Finally, our Discus breeding room is taking shape

[bronzie8]

We have 2, 55 gallon tanks, one for R/O and one for aged water, the R/O unit will make up to 300 gallons a day, plenty for when we expand in the future. We have a pump mounted on the stand that will take the dirty water through the wall to a tub in the next room, the R/O waste will go in there also. We also added an extra drain in the middle for siphoning the bottom of the tanks. The bottom of the tanks are painted with a stone finish. We will be able to drain the tanks separately with no contamination between tanks possible. The air supply is a Eco Plus Commercial Air 1 from Kens Fish. Soon, the tiger turqs., checkerboards, cobalts and yellow melons will be happy in their new home.

Happy Holidays everyone,
Kathy

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[asifgy]

Very nice, keep us updated


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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=40.683269,-73.834745

[LizStreithorst]

It is very pretty, but I don't get how you will siphon the bottoms (which you must do) without cross contamination.

[bronzie8]

We are putting in a drain tube right in the middle of the main drain, along the front. I have separate hoses for each tank that will siphon into the drain..it will be kind of a funnel attachment. It will be finished in a few days,you will be able to see what I am talking about.

[nc0gnet0]

Do you have any pictures of the stand, minus the tanks.............?

Rick

[bronzie8]

Do you have any pictures of the stand, minus the tanks.............?

Rick

These are the best pics I have without tanks. We did add 4 crossbeams under the 55 gallon tanks after I took these pics.

Kathy

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[TURQ64]

looks plenty stout..good luck....

[HAPPYFISH]

Looks great! Good luck with breeding too. Now we await fish pictures in your lovely rack :)

[nwehrman]

Good progress so far....keep us updated.

[nc0gnet0]

Are the 55 gallon tanks total weight on the cross beams, and are the 29 gallon tanks only supported at opposing ends?

[bronzie8]

No, the 55s are supported on both ends and crossbeams and the 29s also have support in the middle.

[nc0gnet0]

Ok, if the 29's are supported in the middle as well (it doesn't appear to be so in the picture) those are good. I would have opted for installing the cross beams on the 55's in a different fashion. Installing them from the bottom up with the weight pushing down on them may have them eventually loosen/fail. Better to have them cut to fit so you could screw them in from the sides.

[bronzie8]

We added the crossbeams after the photos were taken. Yes, I thought about that after the fact, we have secured them with lots of extra long, big screws and some bolts. We are still in the process of finishing everything up, plumbing and air, waiting for the valves to get here. Then it will be time to do the water test to make sure nothing leaks.

[mrblah00]

Awesome, i got some good ideas from this. I'm getting ready to start something like this. It's a bit overwhelming just thinking about where to start.
Sam

[bronzie8]

Hi Sam

I know what you mean. This is a first for us, a bit of trial and error. We had a lot of input from Ronnie of Diamond Discus and did a lot of reading on this forum. We just finished the air system today, with a loop of PVC and 12 air valves. I will post some pics when we get it up and running, should be Friday. I am so excited, I have a pair of Tiger Turqs and a pair of Checkerboards that are ready to go. My Checkerboards are laying eggs on the heater. One thing we went back and did after the rack was finished was to add more 2x4s under the tanks for stability.

Kathy

[TURQ64]

Did you put a bleeder in the air loop??..Helps to keep LPP or blower cool by allowing back pressure a relief..Gary

[bronzie8]

Hi Gary,

Yes we did, just tested it last night, works great.

Kathy

[CrazyAngels]

Kathy. I love the set up and will continue to monitor the progression, thanks for sharing.

I do have a recommendation for you though, I also started with an ECO PLUS-1 air pump, only to find out they don't last very long and when you call the manufacturer to try and get replacement parts, you'll get no where. Have something on hand available cause when the valve breaks internally, it will freeze the pump up almost instantly. I was lucky that my supplier could get me an alita pump by next day and I was able to scavenge some of my old pumps to keep me going for 24 hrs. The problem with this pump is it runs hot and the valve is a thin layer of plastic like material. This material gets brittle, breaks off and then melts between the piston and the sleeve. It made some smoke like bi-product which made one of my tanks water (closest to the pump) turn grayish. So i lost some of my plecos in that tank before I could get the water changed.

HTH. Best of luck with your project.

[Stag]

I only have one question...

What can I get that fancy leopard print background! Roarrr! :D

[bronzie8]

Kathy. I love the set up and will continue to monitor the progression, thanks for sharing.

I do have a recommendation for you though, I also started with an ECO PLUS-1 air pump, only to find out they don't last very long and when you call the manufacturer to try and get replacement parts, you'll get no where. Have something on hand available cause when the valve breaks internally, it will freeze the pump up almost instantly. I was lucky that my supplier could get me an alita pump by next day and I was able to scavenge some of my old pumps to keep me going for 24 hrs. The problem with this pump is it runs hot and the valve is a thin layer of plastic like material. This material gets brittle, breaks off and then melts between the piston and the sleeve. It made some smoke like bi-product which made one of my tanks water (closest to the pump) turn grayish. So i lost some of my plecos in that tank before I could get the water changed.

HTH. Best of luck with your project.

Thanks for the info, I am looking for another pump now. That's why I love this forum, everyone pitches in and gives great tips and advice!! We are ready to do a test run with the water system. I have three pair that are shimming and shaking...LOL

Kathy

[bronzie8]

I only have one question...

What can I get that fancy leopard print background! Roarrr! :D

Isn't that something? This house is almost 100 years old, when we moved in that room had gold shag carpet too. Pulled it up and it has hardwood floors.