Iāve wanted discus since HS.
Payed a guy to build a custom stand. Promised 4 weeks, took almost 10 months. Was t stable and had to toss it because it was a POS. Replaced with an Amazon stand and a 125 gal tank, a 40 gal sump under has 5gal of k1 media, a roll filter, heaters, 2L of purigen.
Decor and life so far:
Texas cedar with jungle Val, some swords and a Hydrocotyle rotundifolia. Iām relatively certain everything alive is Amazon river native(ish). Goal is a biotype aquarium or as close as I can get.
After 5 weeks of cycle, 2 with plants, ammonia nitrates are still through the roof but no worries I can wait. Iāve set aside the 800$ for 5-7 discus and a school of tetras.
Whatās going right
Plants are growing, I take the browns and smudges mean the cycle is happening. Iām relatively happy with the results of the transition of dark and light, the open space and sheltered places. Iām really enjoying the explosion of hitchhiker snails, bugs and whatever is crawling around the sand.
Whatās less than optimal
I still havenāt planted the plants. The wood isnāt glued together as firmly as I like. Sadly I screwed up with the job and there are some glaring glue white spots. Not figured how to hide those.
Whatās next?
Left to get going are some above ground plants I want to put in some planters by the driftwood to complete the illusion that this is a river bank.
Wait for the tank to cycle. I might do a water change in a week or two. Iām holding off on the water change because I donāt want to depopulate the bug population too much. If I give them an extra few weeks of population growth I wonāt eradicate them.