# 190g wild discus biotope w/ LED lighting



## jcardona1

Well after several weeks on this tank it is finally finished!!! I picked this tank up at the end of January and have been working on it nonstop. I put a lot of thought and planning into this one. In fact, this is my most intense tank build yet. Lots of DIY work, made the setup of my old 400g seem like a breeze. This tank will be home mainly to my wild discus. I went for a biotope-ish setup, even though I have a few fish that aren’t truly native to where the discus are from. Enough of that, on to the details!

*TANK/STAND*
The tank measures 60x30x24, is made from ½” glass all around and holds roughly 190 gallons of water. I bought the tank used from Charlie @ The Fish Tank Factory in SoCal. The previous owner cracked the bottom pane, which was repaired by Charlie’s builder. The customer never came back for the tank, so I ended up getting a really good deal on it. It just involved a very long drive to pick it up!

The stand is DIY, about 33” tall. This is the second stand I've built. I hate working with wood, I don't enjoy it all and only do it out of necessity. The stand is extremely overbuilt, but it's the easiest way I've found to build a stand. It’s framed out of regular 2x4s, then skinned in whiteboard since it's light and cheap. Because I'm only painting it, I didn't need to go with some high quality wood. 

The stand has side access doors along with the two front doors. The doors were built out of birch plywood panels, with a simple trim. It's not perfect, but came out decent, and I'm learning! Maybe one day I can build a stain-worthy stand. But for now, I think this will look just fine in my living room. Final color was gloss leather brown. 

I also made an open top canopy out of whiteboard. It’s just a simple box frame as I only needed something to hide the black plastic trim and finish up the top.












*PLUMBING/FILTRATION*
This is one area where I spent a lot of time, especially doing research. This was a bare tank with no overflow boxes and no holes, so I was starting with a blank canvas. I’ve ran the Herbie setup before and I loved it. My main requirement was that this tank be dead silent as it was going in my living room. The filtration also had to be clean and simple. I’m not a fan of messy wet/dry filters. Those that have seen my sumps before know what I’m talking about









After doing lots of research on reefcentral.com, I decided to go with the Beananimal overflow system. It involved a little more work since it uses 3 drain lines, but after running both the Herbie and the Beananimal, I’m convinced the Beananimal is better, safer, and quieter. It’s quieter because it uses two downward facing elbows, unlike the Herbie which uses two vertical open standpipes. The downward facing elbows make it so the system runs silent with no air bubbles in the lines at all. But because the elbows are facing down, you get air trapped inside at start-up. This is where the 3rd line comes in. When you start up the pump, the water level quickly rises past the two drain lines and starts flowing down the emergency drain. After a few minutes, the system purges the air out of the two main lines and the water level drops down, resuming its normal operation. 

So with a plan in mind, I set out to drill the holes. I have never drilled glass before, so this was a learning experience. I bought a cheap diamond glass bit on eBay and practiced on a spare 20g tank. It was really easy actually. There’s plenty of videos on YouTube that show the steps involved. I ended up drilling five 1.75” holes for 1” bulkheads. 

The Beananimal is built out of 1.5” piping. In fact, the entire system is built exactly like Beananimal original design as seen here: http://www.beananimal.com/projects/s...ow-system.aspx. The bulkheads are 1" with 1.25” elbows and strainers in the overflow box. Overflow box is DIY as well, using three pieces of ¼” glass. 

The main drain is the one at the far right. The drain runs submerged and handles the bulk of the flow. Because it’s submerged, it runs as a full siphon, which can handle a lot more flow than a line that has air trapped in it. To restrict the flow and to control the noise, I’m using a 1.5” brass gate valve. I was using the ball valve at first, but it’s much easier to fine tune the flow with a gate valve. You’ll also notice that I have a small valve up top. For some reason, the air bubbled that traps inside this line during startup would not purge. I _think_ it may be that my drain lines are submerged too far past the water level in the sump. I haven’t researched this yet, so I just added a small valve up top where I could release the trapped air. Without this, I was having water go down my emergency line indefinitely. As soon as I purge out the air, it goes back to normal. 
The middle line is the open channel standpipe. This one basically operates like a Durso pipe, with a vented hole up top. The vent hole has tubing that extends below the rim of the tank. In the event of an emergency and a rising water level, the open channel standpipe will convert to a full siphon like the one on the right as soon as the vent tube becomes submerged under water. When it turns into a full siphon, it can handle a lot more flow than it could as a Durso, and can aid in quickly moving water down to the sump. Under normal operation, this pipe is flowing a small amount of spillover; whatever the main drain can’t handle. Because it’s a small amount of water, the water clings to the inside walls of the pipe, thereby not making any noise. If it begins to flow too much, then air gets trapped with the water, and you get the classic gurgling sound that overflows are known for! 

The last pipe on the left is the emergency drain, and simply consists of an upturned elbow. As I mentioned above, this pipe sees water each the pump restarts, until the system purges the air out. 

The main drain and open channel drain both flow into one filter sock in the sump. I’m currently using a 25 micron 7x16” filter sock. 

The sump itself is made from an old 40g glass tank. This is quite possibly the cheapest, easiest, and most efficient sump you can build! You don’t need any drip trays, dividers, or baffles. All thanks to the media of choice. I have about 30-40lbs of porous ceramic media, which works much better than bio balls or pot scrubbers. Because this media is used fully submerged, it makes the sump very easy to build. 

I’m using two return pumps for this setup: Quiet One 4000 (1017gph) and 4000 HH (980gph). These return back to the tank via two 1” return lines. I have a ball valve on each to be able to reduce the flow as needed; wild discus are particularly picky about not having strong currents in the tank. The returns on the inside consist of 45* elbows that I can rotate to adjust the surface current, or aim down if I wish. The return lines also have 1.5” swing-type check valves to stop the flow back to the sump, since they are several inches below the water surface.

Heating consists of a Rancho ECT1-R temperature controller and a 1000w titanium rod. I hate using regular aquarium heaters. They are so inaccurate and unreliable. This setup truly is ‘set it and forget it!



























*LIGHTING*
Lighting is one that deserves it’s very own section, since I went into total crackhead mode here







I did a lot of think and a lot of research before finally pulling the trigger. I know for certain that I did not want to run fluorescent lighting. I was tired of the “flat” look it gives the tank. It’s very unnatural, and I don’t like how every square inch of the tank is lit up evenly. I also knew I wanted the shimmer effect, so it was either metal halides or LED. Metal halides were completely out of the question, since I don’t like the idea of making the electric company rich! So, LEDs it was! I was almost set on running 4-6x 10w LED floodlamps you see more and more folks using these days. In the end, I decided to go DIY to give me more flexibility. These floodlamps are made in China, so you can’t really know how long they’ll last, or whether you’ll be able to buy replacements in the future. But the main reason for going DIY was color choice. ‘Cool white’ LEDs are ugly in my opinion. They wash out the color of fish too much. The warm whites are very yellow. If I chose the floodlamps, I wouldn’t be able to mix up the colors to get a nice mixture. 

The light bar itself I made out of 1” metal conduit, which I bent into shape using a manual pipe bender. The light fixture is a big and heavy piece of aluminum heatsink, measuring 7x36”. I also attached a splash shield made from ¼” acrylic. The shield really isn’t needed, but it finishes off the fixture nicely, makes it look more legit.

The LEDs are Cree XP-Gs. They cost a little more than other brands, but the quality and reputation is well worth the extra cost. The fixture uses 12 neutral white LEDs (4000k) and 12 warm white LEDs (3000k). They are arranged in two rows of 12, alternating each color in the two rows. LEDs were soldered up using 20ga solid core wire, wired in series and in 4 strings of 6 LEDs each. More on this below. 

The brains behind the operation is what really makes this light special! My initial plan was to drive the LEDs using pre-wired Buckpucks with a dimmer switch. But after talking to my good buddy Aaron (member: o2surplus on monsterfishkeepers), he convinced me to go with a custom driver and a microcontroller. The driver was built entirely by Aaron, so I take no credit here. In fact, if it weren’t for him constantly answering my noob questions, I probably wouldn’t have been able to go the DIY route. If you’re interested in a driver setup like mine, shoot him a pm, he may be able to build one for you









The LEDs are driven by four ON Semiconductor CAT4101 constant-current drivers. Each CAT4101 is controlling a string of 6 LEDs. 4 drivers running 6 LEDs, total of 24 of LEDs. Each driver controls an individual color; drivers 1 and 3 control the warm whites, drivers 2 and 4 control the neutral whites. The current to the LEDs is controlled by soldering an external resistor to one of the CAT4101’s pins. In this case, a 549ohm resistor was used for each CAT4101 to drive the LEDs at 1000mA, or 1a. The XP-Gs can handle up to 1500mA, so this is well within their safe operating range. For those who want to understand more on the CAT4101, you can find the technical specs here: http://www.onsemi.com/pub_link/Collateral/CAT4101-D.PDF 
For dimming and on/off control, the CAT4101 relies on an external pulse width modulation signal (PWM). That is where the Arduino Duemilanove microcontroller comes in. To keep the microcontroller in sync with the on/off cycles, and in case the power is disconnected, the Arduino is connected to a DS1307 Real Time Clock with battery backup. The code I uploaded to the Arduino is set up to run sunrise-to-sunset lighting. The lights slowly fade on in the morning, and slowly fade out at night. Each LED string is fully adjustable for start time, photoperiod length, and brightness. This allows me to dim or brighten up the warm and neutral whites to get the color mixture I like. All I need to do is hook up the Arduino to my laptop and quickly edit the code. How freaking cool is that?!?!? 

This ‘magic black box’ that Aaron built me is really a work of art. The board is so neat and tidy. All the terminals and connections on the board are labeled. Everything is taken care of; the 24v power source hookup, the 5v power to run the CAT4101s, 12v power for the Arduino and fan connections, and the pins for the 5v PWM signal to the Arduino. He even included a power indicator light and an override switch to turn the LEDs on at any time, bypassing the Arduino. Only thing I needed to do was purchase the microcontroller and Real Time Clock and hook those up. So easy, a caveman can do it! 

And last but not least, the power supply. Everything is powered by a 24v, 6.5a, 150w power supply. 



_The project box, showing USB connection for microcontroller and LED hooksups_


_Other side of project box: 24v power hookup, LED indicator light and override switch_


_Custom PCB: screw terminals on top row are connections for the 4 LED channels. Middle row you'll see the four CAT4101 drivers. Bottom left terminal is 24v power supply connections. Bottom middle terminal is 12v power supply for microcontroller and ground connections. Bottom right terminal is for the PWM signals from microcontroller, and for manual override._


_This shows the 24v power hookup and override switch_


The Arduino Duemilanove microcontroller (on inside lid of project box)


_The Arduino with the Real Time Clock module attached_


_Driver PCB and Arduino connected_




_Warm white Cree XP-G_


_This is a good photo showing the true-life colors of the neutral whites and warm whites_


_24v 6.5a power supply_



*DECOR
*Decor for this tank is pretty simple, since I was going for a South American biotope look. I wanted a nice 3D background, but I didn’t want to lose several inches in depth. So I settled for the thin pieces that are tiled on. I ended up going with the Aqua Terra Slimline Mesa Rock background. Those you know backgrounds, know that Aqua Terra is really the best there is. When you see one in person, you’ll know why. To finish up the look, I also covered the overflow box with the background tiles. 

The substrate is a mixture of sand and gravel. Sand is 12# mesh Monterey Beach Sand. The gravel mixed in with the sand is ‘Klondike Brown’ gravel. Both the sand and gravel were purchased from a local rock yard. 

Driftwood is Manzanita, collected locally in the northern California area. I placed the driftwood vertically in the tank to give it the look of tree roots growing into the water.





*WATER CHANGER*
To make my life easier with the constant water changes needed, I decided to set up as semi-automatic water changing system. Since the tank was in my living room, it was a little difficult to set up a 24/7 drip system, because I couldn’t take advantage of gravity to drain the excess water from the sump. To do so would have required a system with float switches, reservoirs, solenoids, etc. I didn’t want to deal with the extra cost, so I chose a super simple setup. 

The main part of the system is the 55g aging barrel. The water is fed from my washer’s cold water supply line. It passes through a chlorine/chloramine filter, pressure regulator and then goes to the aging barrel. The water level in the barrel is maintained automatically with a float valve. I chose to use a barrel to heat and age the water for degassing purposes. 

The 55g barrel is in a coat closet, and contains a small submersible pump to supply fresh water to the tank. There is another submersible pump in my sump; this is used to drain the tank for the daily water changes. The drain and refill pumps are controlled by a wireless remote control (this one to be exact). To actually perform a water change, this is what I do: - Turn off main pumps and heater, let extra water flow down to sump.
- Turn on the drain pump in my sump via the remote control. This drains to a nearby bar sink.
- Once the sump is empty, turn on the refill pump via the remote control. This supplies aged/heated water from the 55g barrel. 
- Once the sump is full, turn on the system.​ And that’s it! After that, the 55g barrel gets refilled with treated water from the float valve, ready for the next day’s water change. With this setup, I can change 30-35g per day, depending on how much water I keep in the sump. And I can do it in a matter of minutes while sitting on the couch, thanks to the wireless remote! 

_Cold water feed from washer hookup. Feeds to aging barrel (not shown)_


_Drain pump that drains to nearby sink_


_Drain pump_


_Spigot that refills the sump from the aging barrel, with a Y-valve for adding water to other tanks_



In a few months I plan on going to a fully-automatic system, whereby the drain pump comes on at set intervals throughout the day using a timer, draining only a few gallons at a time. The sump will then be refilled using an automatic top-off controller, commonly used in reef tanks. I spent too much on this tank already, so I saved some money by not buying the top-off controller right now. I will soon though










*FULL TANK SHOTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!*
Well, that was a long write-up. I think that covers most of it. On to the full tank shots! I will update this thread regularly with new pictures. The tank is a bare fish-wise right now, but I plan on having 15-20 wild discus in the near future. Stay tuned! Any questions, feel free to ask. Enjoy!


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## Centromochlus

Beautiful setup! Love all of the driftwood and the discus. Nice job on the stand too.

Subscribed. roud:


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## zyn1

amazing!


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## SearunSimpson

This is just amazing! I love it! The tannins are awesome. Maybe a nice school of Sterbais along the bottom?


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## BlazednSleepy




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## BlazednSleepy

Hows the tank itself btw?

I just emailed charlie asking some questions because I'm looking for a 75 gallon.

Hows the company?


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## Wolfgang

This set up is bad to the bone!!!!!Bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb bad!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## digginbetta

The only word that came outta my mouth was WOW . . . . . . .


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## ridewake210

Oh my goodness 


You have put something together that is Beautiful. 
I honestly dont think there is anything you could have done any better. 

Superb setup!! Very Superb!!


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## q8vw

+1 Wow from Kuwait!


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## barakainus

amazing tank! I especially like the first (detail) picture of the discus. The patches of light make it look so natural.


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## PaulG

Thanks for the very detailed write up!

I have to admit, the choice of lighting is a massive success.


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## roybot73

Absolutely _top notch_ project.


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## cervantesmx

As many have already said. Fantastic job, this tank looks gorgeous, the stand is effective and well built, the LEDs look great and your filtration should be top notch. Congrats, I only hope to one day be able to come up with something close to this.


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## Solid

WOOOW, this set-up is amazing! Really well done equipment. Ive been reading about Beananimals overflow for a while and thought it was a very good design. Wow...


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## Chaos_Being

Amazing :eek5: My tank suddenly looks terrible in comparison!


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## Herbicidal

*Awesome-ness* Jose! I'm one of the lucky ones that get's to see his setup in person! :icon_bigg Now I wanna be a Discus in HIS tank! :biggrin:


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## hoffman

uh, you know this is a _planted_ tank forum, right?

j/k. beautiful tank. great write up. great photos.

glad to see some freshwater enthusiasts give those darn reefers a run for their money.

keep us updated.


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## antbug

Bravo Jose!


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## rickztahone

Nice looking wc's. Who did you get them from?


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## IWANNAGOFAST

omg that is ridiculously amazing,


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## Mxx

Good work! I plan at some point to do a similar tank in terms of scale and with a similar collection of manzanita set in a root-like fashion, except that I wouldn't be doing it as purely bio-type as I'd be flooding it with plants as well. 

Can you tell us how you secured the manzanita at top and bottom though? That was one of the questions I was most concerned about myself in terms of trying to achieve the same thing.


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## jsuereth

Awesome, awesome tank. Sumps are totally the way to go for large tanks.

Cant wait to see how it does. Do you plan to grow java moss in the sump?


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## jcardona1

AzFishKid said:


> Beautiful setup! Love all of the driftwood and the discus. Nice job on the stand too.
> 
> Subscribed. roud:


Thanks, appreciate it!



zyn1 said:


> amazing!


Thanks!



SearunSimpson said:


> This is just amazing! I love it! The tannins are awesome. Maybe a nice school of Sterbais along the bottom?


Thanks, tannins really do give it a cool look. I have a couple cories already, definitely planning on a large pack of them 



BlazednSleepy said:


>


Ha give me a few weeks 



BlazednSleepy said:


> Hows the tank itself btw?
> 
> I just emailed charlie asking some questions because I'm looking for a 75 gallon.
> 
> Hows the company?


The tank is great, just like any other standard glass tank. Not ADA quality, but it works. Charlie's great to deal with, and he works directly with a tank builder. In fact, they built Tom's new 48x30x20 rimless. I saw that tank in person too, now THAT tank is pure quality. So silicone and polished edges are perfect. 



Wolfgang said:


> This set up is bad to the bone!!!!!Bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb bad!!!!!!!!!!!!


lol thanks!



digginbetta said:


> The only word that came outta my mouth was WOW . . . . . . .


Thanks, appreciate it!



ridewake210 said:


> Oh my goodness
> 
> 
> You have put something together that is Beautiful.
> I honestly dont think there is anything you could have done any better.
> 
> Superb setup!! Very Superb!!


Thanks, appreciate it!



q8vw said:


> +1 Wow from Kuwait!


Thanks!



barakainus said:


> amazing tank! I especially like the first (detail) picture of the discus. The patches of light make it look so natural.


Thanks! That's my favorite too! The ripples of water with the LEDs give a really cool effect



PaulG said:


> Thanks for the very detailed write up!
> 
> I have to admit, the choice of lighting is a massive success.


Thanks, appreciate it!



roybot73 said:


> Absolutely _top notch_ project.


Thanks, appreciate it!



cervantesmx said:


> As many have already said. Fantastic job, this tank looks gorgeous, the stand is effective and well built, the LEDs look great and your filtration should be top notch. Congrats, I only hope to one day be able to come up with something close to this.


Thanks for the kind words 



Solid said:


> WOOOW, this set-up is amazing! Really well done equipment. Ive been reading about Beananimals overflow for a while and thought it was a very good design. Wow...


Thanks! The Beananimal overflow is pure awesome. I'll never run a regular overflow again!


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## jcardona1

Chaos_Being said:


> Amazing :eek5: My tank suddenly looks terrible in comparison!


Haha thank, can't be that bad!



Herbicidal said:


> *Awesome-ness* Jose! I'm one of the lucky ones that get's to see his setup in person! :icon_bigg Now I wanna be a Discus in HIS tank! :biggrin:


Thanks Herb, can't wait to have you over!



hoffman said:


> uh, you know this is a _planted_ tank forum, right?
> 
> j/k. beautiful tank. great write up. great photos.
> 
> glad to see some freshwater enthusiasts give those darn reefers a run for their money.
> 
> keep us updated.


LOL thanks! Still got a ways to go with those darn reefers though 



antbug said:


> Bravo Jose!


Thanks Anthony! You need to come see it in person too.



rickztahone said:


> Nice looking wc's. Who did you get them from?


Thanks, bought them from Snookn/John. He's a vendor on monsterfishkeepers, simplydiscus, and Aquabid



IWANNAGOFAST said:


> omg that is ridiculously amazing,


Thanks, appreciate it!



Mxx said:


> Good work! I plan at some point to do a similar tank in terms of scale and with a similar collection of manzanita set in a root-like fashion, except that I wouldn't be doing it as purely bio-type as I'd be flooding it with plants as well.
> 
> Can you tell us how you secured the manzanita at top and bottom though? That was one of the questions I was most concerned about myself in terms of trying to achieve the same thing.


Thanks! Most of the pieces of wood are just laying vertically, either against the center brace, or corner braces. There were a few larger stumps that were still floating, so I secured them to a 12x12" tile. Just drilled a hole, then screwed it to the tile. Worked like a charm!



jsuereth said:


> Awesome, awesome tank. Sumps are totally the way to go for large tanks.
> 
> Cant wait to see how it does. Do you plan to grow java moss in the sump?


Yes, I'm a huge sump junkie. I even had a 10g sump on my 57g planted tank (I have an older journal on here too). No plans to grow anything in the sump yet, but I just might, to help consume some nitrates.


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## Dan the Man

Ghasp!!!


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## ua hua

Very nice! I love how the LED's give the shimmering effect of the sun shining down through the mazanita branches. It looks very natural especially compared to how flourescents look.


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## hydrophyte

jcardona1 said:


>


This is amazing.


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## speedie408

Jose,

All of a sudden after looking through your post, Bette Midler's "Wind beneath my wings" popped in my head. 

Absolutely won't miss a beat of this journal bro.


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## deleted_user_16

Fantastic aquarium. My jaw literally dropped when I saw the beautiful shimmering water, the beautiful discus, and the awesome LED build. Just to point this out though, rainbowfish and roseline barbs aren't biotopical.

EDIT: You pointed that out in the first post  The layout itself is very biotopical so it's perfect. I'm amazed.


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## boon

Can I have the full Hi-Res for wallpaper purposes please?:icon_mrgr


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## HX67

Absolutely stunning tank.
The light is just perfect!


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## Hoppy

Holy mackerel! I'm speechless. That lighting system is beyond belief, and I think takes LED lighting to another level.


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## plantbrain

Do you fine the roselines bully the discus and disturb them?
I had this issue in the past. 

Nice wood layout and lighting. 

I also like the 3D backgound attached to the overflow, that hid the box very well.

I did this to an older tank I had so you could not see it and attached plants to it. No plants here, but some floating species could be used if you wanted to.

I have some nice wire and quick release suspension stuff you might be find more attractive for the light bar. PM if interested.

I like the light a lot. 

The brass valves are 10X better than the stiff, PVC ball valves.
They often do not even cost a whole lot more. I've set up all the client's with these vs the PVC. At some point, I'll do this.

Nice end result, I know you spent a lot of time on it, but.......you got the goal you where after.


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## macclellan

Nice. Display only, or do you wish to breed?


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## hydrophyte

This is like the kind of tank that a German or Norwegian would put together.

You don't see people in the USA taking this as seriously very much.


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## jcardona1

Dan the Man said:


> Ghasp!!!


Thanks!



ua hua said:


> Very nice! I love how the LED's give the shimmering effect of the sun shining down through the mazanita branches. It looks very natural especially compared to how flourescents look.


Yeah I love it! That one picture with the wireless flash made the shimmering effect more pronounced, but it's still very pleasing to see in person. 



hydrophyte said:


> This is amazing.


Thanks!



speedie408 said:


> Jose,
> 
> All of a sudden after looking through your post, Bette Midler's "Wind beneath my wings" popped in my head.
> 
> Absolutely won't miss a beat of this journal bro.


Thanks Nick, appreciate it! I'll post updates regularly 



fishman9809 said:


> Fantastic aquarium. My jaw literally dropped when I saw the beautiful shimmering water, the beautiful discus, and the awesome LED build. Just to point this out though, rainbowfish and roseline barbs aren't biotopical.
> 
> EDIT: You pointed that out in the first post  The layout itself is very biotopical so it's perfect. I'm amazed.


Thanks! Yeah the rainbowfish I could do without, I just had nowhere to put them while moving all the fish over. So they're staying for sure now, no way I can catch them in that jungle. The roselines I just can't get rid of. I bought them when they were small and ugly and have watched them grow. I really love those guys!


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## jcardona1

boon said:


> Can I have the full Hi-Res for wallpaper purposes please?:icon_mrgr


Here you go, you can get a larger version here, just right click (didn't keep the monster original file size though): http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/5593765507/



HX67 said:


> Absolutely stunning tank.
> The light is just perfect!


Thanks!



Hoppy said:


> Holy mackerel! I'm speechless. That lighting system is beyond belief, and I think takes LED lighting to another level.


Thanks Vaughn, appreciate the feedback!



plantbrain said:


> Do you fine the roselines bully the discus and disturb them?
> I had this issue in the past.
> 
> Nice wood layout and lighting.
> 
> I also like the 3D backgound attached to the overflow, that hid the box very well.
> 
> I did this to an older tank I had so you could not see it and attached plants to it. No plants here, but some floating species could be used if you wanted to.
> 
> I have some nice wire and quick release suspension stuff you might be find more attractive for the light bar. PM if interested.
> 
> I like the light a lot.
> 
> The brass valves are 10X better than the stiff, PVC ball valves.
> They often do not even cost a whole lot more. I've set up all the client's with these vs the PVC. At some point, I'll do this.
> 
> Nice end result, I know you spent a lot of time on it, but.......you got the goal you where after.


Thanks Tom, appreciate it! Yes, I worked a lot on this tank, I'm just glad it's over...for now. No, the roselines are calm as can be. Never seen them mess with the discus. They stick to the lower parts of the tank. Really cool watching them school through the 'roots'.

And yeah the brass gate valve is a must when fine tuning flow. Almost impossible to do with a PVC ball valve. I'll let you know about the suspension cables, thanks for the offer 



macclellan said:


> Nice. Display only, or do you wish to breed?


Thanks. For now, display only. I've read that wild discus will do fine in tapwater, but they won't breed unless you start messing with the TDS/ph, not something I want to take on at this time. 



hydrophyte said:


> This is like the kind of tank that a German or Norwegian would put together.
> 
> You don't see people in the USA taking this as seriously very much.


Thanks. And that's a good point. Tank setups in Europe are just insane!


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## night9eyes

Fantastic set-up and amazing pics! You've done a stunning job all around. Very natural.


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## kuni

See, you didn't need to see my biotope presentation after all! 

Lovely tank! I love the dappled LED effect and the tree roots - they look very natural. I wish I'd seen this thread sooner - I would have used it as the discus biotope example tank.

The only thing I would have done differently is a black background, but that's pretty minor. I like the way your background hides the box.

You might consider adding a few dried leaves down the line to keep the tannins going and to provide a natural feel(tree roots means trees overhead, which means fallen leaves). A few catappa leaves every so often would probably work.

Incidentally, you're really close to a roseline biotope as well - all the pictures of their habitat I've seen have been branches, leaves, and sand/mud. I suspect both the roselines and the discus are feeling quite at home!


----------



## Tbakes

Jose - gorgeous tank and a superb write-up. I am in the planning stages for my 178G tank and plan to "borrow" (or outright steal!) many of your plumbing ideas. 

Based on your tanks inhabitants, I doubt you have problems with critters going over into the overflow box. I am going to be keeping small schooling fish in a heavily planted tank, so I am still working out my overflow box design.

-Tony


----------



## NJAquaBarren

Very nice. Worthy if a public aquarium. Impressed with the light design too - industrial chic . Would love to see a write up of the light too.

Great work.


----------



## Coltonorr

Wow! Very nice setup!
makes me want discus...those colors are fantastic!


----------



## VadimShevchuk

Any updates of this magnificent tank?


----------



## jcardona1

night9eyes said:


> Fantastic set-up and amazing pics! You've done a stunning job all around. Very natural.


Thank you!



kuni said:


> See, you didn't need to see my biotope presentation after all!
> 
> Lovely tank! I love the dappled LED effect and the tree roots - they look very natural. I wish I'd seen this thread sooner - I would have used it as the discus biotope example tank.
> 
> The only thing I would have done differently is a black background, but that's pretty minor. I like the way your background hides the box.
> 
> You might consider adding a few dried leaves down the line to keep the tannins going and to provide a natural feel(tree roots means trees overhead, which means fallen leaves). A few catappa leaves every so often would probably work.
> 
> Incidentally, you're really close to a roseline biotope as well - all the pictures of their habitat I've seen have been branches, leaves, and sand/mud. I suspect both the roselines and the discus are feeling quite at home!


Thanks Matt, appreciate it! I have been thinking of collecting some oak leaves or buying indian almond leaves to use as litter. I've used them before and I like the black water look it gives the tank. On the background, I've done black for far too long. I was tired of it and wanted something different. Discus seem to look better with light colored backgrounds also. 



Tbakes said:


> Jose - gorgeous tank and a superb write-up. I am in the planning stages for my 178G tank and plan to "borrow" (or outright steal!) many of your plumbing ideas.
> 
> Based on your tanks inhabitants, I doubt you have problems with critters going over into the overflow box. I am going to be keeping small schooling fish in a heavily planted tank, so I am still working out my overflow box design.
> 
> -Tony


Thanks Tony, appreciate it! I actually purchased a small school of lemon tetras and within an hour all ten were in the overflow box! I scopped them out and I guess they learned their lesson. Now I'll get one or two in their every few days. Thank goodness for the intake strainers!



NJAquaBarren said:


> Very nice. Worthy if a public aquarium. Impressed with the light design too - industrial chic . Would love to see a write up of the light too.
> 
> Great work.


Thanks! Unfortunately that's all I really have on the ligthing. As I mentioned, I didn't build the drivers, that would be Aaron. So really the write up I have in the first post is all the information I have on them 



Coltonorr said:


> Wow! Very nice setup!
> makes me want discus...those colors are fantastic!


Thanks! They really are king of the freshwater aquarium 



VadimShevchuk said:


> Any updates of this magnificent tank?


Yup, see next post


----------



## jcardona1

*New fish are here!*

Very stoked! Just received my new group of wilds about an hour ago. I purchased three large Alenquer semi-royal Blues from John/Snookn. These guys are beautiful! John had them labeled as blues but he said lately they've been looking very red. Who knows, but they do look very nice. Here's some pics in their QT tank which will be home for the next 4-6 weeks. I'll be watching them closely to see if I need to give them a de-worming. 

On to some terrible quality photos


----------



## kwheeler91

Nice discus man, I love the wilds. Why not worm them anyway just to be on the safe side?


----------



## jcardona1

Got the RO/DI system hooked up. Thanks again to www.thefilterguys.biz. Second time I've ordered from them. Their products and service are top notch! I picked up the 5 stage Ocean Reef +1 unit, and hooked it up to the chloramine filter I bought from them some time ago. So I'm essentially running a 7 stage RO/DI unit









Hookup was a breeze. The unit started producing pure water in no time, with no leaks at all. Here's a quick rundown of all that is going on for those that are new to RO/DI units (this is my first one as well). 

_*in order of water flow*_
1. GAC Chloramine cartridge (granular activated carbon)
2. GAC Chloramine cartridge (granular activated carbon)
3. 5 micron poly sediment filter
4. 5 Micron Matrikx NSF rated CTO/2 Workhorse carbon block
5. 0.6 Micron Matrikx NSF rated chlorine guzzler carbon block
6. Dow Filmtec 75gpd RO membrane
7. DI cartridge w/ refillable resin

_*misc*
_8. Pressure gauge for water going into RO membrane
9. Inline dual TDS meter (measures straight tapwater and water before RO membrane)
10. Inline dual TDS meter (measures water after RO membrane, and after DI filter)











Waste water is going into my laundry drain. Maybe in the near future I can figure out a better use for it so I'm not wasting so much water. 

And here's some photos of the TDS meters in action:

_Tapwater straight from the faucet
_









_After passing through the RO membrane
_









_And after the last stage, the DI filter. Purest water you can get. 0ppm TDS!!!








_









To re-mineralize the RO/DI water with essential minerals I'll be using Kent's R/O Right and Discus Essentials. I'll add this after each water change, for the amount of water changed.


----------



## karatekid14

Your tank is amazing, bueatiful, pretty, gorgeous ect. Oh, and nice r/o system too


----------



## plantbrain

If you an snake that wastewater out to the lawn or landscaping, that'd be good.

I know your landscape plants will need it.

The hard plastic line is a bit like TC cable, so it can be snaked through walls etc easily.

Unhook the laundry plastic plate and see if you can sneak the line in between the wall outside. Drill a hole and Silicone around it good.

You can also make a simple catch basin for the water once outside, a barrel, etc, maybe put a lily and a few guppies to eat skeeters.


----------



## jcardona1

karatekid14 said:


> Your tank is amazing, bueatiful, pretty, gorgeous ect. Oh, and nice r/o system too


Thanks!



plantbrain said:


> If you an snake that wastewater out to the lawn or landscaping, that'd be good.
> 
> I know your landscape plants will need it.
> 
> The hard plastic line is a bit like TC cable, so it can be snaked through walls etc easily.
> 
> Unhook the laundry plastic plate and see if you can sneak the line in between the wall outside. Drill a hole and Silicone around it good.
> 
> You can also make a simple catch basin for the water once outside, a barrel, etc, maybe put a lily and a few guppies to eat skeeters.


Thanks for the ideas Tom. I really the idea of the barrel with lillies. Running the waste water line outside would be real easy since my laundry room is connected to garage, and right outside the garage is the front garden area. Got me thinking


----------



## jcardona1

The group of Alenquers in their quarantine tank were quite spunky this morning, so I snapped a few pics before work. I actually gave these guys a water change using RO/DI water, so the GH is even lower in this tank than my main tank...


----------



## oscarsx

breath taking, this is the most beautiful tank I've seen.. so much hard work and It payed off perfectly.. good stuff bro.


----------



## inkslinger

What is your temp for roselines and discus? I didn't think that 
Roselines would live in warm waters?


----------



## jcardona1

oscarsx said:


> breath taking, this is the most beautiful tank I've seen.. so much hard work and It payed off perfectly.. good stuff bro.


Thank you, really appreciate it 



inkslinger said:


> What is your temp for roselines and discus? I didn't think that
> Roselines would live in warm waters?


My temps are at 84-85. Roselines couldn't be happier. I did push the temps up to 87 once, and they definitely weren't happy in those temps. They appeared very lethargic and would hardly swim. 84-85 is just perfect.


----------



## jcardona1

Ok, ordered a TDS meter so that I can keep track of my parameters now that I'm using RO/DI water. I ended up ordering the Hanna Primo meter on eBay for less than $20 shipped. Very neat little unit, works like a charm. I tested the GH and TDS as follows:*Tapwater
*TDS: 109ppm
GH: 80ppm, 4.48 dH

*RO waste water*
TDS: 132ppm
GH: 100ppm, 5.6 dH

*RO/DI pure water
*TDS: 1ppm (taken from water in barrel)
GH: < 20ppm, 1.12 dH (1 drop to change color)

*190g tank
*TDS: 313ppm
GH: 100ppm, 5.6 dH

*30g quarantine tank w/ Alenquers
*TDS: 87ppm
GH: 40ppm, 2.24 dH
​In summary, I was surprised that RO waste water was actually higher in TDS and GH than tap water. I guess there's a higher concentration of solids is in the waste water. Also of note, is that my 30g QT tank has the most ideal water. I've done 3-4 10g water changes on this tank using pure RO/DI water. This would be the ideal readings I'd like to have on the 190g. It will be a couple weeks before I can get this low on the 190g. 

BUT, the 190g has come down in GH a lot!! Before I started using RO/DI water, my GH was at 220ppm / 12.3 dH. Huge difference!!! I wish I could have gotten an initial TDS reading before I started adding pure water.


----------



## shrimpnmoss

Wow this is a beautiful tank. I love how simple it looks and how high tech it is behind the curtains.


----------



## jcardona1

shrimpnmoss said:


> Wow this is a beautiful tank. I love how simple it looks and how high tech it is behind the curtains.


Thanks!


----------



## jcardona1

My tank, featured at The Aquatic Gazette 

http://theaquaticgazette.com/2011/04...cus-biotope-1/


----------



## jcardona1

Just a small update on my LED light fixture. I was having a few issues with the first driver board and they weren't dimming and turning off correctly. I think I may have fried the drivers when I first hooked them up to the power supply, since the voltage was turned up. Anyway, Aaron was kind enough to send me a new driver board. This one was even better than the first. The layout is identical, but this one is mounted to a nice little heatsink and fan to keep things cool









While I was changing things out, I switched everything to a bigger project box because the PCB would not fit due to the heatsink/fan. So, I also decided to mount the project box underneath my stand; it was sitting on top of the light fixture before. This will make it easier to work on, and also easier to hook up to my laptop when I want to change the lighting program. 

The only hard part was routing the wires back up to the light fixture. I only had to run the 4 negative wires from each driver, since this is what controls the PWM signal, and one positive wire to power all the strings. The LEDs are controlled independently by the CAT4101s, so there's no issues with using one positive cable to power them all up. 

I actually did all this a few weeks ago, but just now got around to taking pictures. Nothing beats sitting on the couch and watching the simulated sunrise and sunset from the LEDs


----------



## macclellan

That's sweet about getting a free board replacement!

The RO wastewater has all the solids not in the product water. It must be higher than the source.

Link above is broken, here it is: http://theaquaticgazette.com/2011/04/28/jcardona1s-wild-discus-biotope-1/

I might have missed this above, but if this is a discus biotope, what's up with the roseline barbs and rainbows?


----------



## speedie408

jcardona1 said:


> My tank, featured at The Aquatic Gazette
> 
> http://theaquaticgazette.com/2011/04...cus-biotope-1/


Well deserved Jose.

You're one of the few who I'd call Sinsei :icon_mrgr. Love how clean your work is. Wish I lived closer so I can see this setup in person.


----------



## Fishwhore

nice! nice diy project. you did an awsome job! love the fish stock!!!roud:


----------



## jcardona1

macclellan said:


> That's sweet about getting a free board replacement!
> 
> The RO wastewater has all the solids not in the product water. It must be higher than the source.
> 
> Link above is broken, here it is: http://theaquaticgazette.com/2011/04/28/jcardona1s-wild-discus-biotope-1/
> 
> I might have missed this above, but if this is a discus biotope, what's up with the roseline barbs and rainbows?


Thanks for fixing the link. They must have changed something around on their site. 

Yeah, I was under the impression that most of the solids would get caught in the membrane. But now that I think about it, if they were to all get caught, the membrane could be clogged in no time. So now it all makes sense why waste water is higher in TDS 



speedie408 said:


> Well deserved Jose.
> 
> You're one of the few who I'd call Sinsei :icon_mrgr. Love how clean your work is. Wish I lived closer so I can see this setup in person.


Thanks Nick! You're not _that_ far! Just a 2hr drive 



Fishwhore said:


> nice! nice diy project. you did an awsome job! love the fish stock!!!roud:


Thank you!


----------



## jcardona1

*Update time!*

Took the time to get some nice photos of the tank! You'll notice I added 3 angels and a group of lemon tetras to the tank. The angels are the poor-man's version of the majestic Altum angels...maybe one day. A few discus are missing from the 190g since they didn't seem too happy. I think some internal bugs may have returned, so they're currently being treated in separate tank. All part of the game. 


_click for larger version_




















































































And some new photos of the Alenquers in their QT tank. These guys are really looking amazing. They rarely show their mood/stress bars, meaning they must really be happy


----------



## FDNY911

Damn bro, you're the **. Great as usual!


----------



## bsmith

Excellent DIY sir, hats off. The lighting is amazing. If you wouldn't mind PM'ing me the rough cost of such a light I would greatly appreciate it. How long are the sunrise/sunset cycles? I would never leave my living room if that tank was in here. Simply gorgeous! I dram of having half that setup here in the next few years but with some tefe greens and nahmuda blues! Ahh, thatll be the day.


----------



## jcardona1

FDNY911 said:


> Damn bro, you're the **. Great as usual!


Thanks man, appreciate! 



bsmith said:


> Excellent DIY sir, hats off. The lighting is amazing. If you wouldn't mind PM'ing me the rough cost of such a light I would greatly appreciate it. How long are the sunrise/sunset cycles? I would never leave my living room if that tank was in here. Simply gorgeous! I dram of having half that setup here in the next few years but with some tefe greens and nahmuda blues! Ahh, thatll be the day.


Thanks! It really is awesome to sit on the couch and just watch the lights slowly fade out at night. I have my sunrise/sunset cycles set to 60 minutes, so it's a very gradual fade in/out. With the Arduino, it's very easy to make changes to the software as you please. Some greens and blues would make a killer setup. I've been wanting a group of Nhamunda reds but both times that I have made orders he's been sold out on them!

As for the fixture, no problem. Here's a breakdown of the costs. I usually don't like doing this because then I realize how crazy I am for spending so much on this damn tank! I could have saved a lot of money by using aluminum pieces for the heatsink, but since this was a suspended fixture, I wanted a solid piece of aluminum, mainly for looks: 

- heatsink: $100 shipped
- power supply: $30
- driver board: $90
- Arduino: $30
- real-time clock: $15
- 24x LEDs: $150
- thermal tape: $25

So about $440 in parts, not shipping on the smaller parts. With a few misc parts, I'm at about $500 in the light!!!


----------



## bsmith

And it seems like you had a buddy help you out with some of the tough electronic stuff at little or no charge too. My father could help though im sure of it. What type of more mainstream lighting (t5, MH, PC) and what wattage would you compare your set up to and would you say that your light on that tank would grow high light plants if you had co2 on the tank>?


----------



## FDNY911

whats up with a nice HD video of the tank, maybe even the sunrise/sunset! that would be pretty cool.


----------



## bsmith

FDNY911 said:


> whats up with a nice HD video of the tank, maybe even the sunrise/sunset! that would be pretty cool.


yes.


----------



## tharsis

I absolutely love the hardscape. The shimmering light, and the clean simple arrangement, very beautiful. 

I love the juxtaposition between the complex plumbing/electrical set-up and the simple display. 

Seriously awesome 

So you are doing ~30 gallon water changes daily? Do you have the water running through an RO filter or do you just use the tap water? With that behemoth light, I would imagine you need to keep your nitrates and phosphates at near 0 levels to avoid algae issues.


----------



## akdmks

Wow, simply fantastic. My hats off to you, sir.


----------



## audioaficionado

All your subsystems set the gold standard for concept and build quality and your overall project is beyond platinum IMHO.

I've been inspired by your programmable LED lighting system. I want to build one for my next large tank. The sunset/sunrise feature is da bomb.


----------



## zenche

holy bejeesus. stunned....so badass!


----------



## jcardona1

bsmith said:


> And it seems like you had a buddy help you out with some of the tough electronic stuff at little or no charge too. My father could help though im sure of it. What type of more mainstream lighting (t5, MH, PC) and what wattage would you compare your set up to and would you say that your light on that tank would grow high light plants if you had co2 on the tank>?


Thanks! Yeah, Aaron was a huge help on this build, lucky to have his assistance. If it weren't for him I would have been stuck using regular Buckpucks or Meanwells, and would not have been able to run an Arduino. As for the light intensity, I'd say it's probably similar to a dual bulb T5HO setup. In fact, I have the brightness turned down quite a bit. The warm whites are running at 67% and the neutral whites are at 7%. At full intensity they were way too bright for what I wanted; a dimly lit, natural looking biotope layout. Having the Arduino makes it very easy to adjust intensity. It goes from 0 to 255, so you have 255 steps of variable brightness. Much more room for fine adjustment compared to a traditional driver with a potentiometer. 



FDNY911 said:


> whats up with a nice HD video of the tank, maybe even the sunrise/sunset! that would be pretty cool.


I've been meaning to work on one. I just don't like shooting video. It's not my thing. Although I do have a DSLR that takes HD video at 720p 



tharsis said:


> I absolutely love the hardscape. The shimmering light, and the clean simple arrangement, very beautiful.
> 
> I love the juxtaposition between the complex plumbing/electrical set-up and the simple display.
> 
> Seriously awesome
> 
> So you are doing ~30 gallon water changes daily? Do you have the water running through an RO filter or do you just use the tap water? With that behemoth light, I would imagine you need to keep your nitrates and phosphates at near 0 levels to avoid algae issues.


Thanks for the kind words! Appreciate it. For water changes, I'm doing close to 40g a day right now, since I keep my sump nearly full. The way the overflow box is built, I get hardly any water trickle down when the power goes out, so I can keep the water level higher. If you look back a few posts, you'll see the new RO/DI system I installed. The RO water goes into a 55g aging barrel, and the water is pumped from that. 

The lighting is actually pretty dim, as the LEDs aren't running even close to 100%. But I did test nitrates a few days ago, and they were about 5pppm  



akdmks said:


> Wow, simply fantastic. My hats off to you, sir.





audioaficionado said:


> All your subsystems set the gold standard for concept and build quality and your overall project is beyond platinum IMHO.
> 
> I've been inspired by your programmable LED lighting system. I want to build one for my next large tank. The sunset/sunrise feature is da bomb.


Thank you! You'll love it. It's a little pricey to setup, but you'll enjoy it for years to come. 



zenche said:


> holy bejeesus. stunned....so badass!


lol thanks!


----------



## bsmith

So at fill intensity you would say it would be as bright as a 4xt5ho fixture and would necessitate the use of co2 and all that goes along with it? I would really like to use a fixture similar to yours whenever I set up my big hi tech planted discus tank in a few years.


----------



## oscarsx

I love coming back to this thread and seeing this awesome ass updates... 

I'm officially jealous...............

awesome set up dude...


----------



## oscarsx

and yes please, make an HD video of this tank naooo!!!


----------



## qwuintus

Hey man! I came over here from RC. Very nice 190 Discus tank. I actually have a 190 tall I am setting aside for some wild caught discus in the future.

Do you have any pictures of the full tank + led?

BTW, I love how organized everything is; from the wires to the plumbing. There isn't much to critique, but if I may say so; the acrylic splash guard could use some beveled edging for a more polished look. And to be extremely anal, the screws on the light switches could all be aligned the same way. 

Gorgeous tank though. Have you any experience keeping Altums? I heard they don't last long in captivity.


----------



## jcardona1

My first real video shot with my Nikon D90. Video quality is pretty bad as my tank is dimly lit. I'm also still learning how to nail the manual focus, can be pretty tricky! The video is 720p but I don't know why it only gives you the option to go up to 420p

If anything, at least turn up the volume and enjoy the cool song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdoHFD-32wg


----------



## andyl9063

hey jcardona1, i notice you're over at simplydiscus too. Can you give me details on your sump setup. I like how basic it is.


----------



## Loubard

Love it!


----------



## jcardona1

bsmith said:


> So at fill intensity you would say it would be as bright as a 4xt5ho fixture and would necessitate the use of co2 and all that goes along with it? I would really like to use a fixture similar to yours whenever I set up my big hi tech planted discus tank in a few years.


Hmm hard to say, but I'd estimate more like 2x t5ho, maybe less, since the fixture is pretty high off the tank and I'm only using 24 LEDs. Is this was a small tank and the light was lower, then yes, definitely.

Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk


----------



## jcardona1

oscarsx said:


> I love coming back to this thread and seeing this awesome ass updates...
> 
> I'm officially jealous...............
> 
> awesome set up dude...


Thanks, finally got a video made, check it out 

Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk


----------



## Gatekeeper

andyl9063 said:


> hey jcardona1, i notice you're over at simplydiscus too. Can you give me details on your sump setup. I like how basic it is.


His video on his sump system. There is a thread here too about it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ve9sxd4tlf8&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL



Video is awesome man. Fish are outstanding as usual.


----------



## jcardona1

qwuintus said:


> Hey man! I came over here from RC. Very nice 190 Discus tank. I actually have a 190 tall I am setting aside for some wild caught discus in the future.
> 
> Do you have any pictures of the full tank + led?
> 
> BTW, I love how organized everything is; from the wires to the plumbing. There isn't much to critique, but if I may say so; the acrylic splash guard could use some beveled edging for a more polished look. And to be extremely anal, the screws on the light switches could all be aligned the same way.
> 
> Gorgeous tank though. Have you any experience keeping Altums? I heard they don't last long in captivity.


Thanks, appreciate it! And I like your critiquing, you have a good eye  sorry, don't have any other full tank shots right now other than what's on the first page. I've never kept altums, but I would love to try. Even better if I can find a group that's been in captivity for a while. They just sound so fragile and I'd hate to kill them!

Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk


----------



## jcardona1

andyl9063 said:


> hey jcardona1, i notice you're over at simplydiscus too. Can you give me details on your sump setup. I like how basic it is.


Yeah, I'm there too. The sump is really basic. Just an empty glass tank, filter sock on the inlet, ceramic media in the middle, and a pump on the other end. Do you have any specific questions on it?

Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk


----------



## jcardona1

And thanks Loubard and Gatekeeper, sorry multi-quoting isn't possible using this software 

Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk


----------



## jcardona1

Wasn't too happy with my first video, so I made another attempt. This one came out a lot better IMO. Still got a lot to learn about video editing, but I'm getting there. Enjoy!

*Watch it in HD, and turn up the volume *

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UckghOmPoCk&feature=youtube_gdata


----------



## DavidZ

amazing!!!


----------



## andyl9063

jcardona1 said:


> Yeah, I'm there too. The sump is really basic. Just an empty glass tank, filter sock on the inlet, ceramic media in the middle, and a pump on the other end. Do you have any specific questions on it?
> 
> Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk


What do you think is a good size for the return and intake piping? I want to incorporate a spraybar as well.
Also, where did you get your large bag of media?

awesome setup btw.


----------



## antbug

Nice job on the video, Jose. You already know this, but your tank is AMAZING!


----------



## Finalplay10

Just wanted to be like everybody else and say Wow ... I honestly can't think of anything else to say right now.


----------



## teah

All I can say is WOW. In this topic, I can see from the setting up process to the fishes and the photos are all VERY WELL prepared and carried out. The only thing I would add is the layout of the tank. For me, I see the woods grade is just normal. I can see the cuts here and there on the woods, which is unnatural. The size and the shape of them don't really give me a WOW feeling as much as your hardware and the quality of the fishes. 

In my opinion, this layout will look perfect if you fake the woods as tress by adding mini fiss moss on them and create a forest look.

If you still like biotope, I think these woods would suite better


----------



## WeedCali

yeah..... WOW

That setup is amazing!

great work


----------



## jcardona1

DavidZ said:


> amazing!!!


Thanks!



andyl9063 said:


> What do you think is a good size for the return and intake piping? I want to incorporate a spraybar as well.
> Also, where did you get your large bag of media?
> 
> awesome setup btw.


Depends, what flow rates will you be running? As for the media, I got it with an older tank, so I lucked out! You can look for vendor The Fish Tank Factor on www.monsterfishkeepers.com, he sells bulk ceramic media. 



antbug said:


> Nice job on the video, Jose. You already know this, but your tank is AMAZING!


Thanks Anthony!



Finalplay10 said:


> Just wanted to be like everybody else and say Wow ... I honestly can't think of anything else to say right now.


Thank you 



teah said:


> All I can say is WOW. In this topic, I can see from the setting up process to the fishes and the photos are all VERY WELL prepared and carried out. The only thing I would add is the layout of the tank. For me, I see the woods grade is just normal. I can see the cuts here and there on the woods, which is unnatural. The size and the shape of them don't really give me a WOW feeling as much as your hardware and the quality of the fishes.
> 
> In my opinion, this layout will look perfect if you fake the woods as tress by adding mini fiss moss on them and create a forest look.
> 
> If you still like biotope, I think these woods would suite better


Thanks! The link you posted doesn't work, so I can't see it. But in general, I'm not a fan of fake trees with moss  I was trying to recreate the environment where discus are found and caught in the wild. They spend most of their time hanging around stumps and tree roots, hence the placement of the wood as coming from the top. I'm happy with the look for now. No better way to simulate tree roots in the water than using what looks like real roots 



WeedCali said:


> yeah..... WOW
> 
> That setup is amazing!
> 
> great work


Thanks!


----------



## audioaficionado

I was too busy looking at those gorgeous fish and that LED shimmer effect to notice any cut marks on the wood LOL.


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## Rion

Wow such beautiful fish, I also really enjoy that hardscape.


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## phorty

Very nice non-planted show tank. I've even posted up a request on the cichlid forum looking for examples of a non-planted show tank and this is exactly what I was looking for!!

Also, I didn't see it listed anywhere, but what substrate are you using?


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## jcardona1

Just a few new pics


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## jcardona1

audioaficionado said:


> I was too busy looking at those gorgeous fish and that LED shimmer effect to notice any cut marks on the wood LOL.


Thx 



Rion said:


> Wow such beautiful fish, I also really enjoy that hardscape.


Thanks!



phorty said:


> Very nice non-planted show tank. I've even posted up a request on the cichlid forum looking for examples of a non-planted show tank and this is exactly what I was looking for!!
> 
> Also, I didn't see it listed anywhere, but what substrate are you using?


Thanks! Substrate is regular sand and a gravel Klondike Brown. Both were purchased from a local rock yard.


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## khoile

You tank, fish and photos are so beautiful. Thanks for sharing.


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## MikeP_123

Send me your photography skills in a zip file!!! OMG!!!


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## sAroock

A great setup, maybe film ur tank in HD and post on YouTube, please do! The photos are amazing, but I'm sure a vid of the discus swimming though the roots will be amazing.


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## jcardona1

khoile said:


> You tank, fish and photos are so beautiful. Thanks for sharing.


Thanks!



MikeP_123 said:


> Send me your photography skills in a zip file!!! OMG!!!


Haha thanks! You can see more photos of other aquariums and fish at www.josecardona-photography.com 



sAroock said:


> A great setup, maybe film ur tank in HD and post on YouTube, please do! The photos are amazing, but I'm sure a vid of the discus swimming though the roots will be amazing.


Thanks! But I'm one step of ahead of you, check out post #90


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## apriliarider15

It's looking good bro! Although I do miss the photos of your Cichla aquarium, I think I like this one more.


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## A Hill

The shadows are amazing with your lighting. Everything looks great as always.

-Andrew


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## khoile

Did you order the fish online for LFS? those discus are amazing!


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## jcardona1

apriliarider15 said:


> It's looking good bro! Although I do miss the photos of your Cichla aquarium, I think I like this one more.


Thanks man, and nice to see you over here too 



A Hill said:


> The shadows are amazing with your lighting. Everything looks great as always.
> 
> -Andrew


Thanks!



khoile said:


> Did you order the fish online for LFS? those discus are amazing!


Thanks! The discus came from a vendor/importer in Florida. He goes by the name of Snookn21. Sells a lot on other forums as well as Aquabid. Great source for wildcaught fish at low prices.


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## jcardona1

Found a pleasant surprise today while doing a water change. No wonder these two angels have been so aggressive towards other fish! Let's see if any of them actually survive. It was hard to get good pics since there was driftwood all over, and couldn't get good lighting over them. Enjoy!


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## Herbicidal

Wow! How about that? Good luck! Perhaps this will encourage the Discus to 'get busy'. :hihi:


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## bsmith

Pics are great good luck.


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## shrimpnmoss

Wow those are some great shots....I hope they survive.


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## jcardona1

Thanks guys! Unfortunately all the fry were gone by Sunday morning  There were too fish for the angels to fend off and the roselines were picking them up very quickly. Maybe next time I'll try to remove the fry, but I really don't want to be raising any baby fish right now!


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## kingfisherfleshy

Man...I cant believe you dont (or that I havent noticed this) on MFK. 

Looks awesome. Professional grade build. - ("Fleshy")


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## wkndracer

read, drool, read the updates drool again.


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## orchidman

amazing tank! i love the shadows and depth.


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## Robbie1990

amazing set up mate, 

how high above the tank is your led fixture, are you using lens/optics?


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## 2in10

Gorgeous tank, great use of the driftwood


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## jcardona1

kingfisherfleshy said:


> Man...I cant believe you dont (or that I havent noticed this) on MFK.
> 
> Looks awesome. Professional grade build. - ("Fleshy")


LOL thanks! And it's been on there since day one, and has an even longer thread 



wkndracer said:


> read, drool, read the updates drool again.


haha thanks!



orchidman said:


> amazing tank! i love the shadows and depth.


thank you!



Robbie1990 said:


> amazing set up mate,
> 
> how high above the tank is your led fixture, are you using lens/optics?


Thanks! I'd estimate the fixture is about 15-18" off the tank. No optics, just the LED itself. 



2in10 said:


> Gorgeous tank, great use of the driftwood


Thanks!


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## jcardona1

Here's a long overdue update! Enjoy!


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## hydrophyte

Holy cow!


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## speedie408

NIOCE!! 

Jose are you using the gutter and eggcrate setup for these shots? You're using 2 speedlites as well right? I'm trying to see if I can bite your style  Hope you don't mind. 

I love the exposure in your shots man. Nicely done. Now dont' hold back and teach me.


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## Craigthor

Great looking fish, pictures are alright as well.


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## jcardona1

hydrophyte said:


> Holy cow!


Thanks!



speedie408 said:


> NIOCE!!
> 
> Jose are you using the gutter and eggcrate setup for these shots? You're using 2 speedlites as well right? I'm trying to see if I can bite your style  Hope you don't mind.
> 
> I love the exposure in your shots man. Nicely done. Now dont' hold back and teach me.


Ha thanks Nick! For this series all I did was set my speedlight up on my LED fixture pointing into the water, so about 15-18" off the water's surface. I set the zoom on the flash head to its widest angle (10mm) and put the diffuser cap on it. Flash was set to 1/3 manual power, triggered by my camera's built-in flash using the Commander mode. 

Since I used only 1 speedlight and it was fairly high off the tank, I had to compensate with the settings. These were at f/8, 1/80th, and ISO 500. For these shots I tried to capture more ambient light so you could see the background. When I want photo background pitch black, I'll stop the settings down to approx f/16, 1/200th, and ISO 200, or so. That gives me results like this where everything is black except what is lit by the flash:










Hope that helps! This was just a quick shoot while I went home for lunch  



Craigthor said:


> Great looking fish, pictures are alright as well.


Thanks!


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## antbug

Damn Jose! I have to come by soon and see this tank in person. As always, beautiful pics bro.


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## Janf

I confess... This is the first tank I like without any plant! I'm a planted tank lover but this one is amazing man. I think you did a great job, REALLY! 

Btw, those Discus are amazing!!


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## jman

Impressive pics!


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## semperfimrn1

gawd!!! love this tank!!!!

i want those LEDs!!


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## jcardona1

antbug said:


> Damn Jose! I have to come by soon and see this tank in person. As always, beautiful pics bro.


Thanks Anthony! Just say when 



Janf said:


> I confess... This is the first tank I like without any plant! I'm a planted tank lover but this one is amazing man. I think you did a great job, REALLY!
> 
> Btw, those Discus are amazing!!


LOL thanks! That means a lot if you're partial to planted tanks  



jman said:


> Impressive pics!


Thanks!



semperfimrn1 said:


> gawd!!! love this tank!!!!
> 
> i want those LEDs!!


Thanks! Seems like LEDs are the way to go these days.


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## speedie408

Thanks for the tips bro! Keep up the awesome work.


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## freph

This is absolutely amazing....I'm blown away by all the work you've put into this thank. If I had a dream tank, this would probably be one of them. Keep up the great work.


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## Lil' Swimz$

They look so healthy!

LED = OBE


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## jcardona1

speedie408 said:


> Thanks for the tips bro! Keep up the awesome work.





freph said:


> This is absolutely amazing....I'm blown away by all the work you've put into this thank. If I had a dream tank, this would probably be one of them. Keep up the great work.





Lil' Swimz$ said:


> They look so healthy!
> 
> LED = OBE


Thanks guys, appreciate it


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## semperfimrn1

bump! any update on this tank? 

one of my top 2 on this site i would say


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## shrimpNewbie

beautiful fish and setup, i must say your stand is one of the most beautiful stands i've seen so far, great job on this. you deserve to be able to see this on a daily basis =p


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## hydrophyte

It's always a treat to see updates on this thread. I hope there might be more new picutres.


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## 2in10

Gorgeous tank and fish, awesome photography


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## jcardona1

^ Thanks guys. Haven't logged on in a while and no new pics yet, but everything is still doing great, not much has changed!


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## cbessler

Simply genius


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## jcardona1

Long overdue mini update! Several months ago Aaron ('o2surplus') made me a new microcontroller for my LED fixture that includes a very cool LCD display. This is known as the "Typhoon" controller that is becoming more and more popular with the reefers, as it's much simpler to use than the Arduino boards. The controller has 4 built-in buttons to control all LED channels and intensity. It also offers on/off overrides. All this is done on the board itself and I no longer need to hook it up to a laptop and run the Arduino software to make edits to the LEDs, much nicer! Well today I finally took the time to mount the new boards in my project box and make the necessary cutouts. 

_Controller and LCD panel mounted to the inside lid of the project box_









_Designed by o2surplus 
_









_Revised project box, showing some Android love 
_









_LCD panel (current time and each channel's intensity) and input buttons: Menu - Select - Plus - Minus
_











Fish-wise, I recently lost two discus; one wild and the one domestic I had  Not sure what happened, but some sort of flesh-eating bacteria killed them. Started off as a little pimple on the forehead and spread like wildfire in two days, all around the head and eyes. Never seen anything like that before. Didn't even have time to treat in QT. Soooo, I don't think I'll be adding any more discus anytime soon. Not because I'm giving up on them, but because I don't feel like dumping more money on them. These aren't exactly cheap! 

So, I'll be adding some other fish that can get along with my current stock. Added some eartheaters a few days ago, I'll be on the lookout for some more. 

_Satanoperca Leucosticta and the little guys I think are Tapajos red-heads_









_Shot of one of my angels, currently 5 in the tank_










And something a little more interesting. My roselines have developed long flowing fins over the past couple weeks, almost like a butterfly koi. Also, the yellow spots on their tails turned white. Who knows what could have caused this. Crossbreeding? Hybridization? Whatever it is, they look pretty damn cool!


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## nikonD70s

wtf! those roseline look nice bro. how long have u had them for? i hope mine have long fins like that.
are these wild caught from wes? or tank bred?
mind=blown


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## jcardona1

Thanks! I've had them for about a year and a half. They were always normal up until a few weeks ago. Never seen any long fin like this before. Did some searching, and couldn't find anything. Here's what they looked like only 6 months ago. No idea what caused the transformation. These came from a LFS.


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## zachary908

Great photos and fish, man! Those Long fin Roselines are sweet. Wonder how long it will be before someone starts a breeding line of them.


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## nikonD70s

yeah man im searching also and couldnt find anything. never seen or heard of it before. u def have a group of special roseline. that just add more value to them in my opinion. load a new vid to your youtube man. i wanna see the roselines swimming.


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## aXio

I've followed your thread on Simply. Your tank is amazing to say the least. I'm growing out some discus currently and will attempt something similar to your tank. attempt being the key word.


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## fusiongt

This is amazing! Your tank is simply incredible and your photography is equally so. Well freakin' done! Discus' for the win.


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## speedie408

Thanks for the update Jose. You need to stay active and keep us posted more often. 

I'm liking your roseline morphs man. You sure you haven't been dropping radioactive pellets for them? haha


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## jkan0228

Nice! They even have white dots instead of yellows.


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## TactusMortus

Those Roselines are crazy!


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## 150EH

Nice job on the photos and sorry to hear about the Discus, thanks for all the good info on the speed light and camera settings, and the dark photo with all the shadow looks really nice and kind of draws you in to see what's lurking in the shadows.









The circuit for the LED's is so nice too, and seems like a great way have separate controls instead of just a dimmer. Ill have to say the Discus are beautiful and these guys look like they are getting ready to break out into some kind of melody. This is a nice capture with 5 Discus just lined up in a pose.


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## The Gipper

are you still doing the daily water changes? if not, do you think the sock and ceramic noodles in sump would keep tank parameters under control


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## orchidman

cool roselines!


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## antbug

Nice update dude. As always, your tanks looks great. Sorry to hear about the 2 you lost. That sucks!


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## chris.rivera3

these are probably the best looking rosalines I've ever seen...I really like the "koi-like" long flowing fins!!!




jcardona1 said:


> And something a little more interesting. My roselines have developed long flowing fins over the past couple weeks, almost like a butterfly koi. Also, the yellow spots on their tails turned white. Who knows what could have caused this. Crossbreeding? Hybridization? Whatever it is, they look pretty damn cool!


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## jcardona1

zachary908 said:


> Great photos and fish, man! Those Long fin Roselines are sweet. Wonder how long it will be before someone starts a breeding line of them.


Thanks! Who knows, I'm sure they already have them in Asia. Those guys breed anything and everything over there. Short body this, platinum that. If you dream it, they will make it in a lab  



nikonD70s said:


> yeah man im searching also and couldnt find anything. never seen or heard of it before. u def have a group of special roseline. that just add more value to them in my opinion. load a new vid to your youtube man. i wanna see the roselines swimming.


Yeah they sure do! I'll have to see what I can do about an updated vid!



aXio said:


> I've followed your thread on Simply. Your tank is amazing to say the least. I'm growing out some discus currently and will attempt something similar to your tank. attempt being the key word.


LOL thanks, appreciate it!



fusiongt said:


> This is amazing! Your tank is simply incredible and your photography is equally so. Well freakin' done! Discus' for the win.


Thanks! 



speedie408 said:


> Thanks for the update Jose. You need to stay active and keep us posted more often.
> 
> I'm liking your roseline morphs man. You sure you haven't been dropping radioactive pellets for them? haha


Thanks Nick, I'll try to be more active  I wish it were some special pellets. That way I could at least make more.



jkan0228 said:


> Nice! They even have white dots instead of yellows.


Yeah! I don't even know what happened first, the fins or the dots



TactusMortus said:


> Those Roselines are crazy!






150EH said:


> Nice job on the photos and sorry to hear about the Discus, thanks for all the good info on the speed light and camera settings, and the dark photo with all the shadow looks really nice and kind of draws you in to see what's lurking in the shadows.
> 
> The circuit for the LED's is so nice too, and seems like a great way have separate controls instead of just a dimmer. Ill have to say the Discus are beautiful and these guys look like they are getting ready to break out into some kind of melody. This is a nice capture with 5 Discus just lined up in a pose.


Thanks a lot, glad you enjoyed the pics and the write up. 



The Gipper said:


> are you still doing the daily water changes? if not, do you think the sock and ceramic noodles in sump would keep tank parameters under control


I'm doing water changes every other day right now. I haven't checked nitrates in a while, maybe I should. I just don't see having any problems because the stock is so light...



orchidman said:


> cool roselines!


Thx!



antbug said:


> Nice update dude. As always, your tanks looks great. Sorry to hear about the 2 you lost. That sucks!


Thanks Anthony!



chris.rivera3 said:


> these are probably the best looking rosalines I've ever seen...I really like the "koi-like" long flowing fins!!!


Yeah they sure are, thx!


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## jart

Phenomenal tank. I'll make sure my wife doesn't see this thread or she'll want me to get rid of my existing setup and devote my time to discus.

_Spigot that refills the sump from the aging barrel, with a Y-valve for adding water to other tanks_


Would you mind sharing where you sources those valved Wyes? I've never seen those before.

Regards.


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## audioaficionado

Most any hardware or big box store has 'em in the garden dept by the hoses and sprinklers.


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## jcardona1

^Yup! Bought this at Lowes where they have all the garden hoses and nozzles. 

And snapped a few new pics today, I'll just drop these off here


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## SkyGrl

Those angels are monsters! love it! 

Amy


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## speedie408

Great shots once again Jose! I don't remember asking you but how are you diffusing your flash from the top? Also are you using 1 or 2 speedlights?


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## jcardona1

SkyGrl said:


> Those angels are monsters! love it!
> 
> Amy


Thanks! Those two angels pictures are my big males. They are massive! Each controls one side of the tank, and they always battle it out right in the middle. Pretty fun to watch them  



speedie408 said:


> Great shots once again Jose! I don't remember asking you but how are you diffusing your flash from the top? Also are you using 1 or 2 speedlights?


Thanks Nick! For this set and the one before it I simply placed the speedlight on the glass center brace pointing down in the water. I used by SB-900 with the plastic diffusor cap on it, which automatically adjusts the flash zoom to its widest angle of 10mm. 

These were shot at 1/200th, ISO 200, and f/13-f/16. 1/200th is my maximum flash sync speed, so I never go faster than 1/200th since after that it greatly reduces the flash output.


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## speedie408

Damn, my speedlite only goes down to 24mm. 10mm is pretty wide. No wonder it looks like you've got a nice big light spread. I'm familiar with those settings, but my flash can take up to 1/250th max. I guess it's a Canon thing :tongue: *had to toss that in there* haha


----------



## jcardona1

speedie408 said:


> Damn, my speedlite only goes down to 24mm. 10mm is pretty wide. No wonder it looks like you've got a nice big light spread. I'm familiar with those settings, but my flash can take up to 1/250th max. I guess it's a Canon thing :tongue: *had to toss that in there* haha


Haha! I'd have to go up to the next model to get the 1/250th sync speed. Not sure why the lesser modes are 1/200th. 

As for my speedlight, it's the SB-900, which is their biggest. My SB-600 doesn't go 10mm wide.


----------



## zachary908

Lovely shots, Jose! Those angels are gorgeous.


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## plantbrain

Jose, I happen to have a bunch of left overs from the client's tank, Blue diamonds, Yellow albinos and a Flamingo red.

They are about 3-4".
I have about 10-12 fish left.

They already went through Q and eat any frozen food offered.
Some nice Geophagus would look super in there.


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## sketch804

WOW guy! high tech doesn't even began to describe this tank! absolutely stunning among other thing! you really know what you are doing and displayed it beautifully!! I will be watching this post over and over to see more!


----------



## fishboy199413

How is the tank going? This tank is an inspiration and yet it is so simple.


----------



## wetbizquit

:icon_eek::icon_eek::icon_eek::icon_eek::icon_eek:

ummmm....... wallpapers please...... NOW :drool:


----------



## globali

That is one thread of joy.

Visuals are truly wonderful.


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## jasb

*thanks for the inspiration*

After seeing your tank i made me re think what i am doing, love your work, I found your post while researching my arduino controller for my leds, i have no previous experience and am started to feel that i have my ambition an my ability mixed up yet again. Did you write your own code or borrow someone elses, I have a long road ahead, can get a led to fad, to dim and to blink. Now have to work out the real time, a 24 hr program etc, just wished that i was not a dumb arse carpenter, any help would be great


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## alipper

A+++ on the tank and the time you put into light, filtration, etc.


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## jimbo662

Wondering how the sump is working for you? I'm contemplating setting up my first discus tank and would rather use a sump than canisters.


----------



## pandacory

Wow! Thanks for digging this up Jimbo!

This has got to be one of my favorite framed aquariums and certainly top of the list for hardscape only set ups. I really like the low profile look of the canopy cover.

The lighting is spectacular. 

But jeez, you must be very diciplined. No way I could resist not planting some crypts or swords as a minimum! Some of the rarer crypts around the root base would be very interesting.

I am putting this thread in my bucket "ideas to steal later"


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## du3ce

maybe i missed it but what kind of gravel is that?


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## Neaha

I am so curious what this tank looks like now? Absolutely stunning. Awesome Roselines. Incredible filter system you put together. Very inspirational


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## HybridHerp

this is one hell of a tank


----------

