90 Gallon S.A. Discus/Pleco Tank Journal

[Darbex]

Need pics

[jeebus]

im guessing its all filled out the way you wanted it now? cant wait to see some pics.

Sigh.. no. We're pretty much back to where we started. "Filled Out" just didn't work, the discus colored down, were cramped, and the tank was filthy. We like it now that we've cleaned it out, but I don't think its show quality. Perhaps if we can get the tiger lotus really bushy it will look a little better.

Thanks for the vote of confidence though! :)

[mgarrido]

Yes, he has redone the tank yet again! The plants got out of hand so we ripped a lot of them out, i like it a lot better now. The discus have a lot more room to swim and their colors are amazing.

Your discus are lucky with you guys!

[mgarrido]

Yeah... the plants got a little crazy, specifically the sagattaria. It grew like a weed on co2. My other issue was the Java moss. It was like virus the way it spread and attached itself to EVERYTHING in the tank, particularly the sagattaria.

I'm actually doing a water change now. Give me 24 hours and I'll post some new pictures. While you're waiting you could post some new pics of your tanks.............. )

uco2 is like steroids for plants lol....

[cichlid1409]

thats funny aren't all the plants in our tanks weeds? lol

im guessing its all filled out the way you wanted it now? cant wait to see some pics.

[jeebus]

Yeah... the plants got a little crazy, specifically the sagattaria. It grew like a weed on co2. My other issue was the Java moss. It was like virus the way it spread and attached itself to EVERYTHING in the tank, particularly the sagattaria.

I'm actually doing a water change now. Give me 24 hours and I'll post some new pictures. While you're waiting you could post some new pics of your tanks.............. )

[Kiovo]

Yes, he has redone the tank yet again! The plants got out of hand so we ripped a lot of them out, i like it a lot better now. The discus have a lot more room to swim and their colors are amazing.

[mgarrido]

Any update Glen?

[Complexity]

Found the technical answer to how the CO2 kills fish.

http://www.thekrib.com/Plants/CO2/poison.html#3

[Complexity]

That's actually how I use to gauge my CO2 levels. Pump it all the way up until the fishes gasp for air then slowly lower it down. But then again, it was a plant first type tank.

Yup, I've done that. You can overdrive the CO2 above 30ppm if you're really careful. I was fighting BBA and wanted a very high level of CO2. Pulled it up to the point of the fish gasping, and then dropped it back down a notch. Definitely above 30ppm. The plants were pearling so much, it looked like a snowstorm in the tank! Plants were growing 1"-2" a day!

[myjohnson]

It's just having too much carbon that hurts them. The main sign iof a fish tank with too much carbon...the fishes will gasp for air.

That's actually how I use to gauge my CO2 levels. Pump it all the way up until the fishes gasp for air then slowly lower it down. But then again, it was a plant first type tank.

[Complexity]

It hurts then when the CO2 levels are to high. Forgive my lack of chemistry knowledge, but I believe it zaps the oxygen in the tank. Too much CO2 = too little Oxygen = dead fish.

[Darbex]

Thats why I was trying to figure out how it hurts them

[Complexity]

Thanks for the explanation. I'll look into getting a controller and in the meantime will probably just pull my bottle off and get it filled to prevent any issue until I can get a controller.

Just get the controller. It's not that expensive, and you'll really regret it if something went wrong. You've sunk some good money into that tank. Consider the pH controller a form of insurance to protect your investment.

[myjohnson]

How does CO2 hurt the discus other than accidentally over injecting?

CO2 does not hurt fishes at all in the rights amounts.

All tanks have some carbon in it. Fishes take in oxygen and release carbon like humans.

Plants take in carbon and release oxygen. In nature this balance is met. In our tanks we need to work a little harder at it.