My 72 Gallon Bowtank 3D Background

[rrmedicx]

Hey I just realize you live in brooklyn...I'm in the bronx lol. I have the same tank as your's but saltwater. I didnt read all the pages...just up to 4 and everything is looking good. Have you checked out some local petsmarts? I purchased some very nice large natural looking gravel for my 50 gallon freshwater tank.

Also you set up looks awsome, wish I thought of a 3d background...in stead of spray painting the back of my tank blue

Btw any discus yet? I'm thinking of getting one or 2 in the future...

Last but not least, if thier are some cool lfs by you let me know. I like hitting lfs's around new york.

Petsmarts are a waste of time for what we are trying to achieve here (IMHO). They have NO specialized gravel whatsoever, just your run of the mill colored gravel. Yeah, I actually had this tank running with starter fish with your regular paper background taped to the back of the tank. Then I got on You tube, and this forum and got the idea to try a 3D background and never looked back. It is truly a work of art these preformed 3D background. If I was not keeping Discus fish, I would have strongly considered building my own background from styrofoam, but due to the ph issues the concrete creates, I didn't want to take any chances in harming the discus.
I presently have 5 discus and 5 Angels in the 72 gallon tank. I plan to most likely remove the Angels and put in 5 or 6 additional Discus. This time I will be purchasing some other colors (greens, blues, heckel).
We'll see how it works.

 

[rrmedicx]

Well I added the Driftwood I was holding for the last couple of weeks. It took that long for it to get thoroughly water-logged enough to sink.
I actually think it will be coming out now. I have had it in for about 2 weeks to see if it would grow on me, but it basically creates an obstacle and prevents the fish from swimming freely across the main front & center of the tank.
You be the judge:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbPAOaF5bEs

 

[rrmedicx]

Do some research dark substrate can result in peppering

Well, not that I doubted you but I have to say, that it has begun to affect my discus. 2 of the 5 initial batch of Discus have begun to "Pepper".
Now comes the hard part. What to do about it?

The obvious answer is to replace the substrate.

Any ideas on how to accomplish this in a planted tank?
I am open to suggestions.

 

[rrmedicx]

I visited my other breeder connection (Ben) from Long Island, NY yesterday.
He blessed me with an assortment of Discus which are much more people friendly. They also thrive on Beefheart. Compared to the first batch of Discus which live exclusively on blood worms.
There are a lot of mixed opinions on what to feed Discus, but I have to say that the discus that I have seen that are fed beefheart are actually much more resilient than the batch that I have that were fed blood worms (in my humble opinion).
The other nice thing that I am hoping will rub off on the younger initial batch of 5 is that they are extremely sensitive to light. They basically spend most of their time in hiding. Very Timid! The new additional 7 Discus are not as Jumpy and don't mind being in view of people. MUCH Better in my opinion. Whats the point of a fish tank if every time you enter the room they dart out of sight.

In addition, I will most likely be removing the driftwood from the tank to give the fish some more free space.
Any ideas on breaking down the driftwood are welcome. Or selling it? I don't know what I am going to do with it just yet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdZ2-bPUoeQ

Altogether there are now 12 Discus of various sizes and color patterns. Being that they are generally 2 inches in size, I am holding onto the Angels for a bit longer. I ultimately will be removing the angels to another tank to allow ample room for growth. (Although I like the diversity) Time will tell.

 

[rrmedicx]

Here is the one that is mostly showing peppering:

Here are some other random shots showing the various Discus fish I have at present:

 

[rrmedicx]

And I did get rid of that Driftwood. Visually much more pleasing. I think the fish are much happier without that obstacle impeding their Cruze Control. LOL

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBKFp9OZCyU

 

[iWantKicks]

great tank! love the 3d bg. where'd you purchase it from?

i would also suggest to somehow hide that intake. maybe with driftwood? i know you just took it out, but if you could somehow find a way to hide it, your tank would be sick and super clean looking

great work!

 

[rrmedicx]

great tank! love the 3d bg. where'd you purchase it from?

i would also suggest to somehow hide that intake. maybe with driftwood? i know you just took it out, but if you could somehow find a way to hide it, your tank would be sick and super clean looking

great work!

Thank you.

3D Background is made by Aqua Terra. Model is Tanganyika.

I tried to hide it with the Driftwood, but it was simply too overpowering. Perhaps something smaller might work. In addition I will be replacing that big bulky Intake head that is standard for all Fluval FX5's and replacing it with a sponge type filter that is extended forward but will hopefully appear much more subtle. Part has been ordered and should be here in a couple of days.

I actually designed this background and plumbing so the intake would be upfront, unlike the many who have opted to completely conceal the filter intake and thus restricting the ability of the filter to actually clean the front of the tank. This was my choice and I can only hope that I can follow through with my plan so long as the replacement sponge type filter head doesn't compromise any of the filters efficiency.

 

[rrmedicx]

Well, some good news. Since removing the large Driftwood, the Discus have essentially come out from hiding. The new (people friendly) Discus have taken the lead and shown the initial (shy) batch of Discus not to be so skiddish. So now as I approach the tank, they are not all ducking for cover. I am much happier now.
I am still feeding both Blood worms as well as Beef Heart. The blood worms tend to all get eaten, and there is usually some left over beef heart on the substrate which takes a lot of time before it gets eaten. I am hoping that eventually the second wave of Discus will teach the first shy batch how to enjoy some beef heart, so they can all grow up to be big and strong.
At least, that is the plan.

 

[rrmedicx]

I opted to cut the driftwood down into at least 2 pieces for now. I am once again soaking (drowning) them to get thoroughly waterlogged for re-insertion in the tank. Should be much better now in terms of usable space. The 2 pleco's were very happy with the driftwood and I'm sure it will be a welcome return.

Also, I just purchased an LED fixture to replace the crappy dual fluorescent light I have on the tank at present. Should have it in about a week or so. Should really help the plants and make everything shimmer. Looking forward to those results.
Very excited.

Details on the LED fixture can be found on this link:

http://reefscapelighting.com/shop/page/1?shop_param=

Let me know what you think.
I did a considerable amount of research and I believe this is the best bang for the buck I could find that would that would make my life and that of the Discus much easier. No more start up flickering of the flourescents startling everything in the tank. Instead it will be a smooth progressive transition like an actual sunrise and a smooth evening sunset, along with the beautiful moonlight sequence which is very easily programmable.

And here is a quick 'youtube' video showing off some of its features:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xW2OfH0p8Ks