Getting started on my first planted tank.

[brett72586]

Hello all.

As the title says I am starting my first planted tank. I have tried keeping just 2 plants alive but I lost the battle. I am not new to keeping fish. About 5-6 years ago when I was stationed in New Jersey I had a 75 gallon Discuss tank and a 120 gallon South American Cichlid tank.

After getting orders to move to Germany I sold what I had. After relocating back to America I want to get started on a new tank. I have a few questions. I have been prowling around this forum and google for the last week or so. Unfortunately since I have less then 10 posts I can not use the search function. On that note I believe I will be getting a 90 gallon tank. Maybe a 100-120ish but I really think 90 will be the one for me. It will be stocked with 7-8 Discus from hans-america(unless im told otherwise), like 30-40 neon tetras, and maybe 1 bottom feeder?

Anyways I do know I want a sand bottom but I know I need special substrate for the plants. The only plant substrate I can find is dark colored and I do not want the discus to become peppered with the white sand. So with this in mind any recommendations on substrate/sand(or very fine gravel?). What kind/how many lights do I need? I would prefer to have most of the bottom covered in some type of short grass or moss if that is possible?

I also been reading I need a CO2 system? All the ones I can find are like 300+!!! Any recs on something more affordable? I am not rich by any means. One last thing. Any recs on a canister filter for a 90 gallon tank? I can't remember how many GPH ill need. Ill have the two filters that hang off the back as well. A emperor 400 and aqua clear 110.

Thanks for any help.

-Brett

[Bilbo]

Interesting thread as I am about to put together a planted tank as well. I used to be into planted tanks big time but got away. Lets see what some of the other members have to say as I am kind of out of the loop with the current plant systems that are out there.

[JoeJoe]

Brett, I have less than 10 post and am able to do searches. Are you answering the random question on the bottom of the search page? I am also interested with the recommended lighting.

Joe

[brett72586]

oh stupid random question. Well the questions were asked. I will see what people say before I go ahead and spend a lot of time searching. Seems there are unanswered questions that people want to know about.

[strawberryblonde]

Ok, guess I'll be the first to stick my toe in this pond. =)

For me, the easiest planted tank I could create was one that required minimal lighting, minimal ferts and NO co2.

I used dwarf chain swords as the base...they spread like wildfire, never get very tall and create a nice grassy appearance. For some volume I added Ruby Swords (stays fairly short but has vivid magenta leaves). They get nice and bushy. Also had some crypts, some vals (they were too fragile and got beaten up during water changes...blech) an amazon sword, anubias on my driftwood and several short, fat varieties of swords. Hmmm, also tried out cabomba and it grew like gangbusters and looked awesome in the back of the tank.

My substrate started out as Carib Sea Eco Complete, but hated the dark color so I switched it out for a medium grain CaribSea sand in a golden color. Dosed with Flourish once a week, trimmed plants every 2 weeks and other than I just let them go.

Lighting was a combo of a standard 18w daylight bulb and an LED strip.

They didn't grow quickly, but they were hardy, looked lovely and DID grow well for 2 years no matter how many water changes I did or how often I siphoned around them.

So for me, I just keep it simple and enjoy rather than try to create something that will keep me working at it day and night.

[brett72586]

Ok, guess I'll be the first to stick my toe in this pond. =)

For me, the easiest planted tank I could create was one that required minimal lighting, minimal ferts and NO co2.

I used dwarf chain swords as the base...they spread like wildfire, never get very tall and create a nice grassy appearance. For some volume I added Ruby Swords (stays fairly short but has vivid magenta leaves). They get nice and bushy. Also had some crypts, some vals (they were too fragile and got beaten up during water changes...blech) an amazon sword, anubias on my driftwood and several short, fat varieties of swords. Hmmm, also tried out cabomba and it grew like gangbusters and looked awesome in the back of the tank.

My substrate started out as Carib Sea Eco Complete, but hated the dark color so I switched it out for a medium grain CaribSea sand in a golden color. Dosed with Flourish once a week, trimmed plants every 2 weeks and other than I just let them go.

Lighting was a combo of a standard 18w daylight bulb and an LED strip.

They didn't grow quickly, but they were hardy, looked lovely and DID grow well for 2 years no matter how many water changes I did or how often I siphoned around them.

So for me, I just keep it simple and enjoy rather than try to create something that will keep me working at it day and night.

Thank you for your response. I will google all those plants and look into that substrate. I am not trying to make anything grow like it is on roids. Just stay alive and grow. Do you have a link to that substrate I can only find "live" sand for salt water. Also do I need to mix it with anything else like gravel? Also did you use any plant tablets?

[strawberryblonde]

Here's a link to it on Drs. Foster and Smith website CaribSea Instant Freshwater Aquarium Substrate (http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+9805+21412&pcatid=21412)

If you check the More Information tab they list which sands are good for growing plants and which aren't suitable. There's no need to mix it with anything else, plants seem to grow just fine in it.

I didn't use plant tabs in that tank. I do use them for the plants that I put into clay pots and glass jars in the tank, but if they're in the sand they seem to get all the nutrients they need. Oh, did I mention that I do dose with Seachem Flourish once a week? Not sure it helps, but it makes ME feel better. LOL

Here's a link to a site where you can browse the different types of sword plants as well as low light plants: Low Light Plants (http://www.aquariumplants.com/category_s/190.htm)

[wannafish]

Go to the Swap and shop section here at Simply.
Aquabid, plantedtank.net trade and shop section,
and craigslist, are great sites to find good used
items on sale.

[kareen]

I have a 125gl Planted Discus W/ Eco -Complete I put small Clay balls in for Iron and my swords grow good

[brett72586]

Who is the vendor of choice to buy discus from?

[Elliots]

Brett, the vendor of choice should be an SD sponsor. Do you want wilds or domestics? What colors and patterns do you want? Please check out the sponsors listed in the forum section to see who has what you want. I suggest the sponsor who you can drive to. You cannot do better than Hans. If he stocks the colors you want he will have the sizes you want. Contact him for an appointment if you can visit. If not I prefer to email him because he is a busy guy and I do not like to take up his time with phone calls although I think he is fine with phone calls. I drove 178 miles each way to Hans. He is well worth the trip. If you cannot visit a sponsor Hans and Kenny seem to get the most posts on SD. Do not worry about someone shipping you Discus, all the sponsors are good at it and it is not a problem for your fish. There is no sponsor I would be hesitant about using from SD. Good luck and keep us posted. The vendor you probably do not want to get Discus from is your LFS, local fish store. It is also best to buy from only one sponsor and buy all your fish at once. The only thing I suggest is that you have more than one bottom feeder as they tend to do better in groups. I like Corydoras Sterabi, they do the best of the Corys at Discus temps. I also like Clown Loaches but they need several hiding places. There is some debate as to how good Clown Loaches are with Discus. I would not get them in a bare bottom tank because they might be too active but they will hide if they can so be sure to have multiple hiding spaces for them. Clowns also can grow very large, you can always sell them or trade them to your LFS.

[Fish from Philly]

Brett - I recently set up a planted discus tank and absolutely LOVE it. My whole idea was not to get high tech with ferts or CO2 and make sure plants grew but not too wild or fast or dense since of course you want the discus to be the focus. That being said, here's what I'll recommend to do and what not to do based on my experience:

Substrate: Sand substrate is ideal for cleaning and maintenance as food particles will not get stuck/rot in gravel. Discus will not pepper from white sand (actually opposite will happen with dark substrate/background and that's only certain breeds like pigeon blood). As for plants, some plants require more nutrients than others so if you choose such plants, simply add root tabs every few months as directed. Pool filter sand is cheaper and is not fine like play sand so won't make a mess. I tried the whole eco complete first then layer of sand on top..yeeee noooooooooooooo its all mixed up now and doesn't look as good. If I did it over, I would use like 1" of eco in the far back where the stem plants are and keep the front all sand. Try sloping like 4" in back to 1" in front to add perception of depth. If you're going to plant in the foreground, then don't add the eco complete layer.

Lights: : If you can afford upfront cost, LED is way to go. T5s are fine too. Make sure spectrum is 6K-8K Kelvin and not 10K like for growing coral. I purchased from BuildMyLED.com and it is awesome. Way brighter than the Fluval ones and costs less! Plus you can add colors to get effects. For instance, I added red nodes to bring out color of rummynose and fire red discus.


Filtration: I use 2 Fluval FX5. I love them and rate them higher than my previous Cascade 1000 that I used for 55. Eheim of course are the best but expensive. Many here recommend sump filters since you won't have to clean them as much. It will vary how often you need to clean based on feeding, number of fish, plants, etc. Basically keep nitrates 10 or under so bet on at least one large change per week with large fish or as much as daily for smaller.


Fish: Most say 10 gallons per discus. If you go with the 90 gallon, I'd go with minimum 6 first then add as you get more money and understanding of how to care for them. If you're going to plant tank first, then you will want to go with 5" fish or larger. Anything smaller will require too many water changes and feedings to keep it clean with a lot of plants. Alternatively, if you have the motivation, keep bare bottom and buy smaller and "grow them out" yourself. Personally, I think it is better to get bigger fish and plant the tank so that they mature together. Once you visit Hans, you will be wowed by the large discus. As for tank mates, get cardinals over neons (look similar but handle higher temps better). Also look into rummynoses. I have both and think the little blue cardinals look cool as large shoal but the rummys follow eachother around the tank and are better. You could of course do both but if I did it over again, I would do 1 large school of rummys vs the 25 RN and 10 cardinals I have now. As for bottom feeder, a BN pleco is cheapest and safest pleco to have with discus. Corey sterbai are awesome too because they are always active looking through sand for food. Plecos can suck slime coat and harm discus so I would avoid all types except bushy nose and golden nugget. As pleco get older, they won't be as active and aren't as effective at removing waste. Plus you will be feeding discus often so there will be plenty leftovers and pleco will get used to it and not go after algae as much. I have a school of 12 cory and 1 BN pleco in my 150 gallon.


Plants: There are sticky here for what plants work in higher temps. I would go with low-mid light plants like crpyts, anubia, java, rotala. I am using four leaf clover as my foreground and it is taking much better than hairgrass for now. Most swords and vals will require medium light and root tabs. When first starting off, you may want to dose with Excel to jumpstart the growth.

Good luck buddy!

Here is pic of my tank. http://imgur.com/a/8pMKU#0

[brett72586]

Brett, the vendor of choice should be an SD sponsor. Do you want wilds or domestics? What colors and patterns do you want? Please check out the sponsors listed in the forum section to see who has what you want. I suggest the sponsor who you can drive to. You cannot do better than Hans. If he stocks the colors you want he will have the sizes you want. Contact him for an appointment if you can visit. If not I prefer to email him because he is a busy guy and I do not like to take up his time with phone calls although I think he is fine with phone calls. I drove 178 miles each way to Hans. He is well worth the trip. If you cannot visit a sponsor Hans and Kenny seem to get the most posts on SD. Do not worry about someone shipping you Discus, all the sponsors are good at it and it is not a problem for your fish. There is no sponsor I would be hesitant about using from SD. Good luck and keep us posted. The vendor you probably do not want to get Discus from is your LFS, local fish store. It is also best to buy from only one sponsor and buy all your fish at once. The only thing I suggest is that you have more than one bottom feeder as they tend to do better in groups. I like Corydoras Sterabi, they do the best of the Corys at Discus temps. I also like Clown Loaches but they need several hiding places. There is some debate as to how good Clown Loaches are with Discus. I would not get them in a bare bottom tank because they might be too active but they will hide if they can so be sure to have multiple hiding spaces for them. Clowns also can grow very large, you can always sell them or trade them to your LFS.

Thanks for the advice on the bottom feeders. I will look into this more tomorrow. This is why I am asking the questions to make sure I buy the right fish/plants/lights/substrate etc etc etc

The type of fish I am looking for would be like Pigeon snake skin, cobalt, or anything that really catches the eyes. Good color/patterns or bright colors.


Brett - I recently set up a planted discus tank and absolutely LOVE it. My whole idea was not to get high tech with ferts or CO2 and make sure plants grew but not too wild or fast or dense since of course you want the discus to be the focus. That being said, here's what I'll recommend to do and what not to do based on my experience:

Substrate: Sand substrate is ideal for cleaning and maintenance as food particles will not get stuck/rot in gravel. Discus will not pepper from white sand (actually opposite will happen with dark substrate/background and that's only certain breeds like pigeon blood). As for plants, some plants require more nutrients than others so if you choose such plants, simply add root tabs every few months as directed. Pool filter sand is cheaper and is not fine like play sand so won't make a mess. I tried the whole eco complete first then layer of sand on top..yeeee noooooooooooooo its all mixed up now and doesn't look as good. If I did it over, I would use like 1" of eco in the far back where the stem plants are and keep the front all sand. Try sloping like 4" in back to 1" in front to add perception of depth. If you're going to plant in the foreground, then don't add the eco complete layer.

Lights: : If you can afford upfront cost, LED is way to go. T5s are fine too. Make sure spectrum is 6K-8K Kelvin and not 10K like for growing coral. I purchased from BuildMyLED.com and it is awesome. Way brighter than the Fluval ones and costs less! Plus you can add colors to get effects. For instance, I added red nodes to bring out color of rummynose and fire red discus.


Filtration: I use 2 Fluval FX5. I love them and rate them higher than my previous Cascade 1000 that I used for 55. Eheim of course are the best but expensive. Many here recommend sump filters since you won't have to clean them as much. It will vary how often you need to clean based on feeding, number of fish, plants, etc. Basically keep nitrates 10 or under so bet on at least one large change per week with large fish or as much as daily for smaller.


Fish: Most say 10 gallons per discus. If you go with the 90 gallon, I'd go with minimum 6 first then add as you get more money and understanding of how to care for them. If you're going to plant tank first, then you will want to go with 5" fish or larger. Anything smaller will require too many water changes and feedings to keep it clean with a lot of plants. Alternatively, if you have the motivation, keep bare bottom and buy smaller and "grow them out" yourself. Personally, I think it is better to get bigger fish and plant the tank so that they mature together. Once you visit Hans, you will be wowed by the large discus. As for tank mates, get cardinals over neons (look similar but handle higher temps better). Also look into rummynoses. I have both and think the little blue cardinals look cool as large shoal but the rummys follow eachother around the tank and are better. You could of course do both but if I did it over again, I would do 1 large school of rummys vs the 25 RN and 10 cardinals I have now. As for bottom feeder, a BN pleco is cheapest and safest pleco to have with discus. Corey sterbai are awesome too because they are always active looking through sand for food. Plecos can suck slime coat and harm discus so I would avoid all types except bushy nose and golden nugget. As pleco get older, they won't be as active and aren't as effective at removing waste. Plus you will be feeding discus often so there will be plenty leftovers and pleco will get used to it and not go after algae as much. I have a school of 12 cory and 1 BN pleco in my 150 gallon.


Plants: There are sticky here for what plants work in higher temps. I would go with low-mid light plants like crpyts, anubia, java, rotala. I am using four leaf clover as my foreground and it is taking much better than hairgrass for now. Most swords and vals will require medium light and root tabs. When first starting off, you may want to dose with Excel to jumpstart the growth.

Good luck buddy!

Here is pic of my tank. http://imgur.com/a/8pMKU#0

Your tank looks awesome. Who did you buy fish from? I plan on having plants all over with some driftwood growing java moss. Do you have a link to the sand you used? I feel like it will have to be either sand or substrate. I didn't think there would be a happy medium.

[jmf3460]

Brett,
I originally did what you are thinking of doing, I planted the tank and let the plants grow big while the tank cycled. It was only after the plants were all huge and beautiful that I added 5 adult discus. I found that the discus (who had only ever seen bare bottom tanks with no plants no wood no gravel no nothing) were scared to death of everything in the tank for the entire first month after I got them. I had a big piece of driftwood that they stayed hidden behind for so long that I got really frustrated and pulled the wood out. This forced them to grow a pair and come to the front of the tank.

Since having the discus, I have pulled all the plants on one side of the tank to allow for swimming room and kind of clumped all the plants on the other side of the tank for the planted look. This was a big help. The discus now swim in and out of all the plants on the planted side but prefer to stay in the open area and just hang out. Eventually I also ended up pulling up all the plants, replanting them in pots (I used fancy glass jars and bowls) and putting them in the tank, this allowed for me to significantly reduce the amount of gravel I had in the bottom of the tank and I can move the plants around in their jars to clean beneath and around them. This is currently the set up I still have, I kept some gravel in the bottom but only a thin layer and have my plants in glass jars. I used some aquarium silicon to make three "dots" on the bottoms of the glass jars that way it wouldn't be glass on glass. I also got away from the stem plants as I couldn't keep mine from taking over the tank. currently I only have swords, crypts, and a few stem plants such as telanthera.

I use the flora max substrate in the black and red mixed. My two pigeons have peppered but not a lot. their fins are dark also. I have a Marineland Aquatic LED Plant System light, I love it and the discus look great under it. I run two HOB filters (fluval) that are both oversized for the tank, and a UV sterilizer. I have DIY yeast CO2 and two small heaters which combined keep the temp constant. My fish are happy, but I am currently cycling a bigger tank with sand bottom, manzanita wood and river rocks. No plants at all. They just make it harder to clean the tank. And that's what matters to the discus.

Jacklyn

Learn from other people's experiences....

[Fish from Philly]

Thanks for the advice on the bottom feeders. I will look into this more tomorrow. This is why I am asking the questions to make sure I buy the right fish/plants/lights/substrate etc etc etc

The type of fish I am looking for would be like Pigeon snake skin, cobalt, or anything that really catches the eyes. Good color/patterns or bright colors.



Your tank looks awesome. Who did you buy fish from? I plan on having plants all over with some driftwood growing java moss. Do you have a link to the sand you used? I feel like it will have to be either sand or substrate. I didn't think there would be a happy medium.


Thanks a lot! I was on this forum a ton and had lots of members help. My java moss never attached well - not sure if temp was high or because I had in shaded areas. Plus it always gets loose and into the FX5 filters. The java fern and anubias do well though. I bought the discus from Hans and the others tetras, rams, etc. from LFS.

Hans has amazing fish. If you can visit, do so.

There are sponsors on site for manz wood. It looks awesome. I got my pieces when I bought the tank from an attorney in north jersey and he said he paid $100 for one of them.

As for plants, I'll be honest the more I read again (like JMF's comment above) the more I think I will eventually remove a lot of the busy ones like the crpyt I have on entire front left side. I'm all about aquascaping but think once the plants and tank mature it will be more of a threat to discus health than an essential part of the tank. Rather than having plants all over, consider setting up areas of plants and areas of open space for fish to swim. The 90 gallon and 125 gallon have same depth at 18" while 120 is 24" which changes a lot for your layout. I have Rotala, onion plants, water sprite, and cabomba that seem to do well as background plants or midground. The tiger lotus plant is a great eye catcher and grows stalks to the top of tank which is pretty cool. Try to set up layers with tallest in back. I bought some hairgrass and planted in large bunches for some midground plant. I have four leaf clover growing great as a carpet and would recommend that to you over another plant that really needs CO2 inject like glosso or riccia or something.

I've had my tank with discus for about 2 months now and they are eating and appear healthy. I bought them 5" and 6" and do water changes 2-3 times per week. The tank has good amount of plants that I may lessen up in future but I can't imagine going bare bottom or putting plants into jars as I prefer the landscaped type look. I think we would all agree it is important to monitor water parameters and adjust water changes as needed to ensure discus health.

[brett72586]

Yea I know what water changes often/water quality control. I guess I will put the "right" amount of plants in. Don't be afraid to mail me any plants you want to get rid of!;)

I am ordering the substrate, hose, and prime tonight from drfosters and smith. I will keep whatever 3 little fish come with the tank to help cycle the new water/substrate. Ordered 5 20 lbs bags, prime, and a water test kit with a hose. I will let the tank sit for a month and then ill add some wood/plants/..........discus

[discuspaul]

A touch more advice:
Brett, you appear to be thinking along appropriate lines and doing the right things to get started with discus in a planted environment, but just to re-enforce some of the good advice you've already been given....e.g... by Toni (Strawberry Blonde), I'd suggest you go at things slowly, and keep it as simple as you can at first, for the benefit of, and the focus on, the discus -(and not for the plants).
Until you gain some experience with discus, take a minimalist approach at first, and don't move into pressurized CO2 until you've put in a few months learning how to care for the fish.
In your planting set-up, give the discus a lot of swimming room, and do it so that you can easily clean up all the waste that develops, so as to produce & maintain the best water quality & conditions.

FWIW, here's one of my set ups to give you some idea of what I mean:

http://s1105.photobucket.com/albums/h357/discuspaul/lolliblues

[brett72586]

I have had discus before just had fake plants though. Where did you get your yellow one with the red stripes in the fins?

[discuspaul]

That little guy is an Albino Golden - ( a bit of a mutt, not well-shaped, but I like it) - and I got him from Rick Grange - Canadian Aqua Farm Discus Hatchery, here in Vancouver, B.C. He sells imported Forrest discus (Same as Kenny in Daly City, Ca.) and ships right across Canada.
You're not in Canada, are you ?
Rick is arguably the best discus supplier in Canada.

[pastry]

I second what Toni (Strawberryblonde) and Fish from Philly said. In fact, it's actually pretty scary how similar my thoughts are to Fish from Philly (sand substrate, LEDs... which actually I did get from BuildMyLED... but my T5s did fine before them as well but love my LEDs... loooooow tech).

I'm constantly hacking down my overgrown plants and I don't do anything but leave a little poo around :)

[dkeef]

learn to taking care of both before u start. i started my planted tank in april this year and spent 2 months waiting for plants to settle and cycle to be finished before adding discus in. before the tank build, i learned a lot about plants and studied co2 system which gave me more options to keep variety of plants. while plants were settling and some dieing off, i studied discus and made sure i ordered healthy quality ones from sponsors here. its been 3 months or so and now my tank is complete as i have no more space for discus. but everything has worked well. as tank settled, plants were doing well on its own without much care at all. all i do is trim once a month. there are delicate plants that didnt do well and i just plucked them out and kept the easy ones. focus was more on discus. watching and feeding and learning more about them. also QT took a lot of time.
really depends on what yu want the tank to look. some only care for discus but some care about not just how discus look but also the tank decor.
heres a recent photo of mine:
http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/a547/dkreef/null_zps50cab862.jpg (http://s1283.photobucket.com/user/dkreef/media/null_zps50cab862.jpg.html)

this is a tank journal thread i made when i started this whole process:
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=305370&highlight=

now if i can do another planted tank then this would be my choice:
http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/a547/dkreef/null_zps0b2ffe8a.jpg (http://s1283.photobucket.com/user/dkreef/media/null_zps0b2ffe8a.jpg.html)

u can also consider this simple one:
http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/a547/dkreef/null_zps2c6d7d68.jpg (http://s1283.photobucket.com/user/dkreef/media/null_zps2c6d7d68.jpg.html)

[musicmarn1]

+1


A touch more advice:
Brett, you appear to be thinking along appropriate lines and doing the right things to get started with discus in a planted environment, but just to re-enforce some of the good advice you've already been given....e.g... by Toni (Strawberry Blonde), I'd suggest you go at things slowly, and keep it as simple as you can at first, for the benefit of, and the focus on, the discus -(and not for the plants).
Until you gain some experience with discus, take a minimalist approach at first, and don't move into pressurized CO2 until you've put in a few months learning how to care for the fish.
In your planting set-up, give the discus a lot of swimming room, and do it so that you can easily clean up all the waste that develops, so as to produce & maintain the best water quality & conditions.

FWIW, here's one of my set ups to give you some idea of what I mean:

http://s1105.photobucket.com/albums/h357/discuspaul/lolliblues

[Fish from Philly]

I second what Toni (Strawberryblonde) and Fish from Philly said. In fact, it's actually pretty scary how similar my thoughts are to Fish from Philly (sand substrate, LEDs... which actually I did get from BuildMyLED... but my T5s did fine before them as well but love my LEDs... loooooow tech).

I'm constantly hacking down my overgrown plants and I don't do anything but leave a little poo around :)

Pastry - I remember you giving me advice few months ago when I first started my planted discus tank.

[brett72586]

Got the tank yesterday. They clearly did not want the fish. I asked them how they have been doing water changes. They said with a red solo cup. -_- I hooked up my gravel vac and it just grazed one of the fake plants in the tank. All this old food and crap came right off and turned the whole tank brown. After removing all 5 fake plants and some stones it was disgusting. I checked out the filters (2 emperor 400's) and the filter media has clearly never been changed. At least a 1/4 inch of gunk. I just ended up catching the fish and putting them in a bag and leaving the gravel there. There are a lot of inside scratches on the glass which you could not see when it was full but none the less upset me. They had 2 normal gold fish, 1 fancy tail, 1 irradecent shark (i believe thats what it is), some guppies which had babies, and some black neon tetras. The gold fish and guppies are going to the fish store before Sunday. I put the sand in. As of this morning the tank was very cloudy. I am hoping it clears up. I do not have any filter media except for the bacteria things in the emeror's. One of the motors is really loud so I will be replacing that with an aqua clear 110 as well. Oh yea...they didn't even have any fish food! Any one have any recs on a high end discus food (pellet/flake) that I can start getting the non discus used to eating. Before any one blows their horn about feeding discus only flake/pellet food. There will be a mixture. One meal will be the pellets/flakes, another meal will be beef heart, then the next might be blood warms. I know there is many different types of frozen food but you all get the point. When I get red of the gold fish and guppies I will post a pic of the shark. I am unsure what kind it is BUT if it can live with the discus I am willing to keep the little guy. He just hides in the corner.

[brett72586]

Well I have tetras dyeing left and right. Don't really know what the issue is. My ph test showed 7.0 but for fun I did a high PH rage and showed 8.0-8.2. Is this way to high? Never had water this high from the tap before so never had to deal with it.