110 Gal Journal

[herp_mommy]

So I finally found the time to set this aquarium up. It's a 110gal tank, with eco-complete substrate, two 30" Nova Extreme X2 T5HO light fixtures, Cascade 1500 canister filter, and 2 Marineland stealth pro heaters. I plan to plant it and try out Discus

After I filled it, I ran into a problem, the slate I attached to the driftwood wasn't heavy enough to weigh it down so I've got two floating pieces of driftwood in the tank. I'm giving the water a week to filter through carbon and heat up so hopefully the driftwood will have absorbed some of the tank water by the end of the week.

Also, I was going to get a pressurized CO2 system. I've only ever used to biological CO2 before. Is it difficult to switch over to pressurized? It seems like it would be complicated.

 

[Jason7894561230]

Following

 

[Floyd R Turbo]

I have a piece of driftwood that took 6 months to waterlog. I've heard that you can boil them, but pieces that large would prove difficult. Also I've heard about putting them in the dishwasher, which also helps leech out the tannins.

Looks awesome!!

 

[herp_mommy]

I have a piece of driftwood that took 6 months to waterlog.

ouch. I'm hoping mine don't take that long. I might try the dishwasher approach. I weighed them down with one extra piece of slate and they seem to be staying down for now. I might take them out and re-drill and add some more slate. Drilling takes forever though!

 

[FishEggs]

i have a large dw piece that has been in the tank for 10 months and still doesnt sink without a rock on it. looks like a good start, cant wait to see more.

 

[herp_mommy]

thought I'd post my projected plant layout:
Vals, Jungle (Vallisneria gigantea)
Tiger Lotus, Red (Nymphaea zenkeri)
Sag, Dwarf Subulata (Sagittaria subulata)
Anubias minima
Anubias gigantea
Aponogetons Ulvaceus
Hygrophila
Balansae (Cryptocoryne crispatula)

 

[Jason7894561230]

Nice i like it! :thumbs_up:

 

[mandy2936]

Pretttyyy!!

Woah! Your tank looks awesome!!
you did a really cool job! Lol I'm so bad at aquascaping, so I guess anyting is great compared to me, but your tank really does look SO nice.

 

[maxst2]

Tank looks sweet!

 

[herp_mommy]

thanks guys

 

[thuffman03]

Very nice setup.

I had issues with drift wood in the past also. It can take a while for it to absorb enough water to stay at the bottom. It is fun to watch the bubbles come off of it for a month or so.

 

[ChizerBunoi]

That setup is looking really good. Great job!

The driftwood will leech out tanninis. If that bothers you, add some activated carbon or seachem purigen to your filter. Over time, the driftwood will perform a mini cycle of its own where a fuzz will grow on its surface. That is normal and the algae eating clean up crew will take care of it in no time.

Did you know that you can train your lotus plant to stay low to the ground like that? It will try to send runners to the top of the surface. Anytime that happens, just trim it off. It will eventually grow new leaves that are the same height. However, if you want it to flower then let the leaves surface. I personally think that lotus plants have the nicest flower of all.

 

[herp_mommy]

That setup is looking really good. Great job!

The driftwood will leech out tanninis. If that bothers you, add some activated carbon or seachem purigen to your filter. Over time, the driftwood will perform a mini cycle of its own where a fuzz will grow on its surface. That is normal and the algae eating clean up crew will take care of it in no time.

Did you know that you can train your lotus plant to stay low to the ground like that? It will try to send runners to the top of the surface. Anytime that happens, just trim it off. It will eventually grow new leaves that are the same height. However, if you want it to flower then let the leaves surface. I personally think that lotus plants have the nicest flower of all.

thanks! I do know about the tannins, but with water changes I don't expect to see too much discoloration. And I'd like to let the lotus grow out runners to provide shade for the discus. I always think the runners look neat.

 

[ChizerBunoi]

What discus do you plan to put in?

 

[herp_mommy]

What discus do you plan to put in?

I'm getting one Pigeon Blood, two albino pigeon bloods, one stendker tefe, one blue turquoise, one red scribbled, one red snakeskin, and one blue snakeskin.

Here's an update on the tank: I've added plants, 20 cardinal tetras, 4 julei corys, and I installed my first pressurized CO2 system! The apongeton I moved from my 55 was already flowering.

 

[mandy2936]

Awesome!! Your tank looks soo good! Very natural in there. I'm sure it will look spectacular with some Discus added in.

 

[FishEggs]

looking good. those discus should be really happy in there.

 

[DragonFish71]

ouch. I'm hoping mine don't take that long. I might try the dishwasher approach. I weighed them down with one extra piece of slate and they seem to be staying down for now. I might take them out and re-drill and add some more slate. Drilling takes forever though!

We have two pieces of manzanita dw that have been in a tank since Decemeber, they still try to float. We have river rock weighing them down.

 

[ChizerBunoi]

Very nice so far. Have you decided on a fertilizing system?

 

[herp_mommy]

Very nice so far. Have you decided on a fertilizing system?

I'm just dosing with liquid ferts right now