110g Blog!

I figured I'd start a blog on my new tank I'm setting up.

Here's a little run down of my plans.
The tank is going to be a discus tank with some other fish (not sure what kind yet). I am currently working on resealing it as it had a pretty bad leak in the bottom. Once I get done sealing it, I'm going to build the stand out of 2x4's.
The fish will most likely be coming from LarryP on Aquabid. I will be stopping at his hatchery in Ohio on my way home from vacation in 3 weeks.

Now, the equipment for the tank is where I need some suggestions.
1. Heaters. What wattage and how many? I was thinking 2 200 watts.
2. Filter(s). What kind? I am leaning toward an Aquatop just for the fact they work well and are very cheap. I know you should have at least 5x the amount of turnover for canister filters, but what about a single Eheim 2217? It says it's rated for tanks up to 160 gallons, but it only pumps 265gph.
3. Lighting. I originally wanted this tank to be kind of a bio-type, but now I'm kinda wanting a couple low light plants. Suggestions for lights would be appreciated!

Thanks for looking guys!

 

Sounds good so far ;D I'd also recommend a large sponge filter. You're going to be doing so many water changes I think you'll be fine with the canister.

 

Sounds good so far ;D I'd also recommend a large sponge filter. You're going to be doing so many water changes I think you'll be fine with the canister.

Thanks!

I don't really think I'd want a big sponge filter in the tank. I want to make it as "show-like" as I can. When you say you think I'll be fine with the canister, do you mean the Eheim?

 

You can try looking at Truaqua.com for heaters and canister filters. They are a distributor for Aqua Top and provide free shipping.

Lighting, I have no idea, I got mine from ebay: Odysessa T5HO

 

If I get the Aquatop, I'll probably get it on ebay. They are a lot cheaper there. All my other filters and heaters I get from Kensfish. They have by far the best prices on almost everything.

I think I'm just gonna get a dual T5 strip light. That should be enough for some low light plants.

 

I can't wait to see your discus.

 

Any more filter/heater wattage recommendations? I'm planning on ordering them tonight.

 

Any more filter/heater wattage recommendations? I'm planning on ordering them tonight.

1 thing to keep in mind when starting a discus tank is that get a good stock from a reputable breeder or supplier, cause your half work is done,

As for filtration if u are getting a canister filter also put a prefilter on the intake as gunk tends to stick in the pipes of the filter. This is my personal experience. I have a 2217 on a 72 gal. Running for about 1.5yrs, and for the heater you need to see what your average room temp is going to be, accordingly get heater/s ehiem jager heaters are the best you can find.

Yusufm52
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I already know where I'm getting the fish. The seller has a very good reputation for selling quality fish.

I think I've decided to get the Aquatop CF500 filter for the tank. I might add more filtration later on.

As for heaters, I've decided to go with 2 200w Via Aqua heaters. That should be enough to keep the temperature up and have a fail-safe in case of a heater malfunction.

 

Looks like you are all packed up and ready to go.
Do post pic when you start. Would love to see them.

Yusufm52
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I'll definitely post pics! I should be finishing up resealing the tank tomorrow so I should have pics of that by the end of the day.

 

Will you get Juvie Discus or Adults?

 

Probably juvi. I don't really want to spend the extra money to get adults.

 

I hear you. I thought about the same when I start my Discus Tank

 

I just don't see the point in getting adults. You buy juvis that are a lot cheaper, then wait a couple months and..... BAM! You magically have adults!

 

Young discus are more work, that's all.

 

I just don't see the point in getting adults. You buy juvis that are a lot cheaper, then wait a couple months and..... BAM! You magically have adults!

This is your first time keeping discus right, I myself thought the same so got 7 juvI discus which are about 2.5" and that was the big mistake I made, the are a handful because they are very picky eaters, and u need to do quite more WC than you would have to do on an adult discus, you also have to keep in mind that juvI discus are more susceptible to falling ill as their immune system has not been fully developed, and hence the more need to taking care of their nutrition needs, if ignored they get stunned. and did I mention I was doing 60-70% WC feeding them 4 kinds of different kinds of food to provide for their nutrition needs and I recently lost one day before yesterday..

So a word of advice if you can't get Adults I would suggest getting Sub-Adults they are less expensive then adults and less work then juvies and they are more forgiving then juvies, and more enjoyable. JMO.

 

I'll probably get as big of fish as I can afford. I'm prepared to do the work required for them.

What all kinds of food should I be getting for them? Right now, I have Kensfish tropical fish flake, NLS Thera a, Earthworm flake, frozen blood worms, and frozen brine shrimp. The seller on Aquabid says they are fed with beef heart before they are put up for auction.

Here are the ones I'm planning on getting by the way. and possibly a couple of these too.

 

I like both of those Beef heart is pretty common, helps them grow faster. I wouldn't feed it exclusively. I would avoid the flakes. Thera a and frozen foods would probably be good. NLS Discus food. Also, live worm cultures would be helpful.

 

well they do look nice in the pics. ask your dealer what he feeds them and if possible get a start food from him so the fish get used to the new environment more speedily.

 

Is it better to buy at aqua-bid than going direct to dealer/ breeder like Hans-Discus or Kenny in LA?

 

I think it's just cheaper. I've heard really great things about Hans-Discus USA.

 

I'll probably get as big of fish as I can afford. I'm prepared to do the work required for them.

What all kinds of food should I be getting for them? Right now, I have Kensfish tropical fish flake, NLS Thera a, Earthworm flake, frozen blood worms, and frozen brine shrimp. The seller on Aquabid says they are fed with beef heart before they are put up for auction.

Here are the ones I'm planning on getting by the way. and possibly a couple of these too.

those are beautiful. Is it better to get the same type or a variety?

you are doing a bare bottom tank right? I heard it is easier to raise juvies in bare bottom tanks until they mature.

 

I don't really think it matters if you have the same type or a variety. I'm still not sure if I'm going to get both. I don't want them pairing up and having weird looking offspring. lol

I'm going to start off with a bare bottom until they grow up a little, then put pool filter sand in it.

Ugh. It looks like the filter and heaters are going to have to wait a few days. Sadly, PayPal found out somehow that I'm not 18 and that I used a fake birth date to sign up for my account, so they froze my account.... for 180 days..... and they said I might have to wait till I'm 18 to get the money out.... It was only $46, but I'm still really mad about it. I have a few tricks up my sleeve to get my money back though

 

Why go through the all that trouble, just ask someone to pay for it online and then you pay him/her in cash upfront. Simple!!! No need to fake anything.

Yusufm52
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I don't really think it matters if you have the same type or a variety. I'm still not sure if I'm going to get both. I don't want them pairing up and having weird looking offspring. lol

I'm going to start off with a bare bottom until they grow up a little, then put pool filter sand in it.

Ugh. It looks like the filter and heaters are going to have to wait a few days. Sadly, PayPal found out somehow that I'm not 18 and that I used a fake birth date to sign up for my account, so they froze my account.... for 180 days..... and they said I might have to wait till I'm 18 to get the money out.... It was only $46, but I'm still really mad about it. I have a few tricks up my sleeve to get my money back though

My question is, how did they find out?

 

How would they find out about something like that? Also, they're keeping your money? That seems a little weird..

 

Why go through the all that trouble, just ask someone to pay for it online and then you pay him/her in cash upfront. Simple!!! No need to fake anything.

Yusufm52
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None of my family or local friends use paypal. The only thing I faked was by birth date, which millions of people do every day.

My question is, how did they find out?

I recently made a checking account because my job does direct deposit and I linked it with Paypal. The checking account said I was 16.

How would they find out about something like that? Also, they're keeping your money? That seems a little weird..

I wouldn't have been so upset about it, but I researched it a little and it happens to people every day and they very rarely get their money back. One guy on a forum said they kept $5000 because one of his ebay customers complained about a product. PayPal though he was a fraud so they locked his account and no matter how many times he provided them with what they asked for, they wouldn't unlock it.

I'm in the process of getting my money back now. The money in the account was from 2 forum members that bought fish from me. The only thing it allowed me to do was give refunds, so I refunded them their money and had them send it to a new account under my mom's name. They can think again if they think they are keeping my money.

Back onto topic now!

I didn't even tough the tank today because I was running errands till noon, then I had to work the rest of the day. I did however buy some Black Diamond sand blasting sand, recommended by Rogue, to try out in a small tank. I love the look and cleanness of it and I think I'm going to use it for the discus tank.

 

I did however buy some Black Diamond sand blasting sand, recommended by Rogue, to try out in a small tank. I love the look and cleanness of it and I think I'm going to use it for the discus tank.

I'd love to see a picture of it. Sounds interesting! I'm thinking of making my next tank with sand (all of mine are gravel, one with dirt) so I'd love to see what it looks like.

 

I'll post some pictures of it later in my tank updates thread. It doesn't have many plants in it right now.

I have 4 tanks with dirt and a pool filter sand cap over them and I hate how they look. If you take one single plant out, the dirt comes up and gets the sand all dirty.

 

I'll post some pictures of it later in my tank updates thread. It doesn't have many plants in it right now.

I have 4 tanks with dirt and a pool filter sand cap over them and I hate how they look. If you take one single plant out, the dirt comes up and gets the sand all dirty.

Solution, don't pull your plants. Btw I know what you mean, happens in my tank. I think it adds character seeing some soil on the sand ;-). It gives it a natural look to it.

 

I was talking with my boyfriend about sandblasting sand (with which I have no experience) and he said it's usually pretty fine. Does yours look like that? I was hoping to get some larger-grain stuff so I don't have to worry about sucking it up when doing water changes, and trying to remove detritus from the surface. Really, I just want really teeny tiny pebbles

 

Solution, don't pull your plants. Btw I know what you mean, happens in my tank. I think it adds character seeing some soil on the sand ;-). It gives it a natural look to it.

I pull plants every day! lol. If I see something out of place, I move it.

I was talking with my boyfriend about sandblasting sand (with which I have no experience) and he said it's usually pretty fine. Does yours look like that? I was hoping to get some larger-grain stuff so I don't have to worry about sucking it up when doing water changes, and trying to remove detritus from the surface. Really, I just want really teeny tiny pebbles

I think the sand grains are bigger than pool filter sand is. It's not really that fine.

I haven't done any water changes yet, but it doesn't look like it will get sucked up to easily. I'll post a picture here in a minute.

EDIT: pics!

 

New tank bubbles, gotta love them. LOL.

 

Haha. I've wiped them off about 3 times now. I just gave up on them.

 

Well water?

 

Yep

 

What are you going to house in that tank? Is that your shrimp tank?

 

I knew it. Well water and bubbles w/ me too.

 

Thanks for the pictures! That sand doesn't look too fine at all. You'll have to keep us updated once you start doing water changes.

How large of a bag did you have to buy? Can I ask how much you paid? Also, where did you find it? I'm guessing a home improvement store (especially since you work at one).

 

This tank is just going to be for RCS. They are in a 5.5g right now with red ramshorn snails and they just don't look good at all. They are almost all clear. I'm hoping the black sand with bring out their color more.

My tanks bubble like that after every water change.

The sand only come in 50lbs bags. I got mine at Tractor Supply for $7.99. Sure beats the 20lbs bag of black sand at Petsmart for $15.99!

 

Definitely! I don't have any stores near me called that, but we do have a "Farm and Fleet" which sounds like about the same idea. I'll have to take a look around.

I have my RCS on black gravel, and I think it looks pretty nice. It also makes the plants stand out well. I'm thinking of doing black sand for my soon-to-be 5.5 gallon betta tank.

 

This tank is just going to be for RCS. They are in a 5.5g right now with red ramshorn snails and they just don't look good at all. They are almost all clear. I'm hoping the black sand with bring out their color more.

My tanks bubble like that after every water change.

The sand only come in 50lbs bags. I got mine at Tractor Supply for $7.99. Sure beats the 20lbs bag of black sand at Petsmart for $15.99!

Give it time, the RCS will deepen. Mine did.

 

You should be able to get it at any home improvement store. Tractor supply is just a big hardware store.

I plan on switching the majority of my tanks over to black sand. I really like the look of it.

 

I've also read the RCS will become redder if you occasionally feed shrimp pellets (but not too often, as they contain trace amounts of copper). I feed mine shrimp pellets every 1-2 weeks and they're looking pretty red.

I'll take a look when we go out tomorrow. I googed "Black diamond sandblasting sand" and the first thing that came up was the Tractor Supply website, so I think I know what you got. ;D

I'd like to have all sand but that sounds like such a huge pain to remove 55-gallon-tank's worth of gravel and replace with rinsed sand. If anything I'll switch just the 10 gallon over first and see how I like it.

 

Any updates on this?

 

I have the tank all taped up ready to seal. My dad is gonna do it just so I know it will be done right.

I'm starting to get a little scared. I'm leaving in 3 days and tank isn't sealed, the stand isn't even started, and the filter/heater still aren't ordered. I've just been really busy and haven't had time do do any of it.

I do have one concern. I was originally going to put the tank in my bedroom, but my room has carpet in it and I don't know how stable the tank is going to be. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to stabilize a tank on carpet?

 

You could put pieces of plywood under the stand.

 

Like one big piece? The bottom of the stand is going to go all around the stand. Not just 4 legs. If that makes any sense. lol

 

You don't have to stabilize it. My 70g was on carpet with a stand like yours. The carpet just smashes down and levels out. No need to put wood on the bottom unless you think you'll have things like wet nets and such inside your tank and you don't want the carpet getting wet.