Your Set Up? Your Maintenance? Please Share!

[Ginger]

Hello Keepers of Adult Discus in Planted (and other Not Bare Bottom) Tanks,

I hope this thread blooms in the spirit of the Administrator's/SimplyDiscus Owner's requests & suggestions in "The Forum's Position On Planted Tanks," 2/6/2014.

I would very much like to hear from you about any planted discus tank that you have had, say, six months or longer, and just what you do to maintain it.

I’m not looking for advice or even guidelines, I’d just like to know what you have and what you actually do to maintain it.:


• Tank Size (20g High, 55g Long, etc.)
• Aquascape (ie, gravel, half covered with plants, some rocks, some driftwood//4cm of sand only// or whatever)
• Equipment you consider relevant (ie, filter OTB or canister or/UV sterilizer?/Co2?)
• Occupants (Number and type of fish, and do you have snails, shrimp, etc.)
• Maintenance (ie, “I usually change half the water every three days and I siphon the open gravel, but sometimes I let it go 7-10 days. I rinse out the canister once a month."//” I change 10% every weekend, and sometimes I let it go two weeks.”)
• About How Long you have had the setup
• Anything Else you’d like to add



I'm looking for two things 1. Whatcha got. 2. Whatcha do to keep it all going.

Thank you very much!
Ginger

[Surfnturf]

Also would be interesting to add how many discus you have had sick and or/die in the past year. Or how long since one got sick and/or died since the general concensus is that they do not do as well in a planted/non bare bottom tank.

I'm still new to keeping discus so I'll opt out.

[manbearpig]

1. My tank is a AGA 125 gallon with dual overflow boxes.

2. Substrate is around 3" in the thickest areas. I use half Flourite substrate capped with 3/16" pea gravel. I would say moderately planted with some tall swords. Lots of dark driftwood (no idea of specie).

3. I have (2) Rena XP-3 canister filters with 30 & 20 ppm filters. A tray and a half of bio stars and (2) of the fine polishing pads. No addition of ferts. or co2 I rely solely on the flourite and fish waste to feed my plants. Sitting over the tank is 312 Watts of T-5HO lighting half colormax and the other half 6700K, on for 10 hours a day. (2) 250Watt Eheim Jager heaters plugged into a Ranco ETC111000 digital temperature controller.

4. Tank inhabitants include (9) discus ranging from 4-1/2"-5-1/2" (still growing). I put these fish into the tank around at 2-1/2" in early september 2014. (5) german blue ram's full grown, (6) Bolivian ram's full grown, (2) angelfish a mated pair, (3) yoyo loaches (6) bristlenose pleco's.

5. My maintenance schedule barring hiccups here and there includes the following. I change 90% of the water daily, I vacuum the gravel lightly (meaning I skim over the top 1/4" of the gravel) 2x a week. I clean one of the 2 canister filters every 2 weeks.

6. Tank has been running for nearly 4 years but the discus were added in early September. Prior to discus I housed Angelfish and it was so heavily planted that other than the top offs I didn't change the water for over 2 years. At the time I dosed nitrates 6 days a week and used excel flourish as my co2 source.

7. I maintain both a planted aquarium and a bare bottom tank. I will say that the bare bottom makes maintenance simple. However, I will gladly take on the extra work to have a planted aquarium as in my opinion a beautiful planted aquarium filled with discus is the holy grail of the freshwater hobby.

I have lost 5 discus in this tank and I would attribute it to inexperience, not the fact that the tank was planted. I purchased (4) discus and added them to the established tank without a QT period and they all died within a week. In addition my current inhabitants were bought locally at a fish store that specializes in discus. His stock is from Vietnam and the ones that perished were from Malaysia. Let it be a lesson to everyone who hasn't found of the hard way quarantine periods are a must. The other fish I lost was again due to inexperience as it was bloated from a blockage and I continued to feed and it continued to eat until it died. I would have fed peas or some other remedy had I caught it in time and had I been more knowledgeable I could have likely caught it and saved the fish.

Below is a link to my youtube video showing the planted tank back on 10/27/12 and the tank was setup for 18 months at that point.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOsFDNsLaXE

Below is a picture of my tank taken on 12/4/14

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e47/justin_noble1/DSC_0061_zps91f2d129.jpg

[Ginger]

Thank you SurfnTurf for your excellent suggestion "to add how many discus you have had sick and or/die in the past year. Or how long since one got sick and/or died."

And thank you Justin for kicking this off with your terrific, detailed response to our questions. And for adding your conclusions about your fish losses. The pictures are terrific, too. Your answer is just the kind of information I'm wanting to mull over.

I also really appreciated hearing about your pre-Discus experience with this tank.

Oh, I was struck with the picture of the apparently lemon-yellow Discus with the white spots/snakeskin/checkerboard/leopard (?) What kind is it and is it really that lemony a yellow, rather than a gold or orangey yellow?

Thank you both,

Ginger

[TheRedSpotted]

May 2013
http://i38.servimg.com/u/f38/16/89/52/64/img_7710.jpg (http://www.servimg.com/view/16895264/362)
Today
http://i38.servimg.com/u/f38/16/89/52/64/img_7311.jpg (http://www.servimg.com/view/16895264/361)
http://i38.servimg.com/u/f38/16/89/52/64/img_7310.jpg (http://www.servimg.com/view/16895264/360)

1.• Tank Size 70cm High, 130cm Long, 60cm deep / 540 liters / 142 US Gal
2.• Aquascape gravel : akadama 3 to 7cm deep and 100W heating cable, 90% covered with plants, some rocks, some driftwood,
3.• Equipment eheim 2080 external filter two sumps on aquarium bottom, two glass pipe outflow, Dupla Co2 reactor set in by-pass after the filter, glass bubble counter)
4.• Occupants 4 Albino Pearl Diamond discus, 3 L260 queen arabesque living in tree roots
5.• Maintenance I usually change half the water every week sometimes siphon the open gravel, but sometimes I let it go 2-3 weeks, I rinse out the external filter once two month
6.• I had the setup till 2011 and this exact landscape till may2013
7.• Anything Else you’d like to add : Lighting 4T5 x 54W from 12.00 to 23.00 H originaly 6 discus reduced to 4 for easier maintenance 2 extra Albino red cover to come soon...

[manbearpig]

Thank you SurfnTurf for your excellent suggestion "to add how many discus you have had sick and or/die in the past year. Or how long since one got sick and/or died."

And thank you Justin for kicking this off with your terrific, detailed response to our questions. And for adding your conclusions about your fish losses. The pictures are terrific, too. Your answer is just the kind of information I'm wanting to mull over.

I also really appreciated hearing about your pre-Discus experience with this tank.

Oh, I was struck with the picture of the apparently lemon-yellow Discus with the white spots/snakeskin/checkerboard/leopard (?) What kind is it and is it really that lemony a yellow, rather than a gold or orangey yellow?

Thank you both,

Ginger

No problem happy to share my experiences as I have taken a lot more knowledge form this forum than I have contributed. The one I think you are referring to is what I believe was sold to me as a Yellow Dragon. If that is true I am not sure but I really like the look of him. Here is a better picture of the one I think you are referring to.

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e47/justin_noble1/DSC_0008_zps4bdd7067.jpg

[ihor]

1. 75 gal tank with Catalina Aquarium 48-inch T5HO light, 3- 54 watt bulbs, 10 hrs/day.
2. 3-4 inch mix of Eco-complete and Flourite. Planted with three swords (red diamond, red rubin, amazon), 6 wendtii crypts, 2 bunches Limnophila sessiliflora, 2 bunches Sunset Hygro, and one bunch recently planted red Ludwiga. 5 small-medium sized store-bought driftwood, and three 2-inch diameter, 14-inch long oak branches from back yard (these are great - discus spawn on them all the time).
3. 2 RENA caniter filters (XP2 and XP3), 250 watt Jaeger heater.
4. 4 large (6+ inch) discus, with two being a pair and constantly spawning, 2 dwarf bristlenose plecos, 5 corys, 3 rummynose, 6 lemon tetras, and 4 black phantom tetras. I have had the discus for 6 yrs now.
5. 25% water change every other weekend, using aged water. At water change time, clean/replace filter media in one filter only, alternating every water change. Dose with Prime and Stresszyme at every water change, and with Flourish and Excel Iron once a week. No CO2 added.
6. Set this tank up when moved from 55 gal 6 years ago. I have lost no fish during this time except for a few rummynose and phantom tetras, which I attribute to age (these fish were all 5-6 yrs of age). The previous 55g tank had similar planting and maintenance, with discus as well. Those fish were sold when I went to the larger tank, and the new fish started out about 50-cent size. The two spawning discus (blue diamonds) were locally produced, while the other two (a yellow discuss that turned orange as it grew, and a red turquoise) were bought from a local dealer who imports his fish. The orange one has slowly developed a curved spine (probably from in-breeding) but is doing well and I can't see euthanizing it just because its deformed. I certainly would not pass along any of its offspring if it ever came to that.
7. When I first got discuss (about 10 yrs ago), I used to check water parameters all the time. But after a few years of seeing no real changes in my water quality, I have not done so for at least 5 years. Plants and fish all are doing well, water is nice and clear, and everyone seems happy.

[Ginger]

Thank you Ihor & RedSpotted for sharing all this information and experience!

RedSpotted, your pale tank frame and stand are beautiful in that room. And how striking to have the mass of green and only two shades of orange/yellow fish.
Ginger

[TheRedSpotted]

Thank you Ihor & RedSpotted for sharing all this information and experience!

RedSpotted, your pale tank frame and stand are beautiful in that room. And how striking to have the mass of green and only two shades of orange/yellow fish.
Ginger

Thanks Ginger,

I was looking for a sleek set up.
happy to see that people love it also.
From my experience discus tank have better look when only one strain is displayed.
Hope to add soon a pinch of red with a pair of Albino red cover, we will see which one of the yellow or orange albino pearl will be kept.
It's because we start designing the living room from the aquarium stand.
We bought the aquarium one year before the lodging and then when inside we decide to continue in complete white.

Kind regards,
Stephane

[plecocicho]

1.150x50x55 tank, 413 brutto
2.coarse white sand and redmoor driftwood
3.2 jbl 1500 external, filled with sponges and bio ceramic, 2x36 w t8, jager heater
4. 6 wild discus, small red cherry population
5.190l wc every week, together with bottom vacuming.
i had this setup for 4 yearsTHE.APE.[2009].DVD.Rip.Xvid.[StB]

[pastry]

1.• Tank Size 150 gallon (6 ft long)
2.• Aquascape: sand from the beach, lots of wood from local lakes, amazon sword, floating lettuce, java ferns, bronze leafed crypts, anubias, val, pesty duckweed who knows what else
3.• Equipment you consider relevant: I use a canister and extra submerged pump near bottom blowing across the back. Poret foam like crazy. Prime. Aqueon water changer. LED lights
4.• Occupants: Right now just have 6 discus (2 VRs & 4 RTs), bushy nose pleco, some corydoras, and had a really nice school of lemon tetras that reproduced like crazy but I managed to kill of them today when I forgot to put Prime in!!! I don't think I've ever forgot before but was trying to keep 1 year old & 3 year old entertained and slipped up big time. Rest of the fish aren't too happy with me right now but they'll live.
5.• Maintenance: 60% WC twice a week. If I do less than that then it's noticeable. I DO believe that I should be changing it more often. Water change water change water change.
6.• About How Long you have had the setup: I guess about 5 or 6 years now
7.• Once I get my company going, my MBA complete, and kids a little older then I definitely plan to improve my maintenance. I also favor sumps over canisters but right now need to stick with canister. I know how to keep discus much better than I currently am (honesty)

[erndog1001]

1. 125gal
2. 3 large pieces of driftwood 1 is ironwood . Several Amazon swords and one other speices whose name escapes me at the moment . I have to trim them all every few months bc they are prolific growers. Sand and pea gravel about 2" deep on the bottom.
3. 2 Eheim heaters, An old Rena XP canister filter Inside is just filter pads of varying density. Also i keep a medium size air disk at one end of the tank. Its really cool to watch the fish play in the bubbles. This used to be my reef tank so the lights are an LED setup I built myself. Turned way down of course Lol.
4 Right now I have 5 Discus they range in size from 6-7" down to about 4" . 1 Medium Pleco I say medium bc I have seen them get enormous.He's like 6-7" at the moment 4 Cory Cats (2 albino 2 regular.) 7 Hillstream Loaches. Started with 4 and they bred in the tank. 1 African Featherfin Catfish & 5 Orange Mollies I think thats what they are. About a dozen snails
5. I do a 75 gal water change on Wed & Fri. And a 100% water change on Sun. During the Sun change I add Brightwater Blackwater extract bc I use strictly RO/DI water bc I also have a 400 gal Reef tank. The changes are easy bc its all hooked up to my Apex controller. So its pretty much just a matter of pushing buttons on my laptop. i clean the filter about every 3 months although I don't really keep track.
6. Tank's been up for a little over a year now.
7. I love these fish and I'd really like to try my hand at breeding them. In fact That is going to be the next thing I setup