PlanetCatfish.com

The tank I am using for this project is the same size as my previous Green Phantom tank.

It measures 160x75x60 cm or 63x30x24 inches. I prefer deep and relatively short/low tanks because it gives the fish a bigger turn radius when swimming and it also gives me more dept when aquascaping.

The main purpose of the tank besides keeping and hopefully breed L-128 and other plecos is to use it as a growout tank for brown F1 discus juveniles. I will buy a seasoned breeding pair in a couple of weeks and expect them to breed after some time. Until I have discus juveniles I will only keep plecos and tetras in the tank.

The tank sits on top of an industrial strength steel stand wirh the Green Phantom tank below. It was welded by my friend and PC member AndreasB.



The tank setup will only consist of driftwood and sand.

The driftwood pieces are from my local petshops. I like this wood cause its heavy and dense. Its a nigtmare to cut and drill though.

This module was built for another tank in 2003. It consists of 6 pieces of driftwood screwed together. The backside is flat. This module will sit on the left side glass of the tank. On the backside of this module and all the other modules I will attach a small piece of stainless steel sheet metal with screws, and glue the sheetmetal to the glass with silicone.


This module will sit on the back wall to the left. It consists of 7 pieces screwed together.

I build the mockup on the floor. The inner dimensions of the back wall is outlined with masking tape.

This is the module for the left wall:


The other module is for the left side of the back wall:

I really look forward to see a driftwood design from you!
Do you use plastic or acid resistant screws?

Unfortunately I can´t photograph the front view because the mockup is on the floor. Currently I am playing with the different pieces of driftwood. I will need some more to finish the composition. I am off to my LFC tomorrow to get some more material.

barksten wrote: Do you use plastic or acid resistant screws?

I use acid resistant screws from Clas Ohlson;)

Judging by your other tanks, I am extremely excited to see how this turns out! Goodluck to you, and keep us updated with pictures!!

Hope to see the project finished , what kind of discus will you add I see some nice wild discus like alenquer or heckel

I hope that Catfish atlas is water resistant

Haavard Stoere wrote:

barksten wrote: Do you use plastic or acid resistant screws?

I use acid resistant screws from Clas Ohlson;)

Hey, no advertising

--
Mats

Haarvad every time I see your tanks makes me want my project to happern faster!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I got my two pro 3 ready for my tank!

Nivola

MatsP wrote:

Haavard Stoere wrote:

barksten wrote: Do you use plastic or acid resistant screws?

I use acid resistant screws from Clas Ohlson;)

Hey, no advertising

--
Mats

Shiait! I was hoping you would´t notice my sublime messages

nivola wrote:Haarvad every time I see your tanks makes me want my project to happern faster!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I got my two pro 3 ready for my tank!

Nivola

I work very slowly. Most of my spare time I spend in front of the television:) I just love TV

Today I bought some screws and washers. I decided to use large washers instead og sheet metal. Don´t like to fabricate more than neccesary.

The largest module is in place. I hope the steel/silicone technic will work.

jopbgon wrote:Hope to see the project finished , what kind of discus will you add I see some nice wild discus like alenquer or heckel

He mentioned keeping F1 Brown Discus from a pair he is getting. That means the pair must be wild brown discus and they will love all that wood.

Hey Haarvard,
Have you ever tried catching juvenile discus? They are very quick and experts at taking every advantage of any hiding place. The 2.5 cm sized discus are even hard to catch if all you have is a bare tank with a heater and sponge filter. Just had to do it last week and I had to remove the filter and heater to get at them quickly.

I sure like the ways you have come up with fastening wood or rock work flush with the inside glass panels. Too, permanent for me but I'll have to try it using a glass panel so I could retain the option to easily remove or change the original arrangements.

On Sunday I will visit the lokal discus keeper and have a look at the pair. I will wait a couple of weeks before I buy them. My intention is to keep them in a rather bare 200 liter tank for breeding. If I manage to breed them I will use the tank I am building as a growout tank.

Today I was at my LFS to look at some driftwood. I didn´t find the pieces I was looking for, so i didn´t buy any. Istead I bought a 150watt Jager heater for the tank. I always buy low wattage heaters as an insurance against over heating caused by failing thermostats. Over heating is rare, but I am a firm believer in Murphys.

apistomaster wrote: Hey Haarvard,
Have you ever tried catching juvenile discus? They are very quick and experts at taking every advantage of any hiding place. The 2.5 cm sized discus are even hard to catch if all you have is a bare tank with a heater and sponge filter. Just had to do it last week and I had to remove the filter and heater to get at them quickly..

Yes I have They are reallly fast. A real potential nightmare with a fixed arrangement of driftwood.

apistomaster wrote:I sure like the ways you have come up with fastening wood or rock work flush with the inside glass panels. Too, permanent for me but I'll have to try it using a glass panel so I could retain the option to easily remove or change the original arrangements.

I totally agree. I will not use such permanent arrangements for the majority of my tanks. For practical fishkeeping and breeding purposes more flexible solutions are better.

If all goes well and you buy the pair, I look forward to seeing some photos once they have settled in for you.
You know I love wild discus. I am currently trying to breed this.

You certainly have a way with decorating tanks, already this one looks like it is going to be great when its finished.

Like larry i would find fixing the decore to the tank to be too permament and a little dangerous for the large fish that i keep, its better if the wood can move should 60cm of catfish crash into it, but i might have to have a go at your technique in one of my smaller tanks as a change from my usual minimalistic style.

That`s a really nice looking discus Apisto I really like the natural look. What´s it called?

CFC: I totally agree. Fixed decorations have lots of disadvantages.

I have decided not to glue anything to the right side of the tank. I will leave it open like a black nothingness or something like that. If I ever need to catch fast discus or any other fish I can simply put a devider in the middle of the tank. The reasons for this decision is mainly estethic considerations. I don´t want to crowd the tank with driftwood.

Photographing a tank without water is difficult. This is what it looks like at the moment.

Wow, it looks great so far! If only I could decorate a tank half as well as you are able to. Very nice.


Also, where did you manage to find that "Poecilia!" shirt? It's fantastic.

Dread wrote: Wow, it looks great so far! If only I could decorate a tank half as well as you are able to. Very nice.

Thank you

Dread wrote:Also, where did you manage to find that "Poecilia!" shirt? It's fantastic.

I won it in a photo kompetition at akvaforum.no

You can buy it at:
http://www.akvaristsjappa.no/
It´s expensive, but high quality.

The techinic with the steel and silicone worked very well. I removed the supports last night. The module on the left side wall is a bit wobbly, so I will cut it loose and fasten it again. I don`t want anything to come off once there is water in the tank.

This unusual piece of diftwood floats, so I will secure it to the tank bottom. It will raised a bit so that the nice shapes don´t get burried in the sand.

Ready to be anchored to the bottom.

The module is anchored to the bottom. I have also dislodged the left side module, added a piece of wood to it and glued it back.

The piece I added will hide the in/out tubes for the canister filter, and also hide the heater and a powerhead.



This large piece will also be anchored to the bottom. One reason for doing this is that sand settles differently around a fixed object.


The ends of the piece are cut, so I will have to make them more natural. I will try to use an electric jigsaw.

I consider my blue discus I show in my photo a Manacapuru Blue Discus, of average quality.
Pretty, but I like more blue striations. While I wait for more Blues to begin showing up I am trying to get it to mate with one of my Red Turquoise. They breed very true. So much so that it can be difficult to pick out which ones I plan to use, among my females. One of my three mated pairs of Red Turquoise tending a spawn at only 11 months old. I raised these from one of my older pairs.

Is the first photo a Manacapuru Blue Discus?

I really like the blue ones in your latest photo, but I prefer less blue and more reddish:)

This evening I shall visit the man with the discus and browse a little. I will bring my camera and hopefully manage to take a couple of photos of my future discus.

Since you obviously know a few things about discus strains Apisto I have to ask... I have heard of wild blue discus where the females are quite red/brownish compared to the bluer males. Do you know what that strain is called?

The latest addition:

Haavard Stoere wrote:Is the first photo a Manacapuru Blue Discus?

I really like the blue ones in your latest photo, but I prefer less blue and more reddish:)

This evening I shall visit the man with the discus and browse a little. I will bring my camera and hopefully manage to take a couple of photos of my future discus.

Since you obviously know a few things about discus strains Apisto I have to ask... I have heard of wild blue discus where the females are quite red/brownish compared to the bluer males. Do you know what that strain is called?

Hi Haarvard,
My guess would be that the wild discus variety you speak of is the one often referred to as the Alenquer Brown, they are often a redder brown than most other wild discus. They are known for their sexual dichromatism and it is the females that are often the deeper red and marked with more blue striations.
If you like red more than blue in domestic discus here is one of the others I was keeping until recently. Our own moderator, Barbie, owns them now. I considered them another variety of red turquoise discus.

Here is another specimen of the same strain at about 5 months earlier.