- Aug 24, 2008
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- Stephen Hess
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So I did it. After 6 years of reef-keeping, I decided to sell all my reef-related livestock - and go freshwater. :hypnotized:
After the tank was emptied, I added 2 bags of Eco-complete, 1 bag of flourite, and 2 bags of natural-looking pea-sized gravel. This gives me about 2" of natural looking substrate.
I have 2 300watt heaters and 2 Bio-wheel 350s running at the moment.
I plan to have plants in the tank, but nothing that needs a lot of light - mainly because from what I have read, discus don't like bright lighting AND the one thing that convinced me to make the switch from full-blown reef to discus was the lowered costs on my utility bill - and the lowered maintenance (no more salt mix) costs.
The tank is ALMOST full. I'd say a good 80 gallons is straight RO/DI, and 10 gallons is tap (that I treated with "Aqua-plus"). Should I fill the rest with treated tap or RO/DI?
I bought a bottle of "cycle" and "black water expert" for set up and maintaining the tank. The tank is now up to 80 degrees - and I have set the thermostats to 84.
Any constructive criticism?
In the near future:
I am already looking for LARGE driftwood chunks to put in the tank. My mother has an AWESOME 4ft piece that I would like to put in the tank. It has been sitting in her "rock garden" for a few months in the sun. Are there any proven methods to making driftwood safe for aquarium use?
I am waiting until I sell my reef lighting before I buy lighting for this tank. The LFS told me to go with bulbs that produce light that is "yellow". The more beautiful discus tanks I've seen have had VERY SUBDUED lighting. Do you folks have any suggestions (fixtures/bulbs/photoperiod)?
I'd like to keep this tank as close to being a representation of what my discus would find at home in South America. From the bit of reading I have done, discus BREED in submerged (from flooding) forests, but what should I try to recreate if I have no intention of breeding them?
As far as tank mates go, I REALLY like the "rubber-nosed/lipped" plecos I have in my 40g tank. Would cories, rubber-nosed plecos, and cardinals be a good choice?
My LFS gets his Discus from Macsdiscus.com. He told me to let him know which variations I liked the most. Have any of you done business with them? Are any variations more/less aggressive than others? From what I've SEEN, it doesn't seem like mixing different color patterns makes much of a difference - but I'd rather be too cautious than not cautious enough.
Also, for additional filtration, would this be a good choice? http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3579+19310&pcatid=19310
Anyway, my tank is still filling, cloudy, and noisy (still GALLONS away from being full), but I am pumped about eventually having a nice lowly lit discus biotope tank.
Thanks in advance, you guys are awesome (not as snooty as some of the stuck-ups at the saltwater forum I used to lurk in)!
After the tank was emptied, I added 2 bags of Eco-complete, 1 bag of flourite, and 2 bags of natural-looking pea-sized gravel. This gives me about 2" of natural looking substrate.
I have 2 300watt heaters and 2 Bio-wheel 350s running at the moment.
I plan to have plants in the tank, but nothing that needs a lot of light - mainly because from what I have read, discus don't like bright lighting AND the one thing that convinced me to make the switch from full-blown reef to discus was the lowered costs on my utility bill - and the lowered maintenance (no more salt mix) costs.
The tank is ALMOST full. I'd say a good 80 gallons is straight RO/DI, and 10 gallons is tap (that I treated with "Aqua-plus"). Should I fill the rest with treated tap or RO/DI?
I bought a bottle of "cycle" and "black water expert" for set up and maintaining the tank. The tank is now up to 80 degrees - and I have set the thermostats to 84.
Any constructive criticism?
In the near future:
I am already looking for LARGE driftwood chunks to put in the tank. My mother has an AWESOME 4ft piece that I would like to put in the tank. It has been sitting in her "rock garden" for a few months in the sun. Are there any proven methods to making driftwood safe for aquarium use?
I am waiting until I sell my reef lighting before I buy lighting for this tank. The LFS told me to go with bulbs that produce light that is "yellow". The more beautiful discus tanks I've seen have had VERY SUBDUED lighting. Do you folks have any suggestions (fixtures/bulbs/photoperiod)?
I'd like to keep this tank as close to being a representation of what my discus would find at home in South America. From the bit of reading I have done, discus BREED in submerged (from flooding) forests, but what should I try to recreate if I have no intention of breeding them?
As far as tank mates go, I REALLY like the "rubber-nosed/lipped" plecos I have in my 40g tank. Would cories, rubber-nosed plecos, and cardinals be a good choice?
My LFS gets his Discus from Macsdiscus.com. He told me to let him know which variations I liked the most. Have any of you done business with them? Are any variations more/less aggressive than others? From what I've SEEN, it doesn't seem like mixing different color patterns makes much of a difference - but I'd rather be too cautious than not cautious enough.
Also, for additional filtration, would this be a good choice? http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3579+19310&pcatid=19310
Anyway, my tank is still filling, cloudy, and noisy (still GALLONS away from being full), but I am pumped about eventually having a nice lowly lit discus biotope tank.
Thanks in advance, you guys are awesome (not as snooty as some of the stuck-ups at the saltwater forum I used to lurk in)!
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