600 gallon low tech planted tank

[pastry]

I don't think you'll have a problem at all, Sid I'm sure you'll get most around that size and definitely some around 6.5 or bigger. I'm getting the itch to do it again but unfortunately only have one tank. If I had to do it all over again, I wouldn't have messed around with filtration at times and probably would've added one more (even if only small) WC per week. I'd love to get "teenagers" but had so much fun seeing such small guys develop. Should I hit the lottery then I'll definitely have a separate grow out tank and try to get them as big as Toni's ("Strawberryblonde").

Keep at it Sid! Take pics at least every 3 weeks at this stage and it'll fascinate you doing color development comparisons!

[DISCUS STU]

Fantastic, incredible. Thumbs up!

[Siddhartha Saive]

IMG-20150807-WA0032.jpgIMG-20150807-WA0031.jpgIMG-20150807-WA0034.jpgIMG-20150807-WA0033.jpg#Discus update

Its been 4 months since I added the discus. They are probably 7 months old now. Still growing good

Only 3 to 5 of them look unsatisfactory in size or shape (runts/stunted)
The rest (about 25) seem to be doing good
About 8 to 10 look great.. look like jumbos compared to the rest. Probably males.

A few started colouring up recently

got 5 of the 14 barred oddballs like in the first pic. I like them though

[Woodduck]

Never measured parameters till date. Will be buying some meters and test kits soon. Out of curiosity. Never had so much bioload before adding the discus

I pay the lfs guys for maintenance once a month. After removing half the water out (during water change ), one guy climbs in to clean the glass and takes care of any work inside the tank if necessary.

Happness is a payment book away! Just kidding. Your tank is wonderful. Maybe too wonderful. It's got to be awfully hard to keep that thing clean, but most of your Discus look like they're doing well. I definitely wouldn't advise a newcomer with a fat billfold that's new to Discus to try this, but keep up with the new wc schedule and DON'T ADD ANYTHING WITHOUT QT FIRST!! Beautiful tank.

[pastry]

I really like that first one too. I love the whole turquiose mottif (sp?) you've got going on. Any full tank pics? Love the Anubis on the wood.

[Siddhartha Saive]

Thanks Woodduck
I did put a lot of time and effort into the setup but its quite low maintenance.

Feeding the fish about 4 to 6 times a day.
Started fertilizer dosing again.. macro and micro on alternate days
Top up every 2 days. Just need to turn the tap on for 20 seconds
About 25% to 50% water change every 2 or 3 days. Takes 15 to 40 mins
Clearing any debris stuck near the overflow or the sump etc once a week

And.. maintenance day once a month or so.. 70% water change, cleaning the glass on the inside, washing the media in the overflow chamber, return pump etc
once in 2 or 3 months , washing half of the filter media in the sump and any planting etc if necessary

I've learned about quarantine the hard way
Won't be adding any new fish.

@ pastry
I love the look of a school of a single strain discus. I picked these as I wanted a natural/ wild looking strain. These might be blue turquoise crosses for all I know but I like how they are turning out

I'll update soon

[tonysdiscus]

Keep up the good work, tank is looking great!! I also have a tall tank mine is 48" tall and super hard to clean at times, my 90% w/c's are noot really a choice, lol since that is when i clean the inside glass, and move around the plants,
-Tony

[yabin]

Awesome and great detail

[Siddhartha Saive]

Keep up the good work, tank is looking great!! I also have a tall tank mine is 48" tall and super hard to clean at times, my 90% w/c's are noot really a choice, lol since that is when i clean the inside glass, and move around the plants
-Tony

Thanks Tony Climbing in is the easy part. Imagine plants getting uprooted and you need to replant or make any changes... without emptying the water and bending over the edge of the tank... you're gonna ruin your back lol
Would love to see pics of your setup. Please do start a thread on the forum.

Awesome and great detail

Thank you

[tonysdiscus]

Are you dosing your plants?

[Siddhartha Saive]

Yes Tony. I'm dosing dry fertilisers with a teaspoon. At about 1/4 th EI.

A few updates

The return pump failed after 2 years of use and I switched to a bigger version. From 7500 to 9500 lit/hr.<br />There is a significant change in water clarity now. Almost crystal clear

A video taken this morning just after the lights were turned on.
https://youtu.be/f6ZfaBckCns

Removed the refugium section from the sump. Removed the baffles substrate and plants I had in there.. to make a big chamber(twice as big) for the return pump. Now i don't need to top off water between water changes. Less maintenance.

I had the tank temperature at above 30°C for nearly 8 months.. because of the hot summer and then continued intentionally for the young discus. So the plants took a big hit. No new growth during this period and the moss is almost gone. Plants are really thinned out.

Now the tank temperature is at 28 to 29°C since a week and finally new growth has started.

My fire eel is finally getting bolder after nearly 7 months in the tank. Roams out in the open when I feed blood worms. Earlier I only saw it once a month if I was lucky. It grew about 1 to 2" longer.

https://youtu.be/b02pNMCnPlM

IMG-20150916-WA0047.jpgIMG-20150916-WA0048.jpg

[jmf3460]

this....is....awesome!!! I love your eel, im so glad I was wrong and this tank is working out for you. Those geos are getting huge! looking great take more pictures!

[Siddhartha Saive]

The Discus are growing very well and i'm genuinely surprised by how well they are turning out all of the 30 discus seem to be doing good.
Got a chance to measure one of the discus recently when it jumped into a net that i use to feed.. measured 4.75" . Most of the discus are at about this size. 4 of them though... are huuge.. probably 6". Need to catch em and measure to be sure. and the runts are still runts about 4 are smaller than the rest.
Its been 6 months since i added the discus at about 1.5" to 2" size. they are probably 9 months old now. Hopefully they will grow to their full potential for another year

New underwater video. Watch in HD. Enjoy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Duf25Ggpvog
This is my first video of the tank shot with my new Gopro. Will post better videos soon

I wanted to grow my discus good this time ( my previous attempt ended with a columnaris outbreak). Wanted to do things right. Feeding about 4 to 8 times a day with water changes thrice a week(25 to 50%) and i kinda ignored the plants.. no regular dosing, less CO2 and tank temp around 30C. So the plants are doing horribly. just started decreasing the temperature and new growth has appeared.
The geophagus grew huge. the biggest is around 8"
The fire eel has grown in length and girth. Hand feeding it now
Bonus video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVlXgUvxNDY

[jmf3460]

my gosh, this is awesome! I want to swim with these fish, they are not even scared of you or the camera at all, mine would freak out at a camera the minute I walked in the room with it. the eel looks awesome!! I could watch the underwater video on repeat every day of my life. very good job and the fish look awesome. geos are huge.

[jmf3460]

awesome video hand feeding, that is a giant clump of bloodworms right there.