Wild Blue/Brown/Red Discus Biotope

[sanjay21]

What an amazing setup Tobi !! right from Page 1 this thread has always had so much going on. Tank turned out beyond what I could have pictured !

I don't think I can ever get bored watching this tank Great job !!

[Jody]

Very impressive tank - I am just getting into the hobby with my first discus showing up next week.

This post has been very inspiring! How have the cories been doing in the warmer water?

[Swedgin]

What an amazing setup Tobi !! right from Page 1 this thread has always had so much going on. Tank turned out beyond what I could have pictured !

I don't think I can ever get bored watching this tank Great job !!

Hi Sanjay, thanks.
Yeah it turned out quite alright, still thinking of ways to improve things. I’m not 100% happy with the water flow, need to adjust some of the filter in- and outflows. I’ve just moved the Hyacinths to the back of the tank, the roots are too distracting to me, especially when the tannins are low.
But I am in fact spending a lot of time in front of it, always something going on.

Very impressive tank - I am just getting into the hobby with my first discus showing up next week.

This post has been very inspiring! How have the cories been doing in the warmer water?

Hi Jody, welcome to the forum. You found the right place, tons of knowledge for newbs and veterans alike on here.
Looking forward to seeing your new fish and tank, I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.

The cories are doing great, but as I might have mentioned before, my temps are at the low end of the discus spectrum, barely going over 28 Celsius.

[Paul Sabucchi]

My compliments again Tobi and thank you for mentioning what you are using for humic and fulvic acid (watched a video some time ago by some chap who is an amateur fish trader, he was waxing lyrical about it). If you ever want any oak leaves let me know (possibly in autumn when there are readily available on my land), plenty of tannins there. I also have plenty of almond trees but unfortunately just the regular variety, not Catappa

[Swedgin]

My compliments again Tobi and thank you for mentioning what you are using for humic and fulvic acid (watched a video some time ago by some chap who is an amateur fish trader, he was waxing lyrical about it). If you ever want any oak leaves let me know (possibly in autumn when there are readily available on my land), plenty of tannins there. I also have plenty of almond trees but unfortunately just the regular variety, not Catappa

Wow, thanks Paul, appreciate the offer. We actually have Catappa growing in our garden and at my wife’s place of work, so we’re covered for now. Never tried oak, but I just might at some point.

Yes, the whole fulvic/humic thing is really intriguing, I guess there wil be more good info in the coming years. To be fair though, there are plenty of people who know what they are doing (breeding wilds etc) without using it. But as said, anecdotal evidence in my case is favorable

[Swedgin]

Some interesting material on fulvic acids:

https://discuswildlife.dk/gb/content/whyfulvic

http://www.fulvicacidminerals.com/wp...ances-pt-1.pdf

Interesting, but to be taken with a grain of salt as this is posted by the Danish company selling their commercial fulvic acid product.

[LizStreithorst]

Thanks. True biotope would be nice, but species wise over here I take what I can get. And I got greedy with the plecos. Neither of my 3 groups qualify for B1 or even B2 due to the dithers, but I don’t mind.

The humic acid concentrate is made from TeraVita’s 90% humic acid powder

Attachment 117900

The fulvic acid concentrate is made from a 90% powder as well, sold by customhydronutrients.com

Attachment 117899

I use these instead of the ready made aquarium varieties due to cost. With my water volume combined it would cost me an arm and a leg to keep the tanks saturated with the commercial stuff. So this is the next best thing.

The humic clouds the water for a few days, the fulvic barely has a visual impact. I have been reading up on both compounds a lot recently, there’s a bit of controversy. Some say humic is indispensable to keep wild discus successfully, others say humic is useless as it does not dissolve properly. Fulvic as a stand-alone seems fairly new. Solubility is better, and from what I know SO FAR, it can replace the humic compounds 100%.
It’s virtually impossible to find hard data on what works best, so I am experimenting quite a bit.
Subjectively both have an equally positive impact on the fish. Their colors are more vibrant and they are more active when I use either these 2 or the alder/almond combo. It seems that as long as there are either of those substances in the water, it doesn’t matter which.
But I’m still learning about it and can’t give any qualified facts. What is fsct is that shortly after I started adding the humic concentrate to the greens tank, they started spawning, which they have never done before.

I have been using Pat's Roobios tea and have been pleased with the results but I'm going to give I'll give your humic concentrate a try. Thanks for the info.

[plecocicho]

Do either of them (being fulvic anf huminic acids) change your water parameters like pH, hardness, conductivity?

[Swedgin]

Not in the slightest. The concentration is so minimal it does not have an impact. The powder itself is actually slightly alkaline.
I just worked out the concentration I’m using: it’s 0.002 grams/liter (.2 for 100, 2 grams per 1000 liters). And that is my absolute max dose, otherwise I don’t see any fish, just brown on brown

[Paul Sabucchi]

Kind of what I was reading about them, particularly when they are sold in liquid form they can be in a distinctly alcaline solution (otherwise they themselves to precipitate into solids), fulvic acid should stay more soluble but humic tends to solidify as the pH goes down. I might start using some in my planted tanks to see if it helps the greenery

[Swedgin]

It’s cricket day (no, not the boring “sport”)



C0440A08-D814-46C3-A039-B738774F7855.jpeg

1F40FF68-4151-4483-B214-67731BDAC2C8.jpg

2916878B-6EE7-49DF-8E3F-71CC79D05DA2.jpeg

2A700DC3-AB4C-408D-B13E-20F87F10DE51.jpg

5040D881-BE7B-4B5C-B699-C65CB5542E22.jpg

[LizStreithorst]

Tobi, what do you think of this stuff? https://www.amazon.com/Pound-Organic...+humate+powder I found it an outrage that shipping on a 1 lb. of humic from Organic Approach was twice the cost of the 1 lb. bag of the product. I'm all for spending money on my fish but getting screwed on shipping rubs me the wrong way

[Swedgin]

Tobi, what do you think of this stuff? https://www.amazon.com/Pound-Organic...+humate+powder I found it an outrage that shipping on a 1 lb. of humic from Organic Approach was twice the cost of the 1 lb. bag of the product. I'm all for spending money on my fish but getting screwed on shipping rubs me the wrong way

Oh you’d have a stroke living in the Middle East having stuff shipped. I think the shipping on the 4lb fulvic was 5 times what the actual bucket cost. Still cheaper than any alternative for me though.

Not sure about the stuff you linked, seems to be 80%, but no idea how much “worse” that actually makes it.

But these guys ship the same I’m using for free:

http://www.rootnaturally.com/store/

[Swedgin]

So to summarize as per Al’s and Pat’s instructions:

A lot of water

A lot of work

A lot of fun

A lot more to do

A LOT of great threads in this contest, thank you to those who started with us and a big thank you to those who finished with us as well. Well done all, great to see what everyone was and is up to.

Oh, and purple roots rock

[LizStreithorst]

Like I said, I don't mind throwing money at my fish. It's just that paying an outrageous amount for shipping was an affront.

I just bought a lb from the place you linked. Thanks.