Setting Up a New 150G South American Tank

[Tautog]

Setting up the 150G Marineland XH 48x30x24 aquarium took 4 full weekends.

Some raw material



Marineland 150G XH (48x30x24)



Custom built filter bench and storage



Valspar black exterior acrylic latex rolled on for background color



Bench painted black



Preparing x2 9W UV sterilizers



Tank is ready for placement against wall - bench and background in complete



Mounting UV filtration systems - x1 Eheim 2217 biological filter with a lower mid-level intake and surface output pushing through UV System; x1 Eheim 2215 chemical filter with 100% ChemiPure Elite and API activated carbon at a mid-level intake zone with surface output; x1 Eheim 2215 chemical filter all activated carbon with mid-level intake and surface output, x1 Eheim 2215 biological filter with surface intake and source output; x1 Fluval Fx6 biological / mechanical (lots of sponges) filter with lower level intake and both surface and lower level output; Eheim 300W Heater; Whisper Air pump / Wall; Marineland 48in double LED lighting; 10G quarantine tank with a 150W Eheim heater and a Eheim 2211 canister filter













Setting up the Home... Sand and Gravel Substrate and Driftwood Center Piece... selection choice compliments of my friends at Fish Gallery...





The full Engine Room



By this time I have already combined my two smaller tank livestock (All Amazon River Basin) into a comfortable living in the larger tank... here is a picture of new Discus taking a hot salt bath before entering therir new home...



Final Display Tank











Blue Boy



Brains



Happy Hungry Fish



The surface herd... I love these Hatchet fish... 11 Marbled and 5 Silver. When the lights go to blue sunset setting, they become extremely active near the surface... you can see them shimmering in the false moonlight playing back and forth and all around... they become energize when the lighting changes to the condition instantaneously and 100% of the time.

[Ballinxalex]

Nice setup ! Is that a fx6 I see in the box ?

[Tautog]

Yes thats a Fuval fx6 which has been running 3 weeks very smoothly in a Discus tank...

[hungvanvo]

Beautiful tank and very nice setup. I love to have some Discus to my tank but I am scare the they will die with my high PH water. quick question why you need to have salt bath for them ( Reduce tress???)

[mnemenoi]

Nice setup! We have the same tank and I love seeing how others arrange and filter. As for lighting, look into the Finnex Ray 2, excellent LED array for plants. There are a few stranger options, but without a spotlight area they give focused lighting. We use the T5's and get a better penetration to the deeper levels of the tank that even the PC's were unable to provide. When we upgrade it will be to a pair of Ray 2's most likely.

[Tautog]

I went through a learning curve with Discus over the past 3 months but I finaly stabilized and became able to raise happy Discus. What I came to know the hard way is that they are very sensitive to getting sick if you don’t regulate the water temperature. These Discus are my two most recent additions but I have seven total and planning to add 1-2 more as soon as I find the red color variation that completes the set I am trying to build.

I keep the water temperature about 86.5 to 87F which is a tad bit warm. I chose all Amazon based species that can tolerate the warmer temperature since their natural habitat is shared by Discus species. I have Rams, Corys, Raphaels, Cardinals, Neons, Red Eyes and Hatchets all living happily and healthy together. Although my 150G is only 3 weeks old, the livestock have been living successfully together in two smaller tanks that I have broken down being replaced by the larger system. The salt is a preventive measure and helps combat the protozoa and parasite issues. I also use a tad bit of Quick Cure as preventive meds to kill any bugs just in case from the LFS before I introduce to my display tank. I love the whole Quarantine Tank setup concept and I put new fish in for a minimum of a week and heat the water up to 89-90 (for Discus only) and treat the tank then I ease the temp down a little each day until its regulated at the same general temperature as the display tank... then when I feel good about I put them on display and so far its worked out perfectly for managing Discus...

As I said before, I did not have good luck in the beginning but I traveled to every reputable LFS in Texas inquiring how to do this. It was challenging so I never gave up. I ALSO have significant filtration and a good overkill mix of biological, chemical and mechanical... Fx6 - Bio / Mechanical, Eheim 2217 - Biological and UV sterilization, x3 Eheim 2215's - one full chemical with nothing but ChemiPure Elite and a little activated carbon, one full loaded with activated carbon, one biological...

[mnemenoi]

Certainly give it to you with the filtration! Looks like a Troph or Petro keeper with that adage of 'If there is room left under the tank your not filtering enough' lol

[hungvanvo]

Great job Tautog.

[Tautog]

Thank you and I will do my research on Finnex Ray 2... regarding the extra Eheim's, I bought them for the smaller tanks I learned on and did not want to waist the investment so I incoporated them... I was talking to the lady at AquaTek in Austin and she gave some good advice that has really helped me achieve what I wanted to achieve in terms of water quality and specifically clarrity. I put all of my Chemi Poure Elite in one Eheim did same in a second with activated carbon... the tannins from the Driftwood are under control... now certainly the tannins are great for the South American fish but I like the the clear water. I am controling the acidity of water water by buffering... just a little.

[Tautog]

Thank you all for the feedback...

[mnemenoi]

Right on, I always end up using Purigen for Tannin control. Never knew Chemi-Pure would work in that regard. I have never had good results via carbon and have removed it from our aquarium systems completely unless I am removing medication. Buffering the water can always be tricky, but RO/Distilled is the easiest manner I have found that produces solid results combined with a Ph reducing substrate. Peat pellets also get decent results, but can add to the tannins as well.

[Tautog]

http://s1344.photobucket.com/user/jscarb639/media/150G%20XH%20Freshwater/SA_Discus_Community_1_zps6ac252d7.mp4.html

[BrAin]

Awesome tank. Thanks for the vid and pics.

[Tautog]

Awesome tank. Thanks for the vid and pics.

Thank you. Are the Sweeney Bulldogs gonna have a good season this year? I grew up a Columbia Roughneck.