120 gal. biotope done......now what?

[3dees]

my 120 gal (48x24x24) is done. school of lemon tetras and a bn pleco. I wanted something besides cardinals or rummynose tetras. I know it's not a true biotope but it's the way I planned the tank fron the start. comments are welcome. just pleasse don't suggest plants. there are some silvania natans and I'm waiting on some frogbit but that will be it for plants.
now for the confusing part. I think this tank screams wilds but being new to discus I don't want to set myself up to fail. I have been keeping aquariums for 25 years from high tech plantad to reef but never discus. what does everyone think? My ph is 7.6 and I don't want to mess with RO. I want a tank for show only. not interested in breeding. what does everyone think.

[dbfzurowski]

do it man, discus are awesome fish!

[srusso]

Lets see some pictures of that tank man!! Go for the discus, I am beginner also just started my first discus tank just over a month ago, I would go with full grown adults, these little guys are proving to be a lot of work... I am not sure wilds would do well in that pH but I will let someone else speak on that. If you are like me you want something "natural looking", I found what I was looking for by only getting one or two strains... the over all look of a schooling group of discus is lost with a mixed bag of discus IMO... If you don't want tetras, a lot of people have good luck with keeping apistos with disucs, they have loads of variations so you should be able to find something you are looking for... BUT yes go Discus, I bet you might find yourself looking into breeding once you have some... dont say never just yet. :D

[3dees]

hope this works

[kitykatfunkiehat]

Very pretty!!

[Darrell Ward]

It looks good. Needs wild discus definitely. I wouldn't put Heckels in with the high PH, but I think a group of other wilds, such as greens for example, should do fine.

[kush]

Check out snookn21's wilds at www.aquabid.com

[Darrell Ward]

If you put discus in that tank, I would lower the water level some, or put glass tops on to keep them in the tank and off the floor.

[vera]

Great set up !
definitely paradise for wilds
Best of luck

[yikesjason]

Go with some Alenquer or Santarem from Hans. You get a wild look with the rock solidness of Han's fish.

[Eddie]

Beautiful biotope, looks really nice. Some gorgeous wild blues will blow the roof off that joint!


All the best,

Eddie

[3dees]

Thanks eveyone. I agree that wilds would look best, and I love the blues. I'm just a little worried about taking on wilds as my first discus. I cant put a top on the tank as there are branches clamped and tied above the tank. I was hoping that after the plants grow accross the surface it would help keep them from jumping.
If anyone is interested the greenlights from Catalina are nice but with just the led strips on I don't think it's enough light for plants. I have them on for 11 hours but run 1 54w for 6 hours. So far no algea to speak of.

[dbfzurowski]

looks pretty awesome, just asking for some nice discus

[Darrell Ward]

Don't be afraid of wild Discus. I've found them to be generally tougher than most domestics. Part of this may be due to the fact that wilds tend to be older and larger when you get them. And the fact that the weak ones and sick have already died off on the journey, leaving only the strongest ones.

[3dees]

I really do want wilds. I like the greens and blues. I have also been looking at domestic alenguer as they have the look of wilds. I guess now I have to start looking for someone who has them. I would rather buy from the sponsors here.

[Darrell Ward]

I really do want wilds. I like the greens and blues. I have also been looking at domestic alenguer as they have the look of wilds. I guess now I have to start looking for someone who has them. I would rather buy from the sponsors here.

I have wild greens and heckels.

[3dees]

Darrell, you have greens for sale? I need to get some prices. do you think 8 or 9?

[Eddie]

I really do want wilds. I like the greens and blues. I have also been looking at domestic alenguer as they have the look of wilds. I guess now I have to start looking for someone who has them. I would rather buy from the sponsors here.


Excellent decision!

all the best,

Eddie

[DiscusFreakaZoid]

Nice setup. What type of wood is that on the left that its submersible

[3dees]

thank you. there are 3 pcs of cypress. I soaked them for 6 weeks and they still would not sink so I screwed some acrylic to the bottom and covered it with the sand.

[Darrell Ward]

Darrell, you have greens for sale? I need to get some prices. do you think 8 or 9?

No, I don't have any for sale. You could go 10 in that tank pretty easy I think. Try snookin21, or Hans in the sponser forum. Both sometimes have them.

[erikc]

I really like your setup and can see the amount of work you have put into it.
Well done, it is quite a beautifull tank.

Wilds, yes, but as Darrel said, you will have to put a top on the tank. Unfortunately wilds will take time to get used to their new surroundings (several months sometimes). When scared they will naturally try to flee and this is when some will try to jump out of the tank (I'm talking from experience here). I would hate to read that you lost a new fish because it jumped out of the tank.

[3dees]

yeah, I know what your saying but the problem is there are branches sticking out of the tank. glass top just won't fit. petsmart sell a 48"x12" screen top made for reptile tanks. maybe I can cover the front half where there are no branches. I am hoping that once the floating plants cover the surface that will help keeping them from jumping. a few years ago I had an angel tank with a school of hatchets and a open top with floating plants, I never lost one fish to jumping and I don't think there is a fish that jumps like hatchets. you and Darrell have me thinking that maybe I should stock different fish.

[3dees]

I should add that the tank is in the basement rec room. there is only my sister and I and her part of the house is upstairs so there is'nt much traffic around the tank other than my lab who could care less about the tank.

[jball1125]

First off I woul like to say that you have done a great job with the tank and I think it deserves nothing less than some discus.

As far as the top goes, here is an idea: Get your self a big piece of styrofoam that is not too thick. Then lay it on top of the tank and draw marks where the branches would need to come out of, cut them out and there you go! The perfect top. If you get it thin enough you will bearly tell it's there and it will keep fish from jumping out.

[jball1125]

I forgot to mention that you can cut holes for the lights and it would give a nice effect that wilds would like.

[Darrell Ward]

Lower your water level a couple inches below the tank rim. That usually works. I've done this before on tanks I didn't have tops for, nothing jumped out. Discus don't seem to jump high and over stuff. If it were me though, I'd saw off branches that stuck out of the tank low enough to get tops on it. With warm water, you'll lose gallons to evaporation every day without tops. This raises humidity levels in the room, and encourages black mold growth.

[Foxfire]

What about a soft fishing net over (but pulled very tight) the top until they adjust?
Food for wilds is an issue as is health, so as a beginer you need to study this a lot for wilds.