My 125 Gallon set up
- Thread starter The Zigman
- Start date
Where is the RO leaking from? The membrane seals? Are you using a check valve between the output line and the Storage? Is that storage tank lined with an epoxy? Sorry, I just work in water treatment and am curious. PM me if you want free tech advice!
Your setup looks awesome. That is the way to do water changes. Depending on the type of discus you want to keep you may want to think about changing the background color on the tank. So, it might be a good thing you can change it relatively easily. Discus tend to act similarly to chameleons in that they can change their color to blend into their surroundings. This means that fish that look great in the store can look really dark in your tank with a black background. Another issue is peppering. With pigeon blood strains they get peppering, and a dark background, even dark wood, in the tank can cause them to show more peppering. Some of the peppering is irreversible. And I have ruined a few $100 fish.
I actually tore my tank down, razor bladed the black paint off, and rebuilt the overflow box in order to change from black to a white background. I even got rid of my fluorite and switched to light sandy color substrate similar to yours. It does make a big difference with the fish. I'm sure there are others who will say the same thing. However, if you want to stick to strains that don't get peppering such as heckels, leopard snakeskins, blue diamonds, etc, then you can get away with the black background. I have seen white, light blue, and even light green backgrounds work very well. By the way, if you choose a white background, it will be a light blue anyway if you use actinic lights to help balance the colors. Here are 2 pics of the same tank, one with the black BG, one with white. I think the fish show off better on the light background, but that is just my opinion. This was my first time using a light background and I probably wouldn't go back. The only downside is the algae is more visible on the light background than the dark, and running a tank a discus temperature can lead to more algae issues. Of course, your UV sterilizer will help with that.
I actually tore my tank down, razor bladed the black paint off, and rebuilt the overflow box in order to change from black to a white background. I even got rid of my fluorite and switched to light sandy color substrate similar to yours. It does make a big difference with the fish. I'm sure there are others who will say the same thing. However, if you want to stick to strains that don't get peppering such as heckels, leopard snakeskins, blue diamonds, etc, then you can get away with the black background. I have seen white, light blue, and even light green backgrounds work very well. By the way, if you choose a white background, it will be a light blue anyway if you use actinic lights to help balance the colors. Here are 2 pics of the same tank, one with the black BG, one with white. I think the fish show off better on the light background, but that is just my opinion. This was my first time using a light background and I probably wouldn't go back. The only downside is the algae is more visible on the light background than the dark, and running a tank a discus temperature can lead to more algae issues. Of course, your UV sterilizer will help with that.
the Ro leaks where the plastic fittings thread into the plastic on the filter, the DI canisters to be exact. The tank is plastic lined, it says it is certified for drinking water.
what causes peppering?
what causes peppering?
Peppering and Discus
Hi Zigman. This is Jen. Eric posted last night about the background, but I thought I'd write back about the peppering. As he said, we have ruined a few very nice fish with a dark background, and have learned the hard way what to watch for.
Peppering (or small black spots) is found in the pigeon blood strain. Pigeon Bloods are set apart from other discus by the lack of black bars. When a discus is frightened, stressed, or sick, they show thick black vertical bars which helped them blend into their natural habitat. Pigeon Bloods lack these and instead have peppering. The bigger and darker the spots, the more likely they are to be permanent. The smaller greyish flecks will usually go away and are often a result of them trying to blend into the background or showing signs of stress.
Genetics plays and important role in peppering, but environment heavily influences what actually shows up. A pigeon blood discus in a bare-bottom tank, in good water conditions, and healthy may show no peppering at all. But that same discus dropped into a dark environment can and probably will start to develop peppering. However, because you started out with no peppering, it will most likely be the reversible stuff. I have found the darker the background, it is more likely that permanent peppering will form. If you ever see a pigeon in a bare-bottom tank with more than a tiny bit of grey flecks on its face, skip it. They are going to be prone to developing the larger, black, permanent spots.
Working with a light background and light substrate can be a good compromise between bare-bottom and darker tanks.
Hopefully this answers you question, but if not let me know.
Good luck, and have fun.
Hi Zigman. This is Jen. Eric posted last night about the background, but I thought I'd write back about the peppering. As he said, we have ruined a few very nice fish with a dark background, and have learned the hard way what to watch for.
Peppering (or small black spots) is found in the pigeon blood strain. Pigeon Bloods are set apart from other discus by the lack of black bars. When a discus is frightened, stressed, or sick, they show thick black vertical bars which helped them blend into their natural habitat. Pigeon Bloods lack these and instead have peppering. The bigger and darker the spots, the more likely they are to be permanent. The smaller greyish flecks will usually go away and are often a result of them trying to blend into the background or showing signs of stress.
Genetics plays and important role in peppering, but environment heavily influences what actually shows up. A pigeon blood discus in a bare-bottom tank, in good water conditions, and healthy may show no peppering at all. But that same discus dropped into a dark environment can and probably will start to develop peppering. However, because you started out with no peppering, it will most likely be the reversible stuff. I have found the darker the background, it is more likely that permanent peppering will form. If you ever see a pigeon in a bare-bottom tank with more than a tiny bit of grey flecks on its face, skip it. They are going to be prone to developing the larger, black, permanent spots.
Working with a light background and light substrate can be a good compromise between bare-bottom and darker tanks.
Hopefully this answers you question, but if not let me know.
Good luck, and have fun.
The pigeon blood based discus also pepper up once they start to spawn. All discus darken and their slime coat increases in preparation for the fry to feed on. With my white butterfly male will probably never be all white again. He's too busy with all the females in my tank!:grinyes:
Yeah, I totally forgot about that. My immaculate male checkerboard has a few permanent marks since his first encounter. But thats okay he's going to be a devoted daddy. (Mom on the other hand needs to grow up a little more.)
