flygja
Member
Should be pretty much perfect for discus.
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'The Full Monty' Has Left The Building last photos
- Thread starter REDSTEVEO
- Start date
REDSTEVEO
Member
Looks as if it's a piece of the Amazones....
Thanks Martin, that's the look I am trying to achieve🙂
Cheers,
Steve
REDSTEVEO
Member
Thanks Flygia,
I hope so, I really want this pair to breed in this tank. I am still trying to find out if the Reineckii mini and the staurgyrene will grow in the sand substrate or not.
Cheers,
Steve
Lindy
Member
Looks brilliant and I love the colour of the water. I doubt you need catappa leaves while your oak is leeching tanins. I expect you ph has dropped a bit?
Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk
Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk
REDSTEVEO
Member
Strangely enough no the PH has not dropped which I was surprised to see.
Several large water changes have lightened the colour quite a bit.
Think the discus are going to spawn tonight or tomorrow. So far they have not managed to get the fry past the one day old stage post hatching. Fingers crossed they get it right this time!!
Steve
Lindy
Member
I have had my head turned by discus and as my fishroom plans have been shelved I'm allowed to get a big tank for the lounge.
Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk
Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk
REDSTEVEO
Member
Hi Lindy,
Once your head is turned there is no going back😎
Cheers,
Steve
Once your head is turned there is no going back😎
Cheers,
Steve
REDSTEVEO
Member
Hi All,
Just a quick update as it was January when I posted the last news. There have been a few changes. Firstly the huge piece of English Oak had to be removed. On reflection it seemed a good idea, but it caused no end of problems with the water quality, and it started to grow fungus from various places and no matter how I tried to clean it or scrape it off it grew back and there was a 'Rotten egg' smell emanating from the water during the water changes. I had no idea how much crap was being left behind in all the nooks and crannies underneath and behind the wood. So I bit the bullet and took it out, it is now an expensive looking piece of garden decoration next to my pond.🙁
The next thing after at least ten failed attempts by the discus to breed in the tank, I bit the bullet a second time and moved them to a separate cube tank in my computer room / office at home. They have been in there for ten days and spawned once but I think there was too much filtration - water movement and most of the eggs were not fertilised so they went white. Fingers crossed sometime this week with some filter adjustments there will be a better result.
So with no more discus in the main tank and only a handful of fish, 3 corys, 5 ottos and some amano shrimp it was time for some serious maintenance. Filters all cleaned and pipes totally pulled through, again I was amazed at the amount of crap and sludge that can build up inside the pipes. Some plant trimming followed by some seriously big water changes 50% to 70% twice a week for a couple of weeks saw a vast improvement in the water quality. I just used fresh cold water from a hosepipe straight from the tap and added Seachem Prime with a bit of filter aid and hey presto, absolutely crystal clear water, great water flow and brilliant CO2 distribution, and guess what? A massive amount of improvement to the plants, photosynthesis like I have not seen for ages and not one single trace of algae so far.
I have cranked up the CO2 and reduced the temperature down to 26 - 27 degrees, after a 50% water change the temperature decrease is as much as 3 or 4 degrees, but the plants and the fish don't seem to mind, and within an hour or two it is back up to 26 - 27 degrees. I replaced the 2 x T5 54 watt Flora Grow Tubes with the original Eheim Fresh Daylight tubes that came with the tank and the tank now looks a whole lot brighter. All this with virtually no feeding causing pollution has made a massive noticeable difference. So much so that my wife has even commented on how much nicer it looks.
I am keeping the ferts down to the minimum, 25 mls of macro NPK 3 x per week and 25 mls of micro trace twice per week. This regime has been going on for only three weeks. The huge Amazon Sword plant sent out a straight shoot with at least six sister plants which I have now cut and replanted along the back of the tank which should give a lovely green foliage background against the black backing on the glass.
So the up shot is, I had forgotten how easy it was to grow plants and have minimal issues with water quality and algae. Back to basics, keeping it simple. I don't care what any one says, if you have no fish in the tank it is definitely easier to maintain and keep the plants looking healthy.
So what about the discus I can hear you ask? When they spawn next I am hoping to keep them in the cube with the parents for as long as possible, maybe six weeks, then give some of them away to people I know who already want them, sell a few for minimal price and put a shoal of them in the main tank to raise them.
The pictures below are of what I have talked about above.
Thanks for looking.
Cheers,
Steve
Just a quick update as it was January when I posted the last news. There have been a few changes. Firstly the huge piece of English Oak had to be removed. On reflection it seemed a good idea, but it caused no end of problems with the water quality, and it started to grow fungus from various places and no matter how I tried to clean it or scrape it off it grew back and there was a 'Rotten egg' smell emanating from the water during the water changes. I had no idea how much crap was being left behind in all the nooks and crannies underneath and behind the wood. So I bit the bullet and took it out, it is now an expensive looking piece of garden decoration next to my pond.🙁
The next thing after at least ten failed attempts by the discus to breed in the tank, I bit the bullet a second time and moved them to a separate cube tank in my computer room / office at home. They have been in there for ten days and spawned once but I think there was too much filtration - water movement and most of the eggs were not fertilised so they went white. Fingers crossed sometime this week with some filter adjustments there will be a better result.
So with no more discus in the main tank and only a handful of fish, 3 corys, 5 ottos and some amano shrimp it was time for some serious maintenance. Filters all cleaned and pipes totally pulled through, again I was amazed at the amount of crap and sludge that can build up inside the pipes. Some plant trimming followed by some seriously big water changes 50% to 70% twice a week for a couple of weeks saw a vast improvement in the water quality. I just used fresh cold water from a hosepipe straight from the tap and added Seachem Prime with a bit of filter aid and hey presto, absolutely crystal clear water, great water flow and brilliant CO2 distribution, and guess what? A massive amount of improvement to the plants, photosynthesis like I have not seen for ages and not one single trace of algae so far.
I have cranked up the CO2 and reduced the temperature down to 26 - 27 degrees, after a 50% water change the temperature decrease is as much as 3 or 4 degrees, but the plants and the fish don't seem to mind, and within an hour or two it is back up to 26 - 27 degrees. I replaced the 2 x T5 54 watt Flora Grow Tubes with the original Eheim Fresh Daylight tubes that came with the tank and the tank now looks a whole lot brighter. All this with virtually no feeding causing pollution has made a massive noticeable difference. So much so that my wife has even commented on how much nicer it looks.
I am keeping the ferts down to the minimum, 25 mls of macro NPK 3 x per week and 25 mls of micro trace twice per week. This regime has been going on for only three weeks. The huge Amazon Sword plant sent out a straight shoot with at least six sister plants which I have now cut and replanted along the back of the tank which should give a lovely green foliage background against the black backing on the glass.
So the up shot is, I had forgotten how easy it was to grow plants and have minimal issues with water quality and algae. Back to basics, keeping it simple. I don't care what any one says, if you have no fish in the tank it is definitely easier to maintain and keep the plants looking healthy.
So what about the discus I can hear you ask? When they spawn next I am hoping to keep them in the cube with the parents for as long as possible, maybe six weeks, then give some of them away to people I know who already want them, sell a few for minimal price and put a shoal of them in the main tank to raise them.
The pictures below are of what I have talked about above.
Thanks for looking.
Cheers,
Steve
Last edited:
rebel
Member
- Joined
- 4 Aug 2015
- Messages
- 2,256
They will grow as long as you give them root tabs.
REDSTEVEO
Member
Hi Rebel,
I did add some of the ADA Mineral and Iron root sticks which I have dotted around the roots of most of the plants. Are there any other Root tabs you would suggest or recommend?
Cheers,
Steve
I did add some of the ADA Mineral and Iron root sticks which I have dotted around the roots of most of the plants. Are there any other Root tabs you would suggest or recommend?
Cheers,
Steve
Sorry to hear that - while assorted fungus stages are "normal" with wood, there should be no off odours or reduction in water quality (aside from the tannins release doesn't seem to both most livestock or plants) ... you might call up the shop that sold you this & see if there is any possibility of refund/credit ... if wood was sold for aquarium use, it should be usable in an aquarium!
High pressure cleaning & just sitting out in the elements where the wood can dry out properly (so not really in the elements of an English Garden 😉 ) might see wood usable at some point ...
I don't know why companies are still trying to sell these odd colored tubes - plants grow fine with a variety of light spectra that are rather more esthetically appealing.
Tank looks good after the rescape 🙂
REDSTEVEO
Member
Hi Alto,
I did think about ringing the shop to ask if they would take it back, but I bottled it. Its been a while, plus I am kind of getting used to it in the garden😎 It was reduced from £99.00 to £89.00 so I suppose for a garden ornament not too expensive.😉
The Flora Grow Tubes gave off a slightly pinker reddish light which was okay, but the American Satellite Current Plant Plus LED has more than enough functions to cover that, that's why I wanted the brighter crisp white tubes back in. If it wasn't for the LED I might have stuck with the Flora Grow from Giessmann.
Cheers,
Steve
I did think about ringing the shop to ask if they would take it back, but I bottled it. Its been a while, plus I am kind of getting used to it in the garden😎 It was reduced from £99.00 to £89.00 so I suppose for a garden ornament not too expensive.😉
The Flora Grow Tubes gave off a slightly pinker reddish light which was okay, but the American Satellite Current Plant Plus LED has more than enough functions to cover that, that's why I wanted the brighter crisp white tubes back in. If it wasn't for the LED I might have stuck with the Flora Grow from Giessmann.
Cheers,
Steve
rebel
Member
- Joined
- 4 Aug 2015
- Messages
- 2,256
I have used the ADA ones ( very recent though). We have a product called dino dung from aquagreen.com.au which is great. I've also used diy tabs made from mixing kitty litter and blood and bone into a paste and then dried in the sun. All work.
REDSTEVEO
Member
😱😱😳😳Kitty Litter, Blood, Bone! Dino Dung!
This is what I found on Google images for Dino Dung. Eeeeerrrr I think I'll give that one a miss thanks.
Cheers😉
Steve
This is what I found on Google images for Dino Dung. Eeeeerrrr I think I'll give that one a miss thanks.
Cheers😉
Steve
REDSTEVEO
Member
Hi Rebel, I couldn't laugh I'm afraid, I was too busy being sick!
Update with new photos to follow next week.
Cheers,
Steve
Update with new photos to follow next week.
Cheers,
Steve
REDSTEVEO
Member
Following some trouble medicating for worms the discus developed some cloudy eye and other stress related problems. So I have moved the discus from their breeding tank back in to the Full Monty Planted tank. I am very relieved to say they are doing much better now. Phew
at one stage I thought they were going to go blind.
Some photos below, very sorry about the reflections🙁
Cheers,
Steve
at one stage I thought they were going to go blind.Some photos below, very sorry about the reflections🙁
Cheers,
Steve
rebel
Member
- Joined
- 4 Aug 2015
- Messages
- 2,256
Yes they should with root tabs. Not sure about high temps tho.
REDSTEVEO
Member
Well not a lot going on fish wise with The Full Monty, my Discus are back in the breeding tank looking after eggs which are 36 hours old this morning so should be hatching sometime around midnight tonight so its going to be a late one.
Just thought I would post these pictures up as a comparison to the last photograph from the previous update.
As you can see there has been a little bit of growth since then. Hardly any fish in there, so very little feeding going on, lower temperature to 26 degrees, TDS around 250, Macro and Micro ferts going in as per Pedro Rosa's regime, 50% water change using tap water once a week. CO2 is left on 24/7 at around 50 bubbles per minute going through a standard in tank ceramic diffuser. I have had it with the UP Aqua In-line Diffusers now. Although I have looked closely at the new JBL one at Maidenhead Aquatics in Chester, still not convinced though at £34.00. The plants seem to be happy enough.
Full tank shot taken at an angle to try and avoid the reflections
This photo doesn't do this end of the tank a lot of justice, it looks amazing in reality
Cheers,
Steve
