My New Discus Planted Tank - What do you think ?

[africamonk]

120 Gallon (48x24x24) AGA Twin Overflow
48x24 Solid Pine Black Stand
1x Triple Tube Striplite
1X 48" High Output Compact Striplite
2x M8 Aquarium Air Pump
2x Eheim 2128 Professional II Thermo

SubStrate :
15 lbs Flourite
20 lbs Eco-Complete Plant Substrate
50 lbs Estes Nutmeg Gravel
25 lbs Estes Swift Creek Gravel
15 lbs Estes Bit Of Walnut Gravel
10 lbs Estes Jumbo Jems

Plants :
Coming Soon

Fish :
Coming Soon

 

[Andos99]

got a pic?

 

[africamonk]

will try to take some pics tonight .....

 

[greenmaji]

Opinion* Ive found that wet/dry, trickle filters, what most overflows are used for, are sort of a problem with planted tanks.. I started a thread when I had a question about it..
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=51865
The aquarium system consumes alot more CO2 if the wet/dry is left alone to work as well as its intended to..though there are measures to help reduse the effect but I feel it hampers the filter, in my opinion. *Opinion
adding a air pump to the mix also causes problems with sustaining CO2 levels for plants.
anything that causes surfase agitation is a problem for releasing CO2 from the water.
Im currious about the overflows and the use of canisters.. are you going to use the overflows to feed the canisters there water? or are you going to stop them up with a cap or something? if your going to use the overflows to feed the canisters how are you going to keep air out of the line to prevent damaging your canisters?
how many watts are your lights?

 

[africamonk]

well, heres the pics .....

http://images.snapfish.com/3439977523232fp46=ot>232:=6;7=3;4=XROQDF>2323873357379ot1lsi

http://images.snapfish.com/3439977523232fp64=ot>232:=6;7=3;4=XROQDF>232387335737;ot1lsi

http://images.snapfish.com/3439977523232fp4>nu=3239>5<6>2<3>WSNRCG=3232964266473nu0mrj

http://images.snapfish.com/3439977523232fp63=ot>232:=6;7=3;4=XROQDF>2323873357385ot1lsi


as for the lighting 216 total watts -

t8 triple tube = 106 watts
high compact = 110 watts

i actually dont use the overflows with a wet/dry system, the overflows feed the eheim directly, as shown in the pic ...... i've lowered the inlet to about 4 inches under the water line ....... as for fish, i was thinking the following -

12 discus
2-3 plecos
12-18 corys
15-20 cardinal tetras

so what do you guys think ?

 

[BrianNY]

That's a great set up africamonk. Did you drill the tank yourself?

Being that you've invested so much $$$ in this already, I'd spend some more and go with a pressurized CO2 system. Otherwise, you're going to have big time algae problems with a little over 2 wpg.

As far as your stocking plans go, it's way too many fish. I don't know if you've ever kept either discus or a high tech planted before. IMO, you'll greatly reduce the health risks to the discus by keeping the bioload small. I wouldn't put more than 6 in that tank.

 

[greenmaji]

It does look nice! did you do the overflows yourself.. it looks like ABS plastic pipe maybe? thats a good idea even if it isnt..LOL. It has a nice clean look..
grief that is too many fish.. I agree with Brian..
how are you planning not to get air into your canisters with overflows?
and as I said before your going to have trouble keeping enough dissolved CO2 in the water for your plants, your going to have medium-high light your plants will need the CO2, with that much surface aggitation.. from the air stones and the overflows combined.. I would recommend using the air pump for something else..
You might want to look into the PH and KH values that youll need to keep good CO2 levels with.. I dont see a CO2 system either.. I think you will need one..

 

[africamonk]

the tank came pre drilled from the manufacter AGA

http://www.all-glass.com/products/aquariums/megaflow.shtml

as for the CO2 and ro, will have to wait a lil till my burn in the pocket heals a lil first ......

the air pump is just used for water circulation at this time ... thinking of getting rid of it, or using it just in the in the overflow area ..... i think i will pick up some testing kits next week .... any suggestions on what brand to ppick up ? electronic?

as for the canisters, i'm not having problems with air getting into the canister since the inlets are directly coneected to the filter as shown in the pic..... is that something i should watch out for? or is there something that i'm not aware of?

thanks for all the replies ... keep them coming ........

 

[Docker66]

Great looking tank. Can't wait to see pics when you get the plants and fish in there! Keep up the good work!

 

[aquakev]

I think you may have problems with the amount of light you are using and the fact that the overflows will pretty much make co2 injection unreasonable. Im running 130w of pc and 64w of t8's over a 48x15x17 planted discus tank and I have to blast the co2 in order to not get huge amounts of hair and other algae. You could run the pc's up front as in the back it shines trough the discus and then try running only 1 or 2 of the t-8s in the back and test with the amount of light until you find the comfort zone. Otherwise, I wish I had your tank, but I am highly mobile right now and have to stay a little smaller.

 

[greenmaji]

most standpipes in overflows let air in to for ventilation.. to get the water to move without suction(toilet bowl effect).. Im clueless what kind of standpipes you have in there. do you have the megaflow kit they have a ventilation whole that lets in air on the top.. but as far as I know all of them let air in.. If your not having trouble with them now, I would keep an eye on it..
I just read a thread on a guy doing DIY CO2 on a 90 gallon with garden sprayers.. if you were wanting somthing to tide you over untill your wallet heals up some..lol

 

[africamonk]

i currently have the t8s on 8 hours a day 4-12, and the pc on for 8 hours 12-8 a day .... going to try taking out the air pump, and see how that goes first .....

the inlets to the overflows are about 4 inches under the waterlevel, then directly fed to the eheim filters ..... and yes, it is the megaflow kit ...

 

[greenmaji]

so you have the lights on in some configuration 12 hours a day?.. let us know if you get any algae with that setup... are you doing a fishless cycle now?
I think im done warning you about the air coming into your canisters.. you will hear it when it becomes a problem, if it ever does.. those canisters are super quiet.. air would make them make noise that they wouldnt normally..

 

[africamonk]

yup, the lights are on 12 hours a day .... no fish in the tank yet ....
and i still don't understand how the air would get into the filter?

 

[greenmaji]

look at the top of the magna flow standpipe.. there is a hole to allow the water to go down the pipe without keeping suction.. ie draining the tank if the power goes out.. that hole lets in air to do this..

 

[africamonk]

well, like i've said already .... the standpipe is 4 inches under the water level ....the hole is under water ...... then feeds the eheim .... so the air is not a problem .... as far as i can see ......

 

[greenmaji]

ahh ok, your ok then.. why is the water level in the overflow so high? The canisters might be overpowering the standpipe and causing the overflow to be overfilled.. can you bend the output down into the water to conserve CO2? they look flexible..

 

[africamonk]

yeah the outlets are down into the water and seem like it does not move the water surface much .... i've made sure the inlets are under the water line, so the air will not go into the filter ....... basically not using the over flow with the wet/dry filter ..... just using the kit to feed the eheim ....hiding the tubes and all ........

 

[greenmaji]

Nice setup then.. I just asked to make sure your equipment was safe.. I dont like the idea of people losing equipment when I could have helped.. If you know what I mean.. And how are you going to change that stocking plan to keep the bio-load low for the discus? I think I would shorten the light period by a couple hours if it were me as well.. I dont think you need that much time between both lights being on a hour at most should be enough of a dawn dusk period.

 

[africamonk]

an hour only? lol .... don't think the plants would enjoy life in the tank ..... as for the fish, thinking of cutting them down to 6 discus, 12 corys, 2 plecos, and 15 cardinals ?