Floater

Man.... if only my place didn't have a wooden floor... the only spot that could take the weight of a big tank already has my 450L on it... damn! One day I will get myself an 8 footer for a snake neck.

Flushing would've made a good birdie spa

So here are some updated pics of my tank, 4 weeks to the day (basically) since planting. The grassy looking stuff in the front is covered in brown algae but it appears to be starting to clear up . Enjoy.

I'll send you a pm/email when I have some clippings (might be a few weeks). And my tank is 1510mm long haha, oh well the search continues!

Sounds good. You can always direct the flow into the side of the aquarium or something if the current is too much. Don't think that will be an issue though. I have my 2078 going nearly flat out and the two blue rams and neons in my tank love the current. It's also angled slightly up (below the surface of the water) to increase surface agitation and I guess this reduces the current as opposed to it shooting straight out across the tank.

Have always had a fascination with animals, especially aquatic life.

I haven't really had a planted tank before (my 60L had 1 species of plant that grew like a weed) I'm kinda flying by the seat of my pants on this one. A month after planting they seem to be growing well. Plant experts here that spring to mind are pheonix44, alan..., and supasi they know their stuff. Regarding the Eheim classics, I'm pretty sure my old mans one that is 20+ years old is a 2213. So I'd definitely say there is nothing wrong with them

I'm pretty sure I've seen a few posts around that Ron has said he hasn't bred any discus in awhile. I run a small UV internal filter in my tank from what I understand it's purely for microbial purposes and prevents algae blooms. I kinda just threw mine in the tank not fully understanding what it did, but I think I have the right idea. **EDIT** Just had a quick look at the Eheim website and Eheim recommends probably a 2073 for your size tank, thats the pro3 series. http://www.eheimasiapacific.com/prod_e_ ... _pro3.html have a quick browse.

Definitely Eheim if you can afford the price tag, I got myself a 2078 and it has been working a charm! It's a filter and a gadget with the whole microprocessor thing so provided me with a fair amount of tinkering fun. My old man has a small Eheim canister from when he used to keep fish about 20 years ago and it still works fine too...

I had a 100L tank about 10 years ago (when I was 12) and it lasted about 6 months before most of my fish died and I had to move to Dunedin (from Auckland) gave up then. Late 2008 I bought a 60L tank and have had that going up until now with some blue rams. Just threw basically everything I had into buying my 450L tank I figured I always thought it would be cool to have a big tank and when you're young... why not? I like your choices of discus! I'm going to get 2x Blue Diamonds, 2x Red Melons and either 2x albino leopards or 2x albino leopard snake skins. If Vincent had some yellow ones I'd be getting 2 of them! I'm definately no fish or even discus expert but I've done a hell of a lot of reading up on them in the last two months and everything you're planning to do sounds right (from what I've read). If that gives you any piece of mind at all? Definitely a good idea to take things slow. I'm purely going to be putting my trust in Vincents reputation here... as I'm in Dunedin there is no real possibility of me checking out the fish prior to purchase :-? .

If you need some other plants just give me a shout, I'll have to start taking clippings from some of mine soon and I'd gladly pass em on to a fellow Dunedin fish person (don't seem to be many around) instead of tossing them out. Also where did you get your black background from is it a single piece? I had a look at stationary warehouse for some black card and couldn't find anything big enough in a single piece.

Or if don't want to spend anything you can try rinsing the filter wool once a month, and by rinse I mean thoroughly. It takes awhile it get it "clean" but that way you can reuse it .

I was going to post some on Sunday seeing that is a full month... but... I just picked up my old mans camera (as mine ain't to hot) and I don't think I can wait so I think tomorrow at around 10am you'll see some pics (lights come on at 9.30 ). Fair bit of growth.

Hey there. I just bought myself a new tank as well (in my signature) and I'm planning on getting into discus for the first time. I'm going to buy my babies from Vincent Discus who sells top quality stuff from what I hear. I'm sure you'll find a load of helpful information and people on this forum. I'm relatively new to fishkeeping (just over a year) and my knowledge base has increased a hundred fold since joining up here. Here's a link to some of Vincent Discus' fish, I'm guessing some of them are his breeding stock? viewtopic.php?f=13&t=42696

Didn't expect anything less from you Living Art. Thanks for the help.

I guess the real question I need to ask you then is: Are they still alive? :lol: Thanks for all the info Living Art and Charlie. Much appreciated.

According to this http://www.chelonia.org/Articles/easternlongneck.htm it would probably change the water chemistry favourably? As they prefer alkaline ph (according to that article anyway). Also being able to digest the sand, even partially, would reduce the chances of impaction I'd imagine?

I read that 8) beginning to wonder why I made this post haha, I guess it was the conflicting information I was reading on the snake-neck that prompted me to do so. :-?

Also found the mention of "digestable" substrate. "Some digestable sands are available (normally consisting of some form of calcium), but the jury is still out as to whether or not the high cost of these substrates makes them worthwhile." Taken from: http://www.reptilesdownunder.com/reptil ... substrate/ I imagine coral sand falls into this category?

http://www.chelonia.org/Articles/easternlongneck.htm This is one of the sites that recommends 16-20 degree water temperature. Might be worth a read.

Haha holy sh.. that is awesome!

How hard? We talking losing a finger tip hard or just painful? Thanks for the info Charlie, if I ever get one I'd probably designate a 6 foot tank for it. Could you use floating plants? Would probably assist the nitrogen cycle between water changes I'd imagine? I also read that coral sand is a good substrate? And that they like brackish water so a bit of added salt?

Hey I've just got a few questions about snake neck turtles, don't have one but I've always been fascinated by them. I think it's the fact that they live both in the water and out of it lol. Is the scientific name for them Chelodina longicollis? What size tank is suitable for an adult snake neck? And is the same tank suitable for young ones? Are they social with other snake necks or do they prefer to be kept by themselves? How big would the tank have to be for two adult snake necks? (provided they can be kept more than one to a tank) What sort of water depth is necessary? Does it matter if it's deep? I read somewhere that snake necks like to bask in shallow water sometimes as opposed to out of the water, would it be beneficial to have a shallow platform with basking lamp? What sort of plants can you grow in a snake neck turtle tank? What substrate is suitable? What temperature water do they need? What PH water do they prefer? Any answers to these questions would be greatly appreciated, also additional advice. (I've read the care sheet thingy in this section on them as well as some other bits and bobs this morning). **EDIT** My god there seems to be a fair amount of conflicting information on the internet! More so than with fish! One site says they should be kept in water at 16 degrees another says 26 degrees. One says they are easy to keep, another says very difficult. One says acidic ph helps prevent skin and shell problems another says alkaline... sounds like no one know what's going on... :-?

How many hours a day do you have the lights on for?

I'm pretty sure it's made for in the tank... I have mine on the bottom...