90gallon Planted Discus Community Tank continued!

DETAILED SPECS:

AQUARIUM:
90 gallon all-glass brand glass aquarium with Glass Canopy's on top

EQUIPMENT:
[*]HEATERS...TWO 250W Aqueon Pro Submersible Heaters
[*]THERMOMETER...Temp monitored by TOM Digital Temperature Alert
[*]FILTRATION....TWO Rena Filstar XP4 canister filters each rated at 450gph
Media ...(from bottom to top)
a) Rena 20ppi foam
b) Rena 30ppi foam
c) Either/or a Combo of... Rena Bio-Chem Stars, Chemi Pure Elite, Seachem Phosguard, Substrat Pro
d) Either/or a Combo of...Rena Micro-Filtration Pads, Morning Glory Premium Polyester Fiberfill, Purigen Pouches
[*]FILTRATION...Emperor 400 (moreso when I need to use carbon)
[*]LIGHTING...48" Current Sundial t5 HO 4 x 54w bulbs AND Also TWO 1w Coralife Led Lunars (Blue).
Lighting Schedule...
a) 9a to to 9p a a 54w Aquatic Life 420/460nm Actinic bulb comes on & a 54w Aquatic Life Roseate
b) from 1 to 7p another 54w Aquatic Life Roseate & a 54w Giesemann Floramax come on
c) then after the last of the 54w bulbs go out at 9p the TWO 1w coralife (Lunar Blue) lunars come on in addition to the fixtures 4 built in lunars (Moon White).

SUBSTRATE:
[*] TWO 50lb bags of Pool Filter Sand

DECORATIONS I Normally Use:
[*]kens fish "pleco breeding logs"
[*]kens fish "rectangular double tube rock"'s
[*]Driftwood mounted to slate using galvanized wood screws
[*]rocks- rainbow slate
[*]Tiki Guy Tank Decoration
[*]Seashell that my nephews brought me back from the bahamas
[*]Rena Airstone
[*]Two SpongeBob SquarePants Pineapple Houses (mainly for the loaches)

LIVE PLANTS:
[*]Crinum Calamistratum
[*]Broad Leaf Ludwigia Repens
[*]Rotalla Wallichii
[*]Crypt Wendtii Red
[*]Dwarf Sagittaria Subulata

PLANT ADDITIVES:
[*]Seachem Flourish (until my 2l bottle runs out)

OTHER ADDITIVES/CHEMICALS:
[*]Seachem Prime (my choice of baddy remover)
[*]Kent Pro-Clear or Seachem Clarity (water clarifier...when needed)
[*]Mela-Fix (when needed)
[*]Pima-Fix (when needed)
[*]Fuba-Fix (when needed)

CLEANING SUPPLIES & MISC.:
[*]Mag Float medium
[*]Tom Algae Scraper Multi-Tool
[*]Tom Multi-Tool / Aquatic Gardener
[*]New Toothbrushes
[*]Assorted Hose/filter brushes
[*]5g buckets for "soaking" (also use diluted bleach when necessary followed by rinse and prime soak
[*]Python No Spill Clean N' Fill (for partials).
[*]various sized "soft" (like the brine shrimp ones) nets

CURRENT TANK INHABITANTS:
This is an approximation, there may be more/less due to loss, breeding, selling, and inaccurate counting.

[*]1 Han's Discus Brilliant Discus (my personal favorite...got him at 2.5" from Oddball Pets & Aquariums)
[*]2 Han's Discus Marlboro Discus
[*]1 Han's Discus PigeonBlood Blue
[*]1 Han's Discus PigeonBlood Red
[*]1 Han's Discus Silver Pigeon
[*]1 Han's Discus Blue Diamond
[*]1 ?Yellow Pigeon Discus (this was in a tank that carried White Scorpions, White Butterfly's, and Yellow Pigeons)
[*]1 Han's Discus Fire Red
[*]1 Han's Discus Turquoise
[*]2 Ram Cichlids (M. Altspinosa)
[*]1 Hummingbird Tetra
[*]2 Female Longfin Albino Bristlenose Plecos
[*]2 Male Standard "Golden" Bristlenose Plecos
[*]6 Glass Catfish
[*]10 Bronze Corydoras
[*]7 Pangio Loaches
[*]6 Kuhlii Loaches
[*]1 Clown Loach (Thought I sold them all off, but musta missed 1)
[*]3 Roseline Barbs
[*]9 Neon Tetras
[*]1 Dwarf Honey Gourami's
[*]4 Rasbora Heteromorpha's
[*]2 Male Dwarf Flame Gouramis
[*]1 Female Crowntail Betta

--------------------------------------The entire above list was LAST UPDATED 9/17/11

^^

 

Re: 90gallon Planted Discus Community Tank

Gripe

So this setup was redone, I had water seepage behind the background which was mounted with SeaView Seagel. I believed the seepage originated from the connection of the Filstar Tubing to the UV (but what ticks me off is that I wrapped all the threads with plumbers tape and even zip tied connections for added piece of mind and when I tested it with water BEFORE putting it on the back of the tank I noticed no water whatsoever). Talk about your Grr moment!

In a way I probably deserved it, serves me right for squeezing the tank into my house...the setup's so tightly squeezed into the corner there's no room to get to anything when there's an issue, but it's the only spot I have so I'll deal with it.

 

Re: 90gallon Planted Discus Community Tank

Gripe #2

I redo the setup, pull the uv and figure I'll sell it off because I'm not going through this again and imo it's more grief and aggrovation than it's worth! I redo the background spending more time than I care to share using the Seaview Seagel...squeezing the excess out..checking the front to make sure no bubbles remain and waiting for it to "dry" up a bit before putting it back on it's stand.

Flash lighted it and all looks well (even had 2 others check it to be sure, since theirs nothing worse than an overpriced background that gets water under it..talk about your UGH! moments).

But wait! After I go through filling it and setting everything back up I start to notice what appears to be black lines. what the Heck!!

Apparently the SeaView SeaGel stuff is crap! I will NEVER buy another bottle of it as long as I live (this I vow). Well it's too late now, the substrate and everything's in and I'll just have to learn to live with the imperfections although it will bug the high heavens out of me.

 

Re: 90gallon Planted Discus Community Tank

Haha! Now there's a thought.
If it wasn't an older house with rebarb behind the walls I'd be trying to figure out a way to do an in-wall setup.

 

Re: 90gallon Planted Discus Community Tank

And now for some photos of my chaos:

This is the 20L showing all the discus being "held" for the time being.

 

Re: 90gallon Planted Discus Community Tank

Here's the 10g crammed with all the plants and other inhabitants:

 

Re: 90gallon Planted Discus Community Tank

Substrate

Here's the New Substrate since the CaribSea Moonlight Sand was a complete and utter nightmare!

The lfs didn't have enough bags to buy all the same, so I went with the 2 larger grain bags for the bottom and used the 2 smaller grain bags for the top.

 

Re: 90gallon Planted Discus Community Tank

Here's the SeaView GARBAGE, The SeaView Background, and The SafeStart.
Yes, I know..I overpaid, but when your in a rush that's typically what happens.

 

Re: 90gallon Planted Discus Community Tank

Lunars

And here's the TWO 1W Coralife Led Lunars (moonlight Blue).
and yes, I know their in sad shape..but they still work

 

Re: 90gallon Planted Discus Community Tank

Annoyance

Here's the annoyance! The dreaded Spots and Blackening of portions of the background.
Despite going over it for longer than I care to share, having 2 other people double check it as I worked from the back of the tank, and using a flashlight before putting it back on the stand to make sure their were no "pockets"...this is what I ended up with in a few hours. SeaView is GARBAGE!!! Don't waste your time, effort, or cash on this crappy product.

 

Re: 90gallon Planted Discus Community Tank

Finally Done

And here's the tank FINALLY done in less than 24hours...talk about you WHEW!
The discus aren't in yet, I'm still waiting for the temp to be spot on for them...but everyone else is in and looking great!

 

Re: 90gallon Planted Discus Community Tank

And the Discus are in!
Shower, something to munch on, and off to bed FINALLY!

 

Re: 90gallon Planted Discus Community Tank

LoL! I know.
I'ma try to get the hubby to finish emptying the 20gL & the 10g...that way I'll just be left with clean tanks to "reset" back up. The 10g will be placed back in attic storage, and I plan on re-using the 20gL.

 

Re: 90gallon Planted Discus Community Tank

Thanks! I'm amazingly impressed with it. At first I was stressing because I really wanted to go back to pool filter sand, but with being winter and in a "rush" to get things back up and running PROPERLY it was the best "semi-natural" looking substrate I could find.

They wanted $30+ for a bag of activ flora (which looked like a eco-complete knock-off) and of course their was the clown puke..you know those bright vibrant glow in the dark like colors that fade over time

The only thing I wish woulda went better was the background...had I known then what I know now (that seaview gel is crap) I woulda simply did my normal duct tape around all 4 edges

 

Re: 90gallon Planted Discus Community Tank

np.

If your looking for something affordable and easy to siphon go with Pool Filter Sand (pool/spa stores) and a 50lb bag will only set you back about $15max.

2nd best would be Eco-Complete Planted black (great for plants, but also looks good since it's more natural looking)...but the price of this stuff has skyrocketed since I last used it at nearly $40 a 20lb bag at the one lfs in my area..simply CRAZY! next best would be CaribSea Tahitian Moon Sand.

3rd would be peagravel which you can usually find at wal-mart lawn & garden or hardware stores...it's a BIG bag (I think about 50lb) for under $10 a bag last I checked. Looks like a "river" bed.

4th (but I'm finding it hard to siphon through) is the substrate I have in the 90g now...just looks "clean" and gives a "brightness" wow factor.