5ft Low Tech Planted

[Coops]

Hi!
Here is my 5ft planted low tech discus tank : )
3 more discus to add - Maintenance is 20-30% water changes every day or two. Hoovering around rocks etc daily.
Fertilizer every couple of days, TNC complete. Lights low for a round 10-12 hours daily.
UV sterlizer fitted Ehiem 800. Large Aqua one external.

I have raised discus before about 10 years ago successfully with a large stingray too!
Stendkers are a real game changer, lovely strong fish.

So, so far so good! I have dabbled in plants and have researched every accept of everything, so hoping for complete success. :grin:

Any advise gratefully recieved!

Potential issues: Rocks on the base really complete the look, they do trap waste, as long as this is removed at water changes all should be well, although lifting each rock to hoover underneath seems a chore to far and might release ammonia from the substrate. Any views on this would be great (from fellow planted peeps please).

Understocking is key and setting up a system that makes water changes very easy. 16 buckets of water is not the way to go ;)


Thanks : )

Stock:
3 Discus with 2-3 more to add
30 Rummy nose
4 small bristlenose
3 Siamese algae eaters
1 whiptail cat

[Phillydubs]

Great looking tank.

Are there only 3 in there .??? If so I'd hustle up and get more ready to go in as 3 is a bad number in the discus game...

[Coops]

I know is it and I was in a rush to get some more for that reason, but these 3 are blissful together!..and thanks btw : )

[Filip]

Nice looking tank Coops . Great job. Your discus look good too .

I would try cut in half the decor from the bottom of the tank and leave more open space in front for easier maintenance . Especially in the middle front , where you throw your food and where discus ussualy poop during feeding.

I would also increase the amount of water changed . Maybe you can get away with 2-3 WCs a week as you plan but youll have to at least raise the percentage of water to a 50 % because 20% is next to nothing when it comes to keeping discus , even if you are understocked .

6 Would be a good number of discus and i can see you bought them allready grown , which is a good start for a planted setup .

Dont forget to quarrantine your next 3 discus for 45 days prior introducing them here in your display .

What floating plants do you keep ?

[Coops]

Not a bad idea, have moved a little out the front and it has not changed the look at all, a couple from the back makes more room for plants too. Still looks the same, so all good!

I can easily change 30% a day to be honest, so might just do that. The Stendker Discus offical page suggests 10 discus with tons of tetra etc and 10-20% a week! I don't know how they think that would work, but they are expert breeders. Strange.

I'm getting another 3 next week. I took some test water to the my LFS and nitrates were .5ppm, lower than out my tap!

The floating plants are Salvinia mini - nitrate suckers! no algae either..think the UV helps out there. Then again, there's still time!

[Kyla]

love the plants, esp the floating ones, my discus always liked having a cover of plants when i used to keep plants. i think ease of maintenance trumps asthetics and i'd ditch the rocks of they give u trouble. u could experiment and remove them for a couple weeks and see what u think - if after a trial period u miss them just add them back. i found that whenever i performed this experiment i ended up leaving the rock/plant/log etc out because i liked the open-concept look more once i gave myself an opportunity to try it.

[Coops]

Do you think they will give me trouble? Powerful filter, lots of water changes. I took them out the other day, well on one side and it looked crap! So they all went back in. It was then i saw some dirt build up underneath them, but not much and water tests are really good, maintence is spot on.....ill think about it! Maybe some water movement at the bottom will keep things moving.

[Kyla]

u prob wont have trouble if u are always lifting them for maintenance and stirring the sand under them but that may get to be a pain as time goes on. totally up to u. i can tell u this: toxic gas build up is deadly to fish. i have lost fish from releasing toxins into the water from my deep substrate bed which was not stirred regularly, so if u keep the rocks dont leave them sitting in the sand for long periods of time, make sure to stir the sand and clean under and around them.

[Kyla]

*and when i say i "lost fish" i mean i killed almost all my fish overnight after mucking around in the sandbed... so just keep up ur maintenance and shift and sift etc

[Coops]

Ah yes of course gas pockets build up in the sand. I heard it was best just to leave the sand alone rather than releasing it - or do a BIG water change after moving decor around, or like you said move sand regularly.

[Coops]

Then again, people with heavily planted substrates obviously cannot do this?

[Filip]

Then again, people with heavily planted substrates obviously cannot do this?

Yes they cant . And they ussualy fail in keeping discus too .
I used to be one of them , so i know first hand :).
I still run heavily planted , cause i guess im a sucker for plants but i keep them in pots and i regulary clean the sandbed thoroughly .

[Coops]

Well this is the thing, there are planted discus tanks and then there are are discus tanks...with plants. 90% of my plants are attached to wood, the other plants are a handful of crypts in the foreground and some vallis.

[Filip]

Well this is the thing, there are planted discus tanks and then there are are discus tanks...with plants. 90% of my plants are attached to wood, the other plants are a handful of crypts in the foreground and some vallis.

Yes your set up is doable to go with discus IMO , just clear the front a bit , siphon regularly , maybe double the % of your current WC regime and you'll be good to go .

In my previous post I was referring to the planted tanks with so many plants and carpets that you can't throw an needle in an open space area .
They are doomed to fail with discus on the long run in my opinion and experience .

[Coops]

I'm doing 20-30% a day atm - I guess I'll miss the odd day, but this is working ok. Then again only 3 in there!! : ) Thanks for your input, always helpful to get some opinions.

[Coops]

It was suggested I add a small powerhead (the magnetic glass ones) to push water through the bottom of the tank - good idea? Keep the waste off the substrate?

[Filip]

It was suggested I add a small powerhead (the magnetic glass ones) to push water through the bottom of the tank - good idea? Keep the waste off the substrate?

I also run a planted tank and i use canister with the outtake near surface of the water along with a powerhead laying on the bottom to circulate the poop and to catch dirt right from the bottom. intakes of them both are wrapped in a filter floss material as a prefilter , that clogs and gets changed every 3 days from the amount of dirt and poop it traps in it. The floss prefilter goes from white to black and clogs in only 3 days , so i think it does a good job in helping the bottom to stay clean .
i do turn off both pumps during my feedings , otherwise all the food will end up between rocks and plants and will rot there .

[Coops]

I think its a good idea for sure. I think a lot of people go wrong by overstocking to be honest. I think fish are calmer in a planted tank and you do not need as many. My 3 are still very happy. Just my opinion. I have kept discus before for a few years and I had it very bare with one piece of wood. Added some plants later on down the line and it chilled out..102374

[Coops]

My old tank around 10 years ago!

[Filip]

My old tank around 10 years ago!

Very nice and simplistic setup Coops . Discus looking good too . I agree on overstocking .The more we put the harder it gets , and this goes not only for bioload but for the amount of decor and plants too .
BTW , how many gallons is your current 5ft tank?

[Coops]

Cheers, its 450l / 100gallons : ) Room for a few more!

btw - i have taken out a lot of rock off the bottom and the overall look is the same.

[OlympiaDiscus]

LOVE your 5 foot tank! Looks like a totally natural habitat :)

[Markz]

Wow your tank is beautiful and inspiring! I am planning to have a planted tank going here soon with adult discus.