coffeetwitch
Aquarium Advice Addict
first off its been awhile since i was last on this site. so hello to all the old people i used to talk to.
this tank used to be one of our saltwater tanks that has again been re-purposed. had it running with water for a short bit and came home to a leak. im assuming it was around the bottom seal so i was lucky that i caught it when it was just dripping. any way, i resealed it with black silicone to update the look of the tank. i used aquarium safe silicone and let it cure for 48 hours then filled it with water and its been holding ever since.
filters that i have on it now are 2 marineland emperor 400 pros. im running eheim bio in the plastic media baskets and plan on putting some sort of foam or sponge filter in place of the bonded carbon pads they came with. i also have one fluval 405 filled with fluval bio media only. they are all currently fully cycled
lighting is 156 watts of t5 ho by way of two glo 36" fixtures. bulbs are 4 ati coral plus bulbs currently on a 10 hour on cycle.
i am upgrading from fluval m heaters to 2 eheim 300w heaters that i am going to use as soon as i pick them up from the post office.
background is painted with black enamel that went on better with a regular brush vs the foam.
substrate is caribsea black sand.
currently there are silk plants only in the tank but i may want to add real later on.
drift wood will be limited and kept to only the right most quarter of the tank. none has been purchased yet. i havent fount the right look or pieces for the right price yet.
we have two 40g breeder saltwater tanks and i plan on doing water changes with the rodi unit that we have for them. in fact, i hope to become part of the group buy carey has organized again for bulk reef supply. i need to upgrade my unit. i was looking at the plus or build my own model.
i think thats about it on hardware.
stocking will be
german blue rams (5 currently in the tank)
appistos (2 currently in the tank)
bleeding heart tetras (6 currently in the tank)
albino long fin bushynose? plecos (2 currently in the tank)
cardinal tetras
cory cats? ( dont know how many)
5-6 discus, trying to save up for 4" discus from hans discus
currently these are the ones we are looking at:
*brilliant turquoises
*red scribbelt
*blue diamond
*marlboro red
*fire red
*flachen x snake skin
i was talking to a couple different guys at the lfs that suggested a varied diet of blood worms, brine shrimp. tetracolor tropical granules, and one more that i cant remember at the moment. i dont know if it was beef heart or not.
i am prepared to do weekly 40 gallon water changes.
i know that black background on black substrate (and many will say substrate is unwanted) for discus is considered taboo. i also know that pigeons will pepper in this tank. i know that some will say 40 gallons/week water change is not enough.
im not looking to get into flame wars or be spoken down to for what i have planed. what i am looking for is guidance, earnest advice, and tolerance of our personal taste.
ok, now with all that said...
do i need special substrate for plants or will the sand work? what plants are wise choices for a discus tank? i do like the look of moss on the driftwood, how do i do that? these are what ifs at this point.
temp will probably be kept at 84*F is this acceptable?
any other input would be great.
thanks in advance.
this tank used to be one of our saltwater tanks that has again been re-purposed. had it running with water for a short bit and came home to a leak. im assuming it was around the bottom seal so i was lucky that i caught it when it was just dripping. any way, i resealed it with black silicone to update the look of the tank. i used aquarium safe silicone and let it cure for 48 hours then filled it with water and its been holding ever since.
filters that i have on it now are 2 marineland emperor 400 pros. im running eheim bio in the plastic media baskets and plan on putting some sort of foam or sponge filter in place of the bonded carbon pads they came with. i also have one fluval 405 filled with fluval bio media only. they are all currently fully cycled
lighting is 156 watts of t5 ho by way of two glo 36" fixtures. bulbs are 4 ati coral plus bulbs currently on a 10 hour on cycle.
i am upgrading from fluval m heaters to 2 eheim 300w heaters that i am going to use as soon as i pick them up from the post office.
background is painted with black enamel that went on better with a regular brush vs the foam.
substrate is caribsea black sand.
currently there are silk plants only in the tank but i may want to add real later on.
drift wood will be limited and kept to only the right most quarter of the tank. none has been purchased yet. i havent fount the right look or pieces for the right price yet.
we have two 40g breeder saltwater tanks and i plan on doing water changes with the rodi unit that we have for them. in fact, i hope to become part of the group buy carey has organized again for bulk reef supply. i need to upgrade my unit. i was looking at the plus or build my own model.
i think thats about it on hardware.
stocking will be
german blue rams (5 currently in the tank)
appistos (2 currently in the tank)
bleeding heart tetras (6 currently in the tank)
albino long fin bushynose? plecos (2 currently in the tank)
cardinal tetras
cory cats? ( dont know how many)
5-6 discus, trying to save up for 4" discus from hans discus
currently these are the ones we are looking at:
*brilliant turquoises
*red scribbelt
*blue diamond
*marlboro red
*fire red
*flachen x snake skin
i was talking to a couple different guys at the lfs that suggested a varied diet of blood worms, brine shrimp. tetracolor tropical granules, and one more that i cant remember at the moment. i dont know if it was beef heart or not.
i am prepared to do weekly 40 gallon water changes.
i know that black background on black substrate (and many will say substrate is unwanted) for discus is considered taboo. i also know that pigeons will pepper in this tank. i know that some will say 40 gallons/week water change is not enough.
im not looking to get into flame wars or be spoken down to for what i have planed. what i am looking for is guidance, earnest advice, and tolerance of our personal taste.
ok, now with all that said...
do i need special substrate for plants or will the sand work? what plants are wise choices for a discus tank? i do like the look of moss on the driftwood, how do i do that? these are what ifs at this point.
temp will probably be kept at 84*F is this acceptable?
any other input would be great.
thanks in advance.