LemonDiscus 125 Tank

[lemondiscus]

Ok... so its a rainbow tank... I am SLOWLY working to a wild tank...

Here is my plant list as short as it is... :angry:
Amazon Sword
Purple Cabomba
Green Cabomba
Red Wendtii
Corkscrew Val
Chain Sword

Tank Parameters
Temp: 86
PH: 6.5
KH: 2 degrees

Current Stock:
4 - Wild Heckels
4 - Red Sunsets / Marlboro Red PB
1 - Domesticated Brown

Substrate:
1/3 - Play Sand
1/3 - Pool Filter Sand
1/3 - Pea Gravel

and the tank

[Matt in Houston]

Is your black background painted on?

I see many prefer lighter shades here...and I am thinking of which color to paint my new 210g tank...

Are you happy with your dark background with the discus?

[lemondiscus]

Is your black background painted on?

I see many prefer lighter shades here...and I am thinking of which color to paint my new 210g tank...

Are you happy with your dark background with the discus?

Yes I painted it with Black paint... I prefered it because of the way it shows off the plants... after research on here IT DOES change the color of the Discus... BUT I cant see it any other way other than black and if I had to do it again I think I would still go with black. Yes the lighter colors show off the fish better but they negatively contrast the plants and the depth of the tank IMO.

White - WOULD show the discus but the tank would then blend with my walls
Blue - looks unnatural IMO and I would NEVER use it
Gray - looks faded to me IMO
Black - Shows off the tank its best in MY setup and IMO

So I am the "black sheep" on the board when it comes to backgrounds... Maybe if I did it again I would fade the paint from black lower to maybe a lighter brown (tan/khaki) up top to give it a natural look of being underwater.

[OttawaDisc]

I can't imagine any other color other then black for a blackground. I too spraypainted mine black. To me the worst and most unnatural is blue or pics of rocks. That and sunken ships or "no fishing" signs :D

[lemondiscus]

I can't imagine any other color other then black for a blackground. I too spraypainted mine black. To me the worst and most unnatural is blue or pics of rocks. That and sunken ships or "no fishing" signs :D

Agreed! I also do the sand/gravel mix because it looks more natural... I dont like aquarium gravel as it looks SO fake! Keep it natural if you are going to do it IMO.... Again though, that applies to display tanks and not other tanks...

I do keep sand and 1 sword with my "breeding" pair of discus... They spent their lives in the display tank and to move them to a BB would stress them too much in IMO... A THIN layer of sand, 1 plant and 1 piece of driftwood to spawn on... but no background (thats my 30 gallon tank setup)

My 55 that I plan on using for growout has a thin layer of sand and 2 Amazon swords with a cheesy plant picture background (darker) so if I move them to my display they dont stress... keep environments alike IMO... MANY will disagree though... I do use this 55 to as a temp tank for the critters in my 125 display too... I got sick of the red discus and moved them to the 55 for a few months til I had some social issues with the wilds in the display due to not having enough...

Its great to have multiple tanks! lol

[lemondiscus]

Ok... I changed the layout just a tad! lmao

I got tired of the 2 parts merging together layout and chose to go with a bundle layout...

[target]

That looks great.

[lemondiscus]

So after touch up this is where I am at... I would finish it but I have a pair of discus mid-spawn I dont want to disturbed so my planted display will have to wait....

Here is where I am at now though:

[Disgirl]

Looks real good and I particularly like that wood in there! I like the grouping of wood and plants in the middle.
Barb :)

[lemondiscus]

Looks real good and I particularly like that wood in there! I like the grouping of wood and plants in the middle.
Barb :)

Thanks! I actually found that wood believe it or not in a lake in the winter when the lake was emptied out! I thought "Jackpot" when I found most of it! Of course I baked it for a few hours and scrubbed it... had it for almost a year now...

I like occasionally going treasure hunting for my tanks... I got my rocks that way too from a river and boiled before adding... If it is natural it looks more natural IMO

[Disgirl]

I have never heard of baking the wood. How long and at what temp? That would be good for wood that is too big to put in a pot on the stove to boil and I have some like that.
Barb :)

[lemondiscus]

I have never heard of baking the wood. How long and at what temp? That would be good for wood that is too big to put in a pot on the stove to boil and I have some like that.
Barb :)

All of these pieces were like that! LOL

200-250 degrees for about 1-4 hours depending on thickness... you have to watch it though... make sure it does not burn

The bad part with the baking method is it takes MUCH longer to get it to sink as you cook all the moisture out of it. It may require some rocks for a few months/years to hold it down... secretly there are rocks holding down some of the driftwood in there (about 2 pieces and NOT that big one, that one is a VERY hard wood of some sort!)

[Disgirl]

Thanks for the info. I just had an idea. Wonder if I could take a piece of waterlogged wood, put it in a large pan and cover it tightly with foil, then bake it, maybe even adding water to the pan. That way it would stay wet but get the high heat to kill "bad things". What do you think?
Barb

[lemondiscus]

Thanks for the info. I just had an idea. Wonder if I could take a piece of waterlogged wood, put it in a large pan and cover it tightly with foil, then bake it, maybe even adding water to the pan. That way it would stay wet but get the high heat to kill "bad things". What do you think?
Barb

I dont know... I stay away from waterlogged wood... who knows what germs are living in it... and those germs like the water... I picked up dried out pieces

[Disgirl]

I agree with that. But I have wood I found dried out. I have been soaking it in a trashcan of water, changing water every week until it is clear and waterlogged. Then I might try baking it to kill anything nasty in it since it is too big to boil. I will let you all know how it goes...here is another experiment! BTW the wood will not be going into a discus tank, just angels.
Barb :D

[lemondiscus]

Well... I got the sand out of my future grow out tank and moved some of it to this one (well most of the sand)... My Discus spawned yesterday so I did not want to interrupt them by standing in front of their tank to get sand out of the one I needed to get it out of...

This SHOULD be the final product... at least for a while...

BTW - Sorry for the cloudy water... photos taken only minutes after adding the sand....

[Chef]

very nice tank.

[lemondiscus]

This is what it looks like today... Over the past few months I had an algae outbreak (BBA) and did a 1 month lights out on it... I lost some val and a few other plants due to the no light...

I also added some Micro Sword a few weeks ago and tossed in a pot a few days ago in case I have a pair that wants a "room". The pot usually isnt in the tank but I am hunting another pair.

The one lone Marlboro Red is in here to see if she will pair with one of the 3 males in the tank (I have 3 males and 3 females) and also because I am short of another one to my liking to balance the tank... I am probably going to buy her a new male in the next few months...

[Scribbles]

Gorgeous tank!

Chris

[ChloroPhil]

That's really nice! I like how you've left a lot of space for the fish to move around.

Cheers,
Phil

[lemondiscus]

That's really nice! I like how you've left a lot of space for the fish to move around.

Cheers,
Phil
Thanks, I have in the past had the plants in the back and sides in the more traditional layout... I changed to this island style because the discus didnt seem to like the smaller amount of space that the other layout had. At one point this tank was overgrown with TONS of stem plants that I later got rid of.

My goal with this is to have leaf/rooted plants in like an island. The hill in the middle will have ground cover on it but I like to leave the sand exposed on the left and right of the tank leaving room to feed my mix without the fish having to sift through plants...

Its been a work in progress with TONS of mistakes along the way but I am trying to balance the plants and the fish the best I can and keep a "living piece of art" in the living room

[ChloroPhil]

Have you thought of using Nymphaea sp. lilies or some of the taller growing Cryptcoryne species as well as the swords? They might add some interesting differences in texture, color, and height.

Cheers,
Phil

[lemondiscus]

Have you thought of using Nymphaea sp. lilies or some of the taller growing Cryptcoryne species as well as the swords? They might add some interesting differences in texture, color, and height.

Cheers,
Phil

Do those work in these water conditions (Discus Parameters)? No, never tried them... I have Red Wendtii as a midground... but I am open to more ideas... I just DONT want ANY stems... Lilies and Crypt I can do though...

I was thinking Red Tiger Lotus but what Crypts grow to the size of the swords?

[lemondiscus]

I broke down and bought a Nitrate kit as I dont change my water as often as many in this tank... about 20-50% every 2 weeks and SOMETIMES another 10-20% waterchange in between with evaporation fillups every 3-4 days...

I feed a homemade seafood mix 2 large feedings a day...

I did all the tests I have and I was shocked at the Nitrate levels!!! I even did a few tests to be sure and re-read the instructions a few times (API Nitrate kit)

Nitrate - 0ppm
PH - 6
1.5 dKH
3 dGH
Ammonia - 0ppm
Nitrite - 0ppm

I find that nitrate reading baffling..... I do keep 2 packs of Algone in my Emporer... and have a fair amount of plants... Im perplexed... lol

[ChloroPhil]

Do those work in these water conditions (Discus Parameters)? No, never tried them... I have Red Wendtii as a midground... but I am open to more ideas... I just DONT want ANY stems... Lilies and Crypt I can do though...

I was thinking Red Tiger Lotus but what Crypts grow to the size of the swords?

Red Tiger Lotuses are actually water lilies. I think the common name came from the species Nymphaea lotus back in the day rather than the use of the proper. N. zhenkeri.

C. crispatula v. balansae (aka C. balansae) is a great background plant for discus. It gets tall and will grow into thick patches similar to a sword plant. Crinum species, Laegenandra species, and Aponogeton species are also suitable candidates.

Regards,
Phil

[samuelkl]

love the heckels. i was wondering what kind of swords you use in your tank.

do you have the light on for 8hrs during the day?

ive read somewhere that changing the length of the day can change the foliage of swords.

[lemondiscus]

love the heckels. i was wondering what kind of swords you use in your tank.

do you have the light on for 8hrs during the day?

ive read somewhere that changing the length of the day can change the foliage of swords.

I never heard of the light length affects the swords... could be true... might not be... IDK

This is my plant stock currently in the tank:
Amazon Sword (large in the back)
Micro Sword (Lawn in the front on each side... its not mature yet)
Pygmy Chain Sword (Front and Center... Hard to see, lost many on a BBA outbreak... Trying to renew them again)
Red Wendtii (Rowed up in front of the Amazon Swords in the center of the tank)
Corkscrew Val (There are a few in there but they are MUCH smaller because of the BBA fix I did (Lights out for 1 month))

I have my lighting staged and on timers. I have the following lighting settings (this is my weekday lighting... it is a bit different on the weekends):
LED Moonlights - on when all fluorescent lights off
5:30-8am - 2 Fluorescent bulbs my low light setting
8am - 5pm - Lights out back to Moonlights
5pm - 8pm - My low light setting kicks in
7pm - 10pm - All fluorescents running (over 200 watts)
10pm-11pm - Back to low light setting
Moonlighting overnight

I had a BAD algae outbreak several months back so I am still playing with my lighting to get plant growth and keep the algae growth down. Because of this I break up my lighting. It also helps because when I wake up I can feed the fish before I go to work... while I am at work the tank goes back to sleep and then it is on when I get home til around the time I go to bed...

I added the Micro Swords a few weeks ago and I do have some growth with them and I dont have algae attacking them yet so I think this lighting is working.

I have kept in this tank in layouts I didnt like, Java Fern, Java Moss, Stargrass (ANNOYING stem plant IMO), Cabomba (the purple strain seemed to grow more like a weed than the green) and something else but I forget... all those plants did well I just started to dislike the stem plants so I got rid of them all about 6-9 months ago and went all rooted plants.

I have experimented with MANY other plants but most of them died within a week of being added to my tank due to the temps and water parameters... Its been all trial and error for about 3 years now on this tank. Those Amazon Swords you see in the back are over 2-3 years old themselves and are really the only matured plants in my tank at the moment.

Phil - Thanks for the plant lists! I will look into them! Yes I know the Red Tiger Lotus is a lily. It is a REALLY pretty one and I have been thinking 1 or 2 of them would add a nice bit of red!

[Taney]

I love the island in the middle of your tank! I want! :p

[lemondiscus]

I love the island in the middle of your tank! I want! :p
Thank you! Its funny you call it that... lol Thats what I was modeling when I was aquascaping... The driftwood like tree branches, the Amazon Swords as the forest, the Micro and Chain Swords as the grass and the sand as the water.... I still need more plants (Red Tiger Lotus and Italian Val) and these to mature and grow out a bit more (Wendtii, Chain and Micro Swords need to grow more!)

As of this morning too (I am hoping and hoping!!!!) I have a male Heckel cleaning off a branch of driftwood... He is "paired" with another Heckel but she is uninterested in what he is doing but I have a female Blue Turk that keeps checking out what he is doing.... the driftwood is almost shining its so clean... My Christmas wish MIGHT come true!

[lemondiscus]

I decided I want my driftwood to hang top down instead of bottom up like I had it... Trying to change things up and make it look more like an underwater root system instead of wood growing up.

I had to add a photo of my favorite fish in my tank as well... She makes me proud! (I THINK its a she)

[Eddie]

I decided I want my driftwood to hang top down instead of bottom up like I had it... Trying to change things up and make it look more like an underwater root system instead of wood growing up.

I had to add a photo of my favorite fish in my tank as well... She makes me proud! (I THINK its a she)

Nice looking tank, the heckels look nice. You should get 10 more!

[lemondiscus]

Nice looking tank, the heckels look nice. You should get 10 more!

Thanks and I wish I could get 20 more! I love the Heckels... problem is here in Virginia they are hard to come by and 2nd of all, even if I do find them I have been so broke the past few months I cant swing even $100 on fish... Though I would LOVE to... The wife wont let me... :(

[ChloroPhil]

Sounds like you'll just have to breed them then. :D

[lemondiscus]

If only I could get so lucky... Actually that one I took the photo of and if you see in the tank photos, they are paired up... the male seems to try and coax the female (the one in the photo) to the area he cleans... she doesnt take though...

I think thats a female because I had a few confirmed male domestics court her for a few days... Of course she just sits there and looks at them like they are crazy.

I wouldnt mind if my female Blue Turk would pair with one of the male Heckels... Even though from what I read the 5th bar is recessive and probably wont throw very many offspring that show the 5th bar if any at all...

[Cooldadddyfunk286]

heyy, where did you get the heckels from? they are beautiful! :)

[lemondiscus]

heyy, where did you get the heckels from? they are beautiful! :)

A LFS out in VA Beach.... They had 6... and I bought them all... moving them around my tanks at home I killed 3 of them... these are the remaining 3 in the tank...

That store has not stocked Heckels again since my order although I asked if they could... They had a good price too on them at under $100 for 2... I wish I could get more....

Thank you! That one that I posted on the last batch of pics is my avatar too! I love that one... For a Heckel it is VERY colorful! I find it odd.... All of the other ones I have had/have are more plain looking.