My discus tank- New re-scape

[discuspaul]

Just finished a modest, but fresh new look re-scape of my tank with a stump of Manza wood and lots of Anubias, and thought some of you folks might like to have a peek:

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

The little guys are Forrest's Golden Lollipops.

[angelskyglory]

Those are very lovely discus! And the tank set up is awesome! Very stunning.

[aquaworks1]

I like the Aquarium,and the Golden Lollipops almost look like a solid Yellow!Really nice.

[discuspaul]

Thank you both.
The Lollipops look nice now - yes, pretty solid yellow, but they're just youngsters - about 3 + ". - I can't wait to see their coloration in a few months when they mature.

[vicdiscus]

looking nice and Good luck.

[tonytheboss1]

:bandana: Like the re-scape & the discus. If you don't mind, what kind of sand is that? "T"

[DiscusBR]

The new setup looks great. Nice piece of wood there! What type is it? Have you experienced any algae problem? Your tank looks so clean.

[Rick30]

Wow
What a great set up very clear and colourfull
Love the yellow Discus
Well Done

[gliebig]

Looks great. Any more tank specs? Lighting/Co2/substrate?

[shoveltrash]

it looks beautiful! I recently changed my background to that same color blue....and love it :). I'm envious of your success with plants btw :p

[discuspaul]

:bandana: Like the re-scape & the discus. If you don't mind, what kind of sand is that? "T"

It's quartz-based white silica PFS


The new setup looks great. Nice piece of wood there! What type is it? Have you experienced any algae problem? Your tank looks so clean.

It's a stump of manzanita wood, Mauro.
It's newly re-scaped, so no algae yet. I've never had much of an algae problem - just a few specks of GSA on the glass on occasion.
Over time, I have had a bit of fine hair algae growing on the swordplant leaves, but have been able to deal with that.
And after several months, there can be an modest accumulation of algae on the surface of the PFS. I deal with that by turning it over with each wc, and every 4-6 months, I siphon off the top 20% or so of the sand, and replace it with new to keep the substrate looking like new.
As for cleanliness and water clarity, that comes with full wipedowns with each wc, and a thorough vacuuming.
Water clarity is achieved with the use of double-layered filter floss replaced every 2 weeks, Purigen in the filters 24/7 re-charged every 3 weeks or so, pre-filters on the intake tubes, rinsed twice a week, and a UV sterilizer running 24/7. A small Hydor Koralia pump removes any dust algae forming on the glass, to make it free-floating so it gets picked up effectively by the UV.
Hope this helps. Works for me - the tank is usually more crystal clear than you see in the pics - it's still a touch hazy from the new PFS which was not rinsed before putting it in the tank. Pics were taken a day after the re-scape was completed.

[discuspaul]

Looks great. Any more tank specs? Lighting/Co2/substrate?

It's a 75 gal tank with quartz-based white silica PFS for substrate. Lighting is 2 X 39 w - T5 HO's running 7 hrs./day.
No CO2 - low tech - root tab ferts, and once weekly moderate dosing of liquid ferts. Filtration is 2 AC 110's.

[OCD]

Looks great! LOVE those lollipops!

[BigWave]

That is a beautiful tank, and very nice looking discus!

[discuspaul]

Thank you all.
FWIW, here's a fresh set of pics, taken 2 days after the ones above.
The tank has clarified a little, and is now just about normal.

http://s1105.photobucket.com/albums/h357/discuspaul/lolliblues2

[ktm4us6]

looks beautiful, and discus look great too.

[krislewis3]

Are your fish all adults??????? Live your Aquascape!!!!

[discuspaul]

Are your fish all adults??????? Live your Aquascape!!!!

No, the Golden Lollipops are just over 3". The rest are between 4" and 5.5" - sub-adults, mostly.

[CrazyAngels]

BTW, I do love your setup. It is very clean and natural, just the way I like them. You mentioned Root Ferts?? any particular brand that you are comfortable with for the discus?? I've had monster anubias for a long time with no ferts. But never been successful with swords and I'm trying again.. would like to try the root ferts. thank you


It's a 75 gal tank with quartz-based white silica PFS for substrate. Lighting is 2 X 39 w - T5 HO's running 7 hrs./day.
No CO2 - low tech - root tab ferts, and once weekly moderate dosing of liquid ferts. Filtration is 2 AC 110's.

[discuspaul]

BTW, I do love your setup. It is very clean and natural, just the way I like them. You mentioned Root Ferts?? any particular brand that you are comfortable with for the discus?? I've had monster anubias for a long time with no ferts. But never been successful with swords and I'm trying again.. would like to try the root ferts. thank you

I generally use the API tabs, but have also used the Seachem Flourish.
I'm quite sure any brand would work reasonably well.

[xschug3]

Discuspaul- Looks awesome! I love the new aquascape. How often do you perform a wc on this setup? With no glass lid, how often do you have to top up the water?

[discuspaul]

Discuspaul- Looks awesome! I love the new aquascape. How often do you perform a wc on this setup? With no glass lid, how often do you have to top up the water?

Thanks.
I usually do 3 wcs/week, about 60% each time.
There's normally some evaporation every day, so I top up every day generally, just to keep the water level up high enough to maintain quiet flow from the filter out-takes. Makes for good humidity in the house too, so we like it.

[CrazyAngels]

Thank you very much. I surely will try those, just not into added CO2 to make things green in my tanks.


I generally use the API tabs, but have also used the Seachem Flourish.
I'm quite sure any brand would work reasonably well.

[krislewis3]

I love those yellow guys,and I love your tank. ....are you having any problems with growth on the discus?? I've been warned about trying to have a planted tank, when trying to grow the discus.

[discuspaul]

There is no question that discus growth could tend to be more limited in a planted environment vs. a BB tank.
I've grown out several groups of juvies in planted tanks for a number of years, and have experienced slower, and lesser, growth in some specimens over that time, notwithstanding my best efforts to maintain the cleanest conditions possible.
I've even had a couple of stunted fish, but I suspect that heredity/genetic factors may have been partially a cause of that, along with the growing out in a planted environment.
Nonetheless, as a personal preference, I don't care for BB, and take my chances with a planted tank. Usually works out very well for the most part - but you do have to put the necessary work and attention into it, to maintain the best water conditions possible.

[krislewis3]

What is the average size adult that you've grown in the planted aquarium?

[discuspaul]

I've grown quite a few to 7 +", but I generally sell them at around 6" or less - only because I have this 'addiction' of changing out the tank from time to time, and getting new strains with different colors & patterns to grow out. LOL
And also because I'm not a fan of huge, dinner plate size discus anway, and no longer interested in breeding them.

[gliebig]

Is your background painted on? I just painted mine black and after reading all the negatives on black backgrounds, I now have to drain the tank and pick another color. Will a darker blue be much better for discus color than black?

[discuspaul]

I've used black several times, but much prefer a dark blue over black.
It's really a personal thing for anybody.
The background is plain old acrylic-type stuff bought at a LFS.

[DiscusPunk]

Great aqua-scape Paul. Beautiful discus as well. What are the gorgeous blue guys with the red fins? I want one that looks like that! How do you find the sand works with plants? I wanted to use some beautiful sand form CaribSea but since I'm doing a moderately heavy planted tank, I went with EcoComplete so I would have the substrate that would feed my plants. I was looking into sand to avoid peppering on my blood pigeon. Beautiful tank and fish!

[discuspaul]

Thanks.
The blue guys with the red fins are HB Red SnakeSkins.
Running low-tech planted, I find PF sand works very well, just be adding a few root tabs every 5-6 months, and moderate bi-weekly dosing of some liquid ferts. And yes, the white sand does prevent a lot of the peppering with Pigeons.

[crazycracker]

very nice looking. I never had luck w/ sand - Beautiful tank

[Jdizon20]

Beautiful tank. And btw thanks for all your posts. Im a big fan of your posts and I've learned so much from your insight and experience.

[discuspaul]

Beautiful tank. And btw thanks for all your posts. Im a big fan of your posts and I've learned so much from your insight and experience.

That's real nice to hear - that's what I try to do.

[krislewis3]

+1

[DiscusBR]

Beautiful tank. And btw thanks for all your posts. Im a big fan of your posts and I've learned so much from your insight and experience.

+2

[discuspaul]

Thanks, Folks - much appreciated.

[santeclaws]

Nice fish!

[Oscarsx]

Paul is the man, your tanks never disappoint.. good job on that re-scape, it's awesome!

[discuspaul]

Thanks, Oscar.
Saw your tank & discus recently, and they look pretty darn good too !

[Sandy Clay]

Wow love it!

[zhuls1]

Hello Paul, is your planted tank still up and running? Sorry if I missed something but I haven't seen any recent updates on your tank. Looks like it was a pretty minimalistic scape, I'm guessing thats what really makes keeping a planted tank practical, easy to clean. If it is still up and running I would love to see updated pics of it if at all possible. Did you have any troubles with water quality in this tank? How would you compare their growth as opposed to keeping them in a barebottom tank with daily W/C's, did they achieve the same size? I think I read somewhere that you said one of them reached 6", was that body length or total length? Was it measured on a ruler or just an estimate? Thanks

[discuspaul]

No Zac,
I've taken a break from discus-keeping, and given that tank to my daughter who's now keeping Angels in it. To be honest, I was getting a bit bored and tired of all the daily tank cleansing work needed to maintain high water quality and keep juvie discus healthy, thriving, and growing reasonably well in planted environments.
And I wouldn't be being truthful if I didn't admit that even experienced discus-keepers can't grow discus as large in a planted set-up than bare-bottom.
It just can't be done.
Most of the juvies I raised in planted never got much beyond 5.5" or so - a few grew to 6" or more, but they were exceptions. And that was total length, mainly my best estimates.
Trust that answers your queries.

[zhuls1]

Thanks Paul, didn't realise that you were taking a break from discus. thanks again!

[discuspaul]

Thanks Paul, didn't realise that you were taking a break from discus. thanks again!

Just to be clear, Zac - I'm taking a break from discus-keeping, but not from simplydiscus.com forum