Tank Update

As many know I had to sell off my reef and related gear due to health issues and not being home enough for the corals. I converted the tank to freshwater and got some discus from discus Hans. He is an American importer of German Stendker discus. They still need care, but compared to a reef tank they are very little care! I got 4" fish as they are starting to show adult colors and don't need quite the amount of fussing as smaller ones - they are shy fish though, jumping out is a concern when they get startled, I lost one to the floor already.

I kept the APEX and the DOS pump. I drilled the sump for a waste water line that goes to the house drain so I can have both heads add water - 60 gallons a day, and the waste drains out. Put a float in the sump that shuts off the pump and texts me if the water gets high in the event the drain gets clogged. After the filter socks there is purigen, ROX carbon lots of ceramic media, and since I had ozone - I rigged up and ozone reactor from an old phosphoban reactor. The freshwater is from a brute can - I pass it through the 1st 2 stages of my RO system 1st, the sediment and carbon, to remove chlorine before the DOS pumps it. A float valve keeps the brute full and there is a powerhead in there. Almost the same setup for the AWC, just changed the plumbing a bit, nothing new was required except a bulkhead for the sump and 3/4" tubing.

Put in white starboard bottom and a rock background. I liked the black background of the reef, but the discus folk say dark colors make the fish turn dark. With the vortech near the bottom the tank has been staying clean despite really heavy feedings. The moss balls are neat, my gf loves them, like dust spirits from the movie My Neighbor Totoro.

Anyway so far so good. I can be away from the tank for a while and not worry about it and not have the work when I come home and don't feel well. Remember in these pics discus color up as they grow, 4" is just starting to show color. The tank has checkerboard and leopard snakeskins, but the checkerboards seem to show color younger. When they hit 6 inches they will have much more color.

The tank isn't as impressive as the reef was, but I think it still looks nice and as the fish get bigger they will color up more. It sure works better with my current situation!

 

Thanks! I lucked out with that driftwood. It was suppose to sit upright, but I cut the front of the base flat and screwed it to the starboard. I think it is coming along well and is simple but still looks ok. 200 Cardinal tetras help. Will get 6 electric blue Rams and some green laser corys with a gold nugget pleco and call it good.

 

I used "universal rocks" background. Trimmed and siliconed dabs to hold it.

 

The discus are not adults yet, but happy with the color for only 4"!!

I sent Kessil an email asking for new plug caps as I accidentally tossed them, so Kessil shipped new ones for free (just little plastic caps) and asked for a tank shot. The customer service person asked if she could send it to their marketing department and use the photo. That brightened my day a bit!