# glossostigma elatinoides carpet tank!!



## jam ez!! (5 Oct 2008)

Hi all,

I've been lurking around for a while now and have decided to upload some photos of my first proper set up, i will try and give you all the info i can, all critics & comments welcome (please dont be to harsh).  


Tank : Juwel rio 125l

Lighting : 4 x 39w 156 watts total @ 8 & half hour per day

Filtration : eheim 2234 external canister

Heating : hydor 300 watt external heater @ 27 degrees

co2 : pressurised system with solenoid vavle @ 1 & half bubbles per second measured via drop checker

ferts : TPN+ @ 4ml per day, easylife easy carbo @ 5 ml per day

water condition : kh = 4degrees & gh 4degrees

Plants : glossostigma elatinoides

Fish : 3 x 10cm snakeskin discus
       : 5 x red nose shrimp
       : 5 x cardinal
       : 3 x algae eaters

Water : Pure reverse omisis with sera ph & kh buffer & mineral salts for the gh

Substrate : Tropica substrate with pea gravel

The tank has been set up for about 2 months now with very little signs of algae, the discus were very hard to adapt to the
lower temp but have now settled in beautifully.

Please see pics below :




Snakeskin discus



Side elevation



Discus in flight



Front elevation



Front elevation again



Side elevation again

Please excuse the poor quality of photos me thinks i need a crash course in photography!!

Thanks Jam ez!!


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## aaronnorth (5 Oct 2008)

i like it but i think a smaller choice of fish is needed for this etup, they would look fab in a jungle style though


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## jay (5 Oct 2008)

Nice 'scape, but I also think a smaller fish species would suit it better.

Lovely discus and obviously well looked after  
Some could argue that discus need cover to feel safe, but colour strains like that are captive bred so probably only known a bare, blue back tank before getting the glosso treatment.


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## Stu Worrall (5 Oct 2008)

very nice setup   Like the angle of the stone, is is Schist?

I'd be interested to know what lighting youve got setup on the Rio to get 4 x 39w.  Im currently running 4 x 18w and could do with more.


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## Thomas McMillan (5 Oct 2008)

You only have three cardinal tetras? They are a shoaling fish, so at least six as a minimum is advised but ten or more is better.

Nice tank though.


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## jam ez!! (5 Oct 2008)

stuworrall said:
			
		

> very nice setup   Like the angle of the stone, is is Schist?
> 
> I'd be interested to know what lighting youve got setup on the Rio to get 4 x 39w.  Im currently running 4 x 18w and could do with more.



hi thanks for your interest, not sure what the stones are called but they were from the green machine
i'm sure if you phone jim or mark they can tell you, as for the lighting i am using an 100cm arcadia overtank luminaire with 4 x 39 watt pro plant bulbs which i also purchased from the green machine.

hope this helps

regards

James


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## Fred Dulley (5 Oct 2008)

Cool.
Discus look fab despite tank size.
Is it the photography making the tank look cloudy?
Nice work.


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## Stu Worrall (5 Oct 2008)

jam ez!! said:
			
		

> stuworrall said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


how does the 100cm look on the 80cm Rio 125? does it stick out a bit?

If the rock is from TGM then it will be schist. i like the nice green tinge it has


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## Stu Worrall (5 Oct 2008)

PS, would appreciate some photos of the arcadia on top of your tank if you have any as ive been struggling to get a decent priced 80cm luminaire.

thanks


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## joyous214 (5 Oct 2008)

nice simple look. the discus almost look stuck on...


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## the Guru! (8 Oct 2008)

very nice mate! crackin' discus


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## jam ez!! (12 Oct 2008)

Fred Dulley said:
			
		

> Cool.
> Discus look fab despite tank size.
> Is it the photography making the tank look cloudy?
> Nice work.



Its cloudy because i had just changed 50% of the water, it settles down after half an hour or so!!


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## jam ez!! (12 Oct 2008)

Thomas McMillan said:
			
		

> You only have three cardinal tetras? They are a shoaling fish, so at least six as a minimum is advised but ten or more is better.
> 
> Nice tank though.



thanks for your comments, there is 5 cardinals in there at the mo but i will be getting more very soon!!

Thanks 

james


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## jam ez!! (12 Oct 2008)

Thomas McMillan said:
			
		

> You only have three cardinal tetras? They are a shoaling fish, so at least six as a minimum is advised but ten or more is better.
> 
> Nice tank though.



thanks for your comments, there is 5 cardinals in there at the mo but i will be getting more very soon!!

Thanks 

james


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## jam ez!! (12 Oct 2008)

aaronnorth said:
			
		

> i like it but i think a smaller choice of fish is needed for this etup, they would look fab in a jungle style though



thank you for your comments mate, Hmmmmm!! yes i'm starting to realise that now!!


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## Jeremy (23 Oct 2008)

I think that the tank is too small for Discus, and they really need to be in groups of five or more.

Making them adjust to cooler temperatures isn't really ideal either, as the welfare of the fish should come first.

I know you must love your Discus but I would either get a larger tank, and a larger group of them or get rid of them.

The glosso doesn't really suit their feeding style either as they like to bounce food particles off the substrate, so a bare patch for feeding is best.

Don't think I'm just snapping away at you for fun, I'm not, but I've seen a lot of great Discus tanks over the years, and the big ones are always the best in terms of aesthetics and the best for the fish.


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## Themuleous (23 Oct 2008)

Love the glosso carpet, my glosso does doesn't want to stay low at the moment, grr.

Sam


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## jam ez!! (24 Oct 2008)

Themuleous said:
			
		

> Love the glosso carpet, my glosso does doesn't want to stay low at the moment, grr.
> 
> Sam



thanks, what sort of lighting do you have as glosso requires very high light to keep it down also trimming it often helps to stop it from rotting at the bottom!!

Thanks James


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## Themuleous (24 Oct 2008)

T5 2.5WPG, should be plenty.  I'll give trimming it a try 

Sam


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## Superman (30 Oct 2008)

stuworrall said:
			
		

> PS, would appreciate some photos of the arcadia on top of your tank if you have any as ive been struggling to get a decent priced 80cm luminaire.
> 
> thanks



Here's my 90cm 4x39W Arcadia Luminaire on my Juwel Vision 180 which is 92cm wide. I took the plunge and it's well worth it!


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## Goodygumdrops (30 Oct 2008)

Stuworral:Look at this,saw it earlier (my tank is also 80cm):
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 0294800315


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## Superman (30 Oct 2008)

Goodygumdrops said:
			
		

> Stuworral:Look at this,saw it earlier (my tank is also 80cm):
> http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 0294800315


Cheap as chips!


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## Stu Worrall (30 Oct 2008)

that is cheap at the moment but i guess it will rocket up.  I actually took delivery of a 4*24W t5 from EQJ last week.  Got it for a good price of Â£52 delivered but after londondragons recent experience with them im hoping the balast will last out 

its currently running just two bulbs while i sort out my algae problems


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## beeky (7 Nov 2008)

Jeremy said:
			
		

> I think that the tank is too small for Discus, and they really need to be in groups of five or more.
> 
> Making them adjust to cooler temperatures isn't really ideal either, as the welfare of the fish should come first.
> 
> ...



The temperature mentioned was 27 which I would have thought would be OK. I'm not a discus expert by any means, but that seems fairly warm to me. How warm should they be kept?

The glosso is nice, but have to agree though that it doesn't suit the fish and vice versa. The fish are so dominant that the carpet almost looks like an afterthought.


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## Superman (9 Nov 2008)

stuworrall said:
			
		

> that is cheap at the moment but i guess it will rocket up.  I actually took delivery of a 4*24W t5 from EQJ last week.  Got it for a good price of Â£52 delivered but after londondragons recent experience with them im hoping the balast will last out
> 
> its currently running just two bulbs while i sort out my algae problems



I nearly bought a EQJ but decided they'll be cheap for a reason. I'm well impressed with my Arcadia. But then if I had a tight budget, needs must etc.


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