I would like to start by thanking you all for the wonderful advice! Is is nice to see so many people care so much about my discus, my plants and my success. This really is a wonderful community.
Tacks I have domestics in my tank. They should be a little less sensitive than wilds. I do normally change 80% of the water per day. I will be careful with Excel. I use the beginner (minimum dose) with every product. I realize I am no professional. I try to keep things as simple as possible. The reason fro fertilization is because I change the water so much there is not much nutrients in it. I have tested for iron, chelated iron and phospate. They all read 0. I will look into some floating plants. Do you have any suggestions on any attractive floating plants that will work well in my particular situation?
Bastalker I appreciate your concern, but I have too much money invested in plants, lighting, a CO2 system, fertilizers, etc. to back out now. If I would have known then what I do now I definitely would have done what you suggest. I also have met my water limit in my apartment so starting a new tank is, unfortunately, not an option. All I can do now is research and learn as much as I can in short order. What I do have going for me, however, is that I am determined, motivated and a quick learner. I have never not accomplished what I set my mind to. There is first time for everything though. You can rest assured that I care for my discus very much and if it come to my plants and my discus all my plants will be introduced to the trash can at the first sign of my discus being distressed. So far though, they are doing great. Their fins are erect, showing good color and are growing out nicely.
I will slowly raise and monitor my CO2. I am hesitant to raise it too much all at once. While it is difficult or impossible to kill one's fish with too much light and the factory reccomended amount of fertilization, it is much easier to kill one's fish with too much CO2. How much would you suggest I raise my
CO2 per day? Do you know of a good CO2 test kit? I have one, but I question its accuracy. What is the best way to raise my KH if needed ( preferably a way to raise KH without raising PH too much)? My KH is barely 3 degrees out of the tap. I believe I read that the KH is supposed to be at least 3 degrees before adding any CO2 so I am hesitant to add too much CO2 until I am confident I have a high enough KH to do so.
Walter I will try to find people growing aquatic plants in my area, but, to be honest, there are not many. I did test for Iron and chelated iron and they both tested 0. I got the idea for 216 watts of light when I started to grow red plants, shorter foreground plants and Riccia. I read they grow best under at least three watts of light. My 50 gallon is 48" long. Most 48" lights are for bigger tanks so I had a choice of too little or too much light. I looked for a light that would give me 3 watts per gallon, but the lights I found were either just over 2 or just over 4 watts per gallon. I did have just over 2 watts of light per gallon and my red plants and my foreground plants did not do well. So I opted for the 216 watt light. I figured I could always remove bulbs if needed. I can add potassium to my tank if needed. I already have the correct fertilizer to do so. I only have the one tank so my electric bill is not an issue. I will slowly raise and monitor CO2 ppm and PH. It will be easy to monitor PH. I have a Milwaukee PH controller which shows me my PH and turns off my CO2 when my PH reaches a preset number. Do you know of a good test kit for CO2? I have one, but I am not sure of its accuracy. What is the best way to raise KH if needed (Preferably without raising PH too much)? My KH out of the tap is barely 3 degrees. As of right now, the back i heavily planted, but the front is substrate and low growing plants like dwarf grass. Right now the discus have plenty of room to swim and I will not let that change. BTW, your 50 gallon looked awsome!
Black Water Aquaria I will measure my iron and chelated iron and dose accordingly. I will add trace elements on a weekly basis as you mentioned. I also have my C02 on the same timer as my lights. I do still have juveniles and feed them 6 times per day so doing fewer water changes is not an option, however, I look forward to the day when they are mostly grown and I can do less water changes.