Greetings, new to the board

danDman · 11-02-2003, 03:08 PM

Greetings Everyone,
I'm new to the board. I keep discus and for most discus keepers have barebottom tanks. I'm trying to set up a planted 125 gal. I will keep adult discus in it.
I'm looking for better lights. Where's a good place where I can purchase lights at a reasonble price. I planning on building my own hood. Any suggestions from the experts. Thank you very much.

dan

Rex Grigg · 11-02-2003, 03:12 PM

www.ahsupply.com

Best place around to get what you need. The kits they sell are COMPLETE! Now your choice is going to be what size and how many. Tell us more about how much work you want to expend in the upkeep of the tank and we can give you more ideas.

danDman · 11-02-2003, 05:13 PM

Thank you Rex,
I want to put plants that can tolerate mid to high 80's. I plan to use pool filter sand as substrate or something light in color. I also would like low crawling plants in the foreground, this I really don't have much experiencein what type. As far as lights go I'd like to put six 3' long or two 6' long flourescence. Any idea would be greatly appreciated. Besides Discus I plan to put approximately 100 Cardinal Tetras and some corys some algae eaters. I already have a Co2 tank. Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Dan

anonapersona · 11-02-2003, 06:27 PM

Hi Dan, glad to see you found your way here! Be sure to work your way through the lighting section, and search the forum for various key words to find other threads that help with those subjects.

I know the DAAH or SimplyDiscus forums had a list of other plants that will tolerate those temps. With that menu of plants in hand, you'll know how much light you need.

This 125 is how deep?

danDman · 11-02-2003, 07:15 PM

Thanks Ann,
My 125gal is 72'x18"x22" I'm making a hood for it. I want to make sure that I have enough lights. I'm using a overflow wet/dry type filter I also made. It's a 20gal high tank that sit underneath the aquarium. This filter will also hold the heaters so you won't see a lot of clutter in the tank. I hope to make into a show tank. I will put my adult discus that doesn't pair up in it.

Dan

pufferfreak · 11-02-2003, 08:08 PM

i hope you know that Discus like the temp warm like as you said, but most Cory cats are found in the wild with the temp in the low 70F and mid 70F. That will be a big factor, and stress will sure to come over them. So i think I would skip on the corys, and the cradinal tetras, most of the time you have to by double of them of the number you want. Like you want 100 u might have to by 200 or so. They are fragile and i think the temp won't work for them. Maybe put it in the low 80F and it should work, but no like if it was in the Mid 70F but you can't do that.

danDman · 11-02-2003, 08:46 PM

Hi Puffer,
I've had Cardinal Tetras is 86 deg. for years with no problems. The Neon Tetras are the one that lives in cooler water. Certain Cory Cats can live in with discus. I've also had these in the past.
The thing I have problems with is the planted tanks. It's usually a hit or miss with me. This is why I stick with plants such as Anubias and Java fern.

What I want to know is what others types of plants you have been successful with in the past that can withstand high heat.

TIA
Dan

Rex Grigg · 11-02-2003, 11:14 PM

This summer my tank was consistently over 84 and all my plants did fine as well as did my fish. You can find humans living in the Arctic and living in the tropics. Which is their natural habitat? And what temperature do they prefer? Fish are adaptable within limits. I would not try to raise rainbow trout in 80 degree water since they prefer water in the 50-60 degree range and do fine into the upper 30 degree range. But Corys will do fine in the 80-86 degree range since their PREFERRED range is in the 65-75 degree range.

As far as light goes with that size tank if you want a creeping type carpet plant you are going to need to hit the 3 wpg range. It's going to be hard doing that with NO fluorescents. You really should look at AH Supply's PC florescent kits and go that way. Their reflectors make a ton of difference in how much light actually gets into the tank. You are going to need a minimum of 300 watts for your tank to do what you want to do and 400 would not be out of line.

anonapersona · 11-03-2003, 12:06 AM

Dan, I can bring you some Pearlgrass, it will creep in higher light. I have promised some to M.lemay right now, but as soon as it grows enough to pull a lot, any excess is yours. I tore out almost all of it just about a month ago and it is now big enough to share.

I would think that food would get lost in a carpet plant, can the discus be trained to feed from a feedingcone exclusively? I use shrimp to clean any missed food in the tank that has the pearlgrass. I suspect that Amano shrimp would be food to discus...?

11-02-2003, 03:12 PM	#2 (permalink)
Rex Grigg Planted Tank Guru (View User Tanks) PTrader: (65) Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Portland Orygun Posts: 9,595	www.ahsupply.com Best place around to get what you need. The kits they sell are COMPLETE! Now your choice is going to be what size and how many. Tell us more about how much work you want to expend in the upkeep of the tank and we can give you more ideas. __________________ The Original Custom CO2 Regulator Dry Ferts Link to my Guide Purveyor of the Brutal Truth In Heaven We Were Formed... In Hell We Were Trained... On Earth We Were Released... United States Marine Corps!

11-02-2003, 08:08 PM	#6 (permalink)
pufferfreak Wannabe Guru (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0) Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Arkansas Posts: 1,018	i hope you know that Discus like the temp warm like as you said, but most Cory cats are found in the wild with the temp in the low 70F and mid 70F. That will be a big factor, and stress will sure to come over them. So i think I would skip on the corys, and the cradinal tetras, most of the time you have to by double of them of the number you want. Like you want 100 u might have to by 200 or so. They are fragile and i think the temp won't work for them. Maybe put it in the low 80F and it should work, but no like if it was in the Mid 70F but you can't do that. __________________ 55 gallon- Flourite, XP3, 110wattCF Auto-CO2 system 55 gallon- Soon to be Reef Aquarium 20 gallon- Soon to be Reef Aquarium

11-02-2003, 11:14 PM	#8 (permalink)
Rex Grigg Planted Tank Guru (View User Tanks) PTrader: (65) Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Portland Orygun Posts: 9,595	This summer my tank was consistently over 84 and all my plants did fine as well as did my fish. You can find humans living in the Arctic and living in the tropics. Which is their natural habitat? And what temperature do they prefer? Fish are adaptable within limits. I would not try to raise rainbow trout in 80 degree water since they prefer water in the 50-60 degree range and do fine into the upper 30 degree range. But Corys will do fine in the 80-86 degree range since their PREFERRED range is in the 65-75 degree range. As far as light goes with that size tank if you want a creeping type carpet plant you are going to need to hit the 3 wpg range. It's going to be hard doing that with NO fluorescents. You really should look at AH Supply's PC florescent kits and go that way. Their reflectors make a ton of difference in how much light actually gets into the tank. You are going to need a minimum of 300 watts for your tank to do what you want to do and 400 would not be out of line. __________________ The Original Custom CO2 Regulator Dry Ferts Link to my Guide Purveyor of the Brutal Truth In Heaven We Were Formed... In Hell We Were Trained... On Earth We Were Released... United States Marine Corps!

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11-02-2003, 03:08 PM	#1 (permalink)
danDman Algae Grower (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0) Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Houston TX Posts: 31	Greetings Everyone, I'm new to the board. I keep discus and for most discus keepers have barebottom tanks. I'm trying to set up a planted 125 gal. I will keep adult discus in it. I'm looking for better lights. Where's a good place where I can purchase lights at a reasonble price. I planning on building my own hood. Any suggestions from the experts. Thank you very much. dan

11-02-2003, 05:13 PM	#3 (permalink)
danDman Algae Grower (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0) Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Houston TX Posts: 31	Thank you Rex, I want to put plants that can tolerate mid to high 80's. I plan to use pool filter sand as substrate or something light in color. I also would like low crawling plants in the foreground, this I really don't have much experiencein what type. As far as lights go I'd like to put six 3' long or two 6' long flourescence. Any idea would be greatly appreciated. Besides Discus I plan to put approximately 100 Cardinal Tetras and some corys some algae eaters. I already have a Co2 tank. Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Dan

11-02-2003, 06:27 PM	#4 (permalink)
anonapersona Moderator (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0) Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 1,614	Hi Dan, glad to see you found your way here! Be sure to work your way through the lighting section, and search the forum for various key words to find other threads that help with those subjects. I know the DAAH or SimplyDiscus forums had a list of other plants that will tolerate those temps. With that menu of plants in hand, you'll know how much light you need. This 125 is how deep?

11-02-2003, 07:15 PM	#5 (permalink)
danDman Algae Grower (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0) Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Houston TX Posts: 31	Thanks Ann, My 125gal is 72'x18"x22" I'm making a hood for it. I want to make sure that I have enough lights. I'm using a overflow wet/dry type filter I also made. It's a 20gal high tank that sit underneath the aquarium. This filter will also hold the heaters so you won't see a lot of clutter in the tank. I hope to make into a show tank. I will put my adult discus that doesn't pair up in it. Dan

11-02-2003, 08:46 PM	#7 (permalink)
danDman Algae Grower (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0) Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Houston TX Posts: 31	Hi Puffer, I've had Cardinal Tetras is 86 deg. for years with no problems. The Neon Tetras are the one that lives in cooler water. Certain Cory Cats can live in with discus. I've also had these in the past. The thing I have problems with is the planted tanks. It's usually a hit or miss with me. This is why I stick with plants such as Anubias and Java fern. What I want to know is what others types of plants you have been successful with in the past that can withstand high heat. TIA Dan

11-03-2003, 12:06 AM	#9 (permalink)
anonapersona Moderator (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0) Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 1,614	Dan, I can bring you some Pearlgrass, it will creep in higher light. I have promised some to M.lemay right now, but as soon as it grows enough to pull a lot, any excess is yours. I tore out almost all of it just about a month ago and it is now big enough to share. I would think that food would get lost in a carpet plant, can the discus be trained to feed from a feedingcone exclusively? I use shrimp to clean any missed food in the tank that has the pearlgrass. I suspect that Amano shrimp would be food to discus...?

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