Luke* Posted August 18, 2006 Report Share Posted August 18, 2006 How to do a 90% Water Change in 35 Minutes Drain the tank. Leave enough water to just cover their dorsal fins. Discus wondering if it's the dry season. The siphon tubing runs out of the door. I detach the prefilter and large air driven filter sponge and squeeze them out using the water flowing out of the siphon outside Once the prefilter on the large hang on the back filter has been cleaned using the tank water, reattach over the intake, and plug in the pump that will carry fresh water from the storage barrel back in to the tank Here is the long clear hosing that transports the water to the tank. Sure beats buckets... Luckily, think the discus, it is the wet season again just in time. A short time later, totally refilled I then bring the hose inside... ...and once the hose is tucked neatly in one of the barrel lid holes, it is turned on. Inside the storage barrel is a 300w heater and an airstone to off-gas the chlorine and get it to the right temperature. This is known as water 'ageing'. I do this for two tanks and this process is repeated every day. This keeps the growth inhibiting nutrients (namely nitrate) at a bare minimum and promotes healthy happy discus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishboi Posted August 18, 2006 Report Share Posted August 18, 2006 nicely done Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HandS Posted August 18, 2006 Report Share Posted August 18, 2006 I hope you unplug your heater (or did i miis that part?) Great job :bounce: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljtan55 Posted August 18, 2006 Report Share Posted August 18, 2006 Very nice pics! Where would you get a water barrels like that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Posted August 18, 2006 Report Share Posted August 18, 2006 Barrels like that ussually come full of farm products like molasses, and chemical washes. you could ask at a nearby farm, or go direct to the source. some places pick up and refil the barrels. you could also try plastic manufacturers that make water tanks and plastic troughs for agriculture they may have something of that size. I hear wine barrels are also good. Doug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meesheelly Posted August 18, 2006 Report Share Posted August 18, 2006 how do you pump it back in? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharn Posted August 18, 2006 Report Share Posted August 18, 2006 powerhead and hosing i beleive luke? and i see you have some of your new discus in the alpha tank aye? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shiuh Posted August 18, 2006 Report Share Posted August 18, 2006 i love your discus! very nicely illustrated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Discusguru Posted August 18, 2006 Report Share Posted August 18, 2006 WOW, great job Luke! Ron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke* Posted August 18, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 18, 2006 Thanks fishboi, hands, ltjan55, doug, meesheelly, sharn, shiuh, and discusguru for all taking the time to comment much appreciated. Hehe I thought someone would ask that, yes I do unplug the heater. Once the water level is at the minimum water level mark I plug it back in as you can expect a bit of heat loss due to the water movement; this helps keep the temperature as stable as possible. In turn this means less stress and less chance of disease for the fish. I got the water storage barrels locally off trademe from a rural guy living on a farm. Due to the contents all they needed was a rinse so I preserved water by positioning the barrels (the other I will use for daphnia in Summer) under the overflowing guttering on the roof. During heavy rain they would fill and overflow, thus cleaning themselves. While there's no daphnia in the outside one over winter, I keep it under the overflow to gather rainwater that is great for setting up breeding tanks and using for water changes. Meesheelly I use a 2400L per hour Resun King 3 submersible pump, it has a 2.4m head (the max height it can push water straight up). This suits my needs well at the moment. A king 4 or 5 would make the job faster but potentially could be a bit fast for the fish, not a problem for really big tanks mind you. Sharn you are right, I moved the 4 pigeon blood discus I had in quarantine to the discus display tank. I now have the alpha pair in a dedicated breeding tank. Still waiting for them to spawn...! Time to bring out the peat I think Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caper Posted August 18, 2006 Report Share Posted August 18, 2006 How big is that tank Luke??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evil_elmo Posted August 18, 2006 Report Share Posted August 18, 2006 wow awesome pictures! how many discus do you get per spawn? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave01 Posted August 19, 2006 Report Share Posted August 19, 2006 Great job luke!! Healthy happy looking discus. nice work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke* Posted August 19, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 19, 2006 Hi Caper, it's 165L (or 45 US gallons) Thanks elmo and dave. The bigger ones pictured were from the biggset spawn I've had, about 100 of them. There's actually three generations in there though from the same pair. Depends how many eggs fungus or possibly get eaten by the parents, but I always hope for at least 50. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evil_elmo Posted August 19, 2006 Report Share Posted August 19, 2006 i wish both my pairs get it right so i can have a tank like that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke* Posted August 19, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 19, 2006 Hehe yeah it's neat they rush up the top when I come home and they know when it's oxheart and colour bits time. They even let me touch them if I put my hand in. Sometimes they think I'm a tasty piece of meat too and nibble at me. Quite neat to be so close to something that existed by itself for so long in the wild. In a big group they're not skittish at all and they get use to the water changes too so they don't freak out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke* Posted August 27, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 27, 2006 lol did anyone notice in the 3rd pic up from the bottom one you see a couch outside and a corner of a tank. Too many tanks inside and no more room so now have tanks waiting their turn outside Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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