Discus Breeding System

[gmaniac]

Since I was a kid I have always wanted to have discus. I never got them because they were not available at my LFS and then they were just too expensive for me as a kid. Here I am 20 years later and I would like to start breeding them.

I will admit I am not far into the process yet, started building the rack and accumulating all the equipment. Originally I was borrowing my friend's miter saw, but I had to end up getting one otherwise I will never finish (the excuse I gave myself to justify getting one). This is not going to be your typical breeding system, I am a developer and will always over-complicate things. What I mean by that is I am going to be building out some automation for the system. For example automated water changes, water condition monitoring, lights, sterilization, etc.

I will try to provide all the information and pictures as I work on things, how I am doing it and why I chose to do what I did.

I have accumulated the following aquariums:

• 11 x 20 gallon
• 2 x 30 gallon
• 1 x 40 gallon
• 3 x 55 gallon
• 4 x 275 gallon (these are storage containers)

All of these I either got for free or for less than a $1/gallon on craigslist. I think the key here is patience, I have been picking these up over the last 8 months.

You will notice in those images that I am building this in my garage. I live in the Midwest and it gets cold thankfully this garage is not being used for vehicles and it is a conditioned space.

I was planning on using the large containers (275 gallon) as a fluidized filtration system a quarter/half of it. Then I also was looking into using driftwood in the other half to be a natural ph leveler.

Here are some pictures of the rack being assembled (still have a lot left to do on them)





I will take some pictures of all the electronics I have purchased and post those in the following days.

 

[Fish Tank Travis]

Very nice looking build. I'm excited to see this come together.

One thing you can do for water storage is to check Craigslist for 55 gallon plastic barrels (just make sure they are food grade, mine were used for corn syrup) or you might also be able to find some of the large 300 gallon containers (again, just make sure they're food grade).

When I got my 55 gallon barrels the guy I bought them from had thirty or more and sold them for $10. They are just an easy way to get a lot of water stored for aging, or they can be used for filtration.

Good luck with the build!

 

[Hendre]

Good luck man, looks awesome. I would recommend peat moss in bags in this sort of setup. It works quite well at PH reduction

I'll keep watching. And welcome to MFK

 

[CANAMONSTER]

Nice!! Are you going to do the 3 holes per tank system? So one drain low in the tank for WC 2nd one is the over flow drain to sump. 3rd is return line?

 

[gmaniac]

Fish Tank Travis thanks for the idea with the 55 gallon barrels. Definitely paying attention to if it is food grade or not is key. The 275 gallon containers I got were holding a polyurethane which was not good, so to fix that I am using pond armor and coating the interior prior to use. I originally got them for rain collection, but couldn't use them until I had an epiphany to use pond armor haha! But if I had paid closer attention when I got them I could have avoided this whole situation.

Hendre Thanks for the warm welcome! I had never thought of peat moss, makes sense and it is easy to get. I was going with driftwood because I am close to the Missouri River and there are weathered pieces all over the place (I love FREE things). I will of course clean them of any bacteria and organisms that might be living inside.

CANAMONSTER I was thinking a two hole system; one in the bottom for water changes or a complete drain and the second is the overflow to the sump. I was thinking I would just cut a whole in the lid. I was going to go with some sort of plastic lid, either a corrugated plastic or some other plastic sheet I can get at Home Depot or Lowes.

Thanks again to all of you for the support, I look forward to giving more updates!

 

[millerkid519]

Might give you some ideas on how to set up and what you can expect

 

[gmaniac]

millerkid519 Thanks! I have watched all of Joey's videos, his videos actually gave me the final push into making the decisions. It was neat to see that Uncle Sam's Discus started because of Joey too, really inspiring.

 

[millerkid519]

Ya he is top dog right now in discus. I watch all of Joey's videos to that's why I got into stingrays

 

[xraycer]

It's awesome that you're able to fulfill one of your childhood dreams!

 

[millerkid519]

I really hope it all works out and I can buy some discus off you some day