In Search Of Elysium

[Marc Davis]

Journal time.

I've only been keeping discus for 5 months. My tanks current set up is 4 months old. So please bare with me guys as im not completely clued up on all the terms and what not at the moment.

Tank is L100cm x H50cm x D40cm. 200 Litres, 52 US Gallons.

Stocking: 6 juvenile discus, 30 cadinal tetra, 2 rummy nose, 4 oto cats, 5 cory, 1 electrc blue ram, 1 bristlenose, 4 amano shrimp (soon to be 20!!)

Water changing routine - basically, i have two other tanks. A 5 gallon planted low tech nano and a shallow 7 gallon blackwater. I take out about 5 litres of these a day and refill with water from the discus tank. I then refill the Discus tank. This means that i basically get a 5% change per day, and then on a sunday, i do a big 5% water change with water conditioner.
Filtration - i have a 1000l/hr canister filter with modified trays from manufacturer recommendations (my way has all foam in the bottom tray going from course to fine and two trays of crushed lava rock). Also, a 1800l/hr internal filter for flow and water polishing. I have this facing the glass to obstruct the flow speed but still get the faster filtration.

Soil/substrate - Under the sand capping (1 inch) is a mix of gravel and oliver knot aquasoil and tropica plant growth substrate on the base.

Dosing method is 30ml chelated trace elements. I dont add any phosphates and what not as the waste load is already high with the stocking.

co2 - no idea on specific dosing levels. i use a diy yeast/sugar method that fills two in tank reactors and lets the co2 slowly dissolve throughout the water over the photo period.

Lights - I have 2x T8 tubes and fitted a diy LED 20watt floodlight to the centre of the canopy. the T8's are on for about 17 hours and the LED floodlight for 10 hours. Some say thats way too much light...i have my fish to view them and enjoy them so i like the lights on. Fish seem absolutely fine with it as you can see and are never shy.

Here are some progress shots:

After set up
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After 1 month
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After 2 months
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After 3 months
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After 4 months
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So thats the current state of play. Will keep updating as i go each month i think.

Here is a video i made yesterday as well:

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

That's all for now.

As ever, any questions, don't hesitate.

[RogueDiscus]

Hi Marc,
Your tank looks great! Welcome to SD and thanks for starting your journal. Many folks I think imagine a tank like yours, and it would be great to follow your tank.

[Marc Davis]

Hi Marc,
Your tank looks great! Welcome to SD and thanks for starting your journal. Many folks I think imagine a tank like yours, and it would be great to follow your tank.

Thanks very much. Being a beginner myself, I'm very happy with the progress. I don't have an end goal at all so I'm just going along with the ride. As long as the fish are happy then I'm happy.

[rickztahone]

Great looking scape. The sand looks rather deep in some places. Do you stir it often? Have you considered a runner plant in the foreground instead of a stem? Are those Seiryu stones? If so, they do tend to raise the pH, so be cautious.

The plants have grown in nicely.

[Marc Davis]

Thanks very much. Being a beginner myself, I'm very happy with the progress. I don't have an end goal at all so I'm just going along with the ride. As long as the fish are happy then I'm happy.

I've got dwarf sag at the front and like the sand area to stay clear for a more clean look to be honest.

The sand is only an inch thick on top of fine gravel mixed with aquasoil. I never stir it up and no gas is released that I have observed :)

pH from my tap is bang on 7 which is what the discus were raised in. My tank actually settles at 6.5 though everytime.

[Filip]

Nice job Marc. Keep us updated regularly because I sense that this tank changes its appearance on a weekly level :)

[Marc Davis]

Nice job Marc. Keep us updated regularly because I sense that this tank changes its appearance on a weekly level :)

Will do. It changes fast and have to trim at least once a week. Thank you for the sub to my youtube channel by the way Filip.

[brewmaster15]

Marc, Great tank and I am glad you started this thread too! Do you happen to have a plant list for your tank?

Al

[Marc Davis]

Marc, Great tank and I am glad you started this thread too! Do you happen to have a plant list for your tank?

Al

Thank you.

I've compiled a plant list. I dont know the Latin names for all of them, but this is what i can remember:


Staurogyne Repens
Sagittaria
Micro Sword
Anubias Nana Barteri
Amazon Sword
Rotala Rotundafolia
Moneywart
Cryptocorne Wendtil
Cryptocorne Beckettii
Anacharis
Ambulia
Nesaea pedicellata
Hydrocotyle Japan
Nymphaea Sp. Taiwan (flipper Lotus)
Tiger Lotas
Ludwigia Palustris
Vallisneria Nana
Dwarf sag.


Would probably have been quicker to list what i haven't got in the tank :D

[jmf3460]

what a beautiful tank OP and I love the video, especially the background music. love love love this natural looking scape. your fish all seem so happy

[snxtif]

Great tank!

Btw, what is your amano shrimp survival rate?

[Marc Davis]

what a beautiful tank OP and I love the video, especially the background music. love love love this natural looking scape. your fish all seem so happy

Thank you very much Jacklyn

[Marc Davis]

Great tank!

Btw, what is your amano shrimp survival rate?

I've only got 4 in there at the moment and have done for months. I find amano's very hardy!

[Marc Davis]

I made a simple stand that i feel anyone with a very basic skills and tools can make:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wy_Fp29Ld4c

[Paul Sabucchi]

Thank you.

I've compiled a plant list. I dont know the Latin names for all of them, but this is what i can remember:


Staurogyne Repens
Sagittaria
Micro Sword
Anubias Nana Barteri
Amazon Sword
Rotala Rotundafolia
Moneywart
Cryptocorne Wendtil
Cryptocorne Beckettii
Anacharis
Ambulia
Nesaea pedicellata
Hydrocotyle Japan
Nymphaea Sp. Taiwan (flipper Lotus)
Tiger Lotas
Ludwigia Palustris
Vallisneria Nana
Dwarf sag.


Would probably have been quicker to list what i haven't got in the tank :D

Thank you for listing them, I have most of those in my other tanks but none with the discus so good to know they would be ok at discus temperatures

[Marc Davis]

Thank you for listing them, I have most of those in my other tanks but none with the discus so good to know they would be ok at discus temperatures

I'm yet to find a plant that hasn't taken off to be honest

[Filip]

I'm yet to find a plant that hasn't taken off to be honest

CO2 injection along with the strong light is detrimental for your succes with plants .
Most of them would struggle at best without an additional source of CO2 /the most important plant Macro nutrient .

[Marc Davis]

CO2 injection along with the strong light is detrimental for your succes with plants .
Most of them would struggle at best without an additional source of CO2 /the most important plant Macro nutrient .

Yeah for sure. Total cost for my system was about £10 ($13). And was probably the best purchase in the tank.

.....other than my babies of course haha

[Marc Davis]

New discus video: Update 2.0

New fish added as well guys. EEEEKK!!!

"for god's sake...not another fish" - My Wife Aug 2018


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3c-VTpzfKk

[danotaylor]

Your tank looks beautiful Marc. Well done on hour plant project. Very serene.
Just wondering if you QT'd the blue ram b4 introducing him to your tank?

[Marc Davis]

Your tank looks beautiful Marc. Well done on hour plant project. Very serene.
Just wondering if you QT'd the blue ram b4 introducing him to your tank?

No i didnt. Not good practice i know. I'm all for honesty here and not advocating it, but ive not quarantined a single fish in any of my tanks. That said, i get all my fish from the same small store thats privately run. They run meds in their tanks and i trust the fish.

[danotaylor]

Oops, I accidentally deleted my post, sorry mate...

[Marc Davis]

Oops, I accidentally deleted my post, sorry mate...

haha. not to worry. its quoted.

[danotaylor]

Ah yea...I see that...I noticed in my post that "your" autocorrected to "hour" and being a little OCD I tried to fix it...good fix, deleted the whole post, LOL

[Marc Davis]

Like children, i'm not sure you aren't allowed a favourite discus...but if you are, this is mine.

Turkey:
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[Filip]

Very nice Turkey Marc :) .

[Marc Davis]

Progress pic from after last maintenance. 8 weeks between now and the start:

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Im pretty happy with where im at to be honest. Just a case of maintaining and getting the discus to keep growing now.

[Paul Sabucchi]

Those plants are looking great, at some point I will pick a leaf out of your book and start putting plants with my discus

[Marc Davis]

Those plants are looking great, at some point I will pick a leaf out of your book and start putting plants with my discus

Bit of of DIY co2 in there, tiny bit of micro nutrient dosing at water changes and decent substrate and you cant go wrong!

[Marc Davis]

Took a photo before maintenance. Its quite bushy but i do like it to be honest:

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[Marc Davis]

Hi guys. I made a video on how i do my DIY co2. little bit different from the norm and gives a lot of c02 for 2 weeks minimum.


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

[Marc Davis]

I got bored of my this setup. I considered it finished so ripped everything out and started again. Here is what I did:
Base made from fine gravel, tropica substrate and tropica aquasoil.
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Bogwood and more aquasoil
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Initial planting and flooding
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Finished planting a day later.
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That's where I'm at. Should look good once it fills in more.

[Second Hand Pat]

The new scape is beautiful Marc!! :D Did you pre-soak the wood so it would not float? You really have a natural knack for this.
Pat

[Marc Davis]

The new scape is beautiful Marc!! :D Did you pre-soak the wood so it would not float? You really have a natural knack for this.
Pat

Thanks pat. I've had it in setups in the past but was sat in my shed for ages. It's quite dense so it sank straight away.

[Marc Davis]

Starting to fill in nicely now. Treating the tank as a bit of a plant nursery now as I'm moving at the end of the month bit it's good to things grow out.

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[RogueDiscus]

Looks beautiful, Marc. In fact, I just nominated it for September's Pic of the Month contest. Keep the updates coming!
Steve

[Marc Davis]

Looks beautiful, Marc. In fact, I just nominated it for September's Pic of the Month contest. Keep the updates coming!
Steve

Thank you very much!!!

[Filip]

Very nice looking transition in natural scapes Marc , though I liked the Dutchy scape more.
I would only change the placement or get rid of the tall Taiwan and hygrophila on the right . Your hardscape is triangular and plants should follow that scape look and order .
I can't wait for this nature scape to grow and mature .
You have a very good sense for space and details and I think that you should aim your focus more on aquascaping tanks rather than discus at this point . Thats where your talent lays Marc :)

[Marc Davis]

Very nice looking transition in natural scapes Marc , though I liked the Dutchy scape more.
I would only change the placement or get rid of the tall Taiwan and hygrophila on the right . Your hardscape is triangular and plants should follow that scape look and order .
I can't wait for this nature scape to grow and mature .
You have a very good sense for space and details and I think that you should aim your focus more on aquascaping tanks rather than discus at this point . Thats where your talent lays Marc :)

Thanks for the kind words. This tank has been ripped down in preparation for my move to a bigger house next week. Bare bottom and just some bogwood and java fern at the moment.

Got big plans for the new setup. Will be a very green amazon jungle theme. I like proper fish tank setups rather than fine detailed aquascape to be honest. I think a tank is far more exciting when it's more jungley than a perfectly pruned aquascape.

[Marc Davis]

I've moved house. Much bigger place. Tons of room for the kids, but more importantly, I got to redo the tank.

Went for a very simple dual island scape. Simple plants and tons of swim room.

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[rickztahone]

Very nice. That's my type of scape

[Paul Sabucchi]

Of your scapes this is definitely my favourite!

[Marc Davis]

Thanks guys. I feel like this is much more suited to the discus. So simple and plants one colour make the discus pop.

[Marc Davis]

Made a little video of the scape.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJa7JVERqPc&t=49s

[Filip]

Very nice setup Marc. Although your previous set ups were more detailed and artistic , I think that this one suits the looks and needs of discus fish the most .
What soil have you put in those "stone pots " for the plants ?
Do you still add Co2 and ferts with this plant selection ?

[Marc Davis]

Very nice setup Marc. Although your previous set ups were more detailed and artistic , I think that this one suits the looks and needs of discus fish the most .
What soil have you put in those "stone pots " for the plants ?
Do you still add Co2 and ferts with this plant selection ?

It's tropica aqua soil. Yes, still add diy co2 and a dash of ferts on a water change :)

[Mando]

you're going to have to give me that "dash" of ferts recipe lol. Right when I fall in love with a scape, you come out with a better one! love your style.

[Marc Davis]

you're going to have to give me that "dash" of ferts recipe lol. Right when I fall in love with a scape, you come out with a better one! love your style.

Thanks very much. Basically, everytime i do a water change (which is probably 30% every two weeks at the moment), i add 30ml of your basic chelated micronutrients. Thats all. I figured that the fish provided the macros so i dont add any. I found that if i add macro ferts, i get much more green spot algae. So i just stick to the micro's and everything stays good.

[Pices]

How did I miss this thread? I agree the current scape is my favorite. Of course I thought the first scape was perfect and thought, “ Oh no!” when I saw you broke it down, but you continue to delight me with these scapes. The latest is my absolute favorite. Thanks for inspiring me. If I ever get brave enough to try a planted discus tank, I will follow your lead.
Patty

[Marc Davis]

How did I miss this thread? I agree the current scape is my favorite. Of course I thought the first scape was perfect and thought, “ Oh no!” when I saw you broke it down, but you continue to delight me with these scapes. The latest is my absolute favorite. Thanks for inspiring me. If I ever get brave enough to try a planted discus tank, I will follow your lead.
Patty

Im kind of wanting to break down the current scape now haha.

Really want to go for a proper biotope style setup with blackwater, murky substrate and low light....hmmmmmmm.

[Mando]

Im kind of wanting to break down the current scape now haha.

Really want to go for a proper biotope style setup with blackwater, murky substrate and low light....hmmmmmmm.

Can you explain a biotope tank? what makes it different.

[Paul Sabucchi]

In a nutshell a biotope is a tank set up to resemble as faithfully as possible the original habitat, with water, substrate, plants (if any, not in this case), and decor purely aiming for that and not so much for esthetics. If the aim is to re-create a slice of Rio Negro then it means "blackwater" stained by humic acids, leaf litter over a sandy bottom and wood (ideally from a species indigenous to the Amazon).

[Mando]

In a nutshell a biotope is a tank set up to resemble as faithfully as possible the original habitat, with water, substrate, plants (if any, not in this case), and decor purely aiming for that and not so much for esthetics. If the aim is to re-create a slice of Rio Negro then it means "blackwater" stained by humic acids, leaf litter over a sandy bottom and wood (ideally from a species indigenous to the Amazon).

OH! this sounds interesting.

[Marc Davis]

In a nutshell a biotope is a tank set up to resemble as faithfully as possible the original habitat, with water, substrate, plants (if any, not in this case), and decor purely aiming for that and not so much for esthetics. If the aim is to re-create a slice of Rio Negro then it means "blackwater" stained by humic acids, leaf litter over a sandy bottom and wood (ideally from a species indigenous to the Amazon).


OH! this sounds interesting.

Ok, so here is my take on a biotope. The plants are not quite accurate...and neither is a lot of other aspects.

The wife wasnt a fan of the full tea stained looked so ive gone somewhere in the middle (little does she know that i will be adding more leaf litter and the bog wood will continue to leach. The floating plants will spread and cover more light and give a nice tone of light to the tank.

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And of course, here is the making of video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7aOL2-cdLI&t=189s

[Marc Davis]

I've added a darker sand to the substrate now and the wood is started to release tannings so getting some nice mearkyness.
A little bit cloudy still from adding the sand.
Also added some more wood to the left front as this area was a bit too open and the two swords, left and right which will will in those areas nicely over the next few months.

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[Mando]

Ok, so here is my take on a biotope. The plants are not quite accurate...and neither is a lot of other aspects.

The wife wasnt a fan of the full tea stained looked so ive gone somewhere in the middle (little does she know that i will be adding more leaf litter and the bog wood will continue to leach. The floating plants will spread and cover more light and give a nice tone of light to the tank.

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This looks great! What's the plant over the cobalt here? Is this just some kind of java fern? Tank looks amazing. I'd definitely add more leaves or secretly add the tint to the water without the wife noticing. A drop a day. lol

[Paul Sabucchi]

...As long as you avoid going too realistic, She Who Must Be Obeyed would not be best pleased!
https://youtu.be/tysGxRYRubk

[Marc Davis]

...As long as you avoid going too realistic, She Who Must Be Obeyed would not be best pleased!
https://youtu.be/tysGxRYRubk

That looks so good to me. If you put it in the living room...everyone will just think you haven't cleaned the tank in years though.

[Marc Davis]

This looks great! What's the plant over the cobalt here? Is this just some kind of java fern? Tank looks amazing. I'd definitely add more leaves or secretly add the tint to the water without the wife noticing. A drop a day. lol

Look at the last picture ive added. Its got fresh bogwood which is tinting the water already.

Im thinking there might be too much light.

Should i go for one light source point. say the top right and angle across the tank to simulate the sun. Will cast nice deep shadows.

[Paul Sabucchi]

Should be a cool effect!

[Marc Davis]

So I wasn't happy with the previous scape. Flow was non existent so I changed it up again.

Nature aquarium style but very simple. Once the Sag Carpets and rotala grow in, it should look pretty good.

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[Marc Davis]

Here is a nice evening shot of the tank. Everything settling nicely now after a good water change and fertiliser top off:

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[Marc Davis]

Little update.
Fts
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Overall we are settling in well. I've added a few more plants. Some crypts and another I forgot the name of. They both need to convert to a submerged state

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Lots of new growth on the anubias

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Rotala is growing in well

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One of these s repens is doing well. The other was moved into the tank after being in a cooler setup for a week. It's not doing great but will bounce back

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[Marc Davis]

Something amazing has happened!!!!

My first discus eggs. I guess they like the setup. I'm like a child lol. So excited.

I'm not sure who the pair are or even the female to be honest. I've just nipped home before travelling for work to these!!!

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These are the first eggs I've seen so I'm a bit excited to say the least...and now I'm working away until Friday :(

[Marc Davis]

We have a pair. Pretty sure George the dark orange is the male. And Sunshine, the light orange/yellow is the female.

The wife and I had always thought they were a pair but until now had no way of knowing.

Here they are working hard to fan the eggs
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[Second Hand Pat]

Hi Marc, congrats on your first spawn. :) At this stage if you watch closely you will see the parents fanning the eggs. They really can not move the eggs as the eggs will not re-stick to a new surface.
Pat

[Marc Davis]

Hi Marc, congrats on your first spawn. :) At this stage if you watch closely you will see the parents fanning the eggs. They really can not move the eggs as the eggs will not re-stick to a new surface.
Pat

I'm guessing these eggs have been moved from spawning location a few days ago then...because they have now moved the eggs to the middle of the tank??

[Second Hand Pat]

Hi Marc, sounds like it could be a second spawn vs a moved first spawn. You could also have more then one fish laying eggs.
Pat

[Marc Davis]

Hi Marc, sounds like it could be a second spawn vs a moved first spawn. You could also have more then one fish laying eggs.
Pat

Good points. I shall have my wife send me regular photos and video chat for the fish whilst I'm away.


....and of my children hahaha

[Paul Sabucchi]

Congrats to the grandparents!

[Marc Davis]

Well....They have eaten all the eggs. But that's ok. They are young and will learn and it's good to know I have a pair.

...I'm now thinking about setting up their own tank. Bare bottom. Tons of tannins, low light....Just have to convince the wife.

[Mando]

The tank is so clear! Love the setup.

[Marc Davis]

The tank is so clear! Love the setup.

Thanks very much. We can attribute that to the total of 2800litre per hour of flow and cleaning the filter pads several times a week.

[Marc Davis]

Re-arranged the scape...again lol. Came back after being away for the week and there was clearly some dead spots.

Although it looks more full, the tank is much more open with this jungle style scape. All the same plants and wood, just shifted around. A lot more interesting for looking at and the fish are darting in and out of everywhere. Really fun.

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[fljones3]

I must confess that I am surprised that your discus are not much more stressed. You move your landscape around a lot (btw, they are beautiful. You have a real talent).

[Marc Davis]

I must confess that I am surprised that your discus are not much more stressed. You move your landscape around a lot (btw, they are beautiful. You have a real talent).

Thank you. I think it's because I've always changed the scape every few months, the fish are used to it.

Most of the time I keep them in the tank as I move things around and they investigate what I'm doing and swim around wherever I put things like they are the project managers haha. You have to get the workers to buy in to your design and let them think it was their idea for it to succeed ;)

[Paul Sabucchi]

I agree with you on that, discus (at least domestic hybrids) are creatures of habit. As long as you get them used gradually to what happens in the tank they adapt to almost anything. Nevermind how stressful a rescape may be, what about twice daily water changes with discus left flapping on their side in 1"water!

[Marc Davis]

I agree with you on that, discus (at least domestic hybrids) are creatures of habit. As long as you get them used gradually to what happens in the tank they adapt to almost anything. Nevermind how stressful a rescape may be, what about twice daily water changes with discus left flapping on their side in 1"water!

So true lol.

On the flip side, my discus only get about a 20% water change every 10 days. They would probably get very stressed from daily 90% water changes!

[Nate454]

Great thread Marc! It was enjoyable to stumble upon your post today and see the progression of your setups. As others have said many times over, you have a knack for aquascape. Thank you for sharing your work and inspiring others.

[fljones3]

Thank you. I think it's because I've always changed the scape every few months, the fish are used to it.

Most of the time I keep them in the tank as I move things around and they investigate what I'm doing and swim around wherever I put things like they are the project managers haha. You have to get the workers to buy in to your design and let them think it was their idea for it to succeed ;)

Lot of wisdom here. :laugh:

[Marc Davis]

Few nice pictures to update since the switch around has settled in:
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And two new additions to the tank:
120004

Sag. Is already starting to spread. I've also added a tiger lotus bulb which has shoots already so that should fly up within a few weeks.

[Marc Davis]

Photo update...

Things are growing in very fast. The sag. is taking off. Some swords are suffering but only because they are converting to a submerged state. Tons of new growth coming out of the base. The rotala is at the surface now and there is a lot more to join the few stems that have got there. I will trim and replant when a few more reach the surface.

I've added some guppys and tread fin rainbows. Hoping for some breeding action.

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[MickO'S]

Wow it’s looking great!

Late next year I’ll be trying to plant my aquarium up !

I’m following the thread with lots of interest!

Mick

[Marc Davis]

Wow it’s looking great!

Late next year I’ll be trying to plant my aquarium up !

I’m following the thread with lots of interest!

Mick

Thank you Mick.

Here is a video i made as well:

https://youtu.be/O44EnOmzP3c

[Marc Davis]

Short video i made of the tank:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O44EnOmzP3c

[Marc Davis]

Caught a nice photo of the children off to school this morning ;)

Had a bit of a trim up last night to get stems for a new tank I've set up. 30% Water change and pads cleaned on the internal filter.

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[Marc Davis]

The jungle is growing well. Gave everything a trim and added a few plants...dont think there is any room for more now lol. Internal filter cleaned, 30% water change and dead leaves removed.

Water is really clear and all the fish seem very happy. Some good size going on the dominant pair in the tank.

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[Marc Davis]

So the jungle scape got very unkept . Looked quite authentic i feel and i really liked it, but the wife didnt, and it is in our living room.

Rescape needed.

Before:
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After:
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And here is the setup video of course:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pQgxfJPl28&t=49s

If you liked the video and wish to show me some support, why not subscribe. Im not monetised or anything, i just love making the videos and its good to know if people enjoy them :)

[Mando]

I kind of liked it with the wild look! but, your wife is right. If it's a display, nice and trimmed is always best.

[Mando]

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You can really see the impact that the background/substrate have on the fish.

[Marc Davis]

You can really see the impact that the background/substrate have on the fish.

It really does. The white sand reflects even more light and the colours pop so much more.

[Filip]

I agree with your wife Marc . Your tank needed it's haircut badly :) . I like the current stone look you've made but can't help to say that your previous scape with 2 separate stone Ireland's on the sides look much neater than this one .
Anyways , can't argue that all the scapes youve done so far exceede the average of what a discus planted scape normaly looks .

[fljones3]

I love your scapes. I wonder if the constant changing of scapes bothers the discus in any way? Doesn’t seem to.

[Marc Davis]

I agree with your wife Marc . Your tank needed it's haircut badly :) . I like the current stone look you've made but can't help to say that your previous scape with 2 separate stone Ireland's on the sides look much neater than this one .
Anyways , can't argue that all the scapes youve done so far exceede the average of what a discus planted scape normaly looks .

Yeah, I liked the two islands, but it just felt sterile. This is somewhere between the jungle and that scape. Keeps me busy and interested as it changes :)

[Marc Davis]

I love your scapes. I wonder if the constant changing of scapes bothers the discus in any way? Doesn’t seem to.

Cant say i have noticed it does at all.

[Marc Davis]

Thought i would post a link to my other ecosystem tank guys in case anyone was interested:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJQ_6jec5mQ

[solrJohn]

Awesome Tanks Marc! Wow... I just subscribed on YouTube...

I've been successful with Discus before, and always wanted a jungle type tank like the one you have. Only bare-bottom tanks to date... I'll look through your videos first, but I'm wondering if you'd be willing to give a little advice on the how...?

I'm starting up again and plan to do a custom build of an acrylic tank... do everything right from the bottom up... Tank, lights, sump, etc... Ideally, everything "right" for a planted tank as beautiful as yours.

Two questions if I may:


One thing I've always wondered (and I suppose this proves I'm a bare-bottom tank only guy so far) how in the world do you keep the scape so clean (sand in particular)? Seems there'd be so much eddy etc because of all the plants etc, that water circulation alone wouldn't do the trick...
I guess the embedded question is: Do you have to do a lot of "by hand" work to keep it looking that nice?
Do all those plants make a significant difference to the water quality? I.E. do they absorb a lot of the nitrates?

[Marc Davis]

And here is my latest video which includes all aquariums.

There is a good section on the discus tank which shows everything in much more detail.

This is probably the best one I've done. I was still editing at 1.30am this morning lol (And now up with the children at 6.30am lol...silly me).


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXBkxGA8HFY&t=160s

[MickO'S]

Hey Marc,

I’ve had a good look around your YouTube channel and watch a good few videos. It’s really great with lots of very useful content!!

Mick

[Marc Davis]

Hey Marc,

I’ve had a good look around your YouTube channel and watch a good few videos. It’s really great with lots of very useful content!!

Mick

Well thank you very much Mick. That's very nice of you to say. Make sure you subscribe and click the bell to see new videos. I'm adding them regularly ��

[MickO'S]

😂
Done

[Marc Davis]

Awesome Tanks Marc! Wow... I just subscribed on YouTube...

I've been successful with Discus before, and always wanted a jungle type tank like the one you have. Only bare-bottom tanks to date... I'll look through your videos first, but I'm wondering if you'd be willing to give a little advice on the how...?

I'm starting up again and plan to do a custom build of an acrylic tank... do everything right from the bottom up... Tank, lights, sump, etc... Ideally, everything "right" for a planted tank as beautiful as yours.

Two questions if I may:


One thing I've always wondered (and I suppose this proves I'm a bare-bottom tank only guy so far) how in the world do you keep the scape so clean (sand in particular)? Seems there'd be so much eddy etc because of all the plants etc, that water circulation alone wouldn't do the trick...
I guess the embedded question is: Do you have to do a lot of "by hand" work to keep it looking that nice?
Do all those plants make a significant difference to the water quality? I.E. do they absorb a lot of the nitrates?


As said in the pm my friend. I don't really do any work. 30% water change every few weeks.

In the latest video (4 posts above), I show my filtration in the discus tank. The key is high flow and an internal filter hidden at the back. The doesn't allow any detritus to settle. I clean the sponge in this filter every 3 days which takes a couple of minutes. This means there is never a high amount of waste in the tank.

I also feed with small amounts at a time. Taking care to only feed more when the amount I've put in has all been eaten before adding more. Any small bits the discus don't eat, the small fish finish off. Any food settling on the bottom is either eaten by the corys or sucked up by the internal filter.

[Marc Davis]

So just over a month progress. The tank is fully settled. Background plants already grown to the top.

Will need its first trim very soon.

122274

[solrJohn]

Thanks for the reply. Youtube videos are really great. The tank is beautiful and elegant.

Ahhh... bottom feeders... that's an idea I should have implemented. I had one, but he was a vegetarian and didn't touch the discus food... Cory cats, yes?

Do you do anything special for the plants (co2 injection etc?)

Do you find that the plants make a significant difference to the nitrate concentration? I'm curious about how effective that can be...

Thanks again and may your fish always be happy and healthy!

[Marc Davis]

Thanks for the reply. Youtube videos are really great. The tank is beautiful and elegant.

Ahhh... bottom feeders... that's an idea I should have implemented. I had one, but he was a vegetarian and didn't touch the discus food... Cory cats, yes?

Do you do anything special for the plants (co2 injection etc?)

Do you find that the plants make a significant difference to the nitrate concentration? I'm curious about how effective that can be...

Thanks again and may your fish always be happy and healthy!

I use diy co2. Sugar and yeast in a bottle with airline tubing. You can see the bottle next to the canister filter under the tank in the video.

I've not measured the levels in my water for a very long time so I couldn't tell you the nitrate concentration. The only thing I monitor is temperature.

I used to monitor regularly but nothing ever changed.

And let's face it, I watch my tank so often that it's very obvious if there is ever a problem.

[Marc Davis]

Latest video on the tank guys with info on how i keep my tank clear, algae free and my DIY co2 system.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnCexk136Jk