Yet another planted Discus tank....

[moneymike]

Hey everyone,
I have recently got on the ball and added a co2 system and planted the following:

-1 clump of micro sword
-1 Brazilian sword
- Long leaf java ferns
-3 Annubias nanas
- A few 'recovering' amazon swords

I plan on putting some rotala and val in the background.

I lowered my tank's temp from 85-82.4ºF (29.4-28ºC) after reading some of the posts from the more experienced plant enthusiasts here.

I'll post some pictures later this week.

Okay,If you are covering your tank in plants, then how do you vacuum to remove waste? Any advice to find a good balance or solution is greatly appreciated......

Mike

[ILLUSN]

CAREFULLY! dont gravel vac too deep or you'll disturb the roots, i use a very small vac for around the plants and i just skim about the top 6-10mm of substrate, i use a bigger vac for a deep clean of the unplanted areas.

[moneymike]

Okay, that makes sense. When you say a smaller vac for around the plants, do you mean the really long and narrow ones, about 2cm in diameter?

Thanks

[ILLUSN]

Thats the one, still be very gentle, i cant tell you how much e.tenticallis i've mucked up.

[moneymike]

Will do. I'm curious, what do you like for background plants. I was thinking of some straight val and dwarf rotala.......

[ILLUSN]

val is good but goes crazy after a while, rotala is nice till it gets too dense then it looses the lower leaves, not so much a problem if you only plant 1-2 stems, but i think it looks too thin that way. I like blue strictica, and Pogostemon stellatus both planted as single stems only, keep pinching out the tips as it reaches your ideal height and it will bush out very nicely. temple is another good one planted in single stems but under bright light (4x54w t5 over a 4'x2'x16"high) leaves go a golden bronzy color. either way just use these as fillers between some nice swords.

[Scotty Bils]

If you are going to get serious with CO2 it is well worth the cash to buy a heating cable for the substrate and to also have fert in the substrate when you set up. Again you have to be careful when you vacuum not to suck up the fert.

From experience if you are going planted you need:-

Good lights
CO2
Daily Fert
Substrate heating cable
Substrate Fert

= great planted tank!! 8-)

Good luck and we look forwart to some photos!