My 65 gallon planted discus tank

[Filip]

1) Please Introduce your self ...


Hi all , I ve been in this hoby for more then 20 years and have kept many different species of fish and plants .My biggest admirations and goals in this hoby have always been planted tanks and beautiful aquascapes .
But that was until 2-3 years ago when I first started to keep discus fish .After that ,discus has become my second field of interes and admiration in this hoby.


2) If you have no previous experience with keeping discus...


I have a 2 year experience in discus in planted tank with my first round of 14 discus , and I think so far i have done a decent research and reading .
But with my first round of discus I have neglected and broke almost all of the golden rules of keeping discus and I paid the price ,so my first round of discus is dead.
Now I try again with the new round of 6 semi adult discus , and I hope this time I will get it right (or at least better than before )

3) Describe your tank


I got a 260 liter (65 gallon) display tank - Length 130 cm , width 40 cm and hight 50 cm .in my living room .
After my first batch of 14 discus were all gone the tank was and its still on the run fully scaped and planted
This new batch of 6 discus is introduced in the same tank but ive done a 3 months discus-free period and a complete tear down and gravel and filter cleaning.

4) Describe the décor for the tank

After complete cleaning I put back some of the plants- potted in translucent PVC glass- for easy moving around while siphoning and few lava rocks and driftwoods.Then I introduce the new batch of 6 discus in the aquarium – BTW fully cycled from before.
The substrate is now a very thin, max. 1 inch layer of coarse chemicaly inert clay pebbles –AKA L.E.C.A. clay or Hydroton with a RUGF system underneath for keeping the gravel as clean and as aerated as possible

5) Describe your water changes

For rasing my 6 semi adult discus fish I plan to make a one big - Sunday 70-80% WC with through vacuuming and glas and décor cleaning And everyday 30 % WC with quick front vacuuming. The water I change is direct from a tap , with same temperature and I use Seachem safe – dechlorinator directly in the tank right before I start to pour the new tapwater.

6) Describe the type of filtration planned

Filtration is based on 1 canister filter Atman 3338 – 1200 lph(300 GPH) filled with Floss, aqua expanded sponge ,Seachem matrix 1 liter , LECA clay 1 liter , Purigen 300 g. dividet in 3 thin layer –custom made bags . Also I use flos and 100 gr. Purigen bag as a prefilter on the canister intake

Another 1700 lph(450 gph) internal pump filter which is used to pump the water in the RUGF – underneath through the substrate to. My idea with this pump is to keep the gravelbed aerated and push as much of the fish poop up In the water column where it can be catched by the canister and pump prefiilters or siphoned by me.

Heater – eheim jagger 200W ,
Lights 3 pieces of T5 -54 W 4000, 6500,8500 K with reflectors on. 4000 K & 6500& are on through whole day and 8500 K only runs for 2-3 hours, just to boost up the plant growth .
Co2 gas System – Curently -shut down , because it bothers my growing discus.


7) If the tank is already setup and running, include the water parameters;

Temperature is constant 30 C and I ve never measured any of the water parameters but I know that my tap water isnt very discus friendly as its very hard GH 25 , KH 14 , PH 7

8) Describe your current or planned stocking levels;


My current fishload is 6 semi adult discus - (3 Red turqs and 3 red mellons) , 5 big torpedo barbs , 3 big Sae, and some 6-7 leftover tetras from my previous setup .

Discus are LFS bought , and they are claimed to be Jeffrey Tan stock .

9) Describe your planned or existing feeding regimen

At this moment(i have the fish only 4 days) I fed 6-7 times small amounts , just to get them to know me and recognize me as their food source , but in a short time I plan to feed only 4-5 times mixed foods ; tetra discus , nutri diet discus formula , frozen artemia , lean beef heart, and shrimps .
i also bought auto feeder eheim 3815 to help me with my feeding regime during my work hours.

10) What are your goals in this hobby?

For now as a discus novice , I don’t plan to pair, spawn or raise fry from discus , nor I am interested in raising or having the biggest showcase discus.

My goal for now is just to try to have , as sucsesfully as possible combination of my two loves – Plants and discus.
But in time when I get to learn the discus throughly , maybe I will be willing to try spawning and rasing fry .

So thats about it folks.http://forum.simplydiscus.com/images/icons/icon10.png

Any sugestions and constructive critics toward succeeding my goals would be apreciated.

Now here are some pics from my tank

DSC05296.JPGDSC05297.JPGDSC05300.JPGDSC05332.JPGDSC05303.JPGDSC05320.JPGDSC05327.JPGDSC05315.JPG

[discuspaul]

Welcome to the forum Filip.

You have some good points working for you.
First, and very fortunately for you, you seem to have been quite lucky in getting 6 good-looking & seemingly healthy discus from a LFS. Good for you. That's unusual.
And you also seem to have learned some lessons in the past, and are now putting them to good use by following what appears to be a satisfactory routine for keeping them healthy.
So far it seems to have been working out well.
Hopefully, your time on this forum will help you to hone your skills and do an even better job of caring for your beauties.
Good luck to you.

[farebox]

Boy that's an great looking tank. Plants and discus are popping. Kept up the good work, love your tank....Please post an update pic in a few months from now.

[rickztahone]

Very excellently done. TFS

[Kirbs]

Those look like pretty nice fish coming from your LFS! I like your tank too! Nice Job!

[Filip]

Thanks guys for kind words.

Paul can you please point how can i post 800X600 pics instead of just little thumbnails ,info link would also be helpful .I presume this is prefered size for photos here on simply? .

Farebox , its great now but i certainly doubt that plants would stay in this condition.
These are co2 pressurized raised plants , they will start to struggle since i shut off the co2 because of my new discus health. Algae is also to be expected,cause its lot harder to operate plants without co2, i have to be ware.
Anyway i ll make changes as i go , and replace poor growing plants with some more robust ones.i will make observations an further adjustments with plants.
As for update pics and info , dont worry. I think i will get a little bit more boaring with my updating then just a monthly shot . Dont mind me if i overdoit, im just too excited about my new fish.

One question.
I am compulsive about getting one more red mellon discus fish from the same batch and aquarium (im sure you are familiar with this feeling)That would make a total of 7 discus.
Can i go wrong in some way if i introduce one more fish 7 days later then the first 6 discus.
I guess cross- contamination would be out of question since they are same family?
What about pecking order and the last guy get tormented as a newcomer?

[rickztahone]

Thanks guys for kind words.

Paul can you please point how can i post 800X600 pics instead of just little thumbnails ,info link would also be helpful .I presume this is prefered size for photos here on simply? .

Farebox , its great now but i certainly doubt that plants would stay in this condition.
These are co2 pressurized raised plants , they will start to struggle since i shut off the co2 because of my new discus health. Algae is also to be expected,cause its lot harder to operate plants without co2, i have to be ware.
Anyway i ll make changes as i go , and replace poor growing plants with some more robust ones.i will make observations an further adjustments with plants.
As for update pics and info , dont worry. I think i will get a little bit more boaring with my updating then just a monthly shot . Dont mind my if i overdoit, im just too excited about my new fish.

One question.
I am compulsive about getting one more red mellon discus fish from the same batch and aquarium (im sure you are familiar with this feeling)That would make a total of 7 discus.
Can i go wrong in some way if i introduce one more fish 7 days later then the first 6 discus.
I guess cross- contamination would be out of question since they are same family?
What about pecking order and the last guy get tormented as a newcomer?

If you check out the stickies in this section, there are a few places that show you how to upload photos and paste them on to this site:
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/forumd...ritique-Corner

My favorite form of photo hosting is via Flickr. Find the tutorial to post pictures here:
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showth...s-using-Flickr

As far as introducing one more discus after you have already brought a group home? It is a tough call, but unfotunately, I advocate QT even if it is from the same group. I know many would say that is overboard, but you never know what may have happened in that 1 week that the other group was left behind. With that said, these discus do not look like your regular run of the mill LFS discus. They look rather nice in fact. You have to proceed with caution, but I'd say to quarantine no matter what. Personal opinion.

[Filip]

Thanks for the info and for your opinion Rickz.
I was already paranoid and hasitating over the idea ,and your advice just made me change up my mind and just go with this 6 fishes.
If only i have had a bigger tank i would go for 3-4 more ,and maybe that would be worthed a risk, but its just not worthed for only one more fish.
Ill just enjoy this 6 beauties.

Anyway thanks for the input.


BTW. Aclimatisation going good so far.
They started to eat verociously 4 times a day ,and their emaciated bellies started to pop out a bit.
Today they even started the pecking order establishment.

[rickztahone]

Thanks for the info and for your opinion Rickz.
I was already paranoid and hasitating over the idea ,and your advice just made me change up my mind and just go with this 6 fishes.
If only i have had a bigger tank i would go for 3-4 more ,and maybe that would be worthed a risk, but its just not worthed for only one more fish.
Ill just enjoy this 6 beauties.

Anyway thanks for the input.


BTW. Aclimatisation going good so far.
They started to eat verociously 4 times a day ,and their emaciated bellies started to pop out a bit.
Today they even started the pecking order establishment.

Please keep in mind that if you are feeding that heavily, the detritus that accumulates on the tank substrate is ridiculous. If you do not believe me, I can show you a video of my young group of discus in a bare bottom tank that get fed 4-5 times a day. The tank floor is full of poop a few hours after you feed them.

This is one of the main reasons why so many here advocate to not grow out discus in a planted tank, or one with substrate. I am just giving you a heads up. As much as I like how your tank looks right now, keep in mind that it may not stay that way.

[Filip]

Prior buying the fish ,i notice the bottom of the LFS 200 g .tank full of discus and it was a real, brown mess.
The owner told me he had vacumed it just one hour ago.
The next morning he said its more like a thick persian carpet of poop.

I know about risks and hardship of growing in planted t. But since this is my only big tank allowed in my home and it is in my living room i do not wish to go BB. But rather a display tank.

Substrate is less than one inch overall,just to cover the rugf filter trays.and i vacume it daily.
Ill plan to throw away plants and make further adjustments if gunk problems ocure.

I ll see what i can pull best of it .... IF i sense its getting out of control mayby ill try and consider BB, as much as i dont like it.

[rickztahone]

Prior buying the fish ,i notice the bottom of the LFS 200 g .tank full of discus and it was a real, brown mess.
The owner told me he had vacumed it just one hour ago.
The next morning he said its more like a thick persian carpet of poop.

I know about risks and hardship of growing in planted t. But since this is my only big tank allowed in my home and it is in my living room i do not wish to go BB. But rather a display tank.

Substrate is less than one inch overall,just to cover the rugf filter trays.and i vacume it daily.
Ill plan to throw away plants and make further adjustments if gunk problems ocure.

I ll see what i can pull best of it .... IF i sense its getting out of control mayby ill try and consider BB, as much as i dont like it.

You can always use a light layer of sand, it is much better than any gravel or other substrate really. It keeps dirt at the top for the most part. Since your discus are a little larger, you can get away with not having to feed them as much as young juvies, which in turn means less maintenance.

[Filip]

Thats a considerable sugesstion Rickz.
Ill keep a close eye on substrate and dirt ,and if i see its going out of my controll, sand would be my next compromise towards BB.
As for feedings, a like to give them them a lot of it at least for the next 4 months , try to make the best of them.afterwards i can cut it down to 2 meals.

LFS owner told me when he got them they were 2 inchers - 4 months old and he kept them the best he can for 3 more months until i bought them.
So according to him they should be 7-8 months old,.
I dont know if they are stunted or not(especialy i suspect red mellons) but i would like to feed them heavily at least until 12 months,and see what i can make of them.

[rickztahone]

These discus are not stunted, at least IMHO. However, if you plan on moving forward with your tank with the substrate, I'd advise you to do one thing;

Test your water for nitrates ever other day, especially before water changes. This way you get a sense as to where your nitrates are in relation to how you are feeding.

What is your WC schedule going to be you said?

[Filip]

These discus are not stunted, at least IMHO. However, if you plan on moving forward with your tank with the substrate, I'd advise you to do one thing;

Test your water for nitrates ever other day, especially before water changes. This way you get a sense as to where your nitrates are in relation to how you are feeding.

What is your WC schedule going to be you said?

Its nice to hear that they arent lookin stunted.
Water test is infact an excellent idea for me to know where im going at with my practice and with this substrate,feeding and filtration. Without tests i cant have an idea whether im doing things right. Ill do that for sure.

My WC -regime is,and i hope its going to stay 70-80 % weekly- sunday WC with complete vacuming and cleaning + 2 times daily before job 7:00,and before bed 00:00 hours 30-40% with quick front vacuming.
I just hope it will sufice.

[rickztahone]

Its nice to hear that they arent lookin stunted.
Water test is infact an excellent idea for me to know where im going at with my practice and with this substrate,feeding and filtration. Without tests i cant have an idea whether im doing things right. Ill do that for sure.

My WC -regime is,and i hope its going to stay 70-80 % weekly- sunday WC with complete vacuming and cleaning + 2 times daily before job 7:00,and before bed 00:00 hours 30-40% with quick front vacuming.
I just hope it will sufice.

I hope so to for yours and the discus sake. Are you dry dosing by any chance which is why you are going with a weekly WC schedule?