New Discus Planted Tank almost ready

[shakadog]

Well after lots of effort trying to get the tank all set up I am very close to possibly getting some Discus as soon as tomorrow. Anyway after wiping out a fair chunk of the plants first time around due to a ph of about 5 I've got it stabilised at 7 or just under and replaced those that died.

Hope you like the tank

[Jason]

Nice setup, but I have a question about the canopy. It looks like it site higher then the tank to allow airflow and for the drift wood to stick up. Did you make it or buy it like that. I have never seen a canopy like that before. Any pictures?

[shakadog]

It's not a canopy, the tank is in my garage against the back wall with a wall at each side of it. One side has storage cupboards and the other a small bar setup.

So to make the tank look nice we built cupboard doors in front of the sump and put two doors attached to the ceiling above the tank so you can only see the front glass.

We left the top doors mesh so that we get airflow through it to try and minimise condensation inside the enclosed area. As I don't have cover glasses on the tank some of the wood you can see through the mesh is higher than the tank. I've put some Anubis on the tall pieces of wood just below the surface so that in time their leaves will grow up out of the water.

Hope that answers some of your question, also pic attached with front open.

[Mavzta]

Wow that's awesome!

[Jason]

Ok, that makes sense. I was thinking that it would allow better airflow and keep the fish from jumping out.

Jason

[mattgoanna]

Very, very nice. What discus did you / will you get?

[shakti]

very nice tank. Can I ask about the lights and filtration? Are you using CO2? and whats that substrate? river sand? thanks for posting

[shakadog]

Lights are Kessil a360w tuna Suns, yes I have co2 setup and plant fertiliser on a dosing pump. I'm using seachem flourish and potassium. The sand is ADA white gravel, can't remember exactly what they call it, both very fine and a larger size gravel.

Filtration is my old tank which I've turned into a sump. It's running k1 media in the first section, in the second section I have matala matting then under that I have marine pure balls and pond matrix. The last section has two doc pumps for return. Heating is using two eheim 2180 canister filters that intake from the pump end of the sump and return to the k1 end of the tank. Both Rheims are full of pond matrix.

I basically used up all my old filters and filter media I'd gathered over many years of fish keeping. I currently am getting zero readings for all nitrate, nitrite and ammonia.