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Farewell

elgecko

I've got a magic window!
To my Discus.
smile_h_32.gif


Yes Scott, it's true. I hope to get them again sometime and have the tank set up in a basement or larger room.

My tanks are in the second bedroom. This is where the computer is also, so my wife and I spend a bit of time in there.
During the summer the room stays uncomfortably hot, around 85 degrees, because of my 29 gallon discus tank, which the water stays at 83 degrees. Also my 40 gallon planted tank with the lights and ballasts running, and the computer. I decided to take temperature readings above the tanks. The discus tank runs about 98 degrees. The planted tank was 140 degrees.... No wonder the room is always so hot in the summer.
Because of this I decided to make some changes. I hated to see them go, but after close to 2 years I got rid of my discus in the 29 gallon tank. The 29 gallon tank will become a new planted tank, which I hope the plants will be able to live with the lighting fixture it currently has because it's less light, and less heat generated.
I decided to take down the 40 gallon planted tank because of all the heat the lights generate.
It seems every 5 - 8 years I switch from fish to lizards. The 40 gallon tank is going to get set back up to keep lizards, most likely Leopard Geckos which I bred for a few years, several years ago. (My avatar name will make sense again.) I will be going to the next reptile show which is in mid July. I'll see if any thing new catches my eye since I have not been to a show for 6 or 7 years.

29 gallon Discus tank, Before:
post-22-1110510887.jpg


Currently: I want to change the background color to black.
post-22-1119567980.jpg


Unfortunately I do not have any shots before I took down the 40 gallon tank. This is a shot after I had done a make over 2 years ago.
post-22-1100820349.jpg


Currently
post-22-1119567904.jpg
 
oh i thought you were leaving! what a relief!
 
Yeah, don't scare me like that! Hey, are we still on for tomorrow?
 
Bon Soir, pretty discus! What kind are they, BTW?
 
awww..aorry to see the discus go!
but sometimes these kinds of things are for the best..

im down to one discus myself, from my original 4.
once the last one passes away I will take down the discus tank and just have the planted tank...

what in the world was making your tanks so hot?!
140 degrees?!
im amazed anything could live in that..
I have bright lights on my planted tank, but it never gets over 78 degrees..and the heater keeps that temp up, not the lights..

Scot
 
aprilh,
The discus were Pigeon Bloods.


scottychaos,
No, No... the water was not 140 degrees, because of the room being so hot the water was usually around 82 degrees and the heater was set at 75 degrees.
The 140 degrees was the temperature above the tank were the lights are. I had 80 watts of light and the 2 of the 3 fixtures, the ballasts really kicked the heat out.
 
ElGecko..

They were beautiful fish! It must have been hard to give them up, and I'm sorry you had to.

Good luck with the lizard breeding. Lizards are so cute.
 
aprilh,
It was hard to get rid of them. Someday I will have them again.
How's the nep doing for you?


In case anyone wants to see a page and pictures I had made some time ago about the Leopard Geckos I bred before, here's the link:
http://www.geocities.com/elgecko1989/geckos.html
 
ElGecko...

So far the nep is still green.  When I got home from work today, it was a little limp, because it's been so darn hot here.  I moved it from a diffused light situation to a total shade one, until this heat lets up (outdoors).  I have watered it with distilled water every day..today, I really soaked it.  

I have it planted in a basket lined with lfs.  The actual medium I have it in is orchid bark w/charcoal.  Is this correct?  Let me know...I'll do whatever it takes!  

those geckos are so pretty..it must be hard to decide between the discus and the geckos.  Aprilh
 
  • #10
Elgecko,


You needed to change the lights to ones with electronic low heat ballists. They are very cool. Plants can also grow with just 2 watts of light per gallon -- especially the ones you have. Also, opening the lids and letting evaporation cool the water -- place a small fan blowing on the tank -- is an amazing way to cool. Sad to see such nice fish go. BTW, what are those floating plants -- frogbit?

Bobby
 
  • #11
biggun110,
I'll have to look for those cooler ballasts sometime.
I only had 2 watts per gallon. The 80 watts was on the 40 gallon.
The floating plant that was in the discus tank was water lettuce.


April,
Sounds like you might be watering it too much. I water my neps twice a week. They like to be a little moist, not soggy.
It should be fine with diffused light.
I believe I've read people using the same mix as you, orchid bark w/charcoal. I have had great success with equal parts peat moss, LFS, and perlite. I thought about trying some other mixes but thought: why fix it, if it ain't broke.
 
  • #12
ELGECKO!!! Do NOT scare us like that!
 
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