So ya wanna planted Discus tank?

[Mxx]

I'm in the early stages of planning a 2 metre long 200-300 gallon tank for perhaps 8-12 discus. In reading through this thread everyone comments on how problematic it is for them to keep discus in a planted aquarium. Can anyone please relate what specific problems you are experiencing?? I've seen several mentions of algae, but in my experience algae is easy enough to control with liberal dosing of Phosguard in the filter, and Excel if need be. I want to be able to design these problems out of the system in advance as much as possible, but at this stage I'm not even sure what all those problems you all mention are!

Admittedly I don't desire to be a purist about biotypes either which is perhaps sacrilege. What I'm actually thinking of is eventually mixing discus with African species of all things, including Congo Tetras, Synodontis Angelicus, and African Butterflyfish, (and a flock of Bristlenose) as long as further research shows those to be compatible enough. I'd have dense planting along the back of the 24"-36" wide tank, which should give the discus decent room to swim still. And to minimize the need for and complexity of dosing, I'm looking at using a sub-base of Mineralized Top Soil. I'd be aiming to maintain low levels of CO2 from a pressurised system, and would try to have decent surface flow so regardless of CO2 levels oxygen levels would stay high.

I'd be using a 3D background as well, and was planning to use some space behind it for biological medium, and to grow hydroponic plants. I thought it'd be a nice complement to the tank to grow a thick canopy of split leaf Philodendrens up the wall over the top of my tank, and by hydroponically rooting them in the biological medium in the sump, the plants should be low-maintenance, (yeah, and would soak up nitrates and phosphates too I guess).

One thing that I was worried about though was whether having a biofilter with a volume of 30-40 gallons (and which would include anaerobic denitrifying medium) would result in me perhaps having to dose nitrates for the plants. Alternately, if I had this much bio-filter volume then might it be feasible to raise discus from a large juvenile size in this planted tank if the filtration resulted in me not having to worry about overfeeding causing water problems? I appreciate what I'm considering isn't the usual approach, (but that in itselfdoesn't mean it wouldn't work), but I would like to hear of potential pitfalls with the plants so that I could plan accordingly.

[Foxfire]

Not sure if that many/size fish in the tank will provide enough nitrates for the plants but beforing adding any, test for it; an issue you need to be aware of is phosphates - both the waste food and fish waste will build these up in the sand over time so even after heavy water changes, this will be a problem. Plants do not remove this chem very fast and many ferts include more of this bad guy! Avoid all solid/under sand ferts in a discus tank (shot gun types) but rather, add only what your plants need after testing (like Fe, for instance.)

[neb_16]

I have done a planted setup before... I set up a custom 280g corner unit. Several discus and plants, no CO2. The plants did ok, but definatly could have used a co2 boost

[Gonzo]

Mark superb post and very useful...

Jason

[Plumkin]

thank you for the information!

[Stag]

Nice write-up!

How do you cope with the mucus/slime coat removal from the gravel?

[caprismart]

awesome post!

[Hicgup]

very informative thread. Thanks

[GrillMaster]

Thanks for the kind words you guys! I'm glad some have found it useful...

[Lance]

I am brand new to this. I am proud to say that I have become successful with a high tech planted tank and Discus from the getgo. That is, I switched my 175gal. & 35gal. sump from a Reef tank over to a Discus tank in June. Not knowing what I was doing, I winged it with a lot of reading. I have 5- Ecoxotic 50W LED's 3 (3 blue, 2 white) pendents, that I keep on 12 hrs. a day. I use a CPR 2000 wet /dry filter and CO2 injection with a CO2 reactor. I put in about 4" of play sand and heavily planted it. (I have to thin out plants about once every other week) so you can see the driftwood etc. I stocked the tank with 18 Discus and about a dozen Bushy Nosed Plecos. I do a 40 Gal. w/c twice a week. I use a Reeflo 2500 gal/ hr. pump for circulation from my sump in the basement up to the tank in the living room. I keep the temp at 86 degrees F and the PH at 6.5-6.7. My Fe at .25, NO3 stays about 2.5ppm and I never have an algea problem. Maybe it is my 52 yrs. of experience with Salt water that is helping me. I don't know. But so far the fish & plants are doing fantastic!

[mothermastiff]

I do not understand, WHY do so many people say discus and plants don't go together?

It seems to me that a fish in a plain tank with nothing except the filters to look at or swim around is living in a sensory deprivation environment. I personally would hate it, that's worse than a zoo, and even in a zoo, many animals literally go nuts due to the monotony and confinement.

I wonder, has anyone planted HALF a tank and let the discus decide which half they would rather spend time in??

If you are conscientious about water monitoring and regular water changes in a heavily planted tank, why would discus NOT do well? The first discus I saw in the early 70s were in a planted tank that looked like an underwater jungle, and the fish seemed VERY happy and healthy. I guess ever since then, that has been my visual image of happy discus.

I am getting some dime sized babies soon, and was planning to start them in a heavily planted 30T, then separate them as they grow into two tanks that size, then two BIG tanks.... (Getting sapphire diamonds and cobalts, so I will eventually separate them by color.)

What I planned to start them in is a low light, low tech tank, but it's healthy.

What should I do, to make this heavily planted low tech tank optimal for them? Please explain in detail, thanks!

laurie (Mother Mastiff)

[Skip]

if you don't care what size your fish will be or how they will look..

then growing out dime sized discus in a heavenly planted tank is just fine for you..

if you want optimal. then go barebottom feed several times a day and do at least DAILY water changes..

so...

you can either pick the BLUE or the RED Pill..

[DerekFF]

There are quite a few plants that wont survive in discus temperatures firstly. Secondly lighting, CO2 and ferts are all a mad science and then to put expensive fish into the mix makes it that much more difficult. I think anyone whos had a heavily planted tank and went high tech has killed some fish or grown enough algae to fund the research of it to be used for fuel. Theres no saying that it cant be done, that it shouldnt be done, just that discus are easiest grown and maintained in a simple tank rather than a heavily planted tank.

[GrillMaster]

There are a vast amount of plants that will survive discus temps. I have to agree that lighting, C02 an ferts can be a mad science...but...Keep it simple low lighting lots of appropriate plants such as fast growing stem plants, a little fert tabs under them. Lots of water changes and both plants and discus can thrive. It has been proven with several contests in which Al has donated hundreds of discus juvies to numerous contestants. Some strayed from the norm and actually had great sucess raising the juvies in a planted tank. Plants like the WC's just as much as the discus do, so dont be afraid to try it out. Just keep it simple...

[pcsb23]

I do not understand, WHY do so many people say discus and plants don't go together?

There's plenty in this world I don't understand

It seems to me that a fish in a plain tank with nothing except the filters to look at or swim around is living in a sensory deprivation environment. I personally would hate it, that's worse than a zoo, and even in a zoo, many animals literally go nuts due to the monotony and confinement.

Fish have a pinhead sized brain and do not "know" anything, they are purely instinctive creatures, too many people assign "human" emotions to them which are not at all relevant.

I wonder, has anyone planted HALF a tank and let the discus decide which half they would rather spend time in??

Yes, I have. I tried to poll them but their pinhead sized brains didn't understand the question Sorry j/k ... the initial results were somewhat mixed, ideally I would like a much longer tank for the next experiment. They spent equal time across the tank but there was variance which needs much further study.

If you are conscientious about water monitoring and regular water changes in a heavily planted tank, why would discus NOT do well? The first discus I saw in the early 70s were in a planted tank that looked like an underwater jungle, and the fish seemed VERY happy and healthy. I guess ever since then, that has been my visual image of happy discus.

Back in the '70s most people did not have the level of knowledge we have today. I have seen many fish in conditions which do not suit them look good for short periods of time. Discus can be grown out successfully in planted tanks, both high tech and low tech (and anywhere in between too). Like all animals you will get variance, such is the fascination. I have grown discus out in high tech planted tanks just to see what the difference was. It was fun and challenging in many ways but I would not advise a newcomer to discus to try, and particularly if they do not already know and understand planted tanks.

I am getting some dime sized babies soon, and was planning to start them in a heavily planted 30T, then separate them as they grow into two tanks that size, then two BIG tanks.... (Getting sapphire diamonds and cobalts, so I will eventually separate them by color.)

What I planned to start them in is a low light, low tech tank, but it's healthy.

What should I do, to make this heavily planted low tech tank optimal for them? Please explain in detail, thanks!

laurie (Mother Mastiff)

Do what you want to but do it with understanding the risks / pitfalls. Don't be blinded by those that are dogmatic and preach one mantra, there are many ways to achieve satisfactory outcomes.

Do not underestimate the skill levels needed to have a healthy planted tank. And do not underestimate the skills, patience and determination needed to optimally grow out juvenile discus. Also be prepared for failure, because believe me it happens! Discus (and plants for that matter) can humble us in a heart beat! Do keep an open mind, enjoy the successes and failures and don't be shy to ask for help!

Also if it seems complicated, it is probably not needed, keep it as simple as possible for best results. Discus really only need lots of clean water at the right temp, lots of decent food and lots of patience.

Good luck.