New Discus Tank

[TW]

I re did one of my tanks last weekend.

On Saurday, this tank still looked like this
http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l128/TankWatcher/African%20Tank%20-%20Robyn/000_1714.jpg

I really liked my Africans & their set up, but needed to make room for some new discus, so it now looks like this:
http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l128/TankWatcher/79G_298L_Discus%20Tank/000_0614.jpg
http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l128/TankWatcher/79G_298L_Discus%20Tank/000_0616.jpg
http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l128/TankWatcher/79G_298L_Discus%20Tank/000_0617.jpg

The Africans have been rehoused in my 3ft tank, transferring what rocks & plants would fit.

[waitaki]

that looks really great - the sand looks so clean!!
and discus are looking pretty content in their new surrounds! well done

[Hollowman]

Really nice tank. Best of everything in there, minimal, yet great to look at.

H :D

[flgirl1977]

Wow! Nice job with the plants! I'm jealous! ;)

[benkk]

i love the way you use sand substrate on the base.
Just wonder is it hard to clean when you vacuum the sand substrate ??

cheers

[Hollowman]

Hi Benkk,

I have sand in my show tank, I use swimming pool filter sand, it has a reasonable grain size, and a nice light golden colour.
When cleaning, (I only have about 1/2" deep all over) if you use a large gravel cleaner about 40mm diameter, you can easily suck in the sand, giving a thorough clean, but still allowing it to fall back onto the bottom of the tank.
If you have it much deeper, you can get areas that trap bacteria and turn anerobic, and then give out toxic substances. That said, with regular cleaning you should have not problems.

hth

H

[pink66]

very nice Robyn. (sand looks great).. your fishies should be very happy in there... How's the big tank going????

[benkk]

thanks for the reply hollowman

just wonder, wen you don't vacuumed and do water change for a bout 2 - 3 days. Will it look bit ugly because all the poo from Discus will be on top of the sand substrate.

cheers

[AHC]

Great Success!

[pink66]

forgot to ask, how did you convince your africans not to play soccer with the plants????

[TW]

My Africans are all dwarf mbuna. Their profiles tell me they won't grow larger than between 4" - 6". I made sure the plants in there aren't tasty for fish. I couldn't imagine having a tank without plants (except for QT)

So far, no soccer matches either. The most rearranging they do is to push the gravel around. They aren't big enough to move the rocks, but at times they move the gravel, so you can see bare glass here & there.

The poor Africans very nearly left the house altogether. Much as I like them, the temptation of 3 discus tanks appealed more. Had already rung my son to say he could come in the morning & take them all home to his tanks. He has a garage full of African tanks.

But Hubby says the white rock / African tank setup is his favourite of my tanks (sacrilege that you can prefer them to discus) so he put up a case for me to move them to the 3ft, instead of ousting them altogether.

Needless to say, the son was a bit miffed when he got the morning call, saying he was no longer getting my fish & rocks.

[TW]

that looks really great - the sand looks so clean!!
and discus are looking pretty content in their new surrounds! well done Thanks :D The discus are probably happy, having come straight out of the smaller bare bottom QT, where they spent the past 5 weeks.


Really nice tank. Best of everything in there, minimal, yet great to look at.Wanted to keep this one simple. Nothing is planted, all are attached to driftwood, allowing me to keep the sand layer nice & thin. Nothing was bought new, all have transferred across from the 3ft.


Wow! Nice job with the plants! I'm jealous! thanks :)


i love the way you use sand substrate on the base.
Just wonder is it hard to clean when you vacuum the sand substrate ?? ............. just wonder, wen you don't vacuumed and do water change for a bout 2 - 3 days. Will it look bit ugly because all the poo from Discus will be on top of the sand substrate. Last night was it's first water change, since the new setup. It's pool filter sand, & pretty much the response has already been given by Hollowman. You don't really see the poo, but can if you are looking for it. I think that's a good thing, as I can see so much clearer the parts I need to concentrate on with my vac. I have pool filter sand as the "beach" area of my 7ft & can say I find the sand areas easier to keep clean than the non sand areas.

Re: the issue of deeper sandbeds, where you can get areas that trap bacteria and turn anaerobic, and then give out toxic substances. The 7ft has deeper areas, as I didn't know about this. Other sand users tell me the solution is to gently stir up the sand with a chopstick,etc when you gravel vac. Then no area has a chance to turn anaerobic.

Aaron, thanks for the tank compliment :)

[Matt15]

Wow Robyn, the transformation looks fantastic. I especially love your choice of fish and live plants for the refurb..... :D