# Kings of the Aquarium



## cb1021 (Sep 21, 2009)

*It starts:
*It's 8pm, I'm rushing to Big Als to get large bags to transport 10 large Discus. I also purchased a 12" net as to not damage the animals during transportation. These fish definitely had my full attentiveness.

I arrive at the private owner's home prepared with packing materials and condolence. Who would easily let go of these fish?

The previous owner of these elegant giants have raised them from babies. This group is currently 5 years old. I spent 45 minutes at the owner's home carefully netting out the Discus out of their 125 gallon tank. But also with great care, I consoled the owners as it was obvious they had attachment to these fish.

It is a great privilege to inherent these fish from great owners. Before I left, I showed them a photo of my mom's aquarium as a way of saying "don't worry, your discus will be in good hands".

My thoughts as I drove home was 90% of times this: "holy shiet". In my backseat, in a large Styrofoam box, are 10 large very healthy Discus of various strains.

*Changes in Environment*
Discus - The King of the Aquarium have arrived. They're hopefully settling-in, in what hopefully is heaven.

Among my other fish, several behaviour changes have occurred. The Wild Angelfish are sparring with each other on a constant basis. Meanwhile, the 30~ Candy Cane Tetras have gone into hiding completely, they are invisible.

*Next Steps*
Next step is to purchase another 48" aquarium to house some of the Discus or Wild Angelfish. It would also be a good place to store some excessive plant species. Perhaps a low light, black water aquascape in the very near future.


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## cb1021 (Sep 21, 2009)

Angelfish showing new colors


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## infolific (Apr 10, 2016)

I think I saw these on Kijiji. Their new home looks much better than where they came from!


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## cb1021 (Sep 21, 2009)

Yep I picked it up from that seller. The nice family had them in a 125 gallon, bare bottom w/ driftwood.

Their maintenance regime:
Water changes 25% every week.
2 feedings per day (Tetra Colorbits for breakfast, Frozen blood worms for dinner).
Filters (two Eheim 2217s) are cleaned every 6 month.

The health of the fish that resulted from this pragmatic approach gave me confidence in the purchase. Quality and moderate growth creates a strong foundation. Seeing some human beings that like to use Whey protein to bulk up, they are actually weak relative to their weight.

All kings eat breakfast today.

Co2 is back on.


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## infolific (Apr 10, 2016)

That's not at all a crazy maintenance plan given what I've read about discus care. I could even do that 

I'm not a fan of bare-bottom tanks, but to each his own. Clearly the previous owners knew what they were doing so props to them. I'm sure some would say I have too many plants, but I like the jungle look so I'd ignore them and happily go on my way.


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## cb1021 (Sep 21, 2009)

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Couple learning points:
a) Big Discus poop large, potential hazard to water conditions
b) Super beautiful view

Video of Kings of the Aquarium:
Tank specs, maintenance routine, stocklist in description. 
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## planter (Jun 9, 2008)

Those are some nice fish. How big are they?


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## cb1021 (Sep 21, 2009)

haha thx. They're 3-3.5" body size (no fin).

Their new home needs renovations before moving in: paint background black, finish plumbing the sump. 150 gallon, doors removed to fit sump in.

2 subtle wood placements below. Going to bust out the swords (Echinodorus) for this tank including E. Tenellus. Will also include most plants from my 75 gallon. Also with the addition of Moss, Anubias, Java fern on the wood.

Live stock additions will be large school of Cory Cats. Perhaps also try large school (100) of Cardinal Tetras in future.


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## Sea MunnKey (Oct 2, 2014)

Nice selections of Discus ... that's cool!


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## Boreas (Dec 8, 2015)

Are you using a sump on that aquarium that houses the angelfish? Will your new aquarium have CO2 injection?

I'm planning on running CO2 with my next aquarium and it'll have a sump. Just wondering if you have ideas on a sump designed to not lose too much CO2 to surface agitation.


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## cb1021 (Sep 21, 2009)

The current 75 gallon doesn't have as ump. The New 150 gallon has a sump and I will be using co2. 

I don't have experience with sumps and co2. Co2 loss is expected due to the agitation. My advice is to get a 20lb co2 tank so that you can just crank it up a bit (relative to a tank that has no surface agitation). Also, use a Cerges reactor of course just to have more efficiency.


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## Boreas (Dec 8, 2015)

I see, thanks for the reply. I have some ideas that I might post on a new thread. Sump designs that use as few baffles as possible for very little surface agitation.


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## cb1021 (Sep 21, 2009)

Got this LED light from Amazon..$30 total (make sure to buy LED + AC adapter separately)
LED Light
AC Adapter

Got it to get some moon light effect. Holy bright batman. Had to buy the dimmer for it ($4). Not really the effect I was going for but will see how it looks when there's water. Looking for the shimmer effect.

Also painted back black. about 4-5 coats.


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## PlantedTank (Apr 15, 2016)

Those are some gorgeous fish! Look forward to see how this comes together


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## cb1021 (Sep 21, 2009)

Moved tank to final position. Waiting for one specific plumbing part, will take a week. Added lighting. not much going on...driftwood needs to be chopped.

Meanwhile, decided to use sand for this tank, also with plant coverage of only 25-40% as opposed to 80-95% the 75 gallon has. Just to keep the maintenance lower.


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## cb1021 (Sep 21, 2009)

150g on hold, plumbing issues. Going away for 2 weeks, will continue when I get back. Big head ache but hopefully sump all worth it.










150 gallon


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## cb1021 (Sep 21, 2009)

Water is beautiful


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## cb1021 (Sep 21, 2009)

Been soaking a few days. Lots more work to do...


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## cb1021 (Sep 21, 2009)

No time to work on 150g


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