29 Gallon Biotope Tanks

[dchisenh]

Hey everyone ;D

I've been browsing this forum (the biotope section in particular) to get ideas on how to start keeping Discus. I was wondering if anyone on here has a 29 gallon tank to house a pair of Discus and pictures of it. :) I would think a 29 would be a nice home for two and I just set up my spare (it was an old saltwater mini-reef) and am trying to figure out how I should aquascape it. Admittedly, I think aquascaping is probably my favorite part of this hobby and I have a couple ideas floating through my head, but if anyone here has any photos of their tanks I would love to see them. Also, does a pair in a 29 sound good? I would post in the beginner section, but I'm really dying to see what you professional biotope people have done with your tanks. :thumbsup: Thanks a million, and if any moderators out there feel this should be moved to that folder, that's fine. :)

-Dan

[Ralph]

Hi Dan, glad to have you posting. And this is the right place to post your question, they don't talk much about aquascaping in the other sections.

I've got two 29 gal with discus in them, I posted a photo of one on this thread, please forgive the photo quality though.

http://forum.simplydiscus.com//index.php?board=7;action=display;threadid=6943

If you look at the number of fish per gal, a 29 with two adults is perfect but the problem is that discus like company and the fish in my photo aren't doing well (it is actually a quarantine situation) because they need more fish around them. Generally four discus is considered a minimum number to keep in a tank. The exception to this is a breeding tank, a 29 is common to see used like that.

My other 29 does have four adults in it (also a quarantine tank) and they are doing well. It means more water changes though and close observations for signs of overcrowding. I'll be posting a photo of it in a couple days (I'm reading the instruction manual for the camera).

You would probably be better off in the long run to get a forty gal and 4 or 5 discus and save the 29 for QT or breeding. And look at all the extra aquascaping you'll get to do.

[dchisenh]

Hey Ralph :)

Awesome tank :thumbsup:

And I was thinking the same thing about the size of a 29 and a pair of Discus myself, that's why I was wondering. I have a 38 that I have a pair of ropefish, three small Bala sharks (I'm hoping to grow them up, convert my 75 reef to a freshwater stingray tank and throw them in there), and a rainbowfish. I was toying with the idea of moving the ropefish, rainbow, and sharks to the 29 and then getting some Discus for the 38. Do you think 4 Discus would do ok in a 38? The aquascaping for that tank done (a red theme, with red lava rocks in the background, a piece of red slate making a cave for the ropefish and red laterite mixed in with the white sand I usually use, combined with dark green plants and an occasional red one here and there, sort of a muted tank, but it works well).

Oh, and have you thought about using some water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) as a floating plant to take advantage of the light from your window? My grandfather used to keep that in his home-made pond and it grows extremely fast (a possible source of nitrate reduction?), has awesome purple flowers, and has very fuzzy black taproot-like root system that would look pretty cool with your discus swimming around in it, and it's an amazon native. :)

-Dan

[Ralph]

A 38 would be fine, that is going to be one wild looking tank though. They have several varieties of solid red discus, there is also a white one (snowflake) that might look good too.

I am definately partial to the roots coming down from the surface. For some reason they give a tank another dimension. The plant you mentioned and several other floating plants are illegal here now. They were showing up in local rivers and multiplying. I have some frogbit though in another tank that under the right conditions, grows a 8" or so taproot.

Here's my other 29 gal. One fish is behind another, it was either this photo or one with all four out of focus.

It almost has a reef tank look with the white sand, minimal plants, and brightly colored fish. It is close to being a biotope though. Let me know if you can't see the picture.

[dchisenh]

That's a shame water hyacinth is illegal where you are. It really is an increadible plant, especially if you can see a whole pond in full bloom. :)

Unfortunately, I can't see the pic of your tank. Just a sign that says "Club Photo, 25 cent prints". :-\

And the tank isn't as bright as you might think. The red lava rock is kind of subdued, and I only have 4 pieces partially buried in the reddish-brown laterite. The white sand looks really good with it, since the red rocks form a slight hill that slopes to the white sand. Also, the plants are mostly dark green (anachris is the main one) with a few amazon and brazilian swords and a small bunch of water sprite for some light green, and a large ozelot sword (with reddish brown spots all on the new growth, it's a new plant so when the greenish old growth dies away, it should look awesome). It's more of a subtle tank, and the fish I have in it are sort of dull colored or silverish, to place more focus on the rocks, sand, and plants. The background is plain black plastic one, to give the tank some depth and accentuate it's contents.

I think some bright blue would look good against the green of the plants and red of the rocks. I wonder if it will help bring out the red in the fish themselves. Also, I haven't ever seen a white Discus in any pet shop I've been in (seen some pics online, absolutely increadible). There was one that a LFS listed as a pigeon blood that was pretty awesome. I went to go check on it today, but it wasn't there. I'm guessing it sold already. :( Oh well.

If you can't get that pic to post, feel free to send it to me via email at Danny@vt.edu I would really like to see it.

Also, have you ever used Nitra-zorb to reduce your nitrate levels in your Discus tanks? I was thinking that if they are particularly touchy to nitrite, this would help to reduce the frequency of water changes in the tanks.

-Dan

[thebaglady]

OK I'm still really new here too, but I'm learning so-ooo much....On some thread, it said using lava rock was a bad idea in a discus tank. They could scrape against it and hurt their slime layer :-\

[ChloroPhil]

Ralph,

Where do you live? I've got a tank full of Phylantus fluitans and am getting close to needing to do a thinning if you want some.

[thebaglady]

Oooh...we can see the tank now. Very nice. Is that an aponogeton crispis in the center of the tank? I've had those flower in my tanks and you can actually propogate little bulbs that fall off and sprout new plants. :)

It was fun to see the plants do that in MY tanks. I always think they're just desperate to reproduce before they're gonna die, but I actually had a few years out of these bulbs. I gave them a cooler tank in the winter months and that somehow rejuvenates them.

[dchisenh]

Hey Thebaglady :)

I didn't even think about the lava rock being that abrasive :( That sucks. Thanks for the tip though :)

Wow Ralph! That tank looks awesome! What kind of lighting do you have on it? ;D

-Dan

[Ralph]

Thanks Phil for the generous offer. I may take you up on that at some point. Maybe we could do some kind of trade.

It think you are right about the plant Jen, unfortunately my memory is only 2 miles long and the LFS is three miles away. The plant is only temporary though, I want to put more wood in there and take out the plants.
I did have a Apon bloom one time, it's the crypos that I really want to see bloom now.

It is just a regular fluorescent (who came up with the spelling for that?) light. I like the muted, minimal look.

[ChloroPhil]

Nice tank Ralph! Your fish fit in really well there....uh...duh? :D Just let me know and I'll ship you some floaters. I've got to tell you though, the roost on mine have hit bottom on a 20 high in just a few weeks and are a lot thinner than I thought. It's still a nice effect though.

[Ralph]

How do set up the top of your tanks, Phil? I'd have to change my present set up. There would have to be space for the plant of course, the lights would have to be above the tank to prevent burning, and there needs to be a cover of some kind to keep fish and heat in the tank.
Puzzled in Phoenix

You should set up a Dear Abby style thread for giving aquarium advise. What do you like better, Dear Phil, Ask Dr. Phil (been used already), or Bother Bio?

[thebaglady]

I have a friend who's into plants who always keeps his water levels low in larger, md. deep tanks, like 55s.

He says the light goes through air easier than through water. His fish don't have as much space to swim around, but his plants thrive. It prevents many of the floating varieties from burning and many submerged plants become emergent and develope house plant qualities (hardening off) It's really cool. :bandana:

[Ralph]

I saw a picture of a tank on the Aquabotanic website where someone had inverted a tank and set it on top of a tank the same size. The water line was up to the top of the bottom tank and the plants were emerging into the top tank. You couldn't see the water line which I liked. I think it would be easy to make some kind of box out of plastic for the top too. Lots of possibilities.