90gallon Planted Discus Community Tank continued!

Re: 90gallon Planted Discus Community Tank

New Bristlenoses

Oh, forgot to add that I finally found nice sized male albino bristlenose plecos locally!
Ended up grabbing two of them, the one male is really nice looking so I'm feeling hopeful that I'll be ending up with some babies in no time.

In the tank already:
1 golden albino bristlenose female that's a standard fin , and 2 albino bristlenose females that are long fins.

 

Re: 90gallon Planted Discus Community Tank

Today's Photos (after removing the brush algae):

 

Re: 90gallon Planted Discus Community Tank

Dwarf Cichlids

Thinking of adding some dwarf cichlids?
Maybe either a pair of Apistogramma Cacatuoides Triple Red or a Agassizi's
AND
a pair of Apistogramma Trifasciatas.

 

Re: 90gallon Planted Discus Community Tank

Discus Eggs

Apparently I have another breeding pair of discus, I woke up the other day to find my Red pigeon blood, Blue pigeon blood and Marlboro red (yes, all 3 of them) gaurding the heater that's towards the back wall of the tank with a bunch of eggs that were already fungused (aka cooked) doh

I ended up tossing a piece of slate in along the back wall just in case they decide to breed again, hoping they'd prefer it (being it's pretty close to the heater) rather than using the heater...figuring whoever the pair is probably laid the eggs while the heater was "off" and at some point it came back on and cooked them.

If it becomes a regular issue I'll probably unplug the heater and see if 1 heater will be enough to keep the tank temp stable.

 

Re: 90gallon Planted Discus Community Tank

I've got Albino Babies!

I come to find one of the male albino bristlenoses sticking tail end out from a pleco log (the 2nd one to the right to be exact)..and upon led flash lighting the tube come to find NUMEROUS albino babies scattered amongst the log. Yippy!

Hopefully most of them will make it and not get eaten by anyone. If I happen to catch one I think I'll add it to the 20L.

 

Re: 90gallon Planted Discus Community Tank

Glass Catfish Containing Eggs?

Upon feeding the tank today I witnessed what appears to be a glass catfish that contains eggs behind the ?organ. The eggs are small (maybe 1mm in size) and appear to have a yellow tinge to them. I tried to snap a photo showing the particular one I'm talking about, but they are less than cooperative.

The one I'm referring to is the one closest to the front, I know it's not crystal clear but it was the best I could do.

 

Re: 90gallon Planted Discus Community Tank

CHANGES...

facepalm Forced to do a rearrange, wasn't paying attention while siphoning and my large piece of driftwood became uncovered, in addition to the airstone popping up in the back.
Ended up sliding it to the far left where the discus keep trying to lay eggs and moving things around a bit to gain a larger "open" swimming area. Moved the "breeding section more towards the right half of the tank and spaced out the rainbow rock to create a sort of "fence" in front of the swords.

Routine stuff of the day...
Major waterchange was done, probably about 75% being I missed the last one due to being in a car accident.The LEFT xp4 was due to be cleaned too, which I've already pulled and will do later on today. Dosed the tank with Seachem Clarity being I had a small bottle handy and considering I moved so much stuff...that way once the "cleaned" filters hooked it I figure it'll help the other one that's already running suck up anything "pushed" to the bottom.

Still Not sure if I like the re-design yet or not as the tanks hazy...I tend to be fussy with how things are arranged and what not. So I guess we'll see once the Clarity kicks in and the lights come on later this morning.

SEACHEM PHOSGUARD- It Works!
I added this on May 18th due to the Phosphates being completely out of hand (between 5.0 & 10.0 on API Liquid Phosphate Test Kit).

Kept up with my normal husbandry and retested on June 14th to find the product was working REALLY well with the reading being 0.25
Talk about your dramatic results!

Well was a bit behind due to being in a motor vehicle accident, and decided to test the Phosphates BEFORE doing a major partial and cleaning one of the xp4's to see if the product was exhausted yet or not. I'm pleased to report that it has NOT been exhausted as of yet and is continuing to read 0.25 Woo Hoo!

 

Re: 90gallon Planted Discus Community Tank

I've got MORE Albino Babies!

I come to find one of the male albino bristlenoses sticking tail end out from a pleco log (the one to the far left to be exact)..and upon led flash lighting the tube come to find NUMEROUS albino babies scattered amongst the log. Yippy!

I've removed dad and placed babies in the 20gL with the rest until they reach a safe enough size...once they do they'll be added back to the 90g.

 

Re: 90gallon Planted Discus Community Tank

Painted Background, Well maybe not

Initially I had intended on painting the back of the 90g with watermelon krylon, but after spraying it outside it came to look splotchy so ended up removing it with a paint scraper. Ugh!

I vow to never attempt to paint a tank again

 

Re: 90gallon Planted Discus Community Tank

Backgrounds & Adhesive

So after the epic failure of painting I ran to Petco for a background. To my dismay the only one they carried that would fit my tank was black reversing to a very deep ucky blue. Knew that wouldn't work with the discus so luckily there was a Petsmart nearby.

Ran into Petsmart and found the workers just opening boxes that contained...BACKGROUNDS!
For my size of tank it came down to 2 Marina Reversible options, 1 that looked like a canyon reversing to a side that looked like stacked slate and option 2 was one that had a planted side reversing to a watery blue side with what looked like oval flattish rocks.
Being I had the nephew in tow I made him make the decision and he opted for the one that looked watery blue with the flattish looking rocks which I later learned was called River Rock / Sea Green.

Here's A pict of what it looks like:


I decided to splurge on the adhesive and go with a waterproof tape I grabbed from Wally world for $7.47 a roll. According to the label it could also be used on pipe/ductwork, and I wanted to make sure after the seagel nightmare that I wouldn't have any issues of background slippage or condesation/seapage between the glass wall and the new background. This stuff is silver like aluminum foil and I have to say is holding everything quite well

 

Re: 90gallon Planted Discus Community Tank

Substrates & Decor

Substrate is two 50lb bags of pool filter sand which ran me just under $10 a bag. Why the purchase you ask, because It simply was easier being I didn't have enough buckets to put the existing sand into and with knowing how terribly discus do in "holding" I didn't want to putz around...I just wanted to make the changes & get it done in less than 24 hours.

Decor is pretty much the same:
[*] kept the big mound of driftwood in addition to the single mounted piece.
[*] Pleco breeding logs from Kens Fish x3 stayed being the clown loaches and bristlenose plecos absolutely love 'em.
[*] Kens Fish breeding side by side brick looking decor stayed too being I was able to find a spot up against the side of the glass which would give the kuhlii's and pangio loaches a nice extra hidey spot.
[*] Seashell that the nephews brought me from the bahamas stayed..I was shocked when I pulled it out of the tank to find SoooOooo many things hiding in it (Kuhliis, Pangios, Bristlenoses, and Clown Loaches).
[*] Rainbow Rock/Slate being it makes kinda a nice "barrier"
[*] A new Bamboo looking decor that I got from Petco on clearance...I liked it because it had a hidey hole and was hollow throughout. I usually won't purchase a pet store decoration unless it can serve as a dual purpose.
[*] A new Tiki looking dude that I got from Petco on clearance...I also liked this because it had a opening in the back which might make a nice hiding spot, or quite possibly a good place to put a modified potted plant (would probably have to cut the basket it comes in to make it fit).
[*]48" airwand remains, I Initially thought about purchasing an aerating decoration..something like a large diver with a treasure chest UNTIL I saw how crazily expensive they were at the petstore. So I kept mine, kinda arched it along the back glass wall and squeezed suction cup airline holders onto it to hopefully keep it in place.

 

Re: 90gallon Planted Discus Community Tank

Things will come and things will go

Due to the algae, by the time I was done plucking "bad" leaves I had nothing of the plant left so I simply ended up tossing them. They were also suffering quite horridly from holes in the leaves & have come to learn that the clown loaches are to blame. I've read where clown loaches will "click" the leaves which makes pinholes in them...I swear If I knew someone I'd rehome them already [icon_evil.gif]

I've decided to change the lights up too, really needed a change of sorts.
I ended up replacing the colormax & 10,000K bulbs with Two 54w aquatic life 420/460nm bulbs, and two 54w aquatic life Roseate bulbs.
420/460nm--> http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/p ... atid=21443
Roseate--> http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/p ... atid=21444

I've got them split into two banks (One 420/460nm paired with A Roseate) & (One 420/460nm paired with a Roseatte) and learned that even though it's the same pairing it gives a complete different appearance with where they are placed. The tanks still a bit cloudy, but I think I'm going to like this lighting as it gives off a nice blue hue during the morning which reminds me of a nemo tank & come evening when all 4 bulbs are on it gives almost a pink hint that's hard to explain (one of those you have to see it for yourself to get the jest of it).

For nighttime viewing I'm still using the fixtures 4 led moonlight white bulbs (which you can barely tell are even on) & two 1w Coralife led moonlights (blue) just because I have them...otherwise I'd probably try to squeeze a led fixture somewhere on top of the tank and set a timer for them to come on at night. A long while back I ran r2 moonlights and wasn't thrilled with them at all, I actually ended up tossing them. It's difficult to find a nice light blue led ime.

I DO plan on adding some lowish light plants to the tank and maybe a moderate light or two...still unsure where the lighting will fall with these new bulbs (low light, medium light, high light).

 

Re: 90gallon Planted Discus Community Tank

Uh Oh! It's Busted

Upon inspecting my filters (Rena Filstar Xp4's) prior to reinstalling them in my fish tank stand I noticed that one of the quick disconnects were cracked beneath the quick release valve/handle.

Made the mistake of asking hubby if he could rinse the filters out for me being I had so much to do, and learned from a little birdie that he was trying to push down the lever while it was OFF the filter facepalm

Well that'll set me back $33.66 if I have to buy it new

Why oh why can't I catch a break just once?

 

Re: 90gallon Planted Discus Community Tank

Setup Modifications

Pulled the Aqueon Pro heaters, they so need cleaning from that blasted algae...luckily for me I had the 400w glass heaters that I received as a replacement for my recalled marineland stealths.
Being in a bit of a hurry I tossed the new ones in and so far so good, although I have to say I'm not a fan of the Marineland Visi-Therm deluxes. I'm not sure what it is, something about them I just don't like. They're huge! And when they kick on they get beastily hot to the touch if you happen to bump it while tweaking the temperature....just trust me on this
http://www.amazon.com/Marineland-Visi-T ... B00343DKES

Went to put the filtration on last (minus the one xp4 that needs the replacement part of course) & learned that with the beast heaters being so tall that I wouldn't be able to put the spray bar across the top sides of the tank. No real issue here, Went through my Rena parts and opted to use the "flow control" attachment and position it fully opened which was just enough to create a nice current and still fit within the tight corner spacing without looking too hideous.
I really wonder why I didn't think of using this attachment in the first place, probably because I've always been a fan of spray bars...but I believe I'm still getting descent current within the water at a rate that isn't blowing my poor discus across the tank.

This is when I wish I had a sump to hide all of the hideous equipment, but at least I have it semi-neatly tucked into the far back corners rather than spread across the entire back wall

 

Re: 90gallon Planted Discus Community Tank

Here's a quick tank shot taken this morning, still a bit cloudy but you can see the morning light cycle really well. I know the airstone looks icky and probably could have been hidden a better, but I'm short and it was terribly hard to even reach the back bottom of the tank and to even get it there it took using my tom all in one tool with the planter attachment ...sometimes it bites being short and this is one of those instances

 

Re: 90gallon Planted Discus Community Tank

My Discus Turned Colors?

For those of you who recall, I have 2 Hans Discus Marlboro Reds that are full grown and just over the past month the one has turned just about completely yellow? Can anyone tell me why only the one would change colors & at adult size at that being they are in the same tank and fed the same foods and receive the same care???

In the photos the adult Marlboros are the ones to the far right of the tank.

carrot Lovin' me the Marlboro Red that turned Yellow

 

Re: 90gallon Planted Discus Community Tank

they are both the same (marlboro red/orange) and they are eating the same exact diet (new life spectrum freshwater optimum flakes, h20Life Frozen bloodworms, and Hikari algae wafers that they steal from the plecos).

You'd think they'd BOTH change colors if it were anything environmental/food??

I'll try to get a closer pict and send it along.

 

Re: 90gallon Planted Discus Community Tank

No idea why the tank appears "murky" because it's not?
But here's a quick shot showing the lighting change...once my order comes in it'll be rearranged a bit.

 

Re: 90gallon Planted Discus Community Tank

PLANT Want List:

Thinking I wanna do some "different" plants, but with the lighting I'm unsure as to whether it'll fall between the low end or medium end?

[*]1 Echinodorus "St. Elmo's Fire" to place in the large "pocket" of the large driftwood or a Echinodorus Paul Kloecker
[*]Maybe 1 or 2 Java Ferns to attach to the single medium piece of driftwood
[*]Maybe 1 Crinum Calamistratum to possibly place off the center of the tank
[*]2 bundles of Rotalla Wallichii to place on the sides of the tiki guy decoration
[*]a couple Cyperus Helferi to place against the back wall to give that grass-like effect
[*]Several Echinodorus Angustifolia "Vesuvius" for along the mid-back
[*]Some Dwarf Aquarium Lily's (Nymphae stellata) &/ possibly a couple Red Tiger Lotus'
[*]?Multiple Red Wendtii's for creating a "breeding" section