125g Discus Tank

[Stussi613]

Here are some specs and pics of my 125g Discus tank. Would appreciate any comments or feedback.

Tank:
125 gallon Starfire front panel.
Rena XP4 filter (soon to be supplemented with a Fluval 404)
250w online heater
Digital thermometer
750gph powerhead for surface agitation (all filter connections are through the holes drilled in the bottom of the tank)
8 light regular T5 fixture (only 4 lights populated)
Pool filter sand and black fluorite substrate

Livestock:
9 discus from Evelyn
~40 Cardinal Tetras
10 Rummynose tetras
4 sterbai cory's
1 useless BN place
5 Otto cats

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5294/5505399640_ce2515cda7_z_d.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5254/5505400362_5c82b6c561_z_d.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5099/5504806061_b121d9639c_z_d.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5253/5505401834_82983232d4_z_d.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5297/5505402512_65224312e7_z_d.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5060/5505403196_9f3962e23b_d.jpg

[Jennie]

how beatifully you design tank! I see fish I like as well! very very nice!

[Chad Hughes]

That's a beautiful sword in your tank!

Tank and fish look great!

[JL15219]

Everything looks great! I really like that white stand....

[2wheelsx2]

Very nice setup. The only thing I would have done differently is to add more rummies, but each person has different taste. May I ask what brand of light is that and where you go it? I have a 125 also (not discus and currently use multiple 36" setups and it would be nice to be able to go to a single light.

[Stussi613]

Everything looks great! I really like that white stand....

Thanks! It's actually a square steel tube stand with melamine cabinet material attached with silicone on the top and sides and white pressboard panels held on with magnets for the doors. Super easy to put together and more of a furniture look.

[Stussi613]

Very nice setup. The only thing I would have done differently is to add more rummies, but each person has different taste. May I ask what brand of light is that and where you go it? I have a 125 also (not discus and currently use multiple 36" setups and it would be nice to be able to go to a single light.

I thought about more rummynose, but I already had all the cardinals. I bought the tank with the light, but I'll try to dig up the name for you from the previous owner. I will say though, it's regular T5 bulbs so the choices for color temp and quality of color rendering is limited.

[2075turner]

Hey nice tank you got there. I haven't seen it in person yet so this is my first viewing of the new set up. 8-)

[Jennie]

seeing those neons makes me miss having them

[TURQ64]

Beautiful tank, mate..Please back it up with a second heater!...Gary

[dadecountyalan]

seeing those neons makes me miss having them

im starting to miss mine to. the bigger my fish get. the more cardinals they kill

[saltydog]

nice, what did you use as a border to hold your plants / substrate in?

[Herbicidal]

Very nice! Beautiful Discus! :) Like Turq64 says, get a second heater. I had two 300 watt VisiTherms fail 3 days apart on my tank (heaters were only 6 months old), then a week later one failed on my wife's 90 gallon. Thankfully, no fish were lost with the drop in tank temps. Also looks like your digital thermometer show 82.8 degrees? Might be a bit on the low side, in my opinion.

[Stussi613]

nice, what did you use as a border to hold your plants / substrate in?

It's a homemade corrugated plastic divider that you can see at the back of the sand.* Picture #5 shows it the best. I cut two "strips" of it, one slightly taller than the other, then cut slots in the bottom and used small pieces fit into the slots to hold it together. Keeps the sand and flourite separated and has room between the rails for flourite with mid ground plants in it. As soon as the plants in the middle are well rooted and stable I'll probably put some sand on top of the fluorite. Super easy to make that divider and a sheet of it costs less than $20. I usually push the sand right up against it when I do my cleaning and you can't even tell it's there.

If people are interested I can do a build journal with photos...

[Stussi613]

Hey nice tank you got there. I haven't seen it in person yet so this is my first viewing of the new set up. 8-)

We'll have to remedy that soon!

[Jennie]

I hear ya! my 3 inch juvies hunted with pack mentality! I have an angel tank though that would be awesome with some!

[Disgirl]

Beautiful tank and fish. I really like your separation of the fluorite and sand, what a great idea! And that is one gorgeous sword plant!
Barb

[Apistomaster]

Good idea using the flexible plastic with interlocking slots to terrace your tank.
I used glass with strips of stone finished floor tile facing for back half upper terrace. It was/is very functtional as most food tend to fall in the front where I only have 1/4 inch of sand. The thin layer allows Discus to sieve the sand for live black worms. The only complaint is it is a straight line so some folks didn't like it and others did but as the user the method was very functional.

I haven't kept many Tetras with domestic Discus but I have with wild Heckels and my F1 Nhamunda Blue Discus. These Discus have left my Green Neon Tetras alone despite the fact they are smaller than adult Cardinals. It helps that Heckels are less predatory than domestics which have learned to take many things as food. My F1 Nhamunda Discus grew from a small size with small Tetras always present so they get used to having them around.
I have been keeping Cardinal Tetras almost as I long as I have been a fish hobbyist(pushing 5 decades) and I have never had Cardinals live as long as their smaller Green neon cousins. Common Neons do not do well at Discus temps so I never have tried keeping them with Discus. Seems like even if your Discus don't eat Cardinals they tend to need to have regular replacements if you are trying to keep their numbers up. They may not be as well suited to Discus Temps as Green Neons seem to be but they do well in water which is warmer than common Neons. Cardinals do best at abut 80*F. I keep Green Neons at 84*F. Rummy Nose do well at 84* but they are very sensitive to changes in water quality. Many use them as canaries in the mine because they are among the first to show signs of distress when the water quality slips.
I am part way through rehabbing my 125 gal and it will be a low tech planted tank stocked with mostly Characins(Tetras and near relatives). I have 2-dual lamp fixtures holding a total of 4 X 39 watts of lamps. I like using a combination of one each Colormax for plants and fish colors and one each 10K lamps for good white light with better penetration of deeper water. I sometimes only use 10K lamps but still get good plant growth and nice fish colors compared to 6.7K(daylight at noon).
I also have a dozen wild Red Phantom Tetras doing well although the water temp is higher than they prefer.

[Stussi613]

The only complaint is it is a straight line so some folks didn't like it and others did but as the user the method was very functional.

I went with the plastic because it allowed me to bend it as part of the scape, for a more natural look. If I had to do it over the only thing I would do is make the pieces the same height, rather than having the back one higher than the front. It's impossible to see, but the "rails" actually wrap around my plumbing so they arent going to move, nor will they lift and allow the two different substrates to mix. It took me two months to get the tank layout right before any water went into it and I'm glad I took that time.

Now all I have to do is get the Blue Green Algae under control :(

[Disgirl]

Now all I have to do is get the Blue Green Algae under control

This won't work for all tanks, if fish are present and good bio is going, but here is a tip I just learned. I battled blue/green algae in a 22 g tank for about 2 yrs. Just tetras in it. Could not get rid of it. Did some research, found out that this is a bacterial algae, so I took out remaining fish and did a full course of Furan 2 on the tank. After 2 days the algae started leaving and by the end of the treatment it was all gone and now, 3 months later, not a sign of it. I keep 2 fancy goldfish in there now. Just a tip.
Barb

[Stussi613]

Now all I have to do is get the Blue Green Algae under control

This won't work for all tanks, if fish are present and good bio is going, but here is a tip I just learned. I battled blue/green algae in a 22 g tank for about 2 yrs. Just tetras in it. Could not get rid of it. Did some research, found out that this is a bacterial algae, so I took out remaining fish and did a full course of Furan 2 on the tank. After 2 days the algae started leaving and by the end of the treatment it was all gone and now, 3 months later, not a sign of it. I keep 2 fancy goldfish in there now. Just a tip.
Barb

I've been reading allot about Cyanobacteria too. Some people say blackout, some say h2o2, some say Maracyn...I'm tempted to try the peroxide and blackout since I can't re-home all the fish and I've heard Maracyn can crash filters.

[waters10]

Thanks! It's actually a square steel tube stand with melamine cabinet material attached with silicone on the top and sides and white pressboard panels held on with magnets for the doors. Super easy to put together and more of a furniture look.
Hey, Nice Tank!

Could you give more details on the stand, with some photos?

Thanks!

[Disgirl]

I've been reading allot about Cyanobacteria too. Some people say blackout, some say h2o2, some say Maracyn...I'm tempted to try the peroxide and blackout since I can't re-home all the fish and I've heard Maracyn can crash filters.

I tried black out for a week and nothing happened but more of the algae grew. I didn't try peroxide but if you do it with fish in the tank I would sure want to know that is totally safe. Good luck!
Barb

[2wheelsx2]

I tried black out for a week and nothing happened but more of the algae grew. I didn't try peroxide but if you do it with fish in the tank I would sure want to know that is totally safe. Good luck!
Barb

If more algae grew there was light leaking into the tank. I had a massive outbreak in my 125 gallon before I introduced CO2 and I had much messier fish than discus (Oscar, Green Terror, 2x 8" Chocolate cichlids, sailfin pleco and 5x 6" silver dollars) and there was no BGA after a complete 3 day blackout. To achieve this though, you need to do a big water change, cover the tank completely with no feeding no peaking etc. I taped the whole tank with black garbage bags and then draped with thick blankets for good measure. I added an airpump for extra air exchange and didn't look for 3 days.

[Stussi613]

If more algae grew there was light leaking into the tank. I had a massive outbreak in my 125 gallon before I introduced CO2 and I had much messier fish than discus (Oscar, Green Terror, 2x 8" Chocolate cichlids, sailfin pleco and 5x 6" silver dollars) and there was no BGA after a complete 3 day blackout. To achieve this though, you need to do a big water change, cover the tank completely with no feeding no peaking etc. I taped the whole tank with black garbage bags and then draped with thick blankets for good measure. I added an airpump for extra air exchange and didn't look for 3 days.

Do you think that just the addition of co2 would resolve it, or is it better to blackout first and then add the co2 after?

[Stussi613]

Hey, Nice Tank!

Could you give more details on the stand, with some photos?

Thanks!

Sure, give me a couple of days and I'll take some pics and write something up.

[2wheelsx2]

Do you think that just the addition of co2 would resolve it, or is it better to blackout first and then add the co2 after?

CO2 will not resolve it. In fact CO2 will not solve any algae. You always need to fix the problem first. I would do a thorough cleaning of the tank (big water change, wipe down all surfaces, etc.) and clean all filter media with dechlorinated water and then do the blackout. After that, I would consider the addition of CO2 or the more obvious route, which is to reduce lighting intensity/duration to see if you can get by without CO2.

[Disgirl]

No I didn't do as complete a blackout as you did wheels, I just draped a dark towel over the front and sides, there may have been an inch or so of room light. Was that all it took for the algae to keep growing? That is some tough stuff to get rid of. That's why I used the Furan 2. And it wasn't cheap.
Barb

[2wheelsx2]

No I didn't do as complete a blackout as you did wheels, I just draped a dark towel over the front and sides, there may have been an inch or so of room light. Was that all it took for the algae to keep growing? That is some tough stuff to get rid of. That's why I used the Furan 2. And it wasn't cheap.
Barb

Yes. I tried the blackout 2x and the first experience was like yours. If even a little bit of light gets through, the only thing that will happen is that it'll make it worse, as it inhibits the plant growth but not the BGA growth. I ended up using Maracyn in my tank. Then the same problem came back and I did the complete blackout and then added CO2 when it was done and have never had the problem again.

[discuspaul]

Hey Gary, I still can't get over how much experience and knowledge you have kicking around in your head !
It's awesome - and I know it has helped a great many people. Keep it up.
A fan.
Paul

[invinci]

beautiful tank..
Cardinals and Discus looks very gorgeous together!
loved the setup