# 120 gallon planted Discus tank project



## magicmagni (Nov 7, 2003)

Happy Easter everyone!!

Well I hope you all enjoy pics of my new obsession. I have an ongoing journal at http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/showthread.php?t=5483&page=1&pp=10 for those who are members there.

Here is a little teaser... No Discus yet- just a brittle nose pleco who hitchhiked on a piece of wood that I put in the tank and a bunch of Malaysian trumpet snails.


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## PeteyPob (Apr 26, 2004)

The discus are going to love that set up! roud: 
Your tank looks great
Pete


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## Aussie_Star (Feb 15, 2005)

i love the huge stump, your tank is amazing. How many discus are you going to put in they are what kind?


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## barry_sulley (Mar 26, 2005)

WOW! well done on the tank roud: 
where on earth did you get that wood from it brilliant
barry


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## Jdinh04 (Mar 15, 2004)

Looks great, tree stump looks very natural vibe to the tank.


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## Ibn (Nov 19, 2003)

Very nice, Jeff! roud: 

Beautiful layout and can't wait to see more updated pictures (especially once you get those discus).


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## mshaeffer (Nov 29, 2002)

that looks awsome I am so jealous!!! please keep the pics coming


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## tiptoptank (Mar 1, 2005)

Were on earth did you get such an amazing stump! That is probrably the best driftwood I have ever seen. PLease, how much was it and were did you get it.


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## hOAGART (May 13, 2004)

Bastard ! And i mean that in the nicest way possible .. its only cuz im jealous roud:


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## shalu (Jan 16, 2003)

Looks great, but I thought the stump top was going to go above the water line? That would have been way better, the flat top looks a bit strange as is. The other draw back is, now you only have 80 gallons to work with :icon_bigg


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## lotus02 (Feb 17, 2005)

Wow cool I like that stump looks very natural.


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## igotworms (Dec 1, 2004)

That stump is awsome. It would look better if the flat part was above the water. That way it seems like its an atcual tree instead of just a stump.


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## magicmagni (Nov 7, 2003)

Hi!

I was so fortunate to find this stump. I found it "hiking." Best part of the deal was that it was free!!

Yeah I wanted the top of the stump to hit the water line, but it just didn't work out that way because of the way I had to anchor it down and so I didn't fight it. No worries though I have some African Bolbitus that will be growing on the top of it.

Shalu, I realize that the stump does displace some of the water, but it is probably not as bad as you think since the stump is mostly hollow. 

Well that plan it to go with about 4 maybe 5 5" wilds, but I will not put them in until the tank it 100% stable so it may be a while until I can post pics of those beauties in the tank, but I'm sure it'll be worth the wait.

Jeff


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## Blade (Jul 27, 2004)

I think it would be a shame to have the caves the stump provides go to waste. Have you consider adding a few dwarf cichlids to go along with the Discus?


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## yznj99 (Nov 1, 2004)

Yeah apistogrammas are good tankmates for discus, they require the same acidic, soft and warm water, many are also calm eaters


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## tikbalang (Mar 16, 2004)

how about some archocentrus, they will love that cave too. most of them do adopt to the discus param, so i dont think there will be a problem.

well they might be aggressive during breeding time.


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## Blade (Jul 27, 2004)

tikbalang said:


> how about some archocentrus, they will love that cave too. most of them do adopt to the discus param, so i dont think there will be a problem.
> 
> well they might be aggressive during breeding time.


That and he would soon have more than he could possibly get rid of. I've had Convicts once and never will again.

For some reason when I look at his tank I picture these; Apistogramma agassizi RedTail


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## tikbalang (Mar 16, 2004)

hhhhmmmm i haven't had a problem with tiger convicts before. even if they breed. probably some maintenance and disposal issue when comes to the frys, but very relaxing. but agazzizi and cacatoides would be nice there.

now i'm planning a.septem instead of convicts. with some low lights plants. hope i get a happy family there.


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## magicmagni (Nov 7, 2003)

Honestly not too familiar with all the dwarfs out there so I appreciate the pic. I do have a pair of Rams that I was planning on putting in the tank. I like the fish that is pictured above too though. Do they have the same temperament as the Rams? I may have to look into those

So far the fish list will be a school of 8-10 Rummynose tetras and maybe a similar sized school of Cardinals too or a 6-8 fish school of Marble hatchets. Cleaning crew will most likely be around 10 oto's, the 1Bushynose pleco and 10 or so large Amano shrimps. I also want a small school of cories, but my dealer showed me a fish I may get instead. He called it a flagtail porthole catfish. It looked very interesting. Probably get 4 of those or 6 cories.

The key for me though is just to try and limit the amount of species. I am really trying to avoid a "fish circus" I want to keep the focus on the Discus and their environment, although it's so temping to get all these cool new fish.


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## magicmagni (Nov 7, 2003)

Heres some pics of the new Discus. I only have 2 right now because I don't want to overwhelm the biofilter. I also Picked up a treo (1 male 2 females) of Apistograma pandurini and a pair of Apistograma cacatuoides. Here's some pics of the Discus.


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## PeteyPob (Apr 26, 2004)

OHHHHHH I love those wilds! They'll fit right in! Good job roud: 
Pete


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## Blade (Jul 27, 2004)

magicmagni said:


> I also Picked up a treo (1 male 2 females) of Apistograma pandurini and a pair of Apistograma cacatuoides.



Excellent choices!


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## Jdinh04 (Mar 15, 2004)

Looking good there magic, can't wait to see some more discus!


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## shalu (Jan 16, 2003)

Nice wilds, are they fully grown adults? Where did you get them?


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## igotworms (Dec 1, 2004)

Great looking wilds roud: How about a full tank shot with them swimming around?


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## Blade (Jul 27, 2004)

More Pics!


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## Silent Running (Sep 13, 2004)

Beautiful tank! I'd love to see an updated full tank shot with the discus as well. That stump is just fantastic!


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## scolley (Apr 4, 2004)

That is going to be a KILLER tank! You have started on a visual theme that I've been working to get to for months, but you beat me to it! roud: 

Congrats. I LOVE the look!


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## Nolan W. (Feb 9, 2005)

Beautiful fish there, magic! As scolley said, this is going to be a killer tank!

Is the substrate RMC Pacific Lapis Lustre Sand?


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## a2ana (Feb 14, 2003)

Looks great. 
How long did you have to treat/soak the stump for?
Did you have to do anything to it prior to placing it in the tank?
roud: 
a2ana


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## GTApuffgal (Feb 7, 2005)

Full tank shot w/ Discus PLEASE!!!

Kathy


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## magicmagni (Nov 7, 2003)

Sorry no more full tank shots for now. I took a few shots of the Apistogrammas, but the Discus are starting to freek out when they see the camera so I decided to stop shooting. It's amazing how observant and interactive Discus are. Probably the smartest fish I've ever owned. I mean they know the difference when I go up to the tank with or without a camera! All the other fish could care less- or they are too dumb to care.

Anyways here is the male Apistogramma Pandurini









and the female...









And my older pair of Rams


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## magicmagni (Nov 7, 2003)

I'm glad you all like the Discus. I get all of my fish at Ocean Aquarium in SF- including the Dwarf chichlids pic'ed above. The prices were very reasonable considering the quality of care enjoyed by all of the fish there and the knowledgeable consultation you receive when shopping. All the fish I've purchased from there always eat the same day I put them in are I've yet to loose a single one. I think this is mainly due to the fact that the PH in my tanks and his tanks are almost the same, but a lot of it has to do with the fact that the fish are all well fed quality foods and kept in a natural planted tank when you buy then. I'm always impressed when I go in that place. 

Right now the Discus are 5-6" in size so they are probably getting close to full grown although I know some can get as large as 7-8"...and the way they are eating they may grow that big. They are getting fed 2-3 times a day. They go crazy for Live California Black Worms, but are also taking frozen foods in the morning when they are really hungry. I have two feeding cones- one for each fish, but one of them (the slightly larger one) likes to hoard both of them and chases the other away until he has his full, but this usually only happens with the CBW. I suppose that when I get more fish the aggression level will not be as bad. I currently have my eye on some Lake Tefe greens, but they are still in quarantine so it will be a while until they are ready to be put in my tank.

The substrate is a mix of Flourite/ eco-complete in the back and play sand in the front. Unfortunately I can't remember what brand it was. I did look at the RMC stuff, but It seemed a little too fine so I decided to use this other brand of play sand instead. It was purchased at the Home Depot, but I would recommend that anyone interested in getting sand to evaluate it for yourself since the same brand named product varies from Region to Region as I have found that it is quarried locally and not shipped from one central location.

As far as the plants go- they are growing OK. No major algae issues so that is good. The moss I put in the tank has been dying off, but now is starting to grow back in. The crypts all melted, but I know better now to touch them. I'm sure they'll be coming back strong in a month or so if I just leave them alone. The Anubis are getting a little bit of yellow growth in the leaves, but was probably because I was using carbon in the filter while the tank was cycling. New growth seems healthier since the carbon was removed. The sag is spreading and the chain sword is getting nice and thick and sending out all kinds of runners as well.

To prep the wood for the tank it was first blasted with a stream of water to get any dirt and debris out of it and then soaked in a large garbage can. I sterilized it with Hydrogen peroxide and then rinsed it with hot water. I would have liked to boil it, but there was just no way. It still adds tannins to the water which are more noticeable toward the end of the week, but then when I do my 50% water change it clears right up. It may always do this, but it actually makes for a more natural environment for the fish which tend to come from this type of water so I'm fine with that.

Bye ;-)


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## Fat Guy (Nov 19, 2003)

so cool. well done with the wood.


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## magicmagni (Nov 7, 2003)

Sorry to keep you all hanging. I've been having some issues with my camera, but got it sorted out so here are some more pics of the tank.


Here's an over view of the tank. I made a few changes. Went ahead and put some Java fern on the stump since the African Bolbitus wasn't growing so well. I also put some moss on the top of the stump as well. I'm hoping to get it to cover the whole top and go over the sides. Went ahead and took out the Crypts and replaced them with more sag. They all melted and I knew they'd come back, but I was finding that when the discus went in that area they got much darker then normal and didn't look as colorful. With the brighter green sag the Discus look much better. This area just need to fill in more I think. Speaking of filling in the chain sword on the right has got quite thick. I'm currently letting it grow its way up the "hill" to meet and blend into the Sag.









Here's the large wild I just picked up. He's almost 8" and needless to say he calls the shots. Beside him is another wild I added as well. He's starting to show some nice colors and is one of my favorites. Unfortunately he is usually the one everyone else picks on so he doesn't show these nice colors all the time.
















And a pic of the male Ap. cacatuoides. A great fish BTW. No problems at all with the Discus so far unlike the Ap. Pandurini, which had to go. They started breeding and the females especially were very aggressively defending their eggs. After killing a rummynose and then chasing the discus away they had to go. It was actually quite a sight though seeing this little 1"fish go after these large discus, but the discus only took so much of that until they started chasing them back! That little fish had heart!


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## bharada (Mar 5, 2004)

Love the tank. The stump is going to look perfect once the moss/fern grows in to hide the top.

If you don't mind me asking, what does an adult wild go for at Ocean? Seeing your's and Sha's discus tanks is making me contemplate a conversion of occupants for my 125. Now if there was a strain of discus that would eat guppies I would be in heaven!! :icon_lol:


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## shalu (Jan 16, 2003)

bharada said:


> If you don't mind me asking, what does an adult wild go for at Ocean?


so those are from Ocean. I will pay more attention to the discus there next time I go.


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## Silent Running (Sep 13, 2004)

WOW! That is really looking amazing!

I'm going to be in the Bay Area (primarily San Jose) this summer sometime, where is "Ocean"?


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## bharada (Mar 5, 2004)

Ocean Aquarium
120 Cedar Street
San Francisco, CA 94109


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## Silent Running (Sep 13, 2004)

Thanks Bill, I'll have to find something in the area to appeal to the wife and then "just stumble upon" Ocean Aquarium . "Isn't this great honey? Wow, look an aquarium store, mind if we pop in there for a minute?"   :icon_twis


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## bharada (Mar 5, 2004)

Japan Town is about 4 blocks west and Union Square is about 8 blocks east...although it's not a particularly scenic walk from Ocean Aquarium to Union Square.


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## GTApuffgal (Feb 7, 2005)

Absolutely lovely - those Discus are stunning!!!


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## Silent Running (Sep 13, 2004)

bharada said:


> Japan Town is about 4 blocks west and Union Square is about 8 blocks east...although it's not a particularly scenic walk from Ocean Aquarium to Union Square.


In my best Montgomery Burns.... Exxxxcellent....


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## Ibn (Nov 19, 2003)

Beautiful new additions to the tank, Jeff. Looking forward to see it fill in.


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## magicmagni (Nov 7, 2003)

Yeah I can't wait for it to fill in either. It's taking a little longer then I wanted to. I was having a problem with the Anubis leaves turning yellow and new growth kinda small -nothing was growing well. I started messing with the micros thinking that the UV sterilizer was frying them, but then I tested the water and it seemed that I let the macros get too low :icon_redf I was actually expecting the bioload to provide more Nitrate then it was. Had a bit of hair algae show its ugly head as well as some BGA, but added some Amanos yesterday and almost all the hair algae is gone. The BGA is very minimal and in my experience has disappeared on it's own when the ferts are in check so I'm gonna wait it out. Currently dosing the macros much more often then I did on my 4.7wpg higher light 55gallon, but seems to be working out on this lower WPG tank. The tank consumes about 5ppm of Nitrate and almost 1 ppm phosphate every 4 days so it's just a matter of staying on top of it until the bio load kicks in.


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## tiptoptank (Mar 1, 2005)

I had the same problem with the anubus. I found that pottasium and iron also brought the green back. They grow like snails but wither away faster then any other plant I have had, it sucks


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## magicmagni (Nov 7, 2003)

Yeah it's kinda a bummer especially since I had them growing so nice in my old tank. I was actually thinking of upping the K after my water change, but now that I think of it I'm adding small amount of Kno3 twice a week to maintain the nitrate levels so I'm getting more K right there. I think I'll just keep things consistant for a few weeks and see what I get and then go from there.


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## tiptoptank (Mar 1, 2005)

I wouldn't rely on you pottasium From Kno3. It's a binded to nitrate. Try some potasium by florish. I use Florish trace and potasium. The rest such as Kno3 and phosphate I dose PMDD.


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## magicmagni (Nov 7, 2003)

Thanks for the reply tiptoptank!

Never heard of that before, but I guess anything is possible. Think about it though. If the plants couldn't get the K from KN03 then how would they get the No3 from Kno3? I don't pretend to understand the chemistry behind it, but from experience I know it works, hence why I quite using flourish K and replaced it with Pot sulfate and Pot nitrate some time back. Some would argure I don't even need the pot sulfate, but I'm set in my ways now.

The plant growth has actually been better since adding phosphate and Kn03 more regularly at this point, but it's still kinda early to tell. We'll see.


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## shalu (Jan 16, 2003)

of course K from KNO3 is available, the question is , is it enough? If you have substantial boiload, you will be doing less KNO3 then usual to prevent NO3 buildup. This leads to K deficiency. Actually I don't dose KNO3 at all, I don't need any extra NO3, just dose K2SO4.


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## tiptoptank (Mar 1, 2005)

I have yet to see any bad affects on plants or fish by over doseing K. I have been adding 15ml were 10ML is suggested and nothing but good things have happened. K has been a great help keeping algea away during my last fight with ich. 88degrees with cupermine (half dose) for 20 days, and no damage to plants at all. Just alittle easy to wipe glass algea.


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## John P. (Apr 10, 2004)

Looking good! I hadn't checked your progress since my early post on APC.


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## magicmagni (Nov 7, 2003)

Hello  

It's been a while. I've been a little busy working on a project as well as fighting Blue-Green Algae. The tank always had some on the moss, but it was taking over week by week. Thanks to Tom Barr's advice I totally kicked it: Total blackout for 3 days. I wasn't sure what I was going to find on the final day, but I was pleasantly surprised to find an algae free tank. Well almost. All the BGA was gone, but there was still a little bit of Black Brush Algae, but was able to kick that out by raising the Co2 levels around 35-40ppm and trimming the effected plants. The thread algae is completely gone too and I'm beginning to ramp up on the Iron and trace dosages again- see it I can't redden up the L. Aromatica

Here's the eye candy. Enjoy!

I let the sag grow all the way to the lower right foreground into the place of the dwarf chain sword and repositioned a few rocks. I've added metal screen onto the stump with moss planted in it. It should be covered in moss in a few months I hope.









Here's from a different angle


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## Jdinh04 (Mar 15, 2004)

Looks good, I love the tank so far. I'm confused about how you wanted your foreground, but are you going to add anything esle or let the dwarf saggitaria spread runners throughout the whole foreground?


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## magicmagni (Nov 7, 2003)

Jdinh04 said:


> Looks good, I love the tank so far. I'm confused about how you wanted your foreground, but are you going to add anything esle or let the dwarf saggitaria spread runners throughout the whole foreground?



Well,

The green thumb in me wants to let the sand part of the foreground fill in with a contrasting plant like the dwarf chain sword, but I know the Discus need open substrate to pick up bits of food, so I'll probably go ahead try to maintain the current borders in the substrate.


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## cprroy73 (Nov 10, 2004)

This is one of those tanks that I really enjoy looking at. It very natural and erie looking. The large stump with the anubias and moss help that along.
roud:


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## scolley (Apr 4, 2004)

magicmagni - looking outstanding! Matured really, really nicely!

BTW - what are the plants covering the top of the stump? Hard to tell. Java Ferns?


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## magicmagni (Nov 7, 2003)

Yes those are Java Ferns and some Java moss. There is also some floating plants in that corner to provide some shade since these plants are so close to the lights.


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## Dood Lee (Jan 14, 2005)

I'm really impressed with your tank. Any updates?


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## magicmagni (Nov 7, 2003)

Well I'd like to get some updated pictures up soon, but I don't have any yet. Since my last update the Co2 went to heck and my tank got nailed with BBA. It really hurt the Anubis plants. I had to cut off quite a few of the leaves that were affected, but they have always grown at a good rate so they are filling back in nicely. After getting the Co2 dialed back in and with the addition of SAE's it is totally eradicated. The moss is really looking nice and I'm very pleased with the growth; however the Dwarf sag was getting unmanageable. It looked nice in the pics, but it was a lot of work to constantly trim and thin out and I noticed a tendency for it wanting to become more of a background plant then a foreground plant and vica-versa so I decided to remove it all and go back to the crypts which I tried in the beginning, but this time doing much better with a matured substrate.

I have also added more light to the tank to bump it up over 2WPG. One of the problems with such a wide tank was getting it lit evenly. I'm now running a 2X65watt light in the back and the 4X65watt light in the middle/front- so I'm running a total 390watts of light, bringing the tank to a max of 3.2 WPG. Was experimenting for a while with different color temp bulbs and timing options for each bank of light, but finally settled on something. Currently running the lighting something like this:

8:15am the rear 2X65 6700K fixture goes on. (1 WPG)
9:30am the middle 2X65 10,000K goes on. (2 WPG)
12:30pm the front 2X65 8,000K goes on. (3WPG)
6:00 pm the front 2X65 8,000K goes off. (2WPG)
8:00 pm the middle 2X65 10,000K goes off. (1wpg)
9:15 pm the rear 2X65 goes off.

Plant growth is much better with the extra kick of light in the afternoon. People say that you can grow anything at 2wpg, myself being one of them, but I must say that at 3wpg it's a little easier and giving that extra wpg boost in the afternoon really kicks the plants into pearling action so I'm really pleased with the results. 

Looking at the tank now and at these pics I can say the tank has changed a bit. This can mostly be blamed on the nice assortment of plants received at the last SFBAAPS open house. Picked up some narrow leaf Java Fern, some kind of e. tenellus like plant, but is unlike the other e.tenellus plant I have, which turned red under the high light, this type stays green. Also picked up what I believe to be Echinodorus angustifolius. It sort of looks like Vallisneria, but only grows about 12" tall and has narrower leaves. Maybe later I can snap some updated pics. I can never seem to get good pics of the tank during the day because of all the glare from the windows.

Jeff


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## shalu (Jan 16, 2003)

magicmagni said:


> some kind of e. tenellus like plant, but is unlike the other e.tenellus plant I have, which turned red under the high light, this type stays green.


It could be the ranalisma rostrata that I brought.


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## donaldbyrd (Jun 8, 2005)

any updated pics?


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## magicmagni (Nov 7, 2003)

shalu said:


> It could be the ranalisma rostrata that I brought.


Oh, Ok you brought those. All I remember was all these bags of plants being tossed around, us newbies going through them like piranhas on fresh meat LOL. A lot of oooo what is that and I'll take some and pass me that one 

Googling the name you gave I see several pics of it and yes this is indeed the plant I have. Thanks for bringing them by the way. I mixed them up with the the red tennelus that I have thinking it was the same plant grown under different conditions, but it never got red like the tennelus :icon_redf so it will be an interesting foreground.


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## Marc (Oct 13, 2004)

Jeff tank is looking great! One question- how did you beat the thread algae?
I'm having a bit of a problem with it right now. 

Marc


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## magicmagni (Nov 7, 2003)

Well my ISP is pissing me off because they changed the server and I can't FTP the pics to to my page, but I've found an alternative place to host these so lets see if this works.

Here's a full front shot of the tank. Notice the emersed growth on top of the stump. The mesh on the left side is my effort to get the moss growing there. Tank is open top now BTW. This was mainly to keep it cooled down.










Here's a closeup of one of the Discus. I really like the new lighting. The AGA 8000K's really bring out the colors without that annoying red tint of the 9325's I was using prior. That combined with 10000K's made for a nice effect!










Well that's it for now.


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## Silent Running (Sep 13, 2004)

Those discus are stunning! The tank looks fantastic!


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## donaldbyrd (Jun 8, 2005)

tank and fish are looking great


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## yznj99 (Nov 1, 2004)

Are these wild discus? I think they are much better than the tank bred strains


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## shalu (Jan 16, 2003)

magicmagni said:


> I really like the new lighting. The AGA 8000K's really bring out the colors without that annoying red tint of the 9325's I was using prior.


That's interesting, Jeff, because Eric Leung said the AGA 8000K looked just like the GE9325K on SFBAAPS list.


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## Steven_Chong (Sep 14, 2004)

what's the plant doing the emersed transition? The tank is looking AWESOME. BTW-- what happened to the light colored foreground? I thought you were going to keep it for the discus to feed on?


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## magicmagni (Nov 7, 2003)

Yes they are wilds bought locally here in the bay area. Actually from Ocean Aquarium in SF. He still has quite a few, but they don't look nearly as colorfull in his store, which I think is mainly because of his economy lighting.

Well Eric my initual impression when I turned on the 8000K's were that they weren't as pink. Looking at the bulb itself now it is probably more purple than pink. Like the 9325K though you wouldn't want to use these bulbs exclusively, but I find that it looks best with the corralife 10,000K's as it tends to "warm" it up a bit.

The plant growing emersed is plain old water sprite. I had a piece of it about the size of my fist floating around in the tank and it actually rooted into the moss growing on top of the stump and it just started growing there. I decided I liked it and have left it. As far as the foreground, well my greenthumb got the best of me. It started when I was at Aquaforest aquarium and bought a bag of ADA Amazonia for my tank in an effort to "enrich" the plain sand substrate. I capped the sand with it and really liked the darker color. Contrary to what I had though originally, the fish looked better in contrast to the darker substrate. Then I had all these plants from the SBAAPS that I had to do something with and so I decided to plant the foreground. The fish have learned to exclusivly feed from the cones so they rarely go to the bottom for food now. The small schooling fish and the Dianema catfish take care of what goes to the bottom.


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## Steven_Chong (Sep 14, 2004)

Oh cool that's what the cones are for! sorry me is stupid . . . haha

well, that must make it a lot easier for you then.  

The water sprite looks great, and I actually think that particular plant looks nicer in emersed form. That is definitely something I could see water sprite doing. That plant is so adaptable, planted, floating, or attach to wood, whatever. What a lucky accident for you! :icon_bigg


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## Silent Running (Sep 13, 2004)

Again - beautiful! What type of wild discus are they considered?


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## magicmagni (Nov 7, 2003)

Thought I'd check in on the journal. No new pics as of now, but wanted to share with you all a story about the 3 little cardinal tetras:

I was at my LFS. Brought in a few Cherries to trade in for some fish food or whatever. Thought it would be nice to get a few cardinals to beef up my school of fish. I had good faith in the LFS that these fish had been QT'ed and where healthy. I had been getting fish from there for a good year without ever a single problem so naturally I didn't QT and put the fish in my tank......

Two days later. I'm feeding the fish when I notice one of the Discus acting strange. Upon closer examination I see him holding one of his fins against his side. Now I'm noticing white spots on some of the cardinals. Ick!! I immediately start raising the temp and add some Melafix/ Prima fix. Will these guys make it?

Later in the week I check in with the LFS. I take a look at his tank and sure enough every fish in there has ick and the discus in there are showing the same symtoms as mine. It's now confirmed the source of my misery.

Back at home I check up on everyone and see that the ick has cleared, but the Discus have a white fungus growing on them as they desperately try to rub it off there now jet black bodies. It's progressively getting worse day by day despite the daily additions of medication and I can tell this is not looking good. All this from a few little fish I keep thinking.

Finally I wise up and decide to try another medication. Another member turned me on to a product made by jungle labs called Fungus clear. Now on day 5 of the treatment and the fish are totally looking better. Almost all clear. They have their hunger back and best of all their color. The meds make the water green, but the impact is minimal on the plants. As a matter of fact they are still growing. It has also been tolerated by most of the shrimps. I did loose a couple cherries. 

Lesson learned... the hard way. QT your fish because you just never know.


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## shuks (Jul 10, 2005)

This is my faverot tank in this whole forum. I love the way the plants complement the hardscape.


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## dss2004 (Apr 1, 2005)

I agree! My favorite tank here. Unbelievable realism!! I love the plants growing out of the top. 

The moss looks phenomonal.


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## magicmagni (Nov 7, 2003)

Favorite tank?? :icon_redf 

Thanks guys!

Well, like to post some updated pics, but the water is all green from the meds and the plants are all a little stressed. The Discus are looking much better ,but not all the way there yet. I'm probably gonna have to treat the tank for a couple more weeks and then a few more weeks for the plants to re-coupe from the treatment. I'm not complaining though. It could have been a lot worse.


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## magicmagni (Nov 7, 2003)

Some updated pics...

Evening shot with the lights going down.










Another shot closer up










The tank is running great. The fish have made a miraculous recovery from the disease. The plants tolerated the medications and 85degree+ temps really quite better then I ever expected. Other then the whole bout with disease the tank has been running smoothly. I haven't tested for months now and just add ferts and focus on the scaping and enjoying the tank.

As far a scaping I tried to use more Anubis plants along the lines of the driftwood. I think I like the look better. I also have let the narrow leaf java fern grow on the top of the stump and I took most of the emersed watersprite out of the tank so that I could put the tops back on to help hold in some of the heat for the winter, although it has been unseasonably warm for this time of the year. The foreground is really filling in. It is a unique mix of Echinodorus tennelus "red leaf" and ranalisma rostrata. I have to pick out the moss from it every few weeks to keep it from overtaking the foreground, but it's not that bad.


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## Urkevitz (Jan 12, 2004)

The scape and fish look awesome. Seems perfect to me.


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## TheOtherGeoff (Feb 11, 2003)

very cool. do you by chance have an large images as your tank?? i would love to use one for my desktop.


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## shuks (Jul 10, 2005)

your talent for aquascaping amazes me!!! like I said beore, this is my faverot tank.. Keep the pics a commin...


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## turtlehead (May 31, 2005)

This scape is perfect for discus, they looks healthy. Congrats on your sucess with this tank.


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## magicmagni (Nov 7, 2003)

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Thanks for all the comments. Well while in my mind it's not perfect it is getting closer and closer to what I envisioned as the tank matures. 

I do have some larger pics of the tank if you want them for your desktop Geoff, but the thing is that my photography skills are not that good and the shots were out of focus. It is even more evident on the larger pic, but if you or anyone else still wants one PM me and I can e-mail it to you. I think it's about 500Kb.

Believe me Shuks I have as much aquascaping talent as the next guy maybe less. I came from fish only background. My aquascape was blue gravel with the "no Fishing sign" in the foreground, plastic plants in the background, a mid-ground consisting of an array of bubbling pirate ships and skeletons- oh yeah and the scuba man, bobbing from the bottom to the surface. LOL

The discus really thrive in planted tanks as long as you have a large tank and don't overstock and give them open areas to swim. I don't know why more people don't display their Discus in a planted tank. Breeding is one thing, but why not enhance the beauty of such a fish in a more natural looking environment?


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## Kyle (Jul 19, 2005)

Just thought I'd post to say that this tank is truly inspiring! Someday I hope to have a tank much like it. If only I could have a tank big enough for discus


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## Georgiadawgger (Apr 23, 2004)

Very nice!! I'm hoping I can get my new fish close to the size of yours!! What do you feed yours?


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## jamesbrokman10 (Nov 24, 2005)

Wow i hope my 300 gallon turns out at least half as nice as that, i would be very happy, keep posting some pics, it looks awesome roud:


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## magicmagni (Nov 7, 2003)

Thanks everyone for the positive support. I have actually made a few changes though. Too soon to tell if I like it better or not. Still deciding. I have decided to cut the moss back quite a bit and show more of that log. I have also added a hint of red to the tank as a highlight. I'll have to get some pics when I get my digital camera back.



Georgiadawgger said:


> Very nice!! I'm hoping I can get my new fish close to the size of yours!! What do you feed yours?


Well I didn't really grow them out. They were already pretty big when I got them, but since then they have grown somewhat. They are getting fed Hikari Frozen Bloodworms for breakfast and lunch, mixed in with live brine shrimp sometimes. For Dinner they get their favorite California Black worms. The worms are great food. Very high in protein from what I understand. I have seen it totally transform my German Blue Rams. After a week of eating the worms that fish has colored up beyond belief. When I bought it, it had very bland colors and was quite thin. I was feeding it quality dry food (Spectrum) for months. After one week of the worms that fish is much more colorful and had more bulk. The transformation was amazing. Wish I took pics. I Swear you would not think that it was the same fish. I really think that it was those worms, a very good food source.


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## Georgiadawgger (Apr 23, 2004)

magicmagni said:


> Thanks everyone for the positive support. I have actually made a few changes though. Too soon to tell if I like it better or not. Still deciding. I have decided to cut the moss back quite a bit and show more of that log. I have also added a hint of red to the tank as a highlight. I'll have to get some pics when I get my digital camera back.
> 
> 
> 
> Well I didn't really grow them out. They were already pretty big when I got them, but since then they have grown somewhat. They are getting fed Hikari Frozen Bloodworms for breakfast and lunch, mixed in with live brine shrimp sometimes. For Dinner they get their favorite California Black worms. The worms are great food. Very high in protein from what I understand. I have seen it totally transform my German Blue Rams. After a week of eating the worms that fish has colored up beyond belief. When I bought it, it had very bland colors and was quite thin. I was feeding it quality dry food (Spectrum) for months. After one week of the worms that fish is much more colorful and had more bulk. The transformation was amazing. Wish I took pics. I Swear you would not think that it was the same fish. I really think that it was those worms, a very good food source.



My only concern over the black worms is the supposed parasite they carry that can in-turn affect the discus...I've heard they're great food...but I hear about that frequently...


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## George (Sep 11, 2004)

I applaud every aspect of this tank; the plant life, fish and aquascaping. 

It is very nice to see a layout planned for the long-term. 

Your Discus look absolutely wonderful. roud:


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## SnyperP (Dec 31, 2004)

The only thing I'm sad about, is not actually being able to see that beautiful piece of wood!


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## A Hill (Jul 25, 2005)

the tank is amazing! when i go "hiking" ill have to keep an eye out for nice stumps like that..... truely amazing love the stup and discus.... roud: roud: roud: 

Fn


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## magicmagni (Nov 7, 2003)

Wow, thanks everyone. I worked really hard at it. For those that like to see more of the stump I think they will like upcoming pics... 

Georgiadawgger: I feed my fish CBW every day and have never had a problem. I think that they are a much cleaner food than say tublifex worms. The only drawback is that they require very clean water or else they die. Keeping them in the fridge in a ventilated dish with about a 1/8 to 1/2 inch of water is the best way. Changing the water everyday is required. I think people might run into parasite problems when feed worms that have not been cared for properly.

http://aquaticfoods.com/Blackworms.html


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## jamesbrokman10 (Nov 24, 2005)

where did you get the stump at? and also can you get more?


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## Don135 (Dec 6, 2005)

Magicmagni - Beautiful, just georgeous. I don' t know what else to say that hasn't already been said.

Your tank and journal are what pushed me over the fence and provided the inspiration to begin the set up for a 135g planted adult discus tank. Thank you for sharing it with us.

Don


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## magicmagni (Nov 7, 2003)

jamesbrokman10 said:


> where did you get the stump at? and also can you get more?



I have the other half of the stump, but it is very valuable to me. Good to have stuff like that on hand, but if you are interrested perhaps we can work something out. PM me


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## magicmagni (Nov 7, 2003)

Don135 said:


> Magicmagni - Beautiful, just georgeous. I don' t know what else to say that hasn't already been said.
> 
> Your tank and journal are what pushed me over the fence and provided the inspiration to begin the set up for a 135g planted adult discus tank. Thank you for sharing it with us.
> 
> Don



Right on!!:thumbsup:


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## magicmagni (Nov 7, 2003)

Here are some updated pics of the tank. I've changed the look a bit so more of the stump is visible since a few folks brought that up. I also added a new plant to the tank to replace the Cyperus helferi on the left side. Didn't really want to, but for some reason it was not growing well in that spot. It was just straggly and weak looking compared to the grouping on the right side. I have a lot of rocks in that spot that help hold up the "hill" and I'm thinking that the substrate it just not deep enough there for it so we'll see how this new stem plant does.

So here are some more pics:

Front









A rare treat. Bushy nose Pleco comes out to say hello. 














Amano shrimp cleaning plants


Ram Cichlid hanging out in his favorite spot














I never get tired of looking at these fish. Looks like his face was painted.

Polygunum sp. (Amano plant)


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## A Hill (Jul 25, 2005)

awsome new pics i really like ur bushy nose pleco its black... ive never seen a black one before i have seen albino all the way to darkish brown but never black! im amazed! its probably just me... 

you tank is looking too natural! you sure your taking pics of a fish tank there?:eek5: 

fish newb


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## turtlehead (May 31, 2005)

Time to enter some contest magic. One of my favorite tanks I've seen.


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## Betowess (Dec 9, 2004)

Wonderful design and beautiful fish! Also thanks for sharing the diet and CA blackworm link. Also, how long did you soak the stump? What kind of wood was it too. Thanks, bob


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## aanderson09 (Aug 7, 2005)

I agree, it's time you enter a contest, one of the greatest tanks I've seen. Just do a little trimming and pruning then wait for your fish to become vain and start showing off, then click take a picture and win a contest :thumbsup: easy


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## magicmagni (Nov 7, 2003)

aanderson09 said:


> I agree, it's time you enter a contest, one of the greatest tanks I've seen. Just do a little trimming and pruning then wait for your fish to become vain and start showing off, then click take a picture and win a contest :thumbsup: easy


Yeah just like that! HA HA. Well I actually entered it into that contest on APC (just made it in), but I was so busy at the time that I really didn't get the best picts I could have. We'll see maybe next year's AGA contest. Was gonna try this year, but the tank wasn't ready and honestly I probably could have made it, but I didn't want to stress over deadlines and stuff because then it's no fun anymore.

Hey Fish Newb: White bushy nose? Wow don't think I've seen one of those! This guy was actually a purchase at the Local Petco for $5 a few years back. When I was setting up the tank he must have stowed away on one of the driftwood pieces. What's amazing is that the wood that he was on was out of the water for several hours and I had no idea. After setting up the tank I see this thing swimming around. Surprised the heck out of me then I realized that it was this fish.


Thanks Turtlehead BTW that little nano tank you got going is looking really good too. That HC growth is amazing.

Betowess: Everyone ask's me this. I was so lucky to find this. I believe it to be an oak stump.

We had to cut it with a saw-all to make it fit in the tank...









The other half in the yard still for furture projects hmmm..


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## Curare (Sep 15, 2004)

GRRR!!!!!

YOU STOLE MY IDEA!!!

I found a really nice gnarled stump for my 55 gal, and I was going to do what you've done, but now it's been done.


I feel so, erm. Non-trailblazerish...


But I have to say, if my tank looks anything like yours I will be a truly satisfied man.


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## bastalker (Dec 8, 2004)

I have to say that this tank is one of the most inspirational tanks I have seen in a long time!! There is not one thing about the tank I dont like..roud: 

How about goin over to Simplydiscus an drop yer picture on em!!:wink:


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## TheOtherGeoff (Feb 11, 2003)

he's over on simply...dunno if he has pictures up but i have seen him over there.


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## magicmagni (Nov 7, 2003)

Thanks for digging up this thread. Yeah I should. Actually someone posted a pic of my tank over there along with Sha's tank and some others who have done discus tanks with plants.

Had a heck of weekend. I've been having a lot of problems with my Eheim. It looses its prime more and more lately. Then it started leaking where the hose connects to it. I finally broke down and decided to re plumb everything. 

Took opportunity to plumb in a valve to assist in filling/ emptying the tank and upgrade the junky magnum outlet with a Eheim spray-bar. Wow what a task. At first I tried to get all fancy and run both my magnum 350 and the Eheim off of one inlet- less pipes, clean it up a bit I figure, should work great--WRONG! The magnum was starving the Eheim of water so I decided to run two separate inlets on the left side hidden behind the stump. Couldn't figure a better way to do it and it had already been a day of no filtration and it didn't want to push my luck so I went with it.

Overall I am happy with the outcome. So I have the 2 inlets hidden behind the stump and I have one spray-bar on the left side and another on the right side soon- Having a hard time finding a dealer around here that sells the install kits for Eheim. I guess I'll have to get from Eheim directly? I was able to reroute the inlet hose for the Eheim so as to avoid the small loop that was there before and so far that Eheim is filtering better then ever and no leaks so that's good.


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## rlong (Jul 8, 2006)

WOW! Love that tank!
Any more recent pictures?


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## thiagotyska (Oct 2, 2006)

WOW!!!
Great tank!
Great wood!!!
Great discus!!!!!
Man!
Congrats!
Only a question, is it just a wood piece or the whole tree eh? :hihi: :hihi: :hihi: :hihi: :hihi: :hihi: 
Congrats again!
See ya!


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## the_noobinator (Jun 10, 2006)

how did i not see this before? amazing!


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## kingborris (Feb 25, 2004)

Beautiful!

Could you relink the early pics of the wilds as they arent showing up for me? They look like good quality fish from the shots i can see.


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## organic sideburns (Dec 22, 2005)

Nice bump!

This is my top 3 fav tanks!

I followed it from the beggining I think.


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## magicmagni (Nov 7, 2003)

Hi everyone!

Kingborris: I don't have all the pics anymore, but here are some of the fish that I could dig up.

Fish are doing generally well. This is my first experience with this type of fish. They are a bit labor intensive and quite sensitive of water quality. I find that they are very susceptible to disease too. Definatley a bit more work then other fish I've had. They are doing well now though and regularily spawn although the other fish eat the fry when they reach the free swimming stage. It's still fun to watch to that point though I would like to give them a chance at survival someday when I have more time and space for another tank.


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## TheOtherGeoff (Feb 11, 2003)

awesoem pictures man. could you send me a full res of that middle picture? i need a new background for my desktop. 

glad to hear they are still spawning, shame none are living though. i am excited because the LFS i used to work at got in some wild blues. i cant wait til they come off qt. im still tempted to trade in my domestics and get even more wilds but i dont knwo if i can do that to them. anyway, how about a whole tank shot? i've always enjoyed this one. prolley one of my favorites on the board


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## kingborris (Feb 25, 2004)

very nice. gotta agree with Geoff, the middle pic is excellent, and a very nice fish too. Wild greens often get a bit elongated, but that one looks nice and round. 

Ive been tempted by some blues recently too, as one of the dealers here in the UK has some stunning fish cuaght by Heiko Bleher himself. i am still undecided. :/


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## magicmagni (Nov 7, 2003)

I'm sorry don't have the middle pic any bigger then that anymore. This is was taken a while ago.

Keep your eyes peeled onto the AGA contest website. There will be some updated photos on there of the whole tank. I think they will post all the entries by next week after the convention in San Fran this weekend.

I like the wilds. They go with the planted tanks really well.

My favorite are the Lake Tefe fish.


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## TheOtherGeoff (Feb 11, 2003)

nov 11 is when they post it up on the site. i keep checking it but for get its the 11th. haha. i will definitly be waiting now.


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## Architect1 (Feb 19, 2006)

Wow Love the tank pics, beautiful wilds to. Amazing tanks and fish hope to see more.

Do you know what happend to simply? i can't get on the site anymore. It looks like its done.


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## kingborris (Feb 25, 2004)

Architect1 said:


> Do you know what happend to simply? i can't get on the site anymore. It looks like its done.


Got hacked apparently. They are now having a software update to sort it all out... or so i've heard.


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## magicmagni (Nov 7, 2003)

They posted the results of the AGA contest.

Here's a link to my tank..

2006 AGA Aquascaping Contest


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

update please...


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## khanzer22 (Jan 14, 2008)

Hi magic... Just want to know what type of canister filter/s are you using for your planted discus tank? I'm planning to setup a 120gal planted discus tank and it's still in working progress ...


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## lekyiscool (May 27, 2008)

the pictures arent showing =(
i wanna see this tank its sounds amazing


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## Markone (Mar 20, 2008)

No pictures can be seen, sad!

Regards,
Mark.


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## digthemlows (Dec 17, 2007)

check the link to the Contest and there's pics there.


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

magicmagni said:


> Hi!
> 
> I was so fortunate to find this stump. I found it "hiking." Best part of the deal was that it was free!!
> 
> ...


Glad you did not buy itroud: 
A hunt for wood is better than buying it.

Regards, 
Tom Barr


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

thats some nice anubias. and the discus look good too. what kind are they (i dont keep discus, so i have no clue)?


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