My discus tank

[Noddy65]

Heres a pic of my discus tank...its a 5 x 2 x 2

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a378/Noddy65/discus.jpg

Dr Mike

[Nathan]

wow mike theres a big difference from last time i saw pics of that tank. looks good mate

[Darth_discus]

:lol: looks wonderful mate congrats :lol:

[Nathan]

hey whats the plant in the background is it rush? also what plant is it in the front, all the little ones?

[Noddy65]

Background plant is Narrow leaved Val: its grows very fats and long, the leaves are often 3 ' long. I need to trim them each week at the water level otherwise they grow so long they float on the surface and cut out too much light.
The front plants are Chain Swords. They grow really well and spread via runners.
This is a low tech tank: no CO2, occasioanl ferts, substrate is very large pebbles. Im surprised the plants grow as well as they do but there is over 200 W of light above the tank. It amazing how well some things grow given eought light.
Nathan: you should see my main planted tank, its like a jungle at the moment. Eveyrthing is growing really well.

You coming to the wedding?

Mike

[Merrilyn]

Well that's wonderful growth on the plants Mike.

Your discus look very happy floating through their jungle :P

[Nathan]

i dont think im going this time, your wedding was good though, mums going though. could you send some pictures of your main planted one mike? actually u should post em in this thread. hows the appisotos going u breeding em?

did you see the pics i entered of my discus in the photo comp? once i fix the plants up ill send u a pic of the whole tank

[Noddy65]

Heres an update
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a378/Noddy65/native5-1.jpg

Mike

[fish_r]

beautiful looking tank :) great work....

[Noddy65]

All native Aus plants now as well...they are beautiful plants and under rated.
Mike

[Nathan]

looks great mike, i thought all your discus died? from the co2 an lack of oxygen?

hey whats the temp on that tank?

[Noddy65]

Hi Nathan
Still unsure why they ended up dying...Ive concluded that is just what discus do...

Temp is around 28 - 29...its a nice trade off for the health of the plants and the health of the other fish...

See you in a few months...how ar those baenschi going?

Mike

[Mattzilla]

stunning tank you have

well done and keep the pics coming

[Nathan]

yea there tricky buggers!

yeah there going really good, however starting to get a feeling there all female. there eating well an growing well.

yea ive had problems keep plants in temps that high, i found it really difficult in my discus tank to keep plants, ive worked it out now but its nothn special!!

[sonflowerjoela]

Those planted tanks are so beautiful! both of them. That is what my dream tank would look like. I have gravel and haven't done well with plants. I want to change to a better substrate. Thanks for sharing your pics! :P

[Marinemom]

You have a very nice jungle of plants. I really like the vals. They are undemanding and easy to take care of. Beautiful tank!

Marinemom

[Noddy65]

The interesting thing about the vals in the second pic is that theyre all natives, all the same species but from different locations. They vary from thin green ribbons, to broad red leaves and one variety that is pale green in the middle and darker translucent on the edges.
A huge variation depending on teh creek system they were collected from.
They are all Val. nana.
Mike

[Japheth]

Hi there Mike

Love the tanks!
I have just started getting into planted tanks and looking for some lowtech plants. What plants are you keeping in the bottom tank besides the val nana?

What is the plant that is directly behind the tail of the discus in the second pic?

Thanks for your help

japheth

[Noddy65]

Hi there
Its most likely Limnophila aromatica, an aussie native.
A really great place to source natives is from http://www.aquagreen.com.au/index.html

Good luck
Mike

[Robdog]

Those tank shots are great Mike.
What kind of light do the chain swords need? If the val grows over the surface does it effect their growth??

[Noddy65]

Hi Rob
That first photo with the chain sword was a low light tank...it had only 4 x 40 watt tubes over it...the second is a more high light tank (has about 300 watts of T5). Despite the low light the chain sword grew really well, very fast and thick (thicker directly under the lights, more thin on the edges).
The substrate was also a bit odd, it was basically stones, average around the 1 cm radius size (some were bigger, some were smaller).

The Val did become a problem, I would thin it out and when it really started to annoy me I would cut it off at water level.

Mike