# Y0uH0's 100 Gal <warning 56K>



## Y0uH0 (Dec 19, 2005)

This is a rough sketch of the new intended layout. I have not yet decided on what type of Echinodorous species to get yet as such i have left the name of the plants simply as Echinodorous.I will also be placing some branches tied with christmas moss within the pellia and riccia carpet. On top of that i will also place some christmas moss covered rocks between the dao noi and HC carpet to serve as a seperator between the 2 plant species.









The main idea of this set up is to allow the tank to be viewed from 2 sides,namely from the front and from the right side. I hope that i would be able to create an aquascape that slopes down in height from the left to the right.


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## sNApple (Nov 6, 2005)

post some closer pics


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## fresh_lynny (Mar 9, 2006)

we will be watching...I have a good feeling!


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## Y0uH0 (Dec 19, 2005)

sNApple said:


> post some closer pics


closer pics as in the old layout or the new? the old one is in a bad shape now,only 2days away from being torn down. It is currently suffering from a snail and algae outbreak but no harm letting you guys take a look at it,sorry for the poor photo quality..here goes nothing...

My Bolbitis badly overcomed with BBA









A picture of the old scape. The small dots you see in the picture are actually algae covering the glass. I have given up trying to battle them.









closer pics of the new set up will be coming in within the next few days,i do hope everything will go smoothly. It will be a waste if all the effort and money spent just goes down the drain.My apologies if the pictures do not turn out that well. The best camera i have at home is a *Fujifilm Finepix A340*



fresh_newbie said:


> we will be watching...I have a good feeling!


Thanx,i really appreciate that,now all i am hoping is that everything will fall into place nicely. I am not hoping to be as good as some of the others,afterall,this is my first actual journal and the most serious aquascaping project i am in. i have never really focused on issues like water parameters and lighting etc until i joined this forum so a many great thanks to everyone in this wonderful forum,i have learnt alot from all of you. now is the application stage. Wish me luck~!


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## Architect1 (Feb 19, 2006)

Beautiful tank. Nice to see it all layed out to. Its also nice to see some discus. in the tank. Nice work.


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## Y0uH0 (Dec 19, 2005)

Architect1 said:


> Beautiful tank. Nice to see it all layed out to. Its also nice to see some discus. in the tank. Nice work.


Thanx,unfortunately,this is the old layout and everything has to go. I really love my discus but their colour doesn't seem to fully appear yet. Perhaps it has something to do with the water quality or maybe because they are only about 7mths old.


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## Livebearer101 (Feb 7, 2006)

The plan looks excellent, the only word of caution i can give is that it may be hard keep the polysperma to such a small space as it grows and spreads like wildfire. Hope it goes well.


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## Betowess (Dec 9, 2004)

That is a really interesting shaped tank. We don't see the likes of that often in the all rectangle USA. Is it two feet deep? Very sweet to 'scape if it is. I look forward to seeing your work on this tank. Your old intro tank pic looked very nice too, albeit a bit soft in focus. You probably have grown swords before and know how big they can get unless one root and top trims them. Good luck with the re-launch!


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## Y0uH0 (Dec 19, 2005)

Livebearer101 said:


> The plan looks excellent, the only word of caution i can give is that it may be hard keep the polysperma to such a small space as it grows and spreads like wildfire. Hope it goes well.


Thanx for that word of caution,i will be sure to heed your advice and avoid making that area too cramped. Don't want to let it overpower the whole aquascape.



Betowess said:


> That is a really interesting shaped tank. We don't see the likes of that often in the all rectangle USA. Is it two feet deep? Very sweet to 'scape if it is. I look forward to seeing your work on this tank. Your old intro tank pic looked very nice too, albeit a bit soft in focus. You probably have grown swords before and know how big they can get unless one root and top trims them. Good luck with the re-launch!


Thanks for your nice comments,you are right,this tank is indeed interestingly shaped. It was originally an arowana tank until i started aquascaping as a hobby about 5yrs ago.The tank was bought by my parents when i was away at camp,didn't have a chance to participate in the decision making then or i would have opted for the conventional rectangular shaped tank instead. The 2 added views of the tank make it really hard to scape in that area so as usual it will be a big challenge to me. 
The tank is 1 1/2 feet deep and there were times when i really hoped that it was 2 feet deep. Nicer to see the pearling effect that way. I will try to get better focused shots of the tank as i progress along but it will be hard considering the type of camera i have. 
As for growing swords,you are right that i have had my fair share of experiences with them. They can get really huge and in no time dominate the whole scape. Their growth rates are very fast too and another point to note is how they can send their roots in all directions so uprooting them would actually mean uprooting the entire substrate as well.
Once again,thanx for the well wishes,we shall all see how things progress along the way.


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## Y0uH0 (Dec 19, 2005)

15/06/06: 
After 2 days of labouring,i have accomplished the following:
1)Catch out all the fish and shrimps that were in the tank
2)Remove all the plants and the old substrate
3)Scrape off all the algae from the glass.

I shall be working on the hardscape tomorrow and more pics will be posted then.


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## jeffboyarrdee (Aug 25, 2004)

thats a pretty BIG TANK! harscaping huh! i cant wait to do that...maybe in a couple days!


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## ianmoede (Oct 1, 2004)

Interestingly shaped tank man, keep the updates coming


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## fresh_lynny (Mar 9, 2006)

What is the plan for the new scape? Looking forward to it.


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## Y0uH0 (Dec 19, 2005)

jeffboyarrdee said:


> thats a pretty BIG TANK! harscaping huh! i cant wait to do that...maybe in a couple days!


yeah,it really is one big tank,at least to me because all the washing and clearing of the old substrate really drained the energy out of me. from the way you put it,looks like you are also working on a tank of yourself,i will be looking out for it=)



fresh_newby said:


> What is the plan for the new scape? Looking forward to it.


the plan can be found earlier up in this journal of mine but i believe there may be some changes because i am now trying to apply the golden triangle ratio to the new scape.


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## fresh_lynny (Mar 9, 2006)

fresh_newby said:


> What is the plan for the new scape? Looking forward to it.


Yeah ignore that....I saw the layout and thought it was your old layout...sorry. But as we all know our plans change when reality sets in, as I am finding out quickly. This seems to be an ever-evolving process that seems to attract perfectionisys with insatiable apetites...lol I know that is me anyway.


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## Y0uH0 (Dec 19, 2005)

fresh_newby said:


> Yeah ignore that....I saw the layout and thought it was your old layout...sorry. But as we all know our plans change when reality sets in, as I am finding out quickly. This seems to be an ever-evolving process that seems to attract perfectionisys with insatiable apetites...lol I know that is me anyway.


yeah you are right,my plans for the layout really did change a little but most of it is still about the same. Hmm,i feel that we need not neccessarily change our plans just because we are perfectionists..most of the time,i feel that t he plans were changed because the situation made us do so..like in the case of my scape which you will notice after i post some updated photos,changes were made because i was unable to obtain the plants i wanted,hence i had to make amendments to get everything right. but at times,i have to admit that we change because things aren't gdoing as well as we wanted them to be.


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## Y0uH0 (Dec 19, 2005)

Hey guys,here are some updated pics of my tank which includes the set-up process as well as pictures of the completed scape. All comments are welcomed=).

Planning stages for the driftwood arrangement
















In goes the JBL Aqua basis base fertilizer









Followed by the ADA amazonia aqua soil(notice the marker drawings on the aquarium glass? those were used to compute the golden ratio for my tank)









Rock scape has been arranged so for the next step,in goes the water till it just covers the substrate to fascilitate planting.









Shot of the tank a day after set up:









Another center shot of the tank.If you notice,the intended focus of the tank derived from the golden ratio calculation is meant to be on the red plant as shown in this picture.Not sure if i got it right though.









More pictures will come along as the water continues to clear up. I will also be posting a final plan of the tank layout in the next few days. Had to move and swap some plants because some plants i ordered did not arrive. However,i still stuck to a very large portion of the inteded plan for my tank.


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## Y0uH0 (Dec 19, 2005)

Fauna in my tank:

1 snow white discus
6 turquoise discus
6 leopard snakeskin discus
1 angel
8 glass catfish
3 chinese algae eaters
1 SAE
4 leopard corys
7 black mollies
6 zebra danios
2 freshwater puffers
7 otocinclus


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## yoink (Apr 21, 2005)

Great start, can't wait to see it fill in. Make sure to post a new pic when the intial cloudiness subsides.


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## Y0uH0 (Dec 19, 2005)

*100gal planted tank, 1 week on..*

Here is an update of my tank one week after initial set up. As you can see,my foreground is suffering a little. I am considering replacing the HC with hairgrass which is already growing behind it.The water is almost crystal clear except for a very mild cloudiness due to a water change which i had performed prior to the pictures being taken.

Also you can see how much the centre of the tank has grown in from when the tank was just set up.


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## fresh_lynny (Mar 9, 2006)

Looking good! I love the glass cats schooling too. Nice job ~


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## attack11 (May 5, 2006)

looks great.


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## Lil boy blue (Jan 26, 2006)

Its cool to see glass catfish in a planted tank....i havent really seen that before.....nice tank


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## Y0uH0 (Dec 19, 2005)

thanks guys for the compliments,i hope things will go on find in time to come. for now,it has only been one week since the initial setup and it is still too early to say how things are going to be eventually. My foreground needs a little tweaking and i will get back with a further update as things progresses.

as for the glass catfish,i am really crazy over them. just love the look of being able to see through them. my relatives are also amazed at such fish,probably because we seldom see them at our local LFS.


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## Y0uH0 (Dec 19, 2005)

I encountered a little problem with my HC foreground. Things don't seem to be going the way i had wanted it to be. Apparently my HC are not carpeting like the way i had hoped they would. Furthermore,some parts of them seem to be melting off. One of my planted tank enthusiast friend actually told me that the melting part is normal for HC when they have just been newly planted into an aquarium as they will need time to root and during this period of time,parts of them will just melt away however they will eventually bounce back. Is that true? If it isn't,does anyone know the reason why they are in that state? My PH is around 6.5 while my KH is 1. I don't think it has to do with lighting because my hairgrass are doing fine and they are supposedly high light plants.


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## Y0uH0 (Dec 19, 2005)

I checked with my local LFS regarding my HC problem. Apparently,the HM that i bought also melted away. So i was wondering,should i leave the remaining HC that are struggling to survive in the tank? Or should i uproot them and try planting a new set of HC again? Or should i just change a new foreground plant entirely?


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## jart (Jan 17, 2003)

I am not sure what species I had, HM or HC. However, IMO, it may not be the best choice for the foreground. Perhaps best for the midground. Mine struggled for a while (~3 weeks), then it really took off. Main issue you might have with it is that it requires a fair bit of pruning, perhaps twice a week, to keep it neat. Then once you pruce, it takes a few minutes to fish out the pieces. That's why I think it may be best in the midground; you might be able to let it go for a few more days without pruning without it drawing as much attention.


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## Y0uH0 (Dec 19, 2005)

*One month on...*

Well,it's been a month since my tank was set up and i must say alot of changes have taken place ever since then.The following is a list of changes that have been made..
1)Replaced 2 of the 40W T8 tubes with 2 80W T5 tubes bringing the total wattage of my tank to 280W or about 2.8W/gal.
2)Replaced the HC foreground with hairgrass and another plant which i am trying out,need ID please.
3)Replaced the hygrophila polysperma,myriophyllum hippuroides and gymnocoronis spilanthoides midground with blyxa japonica.
4)Rearranged the left side of the tank a little so that the low light slow grow plants would now be covering a larger area of the tank.
5)Added some bolbitis heudelotii and anubius coffeefolia as well as increased the number of anubius nana and javafern to the left side of the tank. 
6)Shifted the position of the E.parv(tropica) so that it would play a more central role.
7)Added some tonina amongst the wood with taiwan moss attached to it.

As you can see,alot of changes have taken place and along the way,i had encountered some algae problems of my own. Not long after the tank was set up,i encountered green water in my tank and not long after,i noticed some BBA growing on weaker plant parts as well as on some hardscape.For the GW problem,i went with the water change solution as a UV sterilizer was far too costly for me.I also reduced the fertilizer dosage for the tank as well as increased the CO2 levels for the tank. The GW problem has now been solved and the BBA is currently under control with no new growths sighted.I will continue to update the thread in time to come. As for now,thank you all for all the inputs and comments.


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## Cardinal Tetra (Feb 26, 2006)

Very nice tank. I can't wait to see how it matures. That plant you got there is Marsilea.


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## Betowess (Dec 9, 2004)

Forground kind of looks like Marsilea quadrifolia. But M. crenata or M. "minuta" will hug the ground tighter.


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## Y0uH0 (Dec 19, 2005)

*Some updated pictures*

Left side view of the tank: This is the view you will get upon entering my house.








Aclose up of the left side view of the tank









These are the views upon looking at the tank:
Left side








Centre








Right









Right side view of the tank:Also the view you will get when sitting at the couch watching TV


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## Y0uH0 (Dec 19, 2005)

Thanks guys for the response,i searched the tropica website under marsilea and i found this plant that they have which resembled mine,not sure if it is the one,seems like though.

Marsillea hirsuta is a fascinating plant, usually delivered with leaves like a four-leaf clover. After a transitional period it develops different types of leaves, possibly a low form with single leaves like a large Glossostigma, or alternatively develop two, three or four-lobed leaves varying in height, depending on the growth conditions. Whichever form the plant adopts, it forms runners and spreads rapidly round the aquarium. The scientific name for this unusual aquatic fern has not yet been finally settled.

taken from
http://192.38.244.204/go.asp?show=tropica


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## Betowess (Dec 9, 2004)

That is going to be another very nice tank. I remember it now. Such an interesting shape too. Nice terracing of the plants.


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## Y0uH0 (Dec 19, 2005)

Thanks alot for your compliments,it is really very encouraging for me. It's really been a very long journey to get to where i am now. I must say that i have failed many times and everytime,a new lesson was learnt. Really learnt alot from ths wonderful forum as well. Without it,I would still have been in the dark about alot of aspects with regards to keeping a planted tank. For now,it is only the beginning.I will be keeping my fingers crossed as the tank matures.Thanks once again for the compliments.


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## Gawain1974 (Jun 30, 2006)

Your tank is looking great, YOuHO! I really like the aquascaping, you have lots of nice open swimming space for your discus. Nice job, I can't wait to see it grow in even more.
Les


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## fresh_lynny (Mar 9, 2006)

YouHo...looking good!
Marselia species IS four leaf clover. Emersed form is 4 leaves, sumbersed is a single round leave that runs into plantlets. I have both in my tank, although the emersed one is beginning to now shoot off the sumbersed type of leaf. It is great. Keep up the good work~


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## marinkus (Jan 1, 2006)

that light colored discus (not sure what it's called) is soo pretty


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## EliteFishy (Jul 25, 2006)

Is you tank kinda over stocked? I can count about 7 glass cat fishes and like 11 discuses.


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## Y0uH0 (Dec 19, 2005)

Firstly,thanks to everyone once again for your compliments,it's been really wonderful seeing such comments. Frankly speaking,i was expecting criticisms because the other tanks here all seem so much nicer than mine. But then i am really glad that you guys have enjoyed my tank as much as i did.



fresh_newby said:


> YouHo...looking good!
> Marselia species IS four leaf clover. Emersed form is 4 leaves, sumbersed is a single round leave that runs into plantlets. I have both in my tank, although the emersed one is beginning to now shoot off the sumbersed type of leaf. It is great. Keep up the good work~


Yeah,haha,i just noticed that when i searched the plant species up on yahoo.So seems like it is kind of hard to differentiate the different subspecies under this family of plants.But i love this plant,it has a very unique look and if am not wrong,it is very rare in Singapore,haven't seen such plant around before.



marinkus said:


> that light colored discus (not sure what it's called) is soo pretty


I bought this discus from a local LFS for a bargain,apparently,hobbyists do not fancy it as it is all white except for a slight tinge of baby blue on it's fins. The LFS called it snow white,i am not sure of the actual name though.



EliteFishy said:


> Is you tank kinda over stocked? I can count about 7 glass cat fishes and like 11 discuses.


I do not think that the tank is overstocked,fishes seem to be doing fine and when i tested the nitrate levels,it was well near the 0 range.Previously i used to have cardinal and rumny nose tetras in the tank as well but they have died over time due to old age.Furthermore,my LFS even suggested that i have more discuses but i did not do so as i am already comfortable with what i have now.


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## marinkus (Jan 1, 2006)

> I bought this discus from a local LFS for a bargain,apparently,hobbyists do not fancy it as it is all white except for a slight tinge of baby blue on it's fins. The LFS called it snow white,i am not sure of the actual name though..


i thought it might be snow white but wasnt sure...i think as it grows and its color fills in, it will look even prettier....i like them cos they look more delicate , but i dont own any (yet ) and, as far as i know, they are quite popular in the us


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## danepatrick (Jul 17, 2006)

i'm loving the discus. if i didn't have the two pearl leeri gourami in my tank, i'd look to keep a pair. great job! :thumbsup:


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## Y0uH0 (Dec 19, 2005)

Thanks alot for the compliments,my tank is currently going through a phase and i promise that updates are on the way.


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## the_noobinator (Jun 10, 2006)

i love the look of glass cats.


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## Y0uH0 (Dec 19, 2005)

*Update 20/08/2006*

It has been almost a month since my last update and 3 months since the tank was set up and since then,it has undergone some changes. About 2 weeks ago,my tank experienced GW and i was fighting a losing battle against it for about a week until i decided to get myself a UV light.Prior to the arrival of the UV light,i had tried in vain to wipe out the GW through several water changes. The GW just came back within a day of the water changes. I had no idea as to how the GW came about as i was not overdosing at any point of time and all the water parameters were ideal. Subsequently,after turning on the UV light for 12 hours straight a day for 4 days,the water cleared up once again.









Here are updates of the tank after the water has cleared up,i was amazed at the amount of growth that went on behind the murky green water. Pardon the image quality,i could not get my hands on the digital camera and had to settle for my camera phone instead.

Full tank view









The following shots will take you on a tour around the tank from the left side(upon entering the house) to the right side(couch area).































































My slow grow,low requirement area of the tank.









I was amazed at how much the japonica and dao noi had grown.


















And heres a picture of my snow white looking all puzzled as to why it's picture is being taken.









Guys,i need an ID on this plant,thanks








Hope you guys enjoyed the picture updates,feel free to comment.


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## discus2010 (Aug 18, 2006)

*: thumbsup :*

:thumbsup: I love your tank its amazing!:thumbsup:


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## Grendel (Jan 17, 2003)

The last pic is of eichhornia diversifolia, one of my favorites. If your lights, CO2, and ferts are good, it will start going crazy shortly... Yours looks very healthy and happy.

Unfortunately for me, it's also a bit temperamental. I lost every last stem of mine during my recent two month tank-negligent phase. So, be good to it and it will be good to you!



G


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## Y0uH0 (Dec 19, 2005)

*Update on 01/09/2006*

Thanks alot for the comments and the advice. Thanks for the ID too Grendel. 

As for the tank layout,i made some changes a few days ago as follows:
1) Removed all the slow grow plants that included the various ferns,crypts and anubius species which made way for ludwiga arcuata as well as some ludwiga inclinata "cuba". 
2)Bought some E. aquatica from tropica and did some rearranging with the rest of the plants. 
3)Seperated the dao noi and i realised that from a mere tropica pot of about 6 dao noi plantlets,i now have about close to 70 dao noi plantlets which i subsequently replanted to form a sort of dao noi foreground.
4)Uprooted the mass of blyxa japonica and picked out 8 strong stems before replanting them once again.
5)Switched the foreground from marsilea to glosso.
6)Bought a tiger lily bulb and planted it amongst the E.parviflorus "tropica"

Photo updates will come along soon.


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## Steven_Chong (Sep 14, 2004)

I think these last photos are my favorite-- a lot of things seem to have come together in the tank.


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## Y0uH0 (Dec 19, 2005)

Thanks alot! Yep,i was very amazed myself that everything could turn out like this. I never expected the whole tank to fill in so nicely. Hopefully it would be the same after the rescaping.Thanks once again for all the comments and compliments,really appreciate them.


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## danepatrick (Jul 17, 2006)

YOuHO, how long did it take for your marsilea to spread out like that?


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## Y0uH0 (Dec 19, 2005)

hmm,about 2-3weeks?


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## ashen123in (Sep 3, 2006)

Nice grown up tank.Add some red leaf plants.Dont know anyone of thier names but add them.And how about floating plants.:smile:


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## Y0uH0 (Dec 19, 2005)

Welcome to PT ashen123in. Yeah,i also noticed the lack of red plants in my tank. That was one of the main reasons why i decided to do a little rescaping. Pictures will be coming about real soon. I did not plan on having any floating plants because i think it will draw attention away from the scape. Furthermore,i have a surface skimmer running so floating plants may be a little inconvenient.


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## Gawain1974 (Jun 30, 2006)

Derrick, I really like how your tank is growing in--you've left plenty of swimming space for your discus (unlike me, lol). I'm glad to hear that you won the battle against the GW; that's fortunately something I haven't had to deal with yet, knock on wood.


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## Y0uH0 (Dec 19, 2005)

Thank you for your comments.Well,when i planned the scape,i foresaw that my discus would need lots of space to swim therefore i chose to keep the tank layout low to accomodate them. As for the GW,all i did was to use UV,perhaps you could do the same too. Your scape is beautiful to me so don't feel bad about it. Each of us has our own unique taste and design technique and i must say that yours is already very nice.


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## Y0uH0 (Dec 19, 2005)

*Late updates*

Sorry for the late update guys,have been really busy lately. Here are the pictures for the changes that i had made earlier. An updated picture of the growth will follow after this post.

Full tank shot:











The following shots will take you on a tour around the tank.
































































As you all can see,i have tried to add some red plants to the tank to give it extra colour variety.


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## Y0uH0 (Dec 19, 2005)

*Update on 20/09/06*

Well,it has been more than 2 weeks since i changed the layout of the tank. I was away at camp for the past 11days and when i returned,i was really amazed to see the amount growth as well as how the tank had develop over the period of time. As usual,some plants survied and grew while there were some that simply could not make it and rotted away. In the following pictures,you will see how much the tank has changed. You will also notice some empty spaces here and there which were originally occupied by plants which did not make it. Do enjoy the pictures and feel free to comment.

Full tank shot:











The following shots will take you on a tour around the tank. 















































2 shots of my favourite area of the tank which I am planning to build upon.



















After this,i would be doing some maintenance work on the tank,trimming away the overgrown areas and refilling the empty spaces. I would also be adding some drifwood as hardscape to further enhance the look of the tank. Do check back for more updates in time to come. All comments are welcomed.


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## medicineman (Sep 28, 2005)

Quite rampant growth you have there, Derrick! That shows the setup is running strong and fine. And those marsiela does grow very fast in the tank :thumbsup:


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## standoyo (Nov 6, 2005)

Wow, Derrick I love your downoi! and Toninas! So healthy! The tank looks fabulous now. Impressive!


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## Y0uH0 (Dec 19, 2005)

medicineman said:


> Quite rampant growth you have there, Derrick! That shows the setup is running strong and fine. And those marsiela does grow very fast in the tank :thumbsup:


Thanks alot! I really appreciate the compliment. Hmm,those are no longer marseilea. I replaced them with glosso as i felt that the marseilea were a little dark,could not get the light green effect i had originally wanted to have.



standoyo said:


> Wow, Derrick I love your downoi! and Toninas! So healthy! The tank looks fabulous now. Impressive!


Thanks alot! Yeah,i simply love the downoi and toninas too. I was really amazed myself at how nicely they have grown into. Infact,i plan to increase their presence in the tank by spreading them out into the empty spaces that i had mentioned earlier.


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## fresh_lynny (Mar 9, 2006)

WOW You....what progress you have made. It has shaped up to be quite a pleasing tank. I bet your discus are very happy in there. The greens are great and the downoi forest rocks. Nice job!


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## Y0uH0 (Dec 19, 2005)

Thanks alot! really appreciate that!


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## gabeszone247 (Jul 8, 2006)

Man you tank is sweet man! Im losing the battle with growing riccia due to lack of light, but will try again later! Im also having problems with nana growing black fuzz alage. Any ideas on getting rid of this??


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## Y0uH0 (Dec 19, 2005)

gabeszone247 said:


> Man you tank is sweet man! Im losing the battle with growing riccia due to lack of light, but will try again later! Im also having problems with nana growing black fuzz alage. Any ideas on getting rid of this??


Thanks! Well,it is great that you know the reason behind the problem you have encountered in trying to grow riccia. This way,all you need is to rectify the problem which in your case is increasing the amount of light and thereafter,you would have plenty of riccia growth. As for the black fuzz algae,i believe that it is brush algae? I had this problem as well before and no matter how hard i tried,i could not eradicate them. Ended up removing the plants that were badly affected as well as trimming away plant parts that had them growing on top. Right now,i can safely say that they are completely gone. Perhaps you could consult the others who would be able to provide you with better assistance.


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## OregonFish (Jul 13, 2006)

Hmm thats alot of discus  

they might pair up later on !

but VERY Nice Tank !


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## CardBoardBoxProcessor (Sep 17, 2006)

is that big thing on the floor to the right of the tank the filter? 0_o


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## Y0uH0 (Dec 19, 2005)

Oh no,that is my chiller,the temperature over here can really soar because i am living in the tropics. As such,i need to rely on a chiller to keep the temperature of the tank low to avoid "cooking" my plants. It is a TECO TR15 by the way.


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## bastalker (Dec 8, 2004)

Nice lookin tank Derrick!! The discus look pretty content as well! 

Only question I have is why the black mollies?:wink: 

I am subscribed.....


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## Y0uH0 (Dec 19, 2005)

Hey thanks alot Mark, well, the black mollies are there because when the tank was just set up,i encountered some thread algae problem and i consulted my local LFS on the matter. According to them,apparently black mollies graze on thread algae and as such i bought a few home to try out. After awhile,i observed that the thread algae in my tank had disappeared. But at the same time,i also noticed that my black mollies were very engrossed in eating bloodworms,flakes and any other food which i fed the rest of my fishes. So it left me wondering if the disappearance of the thread algae was really the work of the black mollies or was it simply a case of natural death as my tank matured. But i have to admit that with their round bellies,they look really cute,lol.


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## Y0uH0 (Dec 19, 2005)

*Update on 05/11/06*

Hey guys,heres the latest update as of 05/11/06. Did a major tank overhaul as the glosso in my previous layout was growing wildly and had begin to overtake everything. Below are the updated photographs along with some description of the changes that came along with the overhaul. Basically,i had removed the eusteralis stellata as well as the echinodorus that was located in the rear of the tank.I then added several new plants as follows

1)crypt. balansae
2)crypt.beckettii
3)crypt costata
4)ludwiga arcuata
5)rotala rotoundifolia "colorata"

The rest of the overhaul was about moving my existing plants around. I added more cyprus helferi to give it a more important role in the tank layout while at the same time,i added several stones as hardscape. Feel free to give me your comments abou the new layout,i would really appreciate them.Thanks alot.

Full tank shot









Left side:








I shifted the downoi there so that it would be infront of the piece of driftwood which is covered with christmas moss. Crypt balansae was added amongst the cyprus helferi to add varying height and colour to the background. 

Cetre:








I added several rocks to the layout as hardscape.Wanted to do an iwagumi layout as i had heard alot about it in other threads but wasn't sure if i got it right.Crypt beckettii and crypt costata were planted around the rocks.

Right side:








I shifted the blyxa joponica more to the right and placed them next to my e.aquatica which was unmoved during the overhaul. Tonina presence in the tank was also reduced to allow the glosso to play a greater role in the tank layout.

Tank overhaul aside,amongst my group of discus,2 pairs have been formed and both pairs had spawned within the past 3 days. So far the eggs had already hatched for one of the pairs which consisted of my snow white and a red turquoise.The eggs which belong to the other pair of discus consisting of a red turquoise and a leopard snakeskin are due to hatch in the next 24-48hours if conditions are right.Further updates will come along the way. 

Pair consisting of red turquoise and snow white









Pair consisting of red turquoise and leopard snakeskin.Notice that they are tending to the eggs which are attached to the surface skimmer.


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## Betowess (Dec 9, 2004)

Very Nice! I almost couldn't tell it was B. japonica its so bright green. Good luck with the spawn.:icon_smil


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## Subotaj (Oct 16, 2006)

Beautiful tank!
the plans and the discus looking good.


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## Y0uH0 (Dec 19, 2005)

Thanks alot for the compliments,and well wishes,i really appreciate them=)



Betowess said:


> Very Nice! I almost couldn't tell it was B. japonica its so bright green. Good luck with the spawn.:icon_smil


Hmm,i think you were referring to those needle like plants towards the rear of the tank am i right? Those aren't blyxa japonica. They are cyprus helferi. I only have 3 stalks of blyxa japonica and i think in the picture,they were slightly obscured by the discus.

As for another update,the eggs belonging to the second pair of discus have just hatched.Boy am i very excited!


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## Steven_Chong (Sep 14, 2004)

Looks awesome Derrick. This may be silly, but as soon as I saw this picture I thought reflexively, "Looks like a tank by someone in Singapore," and then I remembered you are in Singapore so I laughed at myself. :hihi:


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## Y0uH0 (Dec 19, 2005)

Thanks alot steven. Lol,now why would it come to mind that the tank would belong to someone from Singapore? I am curious to know. haha


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## Y0uH0 (Dec 19, 2005)

Update on 06/11/06. I have sad news,apparently when i checked the nest site for the first pair of discus that spawned,all the fry had disappeared and the parents are seen to be moving away from the site. Guess all of them were eaten up. I believe the reason was because it is the first time my discus had spawned and they have been inexperienced at caring for their young. As for the other pair,I do not have high hopes that their fry would survive as well. Especially after observing that they are not as dedicated as the first pair that spawned,their chances of success appear to be much slimmer.


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## tpl*co (Nov 4, 2006)

Nice tank! I'm going to have a similar situation with the a lot of viewing angles for my tank, except with a room divider aquarium, I'll have 3 viewing angles to my tank so I'll be using your tank as a guide .

I notice in some of your early pictures you had an angel with your discus and I was going to ask you how they got along, but in your later pictures I don't see him/her? Do you have the angel still with the discus? My tank will also have discus in it. I've been debating about having some wild angels too, but have been getting different stories as to compatability and all.

Tina


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## Y0uH0 (Dec 19, 2005)

*tpl*co *- Thanks alot for the compliment! Yeah,my tank has alot of viewing angles so it made designing really a big challenge for me .My main focus was viewing from the front and from the right side where the living room couch was. But my tank had 2 other slanted sides as you can see from the pictures. It was my parents who picked the tank because i was away on an overseas trip then and they wanted to suprise me. The tank was originally for my arowanas which have been given away and viewing angles then wasn't a problem unlike now.Hope you can get some ideas from my tank then. There are also many other much beautiful tanks here in the forum so you may want to refer to them as well.

As for my angelfish,it is no longer in my tank because it had passed on about 1mth plus ago.I had it since 5 years ago when it was only about the size of a table tennis ball. The discus are later additions in the form of juveniles. When my angelfish was still alive,it could get along pretty well with the discus though there were some mutual chasing around both on the part of the discus as well as the angelfish. But i believe this is natural,judging from the fact that these fishes are slightly territorial. There wasn't any visible damage though. I guess it is up to the individual to decide if you would want to keep them together. Some may find the occasional chasing around too much of a hostility and i am sure that there are stories out there about severe infliction of injuries. But at the end of the day,it is up to you to decide if you would like to give it a try. Similarly there have been stories of angels being incompatible with tetras but the fact is,there are still people who have had success in keeping them both together including myself,so yeah,hope that was the reply you had hoped for=)

And just to let you know,my discus are also chasing one another around,lol.


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