120g fully automated Discus setup

I picked up a 4x2x2 Tenecor tank the other day. I was initially just going to keep my mbuna in it, keeping them in the same spot in the house, but because it has a nice flood-proof acrylic stand and overflow and all, I decided that I'll put them somewhere else in a standard 125 and keep Discus in this tank.

If I ever make it down south to pick it up, I've got a nice RO unit to add in to the system, and my ultimate goal is to have this up and running on a drip system, using gravity to drain the excess water to a bathroom or the utility room downstairs. I have easy access via a floor vent that'll be right next to the tank so I can run water in between the floors. Tapping into a washer or sink line for the supply ought to be easy enough, though I'll need to learn more about plumbing before I'm confident in knowing exactly where I'll put the drained water. I could just let it run into a sink or tub, but I'd rather splice it right into the grey water output somewhere if possible.

I've never successfully run a sump setup, nor have I done a drip. So please tell me if there are holes in my idea:

- drip system using 50/50 mix of tap and RO, drips into the sump
- overflow level in sump to get rid of excess water
- overflow output and the extra output line from the RO join together, run between floors over to utility room, drain into ______ (whatever I decide)
- heaters in overflow and sump regulate temperature

And the stand itself can hold about 40 gallons of water before reaching a point where it'd overflow, which is VERY nice, given my penchant for creating floods (I ran 2 pythons basically directly into my floor for 20 minutes last month... downstairs on concrete, thankfully, so all I ruined was a carpet pad). So I figure this is the perfect tank to do all this for the first time - very little danger of ruining the framework of my house.

But, like I said, I'm a first timer.

My main concern is that I would think I'd want some kind of rigid permanent piping for this application. And it's about a 30 foot run between floors from the tank to the utility room. I have easy access to this space, since I wired the entire house front to back with CAT6 and speaker wire... but that stuff is flexible and in one piece. If I was to use PVC, for instance, I'd have to build it about 2 feet at a time, cementing every joint, and just assuming/hoping I'd never have a leak.

Or is there a flexible type of piping/tubing I could use, like a super-version of CO2 tubing, that I could trust never to degrade, get cut, or leak?

Here are a few photos of the tank. I set it up out in another room where a 125 will eventually sit, just to see how it looked. It has a good amount of scratching, but nothing bad if it's full of water. Still, since it's empty, I'll probably buff it all out and make it nice and clear. Might as well.

Any suggestions on what size and model pump I should get for it? It will be in a living space so I'd like it to be quiet. Speaking of which, the durso with it appears to be set too low - it'd be a 4-6" drop from the overflow entrance to the level inside the overflow, which I assume would make noise.

I'm not a huge fan of the central return... I may try to plug that and go up and over. I drilled two holes near the overflow... all that white crap in there is the remnants of that task.

Unrelated to the setup...

My initial inspiration for the Discus was, like almost everyone else's, Heiko's Lesson. I don't have space upstairs for a tank that large, but I was thinking I could do a nice low-tech setup in a 72x18" tank out front. Now that I'm doing the 48x24" instead, I'd love to see some ideas for aquascaping that tank.

I actually have all the CO2 and stuff to do a high tech tank, but I lack the patience. I'd do low tech and swords-only and be totally content with the look... but I've never managed to keep swords for long periods without them eventually succumbing to algae.

Still, I like swords and I like light bright enough to make the colors really pop. And I have no idea how I'll want to set this one up. Would love some inspiration.

That polytubing, if it's what I think it is, is nice and cheap. But I do still wonder if it's reliable enough to put in between the walls and floors of my house.

I'd need to drain because this isn't just a top off system, it'd be for large weekly water changes.

Danger_Chicken;4455812; said:

I run 1/2 pvc tubing ...

...the idea behind a drip is no more water changes. I don't think you need to deal with the hassle of RO water. Discus Hans rasies and breeds his fish in tap water. I'm not a plant guy but I believe RO also removes nutritents the plants need. Keep it simple.

Click to expand...

Sorry, bad phrasing as I tried to explain it to him. A large volume of water is changed out per week. But via the drip.

Discus Hans isn't using Chicago tap, though. And while I guess Discus can live in our 7.5 super hard water, they don't breed and can't possibly be 100% happy. I've always suspected that my eartheaters, orangeheads especially, aren't happy here either. The orangeheads always dull down over time, color-wise, and no spawns are successful. Breeding isn't my main goal here, but it is always nice to see, and is part of their lifestyle.

Anyway, if I can run one pipe, I can run several, so I don't mind having the extra runs for RO. And I already own the filter.

Some of that tubing appears to be 1/2". I think that if it is safe to bury outdoors it ought to be safe in the walls and floors, right? The problem is that there is only 14" between floors and a very limited access point below to feed anything. If you're familiar with the Klein Glow rods for pulling wire, it took a LOT of effort to even feed each 5 foot section up into the space. And it's a lot more flexible than 1/2" PVC.

I guess it wasn't even pressure that worried me, but some kind of awful catastrophic event like a rat or mouse in there, or me puncturing it while doing something else in there (I'm also automating the house; lots of wiring and testing and speakers and stuff). Or if it might somehow just degrade/rot and eventually be thinner/weaker. It's just that having a slow unknown leak in there would basically destroy my entire house. Not good.

Anyway... I moved the tank to its final spot and test filled it. Black is perfect in this spot. It'll look even better when I replace these speakers with the wood ones and get a more appropriate vertical plant for up top. (And patch those damn Bose holes.)

Once I decide how to filter it temporarily I'm going to put my Uaru in here and see how it looks with their shape/size in there. They're all roughly 5-6" so it's the right size, even though they're more active. That'll give me an idea of how many is a good number of adults.

Flexible PVC, you say? That sounds like a winner. Sweet.

(Again, Google could've told me that, if I wasn't a TOTAL MORON.)

Initially I thought about making a wood stand to match the kitchen cabinets. But that would've been too much consecutive cherry wood. We had a pine stand there with my africans as a placeholder and it looked awful. So Piano black acrylic it was. Which is funny, because I used to HATE that. I always like furniture quality wood stuff wherever possible.