[J-Flo]

After a 1 year hiatus from fish tanks and a 10 year foray into saltwater, I am in the process of setting up a new 120g freshwater tank.

Currently I am waiting for my driftwood to take on water, so I have some time to make some important aquascaping decisions.

Tank is a 120g, 48"x24"x24" with central overflow and 30g sump underneath.

I still have about 15lbs of rock to add.

I'm looking for some general feedback and also, in particular, feedback about the back-right side of the tank. I am a bit concerned that it is going to create too much of a shadow in this corner and it will cause plants to struggle to grow. I was planning to plant to large amazon swords in this corner. I may lay down the piece of wood to open up the space. Any recommendations?

 

[Le duke]

What is the lighting plan?

Anyway you could offset forward and point rearward a light to help deal with the shadow cast by the wood?

Who makes the tank?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[J-Flo]

I have 2x Hydra Prime Freshwater above the tank. I'm hoping the swords will be large enough to catch light close to the surface and then create a nice deep shadow going all the way into the corner of the tank.

The tank is a ProClear ProStar 150 (~120g tank with 30g sump)

 

[minorhero]

Its hard for me say. A picture is a terrible way of determining if you have enough light or not to grow a plant. If you have a par meter take a reading at the substrate in that corner. If you don't have a par meter get the free par meter app and calibrate it your phone. I made a post about a couple of weeks ago. For swords you really want at 20ish+ par.

If that is seiryu stone (or other weathered limestone rock), be aware it will dissolve ever so slightly in your water and slowly raise your hardness. If planning to do big water changes each week its no big deal. But if you were hoping to do minimal water changes that could be an issue. Personally I rescue all my rock from the wild. It allows me to use as much as I want for any tank. My 75 gallon tank has about 200lbs of rock in it for example.

And that brings me to my personal advice for aquascaping. Your layout is nice but I would either commit to an all wood layout (with just a few small stones, as if it were a fast moving stream with tree roots or fallen branches in it) OR I would get like 5-20 times as much rock as what you currently have.

 

[Le duke]

so, there won't be any co2 with that kind of filter

Couldn't he run a reactor or in-line diffuser between the pump and the tank?

 

[J-Flo]

And that brings me to my personal advice for aquascaping. Your layout is nice but I would either commit to an all wood layout (with just a few small stones, as if it were a fast moving stream with tree roots or fallen branches in it) OR I would get like 5-20 times as much rock as what you currently have.

Thanks.. that is really good advice. I was struggling with rock placement beyond what I showed above, so I'll probably leave it at that. I mainly use them to stabilize the slopes.

so, there won't be any co2 with that kind of filter

It's not a wet/dry filter, so the total surface agitation is not extreme. I am planning to either run a reactor or inject in the large chamber right before the return where there is slow water flow

 

[minorhero]

Thanks.. that is really good advice. I was struggling with rock placement beyond what I showed above, so I'll probably leave it at that. I mainly use them to stabilize the slopes.


It's not a wet/dry filter, so the total surface agitation is not extreme. I am planning to either run a reactor or inject in the large chamber right before the return where there is slow water flow

Glad to help.

Definitely use a reactor. Using an intank diffuser is the least efficient way of getting co2 into the water. A reactor can be run on its own pump or you can pull a bypass off of your return and run the reactor from that. They are pretty easy to make using plumbing parts you get at a big hardware store. I like rex griggs style reactors but there are a few different types of reactors out there and they all work. While not as common in freshwater as in saltwater, there are people active on this forum using a sump and co2 in their tanks right now. So it definitely will work.

Regarding your sump. I am assuming you already have it and that it has baffles in it. If you are happy with it then its fine, it will definitely work. BUT you do not need any baffles in a freshwater tank sump. There are no protein skimmers that have to be kept at a set height in the freshwater world. So your sump can be just an open space with some matten filters going across. No need for filter socks etc. This has the potential for making a completely silent sump. Just something to think about.

 

[J-Flo]

Quick update. Plants came in and from this image it looks like the swords are getting plenty of light in the back.

Rocks on wood are to keep the wood from floating. Will be removed as soon as they stay put.

 

[J-Flo]

Two months later

 

[Edsland]

Awesome tank

 

[Virtus]

Are those discus? They're beautiful!

 

[J-Flo]

Are those discus? They're beautiful!

They are. Brilliant Turquoise from Discus Hans. By far the highest quality discus I have ever seen.. Been able to hand-feed them beef heart with tweezers as soon as the second day, so no left-overs end up on the sand bed.

 

[J-Flo]

6-month update. Discus are growing nicely. Actually did not realize how much until I saw the picture I posted earlier. These guys are always hungry.. You can feed them three times per day and they'll still beg for more.

For some reason, the vallisneria will not grow in this tank, which some people consider a blessing. I am not sure why it , but I suspect it's the high temperature that is causing it. Same for the Cabomba, they do ok for a while, but then slowly melt away.

Temp: 83 F
KH: 4.0

Supplement with NilocG Thrive and Flourish Iron
Water change: ~30% per week, sometimes twice.

 

[ddiomede]

The tank and discus look amazing! It looks like you're getting good growth from the fish and plants.