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Back in 2020 I finally was in discus heaven. I had it all. A 220gal tank with 13 beautiful adult healthy discus from Kenny, nestled away in my basement's boiler room. Four 44gal water holding tanks, 50:50 r/o to tap ratio. A couch in front of the tank and the home's sump pump close to the tank, making daily water changes very manageable.
Then I received that phone call from a head-hunter talking to me about a job in Saint Louis, Missouri, 9 hours away from my home in Michigan. Fast forward, I took the job but decided to not relocate my family and keep my house. Instead, I went by myself, ended up renting and later buying a loft apartment and going back and forth between the 2 places ever since. And then the inevitable had to happen. I had to sell my discus, as there was no way for me to relocate them. Especially since I did not really know how much business travel this role would eventually involve, plus my need to be with my family in Michigan as often as possible.
To make things worse, there isn't much of a market for discus fish in my area. I finally found 2 buyers who actually had discus and made halfway sense in what they were saying about discus. Except that I ended up giving them away for a fraction of the cost. Oh well. Water under the bridges.
For the last 3 years I stayed away from fish tanks. The occasional visit to my boiler room with a sad looking empty fish tank and all of the gear still being there. But it is hard to stay away from this hobby. And this wasn't my first time having to abandon the hobby due to relocations, some international.
So here I go again. A brand-new setup in my Saint Louis place that is currently cycling. A 125gal tank, Fluval FX4 canister filter, LED lights, heater with external thermostat, r/o water blended with aged tap. A light dusting of pool filter sand and some pothos rooting into the tank to help with Nitrate absorption. I might add the manzita wood I had in my old tank that gives it that tree roots look, without creating dead spots with waste accumulation.
The part that I am very happy with is the conversion of the guest bathroom into the water staging, aging and changing area. It works great, spill free water changes. And the cool thing is that I can disconnect the r/o feed line within seconds and move the whole setup into a storage area when the fam comes over.
No I am debating if I should wait with adding discus until after the holidays to avoid being away from them during that time?!
Your thoughts and recommendations are welcomed.
JC
Then I received that phone call from a head-hunter talking to me about a job in Saint Louis, Missouri, 9 hours away from my home in Michigan. Fast forward, I took the job but decided to not relocate my family and keep my house. Instead, I went by myself, ended up renting and later buying a loft apartment and going back and forth between the 2 places ever since. And then the inevitable had to happen. I had to sell my discus, as there was no way for me to relocate them. Especially since I did not really know how much business travel this role would eventually involve, plus my need to be with my family in Michigan as often as possible.
To make things worse, there isn't much of a market for discus fish in my area. I finally found 2 buyers who actually had discus and made halfway sense in what they were saying about discus. Except that I ended up giving them away for a fraction of the cost. Oh well. Water under the bridges.
For the last 3 years I stayed away from fish tanks. The occasional visit to my boiler room with a sad looking empty fish tank and all of the gear still being there. But it is hard to stay away from this hobby. And this wasn't my first time having to abandon the hobby due to relocations, some international.
So here I go again. A brand-new setup in my Saint Louis place that is currently cycling. A 125gal tank, Fluval FX4 canister filter, LED lights, heater with external thermostat, r/o water blended with aged tap. A light dusting of pool filter sand and some pothos rooting into the tank to help with Nitrate absorption. I might add the manzita wood I had in my old tank that gives it that tree roots look, without creating dead spots with waste accumulation.
The part that I am very happy with is the conversion of the guest bathroom into the water staging, aging and changing area. It works great, spill free water changes. And the cool thing is that I can disconnect the r/o feed line within seconds and move the whole setup into a storage area when the fam comes over.
No I am debating if I should wait with adding discus until after the holidays to avoid being away from them during that time?!
Your thoughts and recommendations are welcomed.
JC
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