. i think im going to give up on the glosso...its just not spreading. i think its too far from the light...maybe drawf hairgrass?

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Lytehouse

09-01-2009, 08:51 PM

Plants are looking good.

Nice to see some fish in the tank!!!

Patience seems to be paying off for you.

Coralife205

09-01-2009, 09:17 PM

im really happy with the R. macrandras improvement in the last few weeks. i cant wait to see it in another few weeks! i cant wait for the tank to clear up even more...seems like it does a lot during a water change. im stiling geting some tanic acid, but its at a pleasing tint, not awful. its just the white cloudyness. oh well, all with time. im thinking in october for the discus...

Disgirl

09-01-2009, 09:58 PM

Looking real good! The slight cloudiness will go away with some more time.
Barb

Coralife205

09-02-2009, 12:29 AM

qustion: do you all think its wise for me to get a UV. sterizer? jw what the rest of you do and wondering if you do, if it would be necisary for me to get one.

Lytehouse

09-02-2009, 12:37 AM

Have you read this thread on the forum? Chad seems to have really done some thinking and some research into water quality:

How I manage my water quality (http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?t=71402)

Sorry I couldn't help more. Best of luck. Really like the structure of your wood and the way the plants are beginning to grow out.

Disgirl

09-02-2009, 08:02 AM

qustion: do you all think its wise for me to get a UV. sterizer? jw what the rest of you do and wondering if you do, if it would be necisary for me to get one.
\
Usually the UV's are used to kill the microscopic algae that give green water, known as pea soup algae. You don't have that. Just let your plants grow, don't overfeed your fish and soon enough the tank will clear on it's own. But don't be in too big a rush to get those expensive discus. Wait until everything is well cycled and clear.
Barb :)

Coralife205

09-02-2009, 10:11 AM

okay. i was just curious as to what the rest of you use and what would be the most benificial for the fish. honestly, i woudl rather not spend the money on one...

Tito

09-03-2009, 09:10 PM

Typically when your water is cloudy it means that there is bacteria present that thrive on nutrients. Your water is more then likely nutrient rich. This is also known as New Tank Syndrome - just means your biological filtration needs more maturing. Once your biological filtration is matured - ie..filters, substrate, tank walls, anything in the tank that the bacteria will gorwn on - once the tank is matured - your water will clear on it's own. No need for you to worry - but, the more you disturb the tank - anything inside, cleaning the filter, messing with the plants or substrate, the more time to wait for clarity.

Here's what's going on. There is a race. Biological bacteria are increasing and out competing the bacteria that causes cloudiness. Once the cloudy causing bacteria are outnumbered - clear water realizes.

Coralife205

09-08-2009, 10:18 PM

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http://s387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/

so here is my weekly update... I notice that some of my algae is starting to go away, but then its forming on other places. Every 5 days I’m using hydrogen peroxide on it. It seems to be working, in combination with the amino shrimp and olive nerite snails. Today I added 7 otos. Over the week, I added a few more swoards (hard to see in the pics) and ive added a few more fast growing stem plants , to help combat the algae. In the next month I plan on removeing some of the stem plants (depending on how the tank is doing) and replaceing with swoards and / or crypts. The Rotala Macrandra seems to be doing pretty well (thtas a relative term). Its doing better then last week. It is starting to turn red a little bit near the top, and starting to grow new leaves near the bottom of the stems. I chopped the pennywort in half today because it was all the way up at the surface, and it will grow back pretty fast anyway. The only things that have died since I first put fish in the tank are 1 panda corry, 1 clam, and one Ram. That’s pretty damn good considering how young the tank still is…if all goes well through the month of September, I will add the discus in the first week , or sometime mid October. , if I lose any more fish, or something happens, who knows, then I will wait until November. But I doubt anything is else is going to go wrong (knock on wood.)

Lytehouse

09-08-2009, 10:47 PM

Water is clearing up, plants are growing, fish look happy and healthy. Looking back at first pics when you had only wood and water in tank, it barely resembles the same tank. Way to go.

You are very, very patient.

Disgirl

09-08-2009, 10:50 PM

Looking good! Those plants are really taking off now. You have a real underwater garden. Glad to hear the fish are doing well.
Barb :)

Coralife205

09-08-2009, 10:53 PM

:) thanks. yea, im trying to be paitent, because i dont want to kill anything. and you know what? you tend to appciate something more the longer you wait. :-) and, youll feel a greater sence of accomplishment. im waiting however,for the algea to die down a bit, and to replace the messy, clutterd, dis-organized stem plants with crypts and swoards.

Eddie

09-10-2009, 12:04 AM

Beautiful tank! ;) Looks like its blooming nicely!

Take care,

Eddie

Coralife205

09-10-2009, 12:15 AM

thank you! im happy that the R. Macrandra is really starting to come back. i really though, cant wait to get rid of most he stem plants that i dont care about and replace them with more "discus tank friendly" plants.

i keep trying and trying and trying, but i cant just cant resize thease pictures. i tryed downloading all sorts of softwhere and doing to all of thoughs sites that you all tell me to go to, it just wont fricken work :( most forums that i use, APC, PLANTED TANK, MIAPG, ...they all automaticly resize the pics the moment you press submit....

rickztahone

09-10-2009, 03:04 AM

if you have a PC then just right click on the picture on your computer and click edit with "paint". while in your paint program go to resize and reduce the width and height of the pic until it fits well on your screen. once you do that then you can upload the pic to photobucket.com or something similar. your problem is that the initial file is so large that those programs can't really handle uploading them in such a large file.

HTH

Lytehouse

09-20-2009, 02:20 PM

any updates?

Hows algae and plant growth?

Coralife205

09-22-2009, 12:46 PM

sorry everyone, ive been so busy with school, i havent had time with pictures.... here are the updates

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Disgirl

09-22-2009, 12:50 PM

Looking great! I love those Cardinals in amongst your forest! You do have a knack for plant growing I see!
Barb :)

Coralife205

09-22-2009, 03:02 PM

this time next month ill have discus in theire. im still debateing wether i should start with one discus, then two then three...etc. or if i should just get all 6 of them at once...

Lytehouse

09-22-2009, 03:44 PM

Wow, it's looking nice.

Couple questions: looks like you added tetras from the beginning?
and will the start of small plants in the substrate eventually cover most/all the substrate? Approximately how long would that take?

I think the general concensus on adding Discus would be to add them together.

Disgirl

09-22-2009, 03:49 PM

Yes, all 6 together and hopefully from the same source at the same time! Good luck! Are you ordering from a sponsor here or getting from a lfs?
Barb :)

Darrell Ward

09-22-2009, 04:23 PM

this time next month ill have discus in theire. im still debateing wether i should start with one discus, then two then three...etc. or if i should just get all 6 of them at once...

One, two, three discus is not what you want. Buy a group of six, all at once, only adults, not juvies. Juvies would probably stunt in such a heavily planted tank, because it would be so hard to vac around all that stuff and keep it clean. Good luck.

Coralife205

09-22-2009, 06:28 PM

i added the tetras about a month in to the tank being set up. the glosso, should cover most of the substait, ive never grown it before, but looking at amanos tanks...it should. im not sure how long. its just now starting to grow properly by runners, not up, like a stem plant. probably a month or two

Coralife205

09-27-2009, 10:45 PM

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Lytehouse

09-28-2009, 03:34 PM

How much are you enjoying setting back and looking at that?

Looks great and you've really worked out a great set of plants.

Ready for the Discus yet? Have you decided on a supplier or what type?

Coralife205

09-28-2009, 08:34 PM

How much are you enjoying setting back and looking at that?

Looks great and you've really worked out a great set of plants.

Ready for the Discus yet? Have you decided on a supplier or what type?

im enjoying it a lot. its come a long way! i mean , look at the pics of severl months ago when i first started it up! and look at it now! plants have come along way, ive planted some and taken some out that were fast growers to help with the algea, all the hair algea and staghorn is practicly gone. i think it was just low nitrogen. im looking at the tank now, its crystal clear, ive never seen it as clear as it is right now(its right behind me).once a week i do a 24 hour black out on the tank, seems to help keep the algea down make the plants grow faster which take the nutrients out of the water....

ill be getting discus with in the first two weeks of october. probably next weekend. ive decided to go with a local fish store thats near by.i really really asked them about the 4-5inch discus and they really really said that the 2inch will be fine in my tank. he said hes been doing discus for years, and ive gotton to know the guy a little bit. he owns a store called fantastic fins. he said he loses about 1 in every 50 of the 2inch discus on avrage. the discus are German bread, they are imported from germany....

i told him i would take his word for it, ive met severl people at the store that have said that they have had good luck with the small discus from him...

i know its lot of money to gamble on wether i should take his word for it that the little ones will do fine....but you know what? ive been waiting for a long time and ive done virtualy everything right with this tank. i havent been rushing.and you see pictures of it, im realy dedicated and devoted to keeping the discus alive happy and healthy. and im only 19. .. the price differnce is signifcant. 180 for 6 discus, the 2 inch, or the 5inch for 540....

if i loose some of my discus, or all of them, ill wait a couple weeks before i buy new ones to replace them, and when i buy replacements ill buy the bigger ones. ill play it by ear.

Coralife205

09-28-2009, 08:35 PM

blue, red, brilliant turquoise , blue diamond, red scribbelt, leopard skin

bettebulldog

09-28-2009, 08:54 PM

rickztahone

09-29-2009, 12:53 AM

I would really reconsider the lfs purchase. I am by far an expert nor even close, but my opinion is that 6 - 2" discus is not enough for aa tank that size. I dont believe you would be able to grow them out properly and keep your pretty tank looking that good. I have tried planted grow out and if the fish dont suffer the plants will. Also do yourself a favor and go with a sponsor here. Just my opinion. You have done everything right so far, just want the best.

i have to completely agree here. there is no way you will be able to grow out 6 2" discus in this tank. just take our word for it and get some adults the first time around. you will be doing it later anyway. you have spent so much time on setting up this tank, why would you jeopardize it by going the cheap route? it might seem like a lot of money but it is worth it. if you do get the smaller fish and they happen to die in your tank you have to keep in mind that you can't sterilize such a large planted tank like you would a regular old BB 55g. what if when you do decide to put adults in there they catch something from the previous dead inhabitants? this is all theoretical of course but things happen. at the end of the day we are all trying to help you out here by not cutting corners. another possiblity would be to get those 6 2" discus and grow them out in a smaller tank and put them in this tank when they are roughly 5-6". this is all IMHO of course.

HTH

Coralife205

09-30-2009, 10:19 PM

when i get my discus, how should i feed them? what foods, whats a good feeding schedule, that kind of thing?

Eddie

09-30-2009, 11:15 PM

when i get my discus, how should i feed them? what foods, whats a good feeding schedule, that kind of thing?

Depends on their age. If you decide on the 6 X 2" discus, it won't really matter how your feed them as your current set-up will not allow for much/any growth.

Eddie

Coralife205

10-04-2009, 07:50 PM

Okay, I cheated. I have 8 Discus. I’ve had them less then a week. Wednesday I got one. The next day I got another. And then the day after that I got 6. I’m doing two water changes a week, and feeding them a verity of foods. Frozen bloodworms, flakes, beef heart (right before a water change) live brine shrimp, algae wafers (they like the stuff I feed my plecos..sinking pellets, and two other kinds of foods that are from fantastic fins. One is called decap brine, and the other is called APR. They recommended both of them. Every couple days I’m going to be using seachem nourish, and vitality.

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Disgirl

10-04-2009, 08:31 PM

Good luck with the tank! I know you have worked hard and spent a whole lot of $$$$ on this set up. Plants are growing well. Cardinals look great. I am worried about the young discus in that big tank though. Keep on top of your care of the tank and fish. And let us know how it goes. It is good to see pics of your progress (even if they are huge :D).
Barb

Coralife205

10-04-2009, 09:28 PM

the thing i realise what is going to be a problem, is the other fish getting the food before the discus do...

hedut

10-04-2009, 09:35 PM

nice set-up, you should change gravel color more lighter so discus will look nice or except you buy some albino or red white;)

Coralife205

10-04-2009, 10:25 PM

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Darrell Ward

10-05-2009, 06:17 PM

You have a nice planted tank, but a horrible discus grow out tank. All I can say is good luck. You were warned by me and others.

Coralife205

10-05-2009, 08:51 PM

i dont understand what is so wrong with this tank for discus? water perameters are perfect. the plants only help keep the amonia down, i do water changes twice a week...how could you possibly enjoy fish in a bare bottom , small, little tank? it seems like a wast and cruel. after all the fish in the wild seem to have grown fine. from what i understand it, a lot of the people on here that have given me advice dont seem to know crap about planted tanks. i mean, theres a lot more to them then "stick the plant in the gravel". the plants are actualy a key to a healthy tank with good water quality. i get the impresson people tell me not to put them in a planted tank cause "itel be a lot of work". well, if you think about it, how many people out there do you know that go all out on a tank, that go this high-tech as i have? i havent lost a single discus yet, they all seem healthy, they all are eating, and they are all hanging out in front, schooling, going back and forth, stress bars are hardly visible...there color are showing up pretty darn well. i feed them a verity of food, 3 times a day.. keep them in ro water, with a uv sterilizer running. and ph controler, temp at 83. water quality is perfect and its been a week...so please explain to me and back it up with scientific evidence that what im doing is wrong. how do i know that its just not an experence issue and ignorence why people seem to fail and get stunted discus in a planted tank? this has become my lifes passion and i plan on becomeing an aquatic biology major...

Darrell Ward

10-05-2009, 10:52 PM

My discus don't live in "small little tanks". I have a 240 gal., 4-125s, 3-75 gal. grow out tanks, and 4-55 gal. grow out tanks for the little ones. I set up my first successful planted tank in 1970, back in the "stone ages". I'm not ignorant about them. Let's see what the fish and tank look like after 6 months, a year or more. That's the measure of success, not weeks. It's very difficult to maintain that delicate balance between the needs of growing discus, and the needs of plants long term. That's why it's 100 times easier to start with adult discus. You will learn this, and no scientific proof will be needed. Good luck!

Coralife205

10-05-2009, 11:37 PM

difficult, but not impossible.

Lytehouse

10-06-2009, 12:26 AM

Here is what you have waited for:

the tank, the lights, the water, the plants, the DISCUS

Congrats

rickztahone

10-06-2009, 12:35 AM

Disgirl

10-06-2009, 08:07 AM

Here it is in a nutshell Coral, you just won't be able to feed as much food as those babies need and you can't possibly keep that tank clean enough to prevent disease/illness from getting to them. Even if your plants and water quality are good these other two things will get in the way. We who have been trying to help you on this thread have "been there and done that" in our years of fishkeeping, and mean no harm, just trying to help you. That is a big tank and cost lots of money and time we know. Shame if the fish don't thrive. We will still be here to help if you want it :).
Barb

cosmodude12

10-07-2009, 06:17 PM

have "been there and done that" in our years of fishkeeping, and mean no harm, just trying to help you. Barb

yes I have to agree. Planted tank is suittable for adult discus especially when the plants grow like crazy and reach at total equilibrium ( no algae attack, no die off phase ) Plants also experience die off phase when they are introduced to a new tank. As for right now, waiting for the plants to take over the tank will give more stress to the fish considering the water parameter is going to swing from one night to the next day. When discus fish stress, they are prone to get sick and when they get sick, every fish has the chance to be infected, at the end, your tank will look nice, but the fish will appear sick, dark, emaciated and stunted. Have you gone to any fish store where they put discus fish in a planted tank? Those fish scream 'get me out of here!'.

cosmodude12

10-07-2009, 06:30 PM

. after all the fish in the wild seem to have grown fine..

yes, minerals and resources are abundance in nature. Keep in mind, the fish in wild basically get water change every minute ( like 100% ), thus, they thrive better. You can't compare a 125 gallan tank for example to a larger,more sustainable eco system.

.
so please explain to me and back it up with scientific evidence that what im doing is wrong. how do i know that its just not an experence issue and ignorence why people seem to fail and get stunted discus in a planted tank? this has become my lifes passion and i plan on becomeing an aquatic biology major...

Well. There is no scientific evidence to show what you are doing wrong, however, statistics show Discus fish do not thrive the best in planted tank especially the juvies ones. If I were you, I would listen to hardcore discus keepers rather than using 'trial and error' because they try to minimize the problems and maximize the potential growth of discus.

Personally, i rather see my small discus turn into a bunch of hungry zombies and I;m sure, they would not care if the tank had plants or not, as long as they know they are getting excellent water and being fed to a point where the bellies look like a goldfish during feeding time.

Good Luck.

Disgirl

10-15-2009, 01:08 PM

How is your tank doing? Time for an update! Fish all eating OK?
Barb :D

Coralife205

10-16-2009, 04:16 PM

Ill take more and better pictures tonight when the tank clears up. But I just wanted to show everyone that im starting to get FLOWERS! Last night I saw it , but it was only half way up to the surface, and I looked in the tank now, and now its opening up! And I have another one. Im not sure what plants there coming from however. And incase your wondering, I took out the piece of wood on the left because I wanted to provide more swimming room for the discus, im not sure I like it as much, but I got to do whats good for the fish… anways, now that they have flowerd, what ever plants they are, how the heck do I like…well, make the plants reproduce…like pollinate, like how is this done…I don’t know… *feels stupid* also, the cardinal plant is starting to grow out of the water!

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Sharkbait

10-16-2009, 04:21 PM

Propagating depends on the type of plant. Stem plants you just cut and plant. Rooted plants you can actually pull apart. Careful not to tear them, they should come apart quite easily. Some plants like amazing swords you'll notice whole new trunks being created. That's when you know you're good to split them.

Lytehouse

10-16-2009, 07:31 PM

How cool!!!

Congrats

Look forward to pics of the fish as well.

Coralife205

10-18-2009, 11:03 PM

Okay, right now my tank looks very cloudy, and it’s because I rescaped it. I can live with the way it looks because hopefully over time the java fern will fill in and the Lotus will draw your attention more than the wood… we’ll see what happens… the glosso is starting to grow properly, which im happy about. Im sad I got rid of the Rotala but, it was necisary….oh, and notice the flower!!! sooo what do you think????

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Sharkbait

10-19-2009, 12:48 AM

Hey man,

Kudos on the setup. Your plants are looking very nice and it's good to see them flowering. Glosso can be a pain so it's nice to see them finally start spreading properly.

You have some really intricate driftwood pieces that are complete works of art on their own. I think the combination that you have, however, can be really distracting. I don't know what your overall goal is for your tank, but with the wood, my eyes really don't know where to look. They're kinda going all over the place. Typically a good scape will have a center of focus, or have balance and symmetry. Right now, my eyes are stuck on the horizontal log. I'm focused there primarily because I'm wondering how a log like that would be positioned like that naturally.

Your lotus is in position for a focal point, but it'll be hard to compete with the driftwood. Don't mind my criticism, I'm just trying to help. I am no aquascape pro by any means, but I am an art teacher and know quite a bit about composition.

Were you thinking about any stem plants for the background?

Keep it up, it's coming along great :)

Lytehouse

10-19-2009, 10:35 AM

Thanks for all the pics.

Wonderful colors and growth is amazing. Keep it up.

sercan

10-19-2009, 10:41 AM

Perfect tank;congrulations.

I swim with Discus

10-19-2009, 05:11 PM

Hey there, I have very little experience with planted tanks but one thing I do know, they are not ideal for growing out young fish. I personally would recommend that you get adults. They are more forgiving in some ways and having them large already will be a better experience for you.

HTH
Eddie

My tank has juveniles in it and it's fully planted. The little guys love the environment, and you don't need a CO2 tank if you use liquid carbon. Cheers=

Eddie

10-19-2009, 08:55 PM

My tank has juveniles in it and it's fully planted. The little guys love the environment, and you don't need a CO2 tank if you use liquid carbon. Cheers=

Thats great!

Lytehouse

10-20-2009, 09:59 AM

Great sig line Eddie....

Fix your water.....

Coralife205

10-20-2009, 11:04 AM

"i swim with discus" , the the co2 tank pays for its self after about a year of buying liquid carbon every few weeks, such as seachem excel. excel is , along with the entire flourish line, is too expensive to keep buying the bottles. i fertlise useing dry ferts and a co2 injection. also, the co2 does more then just provide co2 for the plants, it also is pluged in to a ph controller which means that the co2 lowers the PH of the water keeping it at a stable PH. its worth spending the 300$ on a co2 system after a year of spending 500$ or 600$ of seachm excel or any other liquid carbon products. also. co2 injection is good because many people dont realise, that the co2 is actualy fertilizeing your plants...so if you miss a day, or your gone for a long weekend, or gone on vacation, your tank is still being fertilised, partley. the only big disadvantage is that you have to be careful not to deprive your fish of oxegen, keep your co2 levels at about 30ppm. also, co2 helps control algea. anways enough of my babeling...

Coralife205

10-20-2009, 11:06 AM

1 more thing... the co2 tank , say a 10 lb tank, will last you about a year before you have to refil it. and most places will exchange or refil your tank for only 20$$$$$

Coralife205

10-20-2009, 11:07 AM

werid organism in my tank. i would take a picture of it, i tried tried again, it just wont come out. so i drew a picture of it on paint. ive counted about 100 of thease little guys on the glass, plants, wood, substrate, filter, etc...they seem to have a little "mouth" that helps them stay on to surfaces, kind of like a suction cup. and they seem to move around and crawl up the glass...sometimes. since my mom is a micobiolgist, ive tryed to get some of them to put in a vial and let her take it to work to look at it under a micoscope, BUT, they seem to close up there legs and there whole body seems to turn into this shape --> * belive it or not that is actual size too. the whole organism is literly about the size of ! <--that ........why am i inspecting my tank this closely anway what is it? they harmless? are they a parasite? http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/untitled.jpg

Disgirl

10-21-2009, 06:39 PM

These are Hydra. I have a hurt hand, type slowly, so you will have to look it up for info. But that is it for sure!
Barb

Coralife205

10-22-2009, 09:57 AM

my 90 gallon per day RO unit has turned in to a 60 gallon per every 5 days...... i changed out the sediment and carbon filters.... it dident help. in fact, overnight i the sediment filter was very yellow and looked cloged, again. looks the same as the old one did. the only thing i didn not change was the membrane or the DI....im not sure whats wrong. my pressure is just a little bit under 80 psi.... but it takes 5 days to fill up a 60 gallon trash can... this is not good for my water changes.... i want to do 2 water changes a week!!! like i was before...

Disgirl

10-22-2009, 12:12 PM

What about the Hydra in your tank? Did you look up what they are? Not good.
IMO, if you want to keep your fish in the tank alive, you are going to need to concentrate more on them and less on the plants, CO 2.
Barb again...

Coralife205

10-22-2009, 06:01 PM

I was getting ready to do a water change and then, I looked at the tank. I was like, I should probably take pictures BEFORE a water change because the water will be cloudy for a little while afterword. So anyways, here are some really neat pictures!!! I know I took a lot, but that’s what happens when you’re finally proud of your tank! I moved the Sunset Hygro to the left-center. I know it looks kind of wild right now, but over time hopefully it will look neater as it re-establishes. In place I put another sword plant back behind the wood. I’m starting to get new flowers. I’ve been asked by quite a few people to add some moss to the wood, sooo I did. I’m not sure how long it will last but hopefully it will grow properly. I’ve never had much luck with moss in the past….

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Coralife205

10-22-2009, 06:37 PM

Im still reading on the hydra. Ive read that adding aquarium salt to the tank will help irraticate them.

Coralife205

10-23-2009, 02:47 PM

Its safe to assume that this is NOT normal...what should I do? Is this related to the Hydra?

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Disgirl

10-23-2009, 03:13 PM

From what I know about Hydra, it is their tentacles, and poisonous stinging barbs that kill and eat small fish. They will multiply very fast. Probably came in with your plants. I have read that 3 Spot, Blue or Pearl Gouramis will eat them all. Don't know if you want to put them into your tank though... But your Ram issue looks like an internal flagellate thing like Discus get. I sure would get that fish out of there and into QT with appropriate meds. I think your discus are looking thin. Are they eating well and often? You have such a huge tank and now with fish health issues I am not sure what to tell you.
Barb

Coralife205

10-23-2009, 03:25 PM

they eat every day, 3 times. twice a week i feed them live brine shrimp. every day i feed them flakes from ocean nutrition. i feed them blood worms twice a week. i feed them pellets from spectrum;discus formual.

Coralife205

10-23-2009, 03:26 PM

oh, and i do water changes twice a week and test my water all the time. my water is always perfect. nitrates low, no nitrites or ammonia. phosphate is where it should be, and my kh is 4, co2 levels around 30 ppm and gh is usualy from 6-8

rickztahone

10-25-2009, 03:44 AM

as everyone has said, your tank tank and plants look great!, but your discus, not so much. I think you should have taken heed and gotten adults for your setup since these small juvies are just plain lost in such a large tank. even if you put my sub-adults in there i feel like they would be lost. my suggestion is to take them all out of there and set up a BB tank and grow them out for at least 6-9 months. this is strictly my opinion, please don't take it the wrong way. also, flagellates seem to have been introduced to the tank. did you sterilize all these plants? they can be carriers of all sorts of nasties. Metro will help if they start pooping white.

My 2 cents :o

Coralife205

10-25-2009, 09:07 AM

the ram died last night. i went to a local fish store and bought a medication, clout, and when i got home i saw it was dead. (it was alive a few hours before so it wasent in there very long.). i medicated the tank with clout, it takes care of a whole wide range of things, also includeing Hydra!!! when it comes to the discus ive done everything you guys have said, EXCEPT put them in a bare bottom tank...i looked at a bunch of books, talked to a lot of people, taken pictures to local fish stores of the discus and they all think as long as i keep doing what ive been doing that they will grow up fine. just this time a year, around winter, i need to be extra careful about what i put into my tank because its cold out (michigan) and thats when people AND animals tend to get sick often. i really do wash my hands before i put my hands in the tank and it is just that time of year...im glad us discus keepers dont have to worry about ich as much as with any other fish cause our temp is so high that ich has a hard time surviveing in our tanks (yes i know ich is always in the tank it just dosent affect the fish unless they are under sevear amonts of stress). i work at petsmart right now and i tell you almost every customer i get is complaing that they have ich. almost every single one. but just in case, i do keep a bottle of NOX-ICH on hand....and i work at a petstore so its not like i cant come home from work with meds either... anyways, my discus eat normaly. i feed them a very wide range of food weekly. i just added two new things to there diet. beefheart, and live black worms. they seemed to like the black wroms better then the brine shrimp. the flakes seem to be theire faveorite to eat. when the fish are done eating , there stomachs really are visibly full. im suprised no one on here has said " im suprised that your loseing fish other than the discus". the discus seem to be the healthiest.

Coralife205

10-25-2009, 09:12 AM

Disgirl

10-25-2009, 09:29 AM

Coral, you can have a BB tank that is also attractive. Here is a pic of mine, the plants are plastic, but you can have live plants in clay pots in the tank for a more natural look. I will do that later on when my discus are all grown. Your discus are eventually going to have problems in your tank. Watch out for the live blackworms in a heavily planted, rocked, wooded and graveled tank. I have seen them live in the gravel, reproduce and your tank can have hundreds or thousands of them living where the fish can't get to them, and the worms will put a bioload on your tank. Or eventually die in there and pollute everything. I have seen it! Good luck, plants do look good, but you must concentrate on your fish. That is a whole lot of water to have to buy meds for.

rickztahone

10-25-2009, 01:11 PM

this link is practicly what you want me to do. im sorry but this is just not enjoying the fish. maybe its good if you want to sell fish in a store and breed them, but i want them for enjoyment. i have not had any problems with them http://www.discusnada.org/discus/discus101.html

we didn't say it was practical, and no one said you had to do it but keep i mind that when your discus start getting sick and you have to take action we won't say "we told you so" but will try to help you. We just tried to help you from the beginning so you won't have to do it again down the line. the way you have your tank setup you (IMHO) have set yourself up to fail with discus. I know it can be done, but i just think your going about it the best way. let me give you this small example:
I feed BH twice a day, i try to siphon everything that is left over after every feeding and it isn't that easy. keep in mind i just have a BB with sponge filter and heater, that's it. now, look at EVERYTHING you have and guess where all those small little particles are going? I'm honestly not trying to put you down here, i just feel like there was good advise given in the beginning and you chose to put them in a planted tank. your ram died pretty much over night, what's stopping your discus from going the same route?

manitu

11-03-2009, 08:02 PM

i do agree great tank but the discus are small and are mostly knifebacks they are not looking good it is not goog to buy discus from lfs as they are over priced and teribble shape
adults where deffo the way to go
youre tank would realy benefit from adults as they only feed 1-2 a day and dont need beefheart

just trying to help

ditch those juvies and get niche adults from hans who has stendkers

gerald

Coralife205

11-03-2009, 08:42 PM

what seems to look wrong with them?...i have not had any problems...all of them seem to be liveing fine. i have not had any more deaths since the one ram. the hydra seems to be under controll... from what you can tell in the pics, "whats wrong" with them???? is it just because you dont think that they can live in my tank or that you see something wrong with them?

manitu

11-03-2009, 08:53 PM

no its nothing wrong with youre tank the discus are not nice they are very skinny look at there heads they just letting youre tank down
youcan tell they are from a lfs why not buy from a sponsor

just look atother members discus und compare to yours then im sure you will see what i mean

gerald

cosmodude12

11-04-2009, 05:40 AM

Lil Bill

11-13-2009, 04:12 PM

i just read this whole post .it took twenty minutes , about made me cross eyed,it did make me hungry .all i can say is holy moly.i'm going to get a klondike bar.

Coralife205

11-13-2009, 04:25 PM

i know its been a month since ive updated. ive just been so buisy with school and work i havent had the time...

Lil Bill

11-13-2009, 04:50 PM

coral,since i have had time to digest.both the klondike bar and this post,my take on it is this.i think you are trying to re-create what your mind envisions under the amazon's surface.you seem very smart ,as it seems you do your research on plants ,fish ,products,the whole works.i also believe you understand everyone was trying to help you ,people that have way more experience and a vast amount of knowledge .to me it also looks like money is no object as you have a system that some small zoos would be envious of.i also believe you know that it is going to be hard to keep everything in balance.i believe you are willing to take the time to do, all that you can do, to make it work and also understand it might not.15 years ago, when i was what i am guessing your age to be, i would have more than likely went about it the same way you did.both feet first and hope i landed safely.even though people that jumped before me told me to take the elevator .it is easier and safer.so my advice is this.... ROCK ON!and may you land on your feet
update us on the coral project some time soon.

Coralife205

11-17-2009, 12:41 AM

So your probably wondering what happened. The truth is, I do not entirely know what happened either, but from talking to a couple of people they all seem to agree on the same thing.

I was doing a routine water change a week ago. Once I was almost done filling the tank up, all my fish started dieing. I lost 20 cardinals, all my corys , plecos, otos, SAE. To my surprise the only survivers were ALL the discus , 9 cardinals, and 2 rams. Everyone ive talked to agrees there was a problem with the Ph of my RO water.. The Ph of the RO water was 8.4. All of my fish started dieing one after another , all in about 15 miniuts. They started dieing in less than 5 miniuts of new water. A few days later once things seemd to have ‘stabilized’, I lost about 90% of ALL MY PLANTS. So. Since there was so much debrea everywhere, I decided to basicly tare down the tank, vacume up most of the debrea. I changed about 80% of the water. I took out all the wood…I was thinking about putting it back in, but now that im looking at the tank and fish, im thinking ill leave it out. Make things worse, im all out of fertilizer for the plants.

I just got doing a water change over an hour ago, that’s why the tank is cloudy. However, everything seems to be doing okay. So here are the pictures….hopefuly ill get the thing back up and running in about a month. Im sad.

http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/IMG_5575.jpg
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rickztahone

11-17-2009, 01:04 AM

man, tough luck to lose all those fish and plants. those discus look extremely stressed, plus the eyes look cloudy. might want to keep an eye on them for a while.

Lytehouse

11-17-2009, 01:44 AM

I can't believe it, so sorry....

I'll bet you are sad and distraught. You put so much into your tank and it looked so great. I know you can get it back, but I know it's a great loss.

Thanks for sharing the good and the painful,

Best of luck...

Eddie

11-17-2009, 06:47 AM

Wow, that is a total surprise, the tank was looking great too! The plants were really taking shape. I am so sorry to hear of the loss of fish and plants. That is totally crazy that your RO unit was producing 8.4 PH water, whats up with that? Man, I am so sorry.

All the best and hope you get it all worked out,

Eddie

Disgirl

11-17-2009, 09:34 AM

I too am so sorry to hear what has happened in your tank. That is quite a loss, your plants had been looking so good too! I am glad your discus survived but I am wondering if you may be able to put them into a smaller tank for awhile to recover from all the stress they have been through? You could stuff them with good foods, all for just them, and keep their BB tank spotless. Concentrate on getting your plants going well again, grow the discus larger, then combine them. Best of luck and don't be too discouraged. This is all part of fishkeeping!
Barb:)

Lil Bill

11-17-2009, 10:29 PM

very very sorry.it was and is a beautiful set up and it will be back better and badder than ever.

Coralife205

11-19-2009, 01:06 AM

I just keep telling my self that it coudl of been worse.

Coralife205

12-06-2009, 01:18 AM

So I know I haven’t updated in a while. Its because I wanted my tank to stabilize and get back on track. I promise that the water is not as cloudy as it looks in the picture. It always looks cloudy when I take pictures, but the water is actually really more clear. Yes I took out the wood. The only problems I seem to really be having right now is that little bit of algae and the one discus….it looks so skinny. It eats normally like all the other ones, but it just looks so much different than the rest. Its been like this for 3 weeks now. Im not going to put it in the quartine tank because in order to catch it, I would have to tare down my tank again. I’ve tried and tried and tried. It sounds easier than it is to catch fish in that size tank. that’s why , at least one reason, why fish stores have like 10 gallon tanks for all there fish….for a damn good reason lol. Anyways, enjoy what it is so far. Its not a master piece, but its getting there. Has a long way to go…probably by the end of January it will be good.

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lemondiscus

12-06-2009, 01:45 AM

Nice use of triangles in the planting...

It would be nice to see some driftwood in the tank! Sorry I am a fan of some good looking hardscape to go with a good aquascape...

That algae can be a tough fight BTW.... I fight it from time to time too... that same stuff.... at least its not BBA and its easy to remove.. Usually its Crypts that seem to get that stuff you got the worst... That and it strings off of your filter outtake...

Coralife205

12-06-2009, 10:05 AM

yea ill figure a way out to make the driftwood work out. i want to wait till things stabalisze more. what do you mean by triangles in the planting?? if i did anything special it wasby acsident. ... i just want to know whats wrong with the one discus i got close ups on. thats the only one that does not seem healthy. its eating properly and normaly, as you can see for your self in the pictures...is it an internal parasite? would frozen bloodworms help, to just get the digestive system going? i say bloodworms cause there mostly water and there good for that sort of thing. maybe the parasite will "pass"?

DiscusFreakaZoid

12-06-2009, 12:19 PM

Coralife205

12-20-2009, 11:31 PM

http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/IMG_5712.jpg
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http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/Corn%20Snake/IMG_5783.jpg

also, anybody on here know about corn snakes? i have a qustion about shedding. please Pm me

Coralife205

12-20-2009, 11:37 PM

beleave it or not the water is crystal clear. its cloudy in the pic. its relaly not that white hazzy. i promise. its as clear as can be!

Lytehouse

12-21-2009, 12:33 AM

Great pics,

how are all the critters? Looks like some growth.

rickztahone

12-21-2009, 12:44 AM

sbanks78

12-21-2009, 01:40 AM

wow just read your thread sorry for your tank crash. everything was looking good too. are you going to keep all those discus in there?

Eddie

12-21-2009, 02:13 AM

like i've said before, great tank!, but the discus do not look good at all to me. they look super stressed, dark, and cloudy eyes on a few. i wouldn't even be able to tell you how to start treating in such a tank, sorry.

Ditto, those are some very sick discus. There is a pigeon blood in the pictures that is very emaciated. :(

Eddie

ChloroPhil

12-21-2009, 10:53 AM

Hey Coralife,

I'm very sorry to hear about the crash! Consider it a blessing in disguise, now you've got the opportunity to focus on your discus. The fish do look very sick and stressed. It's time to focus on them and let your plants take a back seat for a while. Something that might help you out a lot is using a dish to feed your fish on rather than letting it settle into that coarse substrate. The discus will be able to see it and get to it a lot easier and it's much easier to clean. :) Likewise, use a cone for worms and small foods to keep it out of the substrate.

Do you have any Malaysian Trumpet Snails? If not, go out and get as many as you can. You've got a seriously thick substrate and it needs something under the surface to process all the stuff settling down in it. If it doesn't get cleaned up soon it'll become a major source of problematic nutrients.

Regards,
Phil

jerzguy

12-22-2009, 12:11 AM

Phil,
What is the reason for suggesting the Malaysian Trumpet snails? Can you please provide some details about this.

Thanks

Hey Coralife,

I'm very sorry to hear about the crash! Consider it a blessing in disguise, now you've got the opportunity to focus on your discus. The fish do look very sick and stressed. It's time to focus on them and let your plants take a back seat for a while. Something that might help you out a lot is using a dish to feed your fish on rather than letting it settle into that coarse substrate. The discus will be able to see it and get to it a lot easier and it's much easier to clean. :) Likewise, use a cone for worms and small foods to keep it out of the substrate.

Do you have any Malaysian Trumpet Snails? If not, go out and get as many as you can. You've got a seriously thick substrate and it needs something under the surface to process all the stuff settling down in it. If it doesn't get cleaned up soon it'll become a major source of problematic nutrients.

Regards,
Phil

rickztahone

12-22-2009, 01:21 AM

Phil,
What is the reason for suggesting the Malaysian Trumpet snails? Can you please provide some details about this.

Thanks

they successfully stir up the substrate and also get all the tiny pieces of food that get trapped in the substrate.

Sharkbait

12-22-2009, 01:25 AM

Phil,
What is the reason for suggesting the Malaysian Trumpet snails? Can you please provide some details about this.

Thanks

Malaysian Trumpet Snails will sift through substrate and eat anything they can. From what I know, they only surface at night so if you've got a whole wack of them, it's not an eyesore.

Coralife205

01-03-2010, 11:27 PM

i actuly have about a 400 in the tank...literly. have had them for ever, they bread like crazy! i see babys every day!

“Where did all the fish go?” is probably what your asking. I’m sorry to report, they are all dead. Breaks my heart. Everyday for an entire week I would be pulling out around 5 fish at a time. I feel horrible. I don’t know what killed them, but I have ruled out poor water quality. I can only speculate that since my temperature was fluctuating about 5* at night, that maybe they got ich… I’m not entirely sure. But yea, anyway, as you can see I’ve given the tank a good cleaning.. I took out all the plants and cleaned up the gravel so much that I took out all the debris. Did 2 water changes in one night, and I spent from 9pm - 6am working on the tank, strait, with out taking more than an hour break, just working on this tank. I added the spray bar and replaced the output house, it was clogged. The spray bar seems to make the water circulate more efficiently , and provides a more gentle movement in the tank. Have 2 nano power heads. And 3 heaters.. I added some new plants. Anyways, I don’t think ill be adding fish soon. I’m too scared. I’m scared of spending money on fish that are only going to die. I want to wait a few weeks until I can be sure that what ever parasite, protozoan, what ever it was, is dead and wont hurt the next fish I put in there. I’m going to make sure my water temp is more stable… I’m not sure if I’m going to add discus again. IF I do, ill add 2-4 discus, and they will be fully grown adults. I don’t want to mess with parasites or disease or sickness or PH or anything of that sort again. But I’m not sure…I’m tired of having accidents and problems, I just want to have a healthy and enjoyable tank to look at. I was thinking about restocking the tank to look like this…

20 cardinals
6 plecos
10 black neons
12 rams

If I get the discus ill knock off 2 plecos and 6 rams.

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erikc

01-04-2010, 04:23 AM

Sorry to hear about your tank crash.

Okay, if you want some unsollicted advice here it is :

- Change that black gravel to a sand substrate, you can fertilise the plants using green clay pellets (check in a planted tank forum). Not all the plants have the same requirements when it comes to nutrients.

- You don't really need CO2, unless you want a plant only tank.

- Include an under gravel heater (believe me it works), especially with the depth of substare you will have.

-Metal hallide lamps will never carry the full required spectrum, you should complement them with T5s, they are the only type that will be able to complement the MHs. Go for the reds (plantgrowth) and blues (for the fish).

-Run the tank for 3 -4 months and slowly start stocking it again.

I know it sounds like a lot of work, but the tank has an amazing potential and it would be a shame not to use it.

Try to heed the advice you get here (we are alll here for the same purpose and everyone has something to learn, don't be stubborn)

Coralife205

01-04-2010, 12:08 PM

the co2 actualy does work. i know theres two kinds of plant aquarist....the ones with co2 and ones with out it. its a long debate thats been going on for years... i cant aford to get new substrate, besides mine is flourite. i dose useing the seachem flourish line and im slowly converting back to Dry Ferts because they are sooooo much cheaper in the long run. i also use root tabs. ive thought about t5HO lamps. i know i can get a deal from work because i have a minor discount. i would only need to by two of them, right? my thing is what kind of bulbs...like in calvins. i really do only need the halides on for 4 hours of the day...i dont know...its just money, plants have been fine with halides so far. im not sure when i should try to stock the tank again...if i do discus again, i only want no more than 4 of them. and i was thinking 2 would be ideal. i defently want a blue diamond...maybe a fire red one(ive seen some that look really really red). but ill get fully grown adults this time :-( im just not sure where to get them from because its hard to find fully grown healthy adults...

Disgirl

01-04-2010, 01:13 PM

Just as many of us have been trying to explain to you over the past months, me in particular, your tank will not support healthy discus, small ones or full grown ones. Don't waste anymore money on discus. Keep your tank for plants and some tetras and catfish. This advice will save you more money and headaches. We did try to help you.
Barb

Coralife205

01-05-2010, 11:41 AM

if it wont suport any kind of disus, then whats the point of someone buying discus to begin with? can i see your tanks with discus(everyone). what are they bare bottom non natural looking? its just... frustrateing and werid to me for people to buy fish only to enjoy them in a non plant tank. ive sceen discus before in healthyplant setups (go to the aga sites and look at thoughs tanks) http://showcase.aquatic-gardeners.org/2008.cgi?&op=ishowcase&category=0&vol=3

http://showcase.aquatic-gardeners.org/2008.cgi?&op=showcase&category=0&vol=3&id=67

http://showcase.aquatic-gardeners.org/2007.cgi?&op=showcase&category=0&vol=3&id=110

http://showcase.aquatic-gardeners.org/2009.cgi?&op=showcase&category=0&vol=3&id=210

look at thoughs tanks!!! :) if they can do it so can i? do thoughs fish look un healthy. so if ive even bought fully healhty adult fish would they just die off and not look good like thease ones? i dont know, just my point is, its possible.

ChloroPhil

01-05-2010, 12:33 PM

Oh man, I'm so sorry to hear about your losses! I hope you'll find the silver lining in this dark cloud and be able to keep on with your dream for this tank. You're doing the right thing by thoroughly cleaning everything and running the tank without fish for a while. Stick to that! Many parasites have a phase in their life cycle that requires fish. If you can take that away from them for long enough you should be able to knock the numbers back quite a bit.

Get the tank running well and matured without fish then start adding them slowly. I've had to do that in the past after large crashes and now it's how I start my tanks. It's one of the best ways of learning the nuances of a particular system.

One thing I'd do if this were my tank; move a lot of the substrate to the back. All the thick foreground substrate is doing is collecting debris that makes a mess and can cause health issues. Have you considered going with a bare sand foreground and planted background? If that's not desirable try a a much shallower foreground with something like Glossostigma. It's easier to keep clean and will give your fish a place to eat food that's settled.

Keep your head up!
Phil

Disgirl

01-05-2010, 01:03 PM

Hi Phil, way way back in this long thread, several of us were trying to help him with his setup to avoid what has happened. We suggested all the things you have and he did not listen to us so this has happened which is quite unfortunate. He has preferred to do it his own way which has been good with some plants but bad for the fish. He has Hydra very badly which is a real problem. I know he is frustrated and sad but for now he should clean up and try other than discus. JMO of course. Mean no harm and have really tried to help him. Even pms to him with help.
Barb:)

zamboniMan

01-05-2010, 04:44 PM

You could also add UV (I don't know if anyone suggested it before but I don't have time to read through it all). I would say CHIN UP we all have set back's and losses it's part of fish keeping. Try some other stuff for a bit then once the tank is well established try the discus again.

Good Luck!
Josh

Coralife205

01-05-2010, 06:50 PM

ehh listening to barb and others, and after careful consideration of my budget, i wont get discus again :-( ill try again in a few years...im goign to turn the tank into a semi aggressive set up. itel still be a plant tank. bu i think im going to a needle fish or two, some groumies, small school of tiger barbs, few rams, plecos, and call it quits and focus on easy fish to take care of that way i can focus with school... :( *sigh* i wont post on this forum any longer cause its specificly a discus forum. and, if you still want to follow my tank you may do so at... http://www.miapg.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=1388&pid=14152&st=300&#entry14152

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/aquascaping/90902-150-gal-discus-tank.html#post888805

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/aquascaping/63396-planted-discus-tank.html

Disgirl

01-05-2010, 07:29 PM

Good luck to you Coralife! There are lots of other wonderful aquarium fish and they will look great in your tank. Plenty of time in the future (I know you are still young :D) for those discus. When you have it restocked please post a picture of it here. We will all still be interested in it! Me for sure!
Barb:)

Coralife205

01-16-2010, 12:31 AM

http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/IMG_5866.jpg

http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/IMG_5867.jpg

http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/IMG_5869.jpg

http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/IMG_5870.jpg

http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/IMG_5874.jpg

gotfish?

01-16-2010, 02:02 AM

i got a question...how tall is your tank? and since your using metal halides is it too much? do you get light "spillover"??

i didnt really read through your thread, il prob tonight :D nice looking tank so far though...and is that the new fluval filter?? how do you like it so far?? ;)

rickztahone

01-16-2010, 03:17 AM

Coralife205, all i want to say is that we all have tried to help you along the way. I can honestly say that you went against a lot of things that we specifically told you not to do. with that being said, I know how it is to hear some advise that kind of goes against your wishes/goals. I agree with Barb but at the same time i don't because i know of larger tanks than yours that can successfully maintain discus in a fully planted tank. I just think you need to feel comfortable with both elements (Discus and a fully planted tank) in order to one day put them together and have an environment where they will thrive. Whatever you decide please post pics here, we are not trying to discourage you in any type of way. there are many members on here that do not have discus but still are part of our community. the moral of the story i guess would be to take heed of advise given to you from those that have gone through what you are going through. after all, they are trying to save you the headache. Good luck!