So ya wanna planted Discus tank?

[Diamond Discus]

Hey Steve, you think he had a hand in the creation of this tank?
http://showcase.aquatic-gardeners.or...0&vol=3&id=141

I think this is what he meant!

I've been watching this thread with great interest. This link shows a truely beautiful Discus tank. I think there are more ways than just one to go about a planted tank. You can replicate the natural wild environment of Discus, or you can simply use plants that YOU enjoy and grow well for you. It's a matter of personal preference. A planted Discus tank is the most difficult because you are trying to balance the health and well being of the fish with the health and well being of the plants. Giving either one more priority than the other is where problems occur resulting in the degradation or loss of fish or plants. It's quite a juggling act. And it hard to keep your priorities straight when you get a tank full of great looking plants and great looking fish, because the time will come when decisions will need to be made benifiting one and pushing the other to the second in line, trust me on this!

Personally, and this is just me, I would be afraid of wood like that in my tank. My Discus do not spook often, but still on occasion they will be caught off guard and bolt. Pointy pieces of wood could cause a lot of injuries. In the wild Discus have space to flee. In a tank...it may be straight into a piece of sharp wood. In other words, unless you have a monster tank, I'd be very careful what solid objects go into the tank.

What an honor to have Heiko Bleher reply to this thread. I too own his books. I'm sure he is refering to a Natural Discus Bio-type set up for plant selection etc.

This is a great thread with great information and some very interesting opinions!!

[Kindredspirit]

give me a little while, I'm just starting a new one

You don't say! I bet it is going to be beautiful

[Dolphin Dip]

i tried to start a "low tech" planted tank for my discus...
but every few days... i find myself putting my funds into another 100w instead of java fern, or saving for a pressurized co2 system instead of a diy system. help me!

[pcsb23]

i tried to start a "low tech" planted tank for my discus...
but every few days... i find myself putting my funds into another 100w instead of java fern, or saving for a pressurized co2 system instead of a diy system. help me!

might be too late for help

[Diamond Discus]

i tried to start a "low tech" planted tank for my discus...
but every few days... i find myself putting my funds into another 100w instead of java fern, or saving for a pressurized co2 system instead of a diy system. help me!

There's always something!!

[GrillMaster]

i tried to start a "low tech" planted tank for my discus...
but every few days... i find myself putting my funds into another 100w instead of java fern, or saving for a pressurized co2 system instead of a diy system. help me!

I just have my c02 stuff sittin around collecting dust now.

I got tired of trimmin all the time. Once I started changing Discus water everyday, I wanted to put my time in the fish an let the plants do thier thing...

tc
Mark

[calihawker]

Hi

I'm just now beginning setup of a planted tank and a few of the posts here have me a little concerned. I am using shale from some local rock outcroppings. It looks great but I have a feeling that the edges are to sharp. The tank is 300 gallons and I plan on having a relatively light fish load, maybe no more than 15 discus and a school of rummy nose. I plan on keeping the plant load light as well.

My question is, with a lot of room in the tank for the discuc to swim,
(and bolt) are my concerns about sharp edges not as much of an issue?

I would gladly post some pictures if someone were to help my figure out how to do it.

Cheers!!

Steve

[Kindredspirit]

My question is, with a lot of room in the tank for the discuc to swim,
(and bolt) are my concerns about sharp edges not as much of an issue?

I would say yes, Steve ~ absolutely! All it takes is one good slam on one of those sharp edges....

I had a discus slam into my tank's end and I heard it! I thought sure he was toast, or at best, knocked out! It was my fault as I was throwing on a sweat shirt right in front of them and spooked him.

You must post some pictures soon!

[calihawker]

Thanks kindredspirit!

Let me add that the tank is in the wall, in a very low traffic room behind a bar with only one direction to approach the tank.

The reason i'm trying to make this work is that the rocks are epoxyed together and the substrate is in. It's a major undertaking to change it. Alot easier to change before I stock it though.

BTW whats your favorite LFS. I'm up in Auburn.

Steve

[Kindredspirit]

You are in Auburn? You are like 25 miles from me Very cool! Favorite lfs....hmm.....I would have to say the Fish Planet, Howe and Ardan~ Opened a few months ago! They have the tank I want

Really though, Steve ~ think about those sharp edges ~ I know it is a PIA, but imagine treating an injured discus with a secondary infection or something....from a boo boo you failed to see....

umm....300gal tank @ 250 -500mg of something, every ten gallons...? You do the math! lol!

What is your favorite lfs? Are you buying your discus from a lfs?
Steve, I would take out a separate thread about the "sharp edges" to get a better perspective...and our chitter chatter here....kinda hi-jacking Mark's thread

I don't want the man to come lookin for me!

[happygirl65]

..."might be too late for help!"....I have to laugh at that because I thought to myself a year and half ago....hmmm, maybe I will put a few plants in my tank....

Now I have two tanks that are planted, one is low tech and one with high light pressurized CO2 and the whole works. I just love it. Once I got the plant bug...there simply was no cure. I absolutely love it!

Now I feel like I have mastered my current 2 tanks and wish to add some discus. I have read a lot on this forum about how they really need to be in a bare bottom tank in order to properly clean it etc. And while I do see the point (it is not always easy to clean a densely planted tank) I beleive that if special attention is paid to how much you feed, and if you watch them feed and remove uneaten food right away you can keep your parameters quite steady.

I do not have discus in my tank(s) yet because like everything else I do, I like to learn as much as possible ahead of time. And it is a good thing or I probably would have ordered some juvies and put them right in the large planted tank. Now I will wait, or buy large discus.

But thank you for posting this thread giving hope to me and others that a nice planted discus display is possible afterall.

Thanks!

[wannafish]

Hi Yah !

From what I have read in this thread, everyone is in agreement.
And that is to create an environment using plants that Discus will
thrive and feel at home with. I think what Heiko Bleher is saying,
is more along the lines of a amazonian biotope. I think what it
boils down to is to what degree do you want to be a purist.
Mr. Bleher certainly is, and I haven't even read his book, but I
read about him on Practical Fishkeeping. I have had Discus for
about 4-5 years. And I have a high tech planted tank. I have
Co2 and I bought some ferts. Adding ferts is what changed my
tank noticeably. I have green plants, growth and the algae has
gone away, thanks to some ottos. But my Discus are not behaving
in a comfortable, natural way. They seem stressed and trying to find
shade. I have some Wild's now, and I can tell that they do not like
the high light. So what does a person do. Since I have had some
success with high light and the plants, I am thinking about trying
low tech. It's a give and take situation. I want some nice plants and
growth, but I am more interested in the Discus's well being.
So the question is raised again before I switch. High light Discus
and stunning plants, or Low light healthy plants and happy Discus.
Any thoughts?

[GrillMaster]

Well wannafish...This is a Discus forum!

[tacks]

I have a 150 gallon, high tech plantedtank. I have teck lighting on it and belive me that is a lot of light. I have wild green discus in there and they dont seem to mind the light. I do have some floating plants that do give shade if they want it. I would try some plants on the surface to break up the light a little. take care Ed

[Luis138]

What about using a substrate like Eco-Complete? On one hand it is nutritious for the plants but on the other hand it might cause peppering in some strains of discus.

Am I wrong?

Luis