My 215 Discus Planted Tank

[danDman]

Just a pic share of my tank.
It's a 215 gallons tank. Measure 72x24x29. Comments and questions are welcome.

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q180/GCDiscus/000000tank001.jpg

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q180/GCDiscus/000reduced03.jpg

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q180/GCDiscus/000reduced09.jpg

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q180/GCDiscus/00group01002.jpg

[fiftycal]

you have some REALLY nice discus there

I honestly didnt look much at the plants, due to looking at the discus

[danDman]

you have some REALLY nice discus there

I honestly didnt look much at the plants, due to looking at the discus

hahaha. That's exactly the problem when putting discus in the tank. Regardless on how beautiful the plants are, discus takes the show.

daniel

[aquafrogstuff]

Amazing!! Fantastic fish. They look like good quality fish that are really healthy and have a great shape.

Some questions:-
1. Looks like you using Metal Halide lighting. What are the lighting specs;
2. What soft of filtration are you using. Water looks crystal clear;


Cheers,

Dwayne

[ILLUSN]

Stunning fish and a stunning tank. Well done!

I'd also be keen to know the tech you've got on that tank.

[danDman]

Tank - 215 Gallons 72"x 24" x 29"

Filter - Ehiem 2262
wet/dry filter with very low overflow for skimming the surface.

Light - Coralife 6' with 3 - 150 watts metal halide HQI and 4 - 65 watts cp.

Substrate - In the rear ADA soil amazonia and white gravel on the front.

25 watts UV sterilizer

30 ppm injected Co2

[ILLUSN]

THATS A FANTASTIC SETUP! well thought out and well implemented.

great plant growth (30ppm co2 is waht I aim for as well).

just noticed the rummy noses in the first pic, they're telling me your water quality is EXCELLENT, there noses are so RED!!!!!!!!!!!

[iro11a]

Hey mate fantastic setup like everyone said discus look awesome and nice shapes love the way you worked the plants in,gave them cover but also lots of open space.

Good luck with everything
Jono

[danDman]

THATS A FANTASTIC SETUP! well thought out and well implemented.

great plant growth (30ppm co2 is waht I aim for as well).

just noticed the rummy noses in the first pic, they're telling me your water quality is EXCELLENT, there noses are so RED!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you sir. Good observation mate. Actually Rummies is one of the easiest tetras to keep. :)
My waterchange is 50% once a week. I also have a very low bioload for this tank.

[danDman]

Hey mate fantastic setup like everyone said discus look awesome and nice shapes love the way you worked the plants in,gave them cover but also lots of open space.

Good luck with everything
Jono

Thank you sir.

daniel

[Matt15]

Beautiful fish and tank.... what more could a discus lover want?

[aquafrogstuff]

Any chance you could post higher res copies of the photos. I want to use them as a desktop on my work laptop.

Cheers,

Dwayne

[StonX]

Very Beautiful tank and EXCELLENT FISH!!!

What temp do you set it at?

[danDman]

Thank you mates..

Dwayne, email me and i will send it you.

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q180/GCDiscus/0reduced06.jpg

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q180/GCDiscus/0reduced07.jpg

[Mr Discus]

Like all the others have already said - awesome looking planted/discus setup Daniel.

It looks like you are a patient man, as it would require alot of time and patience to get the plants alone to look that well cultivated.

The discus look absolutely gorgeous - and I love the little galley-way down the centre of the scape. Very clever of you also to use a showy substrate up front well separated from the planted substrate.

I love it!!

[fish_r]

great looking tank fish and photo's

[njadik]

hi mate, just wondering what was your tank temp?
is it okay to put 26.5C for plated discus tank,
oh yeah btw really nice setup you'vr got there. loved it......

Also would you mind to pm me what plant you used in your setup....

thanks a lot before.......

cheers

[danDman]

Like all the others have already said - awesome looking planted/discus setup Daniel.

It looks like you are a patient man, as it would require alot of time and patience to get the plants alone to look that well cultivated.

The discus look absolutely gorgeous - and I love the little galley-way down the centre of the scape. Very clever of you also to use a showy substrate up front well separated from the planted substrate.

I love it!!

Thank you sir.
Patience is also limited with me. :) It's actually not that hard to do planted tank. It requires less waterchange. Just need to find the balance with planted tank.
The showy gravel in front actually serves a purpose. This is the place to feed. It makes it easier for the fishes to find the food.

[danDman]

great looking tank fish and photo's

Thank you very much.

[danDman]

hi mate, just wondering what was your tank temp?
is it okay to put 26.5C for plated discus tank,
oh yeah btw really nice setup you'vr got there. loved it......

Also would you mind to pm me what plant you used in your setup....

thanks a lot before.......

cheers

Not sure the converstion from F to C in temperature. I keep mine at 80F.
The java moss does ok at this temp. They'll do better is kept at lower temp.
I don't know all the names of the plants. The few view I know:
Blyxa Japonica
Java Ferns
Java Moss
Sword
Anubias
Hygrophillia Polesperma
Chryps

A few of the plants were given to me by a friends and don't know the name. Sorry

daniel

[SusieQ]

Hi Daniel.... Love the tank both with and without discus... but especially with the discus... saw it on Simply as well...
Question... you say the white gravel area is for feeding... This may sound silly but how do you manage to do that... My food be it nls or tetra bits or whatever ends up all over the 4x2x2, 120 gallon tank.. Now that I'm planning on adding some eco complete and more plants like swords and crypts I was concerned how much food might end up in the planted area that I couldn't see... I know the discus will eventually find whatever they can on the substrate... by the way should I leave it just the eco complete or cover it with the same pool filter sand I have in the rest of the tank... would it matter to the semi adult discus???? Is there a trick to getting the food to a certain area or what???
Absolutely love the tank... are you gonna keep it with just the five?? discus... what else is in there....
Thanks so much for sharing... Sue

[tzwms]

BEAUTIFUL TANK!!!!
What is your routine for fertilizing the tank? You have a low bioload, do big water changes, lots of light and CO2; I would imagine your nitrates are pretty much zero.

thanks,

[danDman]

Hi Daniel.... Love the tank both with and without discus... but especially with the discus... saw it on Simply as well...
Question... you say the white gravel area is for feeding... This may sound silly but how do you manage to do that... My food be it nls or tetra bits or whatever ends up all over the 4x2x2, 120 gallon tank.. Now that I'm planning on adding some eco complete and more plants like swords and crypts I was concerned how much food might end up in the planted area that I couldn't see... I know the discus will eventually find whatever they can on the substrate... by the way should I leave it just the eco complete or cover it with the same pool filter sand I have in the rest of the tank... would it matter to the semi adult discus???? Is there a trick to getting the food to a certain area or what???
Absolutely love the tank... are you gonna keep it with just the five?? discus... what else is in there....
Thanks so much for sharing... Sue

Hi Sue,
The eco complete should only be for the planted area. The sand is for the open area without plants.
The way to feed so as not to scatter the food is to you a pipe. I use a 1 inch pvc, schdule 20 the thin one. I place the tube to the place i want to food to go. The pipe or tube is clamp to the side. I drop the food in the tube and it goes directly to the bottom.

I also have a clean up crew for leftovers. No plecos. Bad for the plants.

Ihth,
daniel

[danDman]

BEAUTIFUL TANK!!!!
What is your routine for fertilizing the tank? You have a low bioload, do big water changes, lots of light and CO2; I would imagine your nitrates are pretty much zero.

thanks,

I doze with macros and micros on alternate days once a week after a waterchange.

dan

[tzwms]

Could you be more specific?

thanks,

[SusieQ]

Hi Daniel... Thanks for the quick reply..
Just added the eco complete on the one side today, planted and covered with layer of sand.. Now i just NEED SOME MORE PLANTS LOL... Seriously I'm liking it so more plants are on the horizon.. No CO2 or anything as beautiful and dramatic as yours but who knows... The whole thing didn't bother the discus at all.. cloudy for just a little bit. Gonna let eveything settle back down.. see if my gold masters take their spawn to free swimming again before the others eat the fry and then maybe do the left side with a bit of the eco complete... so the front center is basically the only part that's gonna be only sand and driftwood.. so I'll give your trick a try and see if these guys are as "trainable" as yours... One of the rose reds was smart enough to figure out how to get past the divider, thus making it useless, so we will see...
Also what's your cleanup crew??? I have 2 small bn and was thinking of adding some amano shrimp from my other tank??
Thanks again for your advice... Sue

[sponge2]

I no you ve heard already but the fish are stuning.

And the plants look good too.

[njadik]

Hi, just wondering would you send me a pic of your tank top view, just wanna see the layout of your plant arrangement from the top, thanks mate

my email: njadik@hotmail.com

Cheers

[happygirl65]

Stunning Dan! I mean....WOW ...blink...rub eyes...this is exactly the type of tank that made me want plants AND discus! Really nice!

I love the depth you created with the raised plant beds/dividers. VERY impressive....

And the discus are gorgeous too! :)

[danDman]

Thank you mates for the compliments. This is the changes to the tank. The fishes started to pair up and created a ruckus. I added these sub-adult Marbled Blue Diamonds.

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q180/GCDiscus/010.jpg

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q180/GCDiscus/000tank02.jpg

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q180/GCDiscus/011.jpg

[happygirl65]

It is as lovely as ever...and those marble discus are striking! :)
I had some angels tear up my tank when they started pairing up....darn it....they should call them devils I think :)

[Barry N]

Lookin Good Daniel. As gorgeous as ever... :D Love the new discus.

[danDman]

It is as lovely as ever...and those marble discus are striking! :)
I had some angels tear up my tank when they started pairing up....darn it....they should call them devils I think :)

Yeah...I had to remove the pair. The pair was causing injury to the others.

[danDman]

Lookin Good Daniel. As gorgeous as ever... :D Love the new discus.

Thank you Barry. I think this group will do better.

[discuslover]

Fantastic Tank mate well done

Cheers
Simon

[discuslizard]

Hi

Firstly great tank and fish. I was wondering what type of discus it is in your first pics that is red and turquoise and has spots?? Love that pattern!!!

And what other types are they in the pic as well. Also love those marbled blue diamonds!!!

Thanks

[DiscusEden]

Just stunning! I'm about to re-do mine & yours is inspiring!

Just wondering what kind of dividers you use?

What fish do you keep as your clean-up crew?

Thanks!
DiscusEden