Do cement and Discus mix?

[thabone]

I'm just following some DIY tutorial to create a rock like formation background using styrofoam and concrete. I'm almost done with the proyect.

I was wondering if it was safe to have discus on this tank?

The tank where the concrete/foam background is going to be installed is a 55Gls one. I plan to add sand as sustrate.

The sand I got is from the company Super Naturals. It's super fine unbuffered white sand.

I know that the concrete and the sand are going to build up the PH parameters so I buyed some driftwood to make a balance. The driftwood pieces are about a foot long. They came from some kind of amazonic tree root.

I have not installed the background yet neither filled the tank with water. But the water parameter that I got from the plumb is 7.4.

I know that KH and PH can be managed by a lot of things but think of a water change. I'm going to have a hard time trying to mimic the tank water to not impact the fishes at every water change.

This is something that is been bothering me for a while. But since I've been very motivated with the concrete/foam thing I had not much time to think about it until now. It is going to be a shame to throw out of the window my invested time and money in this background. I don't know what to do.

Recently I went to an aquarium and seeing a tank with discus and this type of background was what motivated me to do it. But now I don't know what to do.

What do you think?

Your help is much appreciated.

[marg]

thabone,

I Don't think I'd like to put a Concrete type mix in a Discus tank, but then again I'm no expert.

I am really careful about what I put in my tanks and I'd be really wary of concrete.

Just my opinion.

marg.

[DiscusEden]

Hi thabone,
I'm really very new to this, so you'd want to get an opinion from others - like Marg!

But I thought it might be useful to pass this on:
A friend of mine had a garden pond & waterfall feature built, using moss rocks and concrete. She had to seal the concrete - partly because it would leak & partly because any impurities in the concrete would then leech into the water, killing the fish & plants. This is all second hand information and may be wrong, so check with others - but I'd be cautious.

Have you thought about putting your creation in a bucket of water, then testing the Ph, Kh, etc of the water before putting the concrete in & after a few days?

HTH
DiscusEden

[FishLover]

Concrete in the tank will kill any fish. I learned that lesson when I was about 14 year old. I killed all my gold fish then.

Unless you soak the concrete for years to bleach out things, you will kill all your fish in the tank for sure.

[mcloughlin2]

I disagree with the above reply ... :P

I'm quite into ponds, goldfish and koi and i have seen many pond designs where there is concrete used for creating waterfalls or even as the actual pond itself!

I got about 40 Goldfish a few years back that came from my great grandmothers pond ... This pond was just a hole in the ground that had concrete put in there to create a pond ... I highly doubt that it was sealed (It was built over 25yrs ago!) and the smallest goldfish i took out would be called "Full Grown" ..

I have come to the conclusion that these goldfish are probably some of the oldest around ... :wink:

So i would say that all that needs to be done is make sure it is all sealed, test it out with some tropical fish BEFORE you put ya discus in and keep testing the water!

JMHO

[Merrilyn]

Ask your local hardware store for a concrete sealant that is safe for fish ponds. Thoroughly seal all the concrete areas and allow time for the sealant to cure.

The idea of trying the tank with a few cheap goldfish or tropical fish first, is a good one. Empty and refill the tank a few times, then test your water after 48 hours and see if it has made a difference to your pH and hardness. If the background is properly sealed, it shouldn't affect your water at all.

Good Luck.

[Ozlurker]

Hi All,
Just read through your post here and thought you may like to check out the following page.

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/diy_background.php

I stumbled over the page at the start of the year when I was considering exactly the same thing.
I haven't gotten around to trying it yet so I have no advice or experience to impart. Good luck with the project Thabone and keep us posted.

Regards,
Mark

[FishLover]

6" discus will knock out these deco when spooked.

[thabone]

I already have pictures of my project but they're on a forum where we only speak spanish. I can post the link if you want me to but I won't translate it. There are a lot of posts there. But at least you can see how it looks.

[thabone]

I doubt a discus could knock the background down. The background itself weights about 20 to 30 pounds. I almost finished the background but I haven't installed it yet because I have my doubts about harming the discus.

[mcloughlin2]

With this background, there are several risks ...

1) You may not seal it properly
2) The discus may scratch themselves on it (Due to the cement)
3) It may hold water behind it causing water to collect behin and turn stagnant ...

I highly doubt a discus, regardless of size could knock this off a backwall of a tank once it is siliconed on ... Keep in mind lots of silicon is used on the back to hold it too the glass, and the pure weight of the cement ..

HTH

[thabone]

Here are the links for the pictures of my project as I proceed. The forum is in spanish so excuse me. But at least can take a look at the pictures ;)

1. http://www.createforum.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=258&mforum=amepr

2. http://www.createforum.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?mforum=amepr&t=258&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=15&mforum=amepr

3. http://www.createforum.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?mforum=amepr&t=258&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=30&mforum=amepr

[Merrilyn]

That looks wonderful. Congratulations.:P

[thabone]

Thanks! now you understand my burden.

[thabone]

I just got an idea from some guy from the aquariumadvice.com forum. He told me to use a piece of plexiglass same size of the background and glue the background from the plexi. This way the background is not going to ruin the tank. Then I added the idea of adding two hooks to the plexiglass in order to hang the background from the back of the tank. Last, use some big rocks to keep the background close to the back. That's the biggest idea I've heard since I decided to do thist.

My decision is not to mount the background on 55gls tank. I'm going to use the tank for discus and I'll get a 75 gls tank to do the plexi thing with the hooks and the rocks. This new 75 tank is going to hold my current cichlids (1 tropheus, 2 bricchardi, 2 mbuna, 4 zebra danios and 1 clown loach)