Son of Kahuna (56K!)

[scolley]

WOW! Thanks SO MUCH for bringing that to my attention!

I have never heard of those people, and am rather unhappy to see that they are using my tanks as an untrue representation of their products! I will definitely be in touch with rfidiscus. Or my lawyer will be. I kid you not. I submit photos to online forums for public consumption - I'm FINE with that. But I will not abide misrepresentation. Thank you for bringing that to my attention!

I do have very strong opinions about discus vendors. While I know that there are many good ones out there, there are three that I can recommend without reservation:

Kenny's Discus
Houston Aquarium Warehouse, also called Gulf Coast Discus
Discus-Hans

These three vendors represent - IMO - the best of the best in a number of ways. If you know something I know, and go somewhere else - God bless you. But truly I tell you, you CANNOT go wrong with these guys. That said, each has their strengths and weaknesses. And I will be happy to discuss those with anyone. But in PM's please.

Yet they are all SPECTACULAR. Don't get caught up in their web sites. Or not. Marketing fluff can never be trusted. Their proof is in their products, which are all consistently wonderful.


As for my "awe" inspiring tank, it's having trouble at the moment. I've allowed all my algae eating critters (shrimp, oto's, etc.) to all die off over time, and the tank shows it. I deliberately conducted this experiment, because I wanted to see how the tank would look after all the algae eaters died off. And guess what... ? It's not good.

So I've spent this evening acclimating a number of new inhabitants. Unfortunalely they are all little juveniles, and it will be a number of months before they make a difference. In the interim, I suppose I'll be trimming algae covered leaves more often than I would otherwise like.

Also - it's worth mentioning - I've been quietly conducting a little experiment for the last 18+ months...

I'm blessed with wonderful water. Low GH. Low KH. Just enough nitrates, phosphates, and potassium in it to feed plants. And pH of 7.0 if you don't mess with it. And I aspire to minimal maintenance tanks. So I've been trying for 18+ months to add nothing to my water but micros and potassium. No N. No P. And nothing to boost GH and KH beyond the natural 1.2 readings my water yields. And the long term result is...

It's not working.

So much to my chagrin, I'm doing regular fert dosing. And not with peristaltic pumps either! Just plain ole' dry ferts into the tank.

It's not my intention to continue that forever. I'm just figuring out what works right for the plants - with my high discus load - before I automate it.

And while I have not updated it in over 6 months (busy with work - sorry), you can take a look at the website in my signature for pics of how the tank looks. It still looks pretty much like that now.

Cheers!

[sewingalot]

Scolley, I just wanted to say how much I enjoy your tank. I wish that I could only have a tank this good in the future. Also, your website www.wetplantlogic.com helped me a lot as a newbie and I just wanted to thank you for taking the time to share your knowledge with people like me that started out clueless.

[scolley]

Thanks sewingalot!

Honest to goodness, I go to the trouble specifically to assist people like yourself. And getting a little positive feedback every once in a while makes it all worth the trouble.

Thank you.

[salth20]

You are welcome. I have an enormous amount of respect for you. That is one reason I asked the question. Unfortunate for the company that misrepresents themselves, as I (and many just like me) purchase goods and services based on a level of trust and integrity. A company that does an honest business will usually succeed, just as you are succeeding by your sharing of good, honest information. I will check the links you gave. And again, if it hasn't been said enough already, what an incredible display of nature.

[Characins]

Wow, why would a company do that?

You should definitely talk to them, don't let this just pass.

Good luck, and great aquarium!

[scolley]

Thanks salth20! Thanks Characins!

FWIW, I am in the process of getting that vendor to remove that image of my tank. If find it a little troubling that someone might see that tank, and believe it was a testimonial, when if fact it is either false advertising (at worst), or a mistake (at best).

I'll see that it gets removed. Thanks.

[Pinto]

Wow, that's the beautifulest discus tank i seen!!
Just jaw-dropping amazing.
Even the tank looks so amazing by itself!

I'm very curious to see how things go along with you and that fake site.

[salth20]

Well you must have made an impression on them. Your tank is no longer part of the customer testimonial. I would like to think that it was just a mistake, and not a misleading tactic by them.

[jargonchipmunk]

Yeah it's very possible that someone else decided to "testify" that it was their tank and they were just posting the beautiful tank someone submitted. Either way, it's off now.

By the way, when I win the lottery, will you come over and plumb my stand? :-P

[waterfaller1]

Subscribed..gorgeous! What are the small blue schooling fish? How come you say the tank is BB, but on the first page it looks like a sand bed?

[kyle3]

ok it took a few 2 hour sessions but i read it all (ok i skimmed a few spots )

As one of the many who have learned so much from your thread i have to say THANK YOU!

Your tank is stunning!

The fact that you've had a couple speed bumps with algae gives me hope; mainly reminding me I'm not a horrible "tank parent" for having occasional algae blooms . your openness is appreciated on many levels!

This thread has opened my eye's to possibilities for tanks i hadn't fathomed yet!

I've really enjoyed playing "Where's Waldo" with trooper too

Thanks again!
cheers-K

[Phil Edwards]

Hey Steve,

As a late answer to your question; yes, I was talking about floating plants like Phylanthus or Limnobium.

[Tex Gal]

Your tanks are beautiful! How wonderful to be so DIY. How wonderful to know what DIY stuff you need. The guts of your tank look like a NASA project! I've enjoyed my visit!

[scolley]

Originally Posted by Pinto

Wow, that's the beautifulest discus tank i seen!!
Just jaw-dropping amazing.

That's very kind. Thank you. But if you really look, there are nicer ones out there. Ones that make me feel like a chump. But i'm learning.

Originally Posted by salth20

Well you must have made an impression on them. Your tank is no longer part of the customer testimonial. I would like to think that it was just a mistake, and not a misleading tactic by them.

YES! RFI did indeed take the pic down after a few email exchanges. And reasonably promply too, something I'm appreciative of. As to the mistake or misleading tactic question... who can know? But a quick google of the company will lead you to forums where you will see statements from people that will certainly make you wonder. Though to be sure, there is no way to know.

Originally Posted by jargonchipmunk

By the way, when I win the lottery, will you come over and plumb my stand? :-P

You got it pal! All you've got to do is supply the tools, the beer, and let me put whatever I want in that stand. I'd be happy to have a "practice stand" to try out some of my - as yet untried - ideas!

Originally Posted by waterfaller1

Subscribed..gorgeous! What are the small blue schooling fish? How come you say the tank is BB, but on the first page it looks like a sand bed?

Thanks! But as for the BB, I suspect you saw that description on my quarentine/grow-out tank. My show tank - the Son of Kahuna - is definately sand. But it may not be long. I'm not happy with the sand, or at least its depth. I'm srongly considering changing it to just a dusting of sand. But that means I've got to attach moss to all of my pots so they won't show, 'cuz right now they are covered (hidden) by sand.

Originally Posted by kyle3

The fact that you've had a couple speed bumps with algae gives me hope; mainly reminding me I'm not a horrible "tank parent" for having occasional algae blooms . your openness is appreciated on many levels!...I've really enjoyed playing "Where's Waldo" with trooper too

Thanks for that feedback. I often wonder if people really "get" whether or not I'm deliberately posting the good with the bad. So I'm happy that you know that... as it does none of us any good if the hobby continues to be represented by people's tendency to only show their tanks at their best. Here's to openess and honesty in our hobby...

And thanks for the chuckle on "Where's Waldo"! It was indeed that with us too. Except at feeding time, of course. That was one gutsy little tetra!

Originally Posted by Phil Edwards

Hey Steve,

As a late answer to your question; yes, I was talking about floating plants like Phylanthus or Limnobium.

Thanks Phil. I have since acquired and destroyed some Linmobium. Seems I would keep doing trim, the leaves would float to the top, and the Linmobium would get scooped up with everything else. Soon I had none.

Originally Posted by Tex Gal

Your tanks are beautiful! How wonderful to be so DIY. How wonderful to know what DIY stuff you need. The guts of your tank look like a NASA project! I've enjoyed my visit!

Thanks TexG! I'm very happy to have helped. But it really doesn't look quite so much like a NASA project if you can actually see in the stand. Photos of the stand with its doors open is a little like looking at an oil painting through a straw. It's hard to understand what you are looking at. But once you look at the whole painting, it all makes sense. Same here, but taking away that straw means sticking your head in the stand. And then it's "Oh yeah! Now I see! It's not really complicated, it's just there's a lot of things going on."

[waterfaller1]

Can you say what the little blue fish are?