aquascaping

[bryalk1]

i have decided to go for the best of both worlds. i am hoping to turn my new acrylic 96x30x30 tank into a show tank. i have a wet/dry 48x18x18 hamilton lighting with three 250w mh and four pc. ialso have a uv and co2 tank. the substrate will be the new complete by caribsea. i am going to pick out some discus both from wattley and rocky mountain. and growing them out in some 55 gal i have available while the plants establish themselves. any tips on plants and aquascaping?

[Ralph]

Designing a tank can be the funnest part of discus keeping and the scariest part too. Everybody I think has their own approach to it. Some try to reproduce tanks that they have seen pictures of. Others have images in their mind of what they want it to look like. Still others like to draw plans of what they want. Probably the most common method is trial and error. People put something in the empty tank to see what it looks like.

I really like driftwood so that is usually what I start with. I find the piece or pieces that I like, try various set ups with the wood, and then build on that.

There are some rules of thumb that others know much better than I do. These have to do with proportions, creating depth, backgrounds, etc. They are about creating illusions, making the mind see an underwater scene that looks realistic, that gives us the feeling that we are underwater with the fish even though you know that you are looking at a glass box. It's a challenge but that is the fun part.

And there is so much room for creativity. The tank you end up with is yours and there is probably not another one like it.

That substrate, to my knowledge is a marine substrate and is designed to add calcium to your water. Great for marine fish but bad for discus. Discus like soft water for the most part. There are some inert sands that give the same look and they can be used in combination with fertilizing substrates.

[bryalk1]

the complete planted aquarium substrate comes packed in liquid amazon is slightly acidic and formulated for fresh water fish. i was not sure so i contacted the company directly. they just came out with it and have been havig great results with it. it is supposed to supply calcium which plants need without raising ph. has anyone else tried it?

[ChloroPhil]

Bryalk,

I used that in the Amazon tank I posted about down a ways. It's just porus gravel in a liquid soup. I don't think it's worth the money one pays for it....how long can those bacteria really stay alive in a sealed bag that sits on a shelf for who knows how long? And the chemicals? The gravel doesn't contain that, it's all in the liquid that comes in the bag. The rest is just black gravel. I'd fork out the same amount of money for Flourite or just get regular black gravel and squirt a tube of StressZyme in the tank...it's the same thing.