My planted tank

[fish_r]

Hi all
i'm a newbie here and thought id'e put a cpl of pics up of my planted tank to c how u think it's looking ?
5 foot tank, 2 x 80w T5 aquamedic lighting, 1 x ocean white tube 1 x planta tube, peat base with aqua clay substrate, fluval 405 filter
iv'e just added 5 discus to it too "newbie with them too" :) there playing hidy @ the moment.
the rock on the large bit of driftwood will b comming out as it's just to hold it down for now, it had soaked for 5 weeks in a drum and was still floating and i got impatient :roll:
i want to create a carpet along the front, but still deciding what to do it with ?
any advise/ideas appreciated :)

[HAN 'd' Aquariums]

Impressive Setup.
Can't wait to see the discus.
Welcome to the forum fish_r.
Heidi

[RichVic]

Very nice looking tank, mine didn't look that full for weeks!
Vicki

[aquaholic]

I'm impressed
can't wait to see the discus in there :D

[fish_r]

thx guys :) it has taken me a bit of trial and error to get it close to how i want it too look, but since adding pressurised Co2 it has made a hell of a difference, especially with the algae problems i had.
just want to add some red plants next to break up the colour a bit...
had a big trim a cpl of weeks ago now as some of the plants in there are really fast growers and the hgro was taking over so took a lot out.
heres a cpl of pics of discus, they are starting to get less shy now :)

[vince]

nice tank, mate!!

5 foot tank right?

What is the dimension of your tank mate?


nice planted tank set up...nice light...

[fish_r]

thx vince
dimensions of the tank are "ID" 151.5cm x39w x49h
and approx 6cm of substrate
lighting gives me approx 2.4wpg
i would really like to add more lighting maybe add another tube later...

[OscarManAlpha]

Looking good.

Cheers,

Mark

[Bad Inferno]

Absolutly fantastic setup you have

be careful with the worms.....I thought I was doing the best for my discus until they got real real sick due to a bad batch of worms. No live worms for me ever again.

[Nathan]

yea i think it needs another tube, kind dull at the back of the tank.

Depends on where you get your worms. I get mine from the LFS which get theres from a breeder which they grow in metal tubs and only used sterlised items, ive been using them for a year and never had any problems.

[OscarManAlpha]

yea i think it needs another tube, kind dull at the back of the tank.


Increase the water level ( stops light escaping ) and add some small crypts and chain swords along the front.

That should negate the need for more light..

Your plant choice is awesome for that amount of light.

A spray bar to get some movement in the top 3/4 of the tank ( not breaking the surface just a nice current ) will not drive of Co2 but will elliminate dead spots and avoid the aquatic mould often seen in planted tanks....If mould never occurs the way things are now then never mind.

HTH

Cheers,

Mark

[OscarManAlpha]

If what I suggested works, spend the money on some schoaling fish some more Rummy Noses ect...

And try not to sit and drool over your tank all day !!

Cheers,

Mark

[fish_r]

thx guys
unfortunatley all my discus seem to eat at the moment is black worms ? i feed the other fish in there a mix of tetramin troical flakes, tetra colour and spirulina and the occasional frozen bloodworm, did buy some live brine shrimp the other day but havnt used it yet "they are in a plastic bag with water" do i just tip some in ? sorry for the silly question but i have never used them b4 :oops:
the lighting isn't really dull at the back thats just the photo, i just want more light so i can grow some better plants.
my plant choice was thoroughly researched as iv'e had a fair few failyers in the past and doesnt help the water condition :oops: with my last water change i filled up to the level i usually have it @ approx 2cm from the top, i really want to get some pigmy chain swords for the front but havnt come across any in my travels, also just added a little hair grass with tweasers to the front the other night that i found in my other tank. also fitted a spray bar the other night too and my discus seem to prefer this also and move around the tank a bit more.
built another inline Co2 reactor today, my other one split and i went for the dupla 400 internal one instead and it was hopeless so cant wait to connect my new inline one again "much better" i had heaps of pearling with my other inline one but with the dupla i get none and i can see the affect it has had on my plants :(
also did a big trim the other night and some re-arranging took the big anabius out that was attached to the driftwood as it was a bit too big and hid to much of the driftwood that was supposed to be a feature of the tank.will post some updated pics again later...

i have got 14 rummy nose in there oscar along with about 10 harlequin rasbora and 20 neon tetras, taking the neons out and putting about 25 rummy nose in and about 20-25 harleqins in as i love the way they school :)

[OscarManAlpha]

thx guys
unfortunatley all my discus seem to eat at the moment is black worms ?

Start a new thread in the Food, Nutrition, Water Chemistry and someone will have the answers for you. Just a thought.


Harleqins are the the tightest little schoolers.

I'm a mad fan of them :D

Cheers,

Mark

[fish_r]

well i seem to have stopped killing my discus :) "from the info i got from here" murdered 2 in the end, hopefully thats all "touch wood" :)
brought another 2 a cpl of weeks ago to replace the 2 i killed, and going to get another 2 or 3 this week. the tanks 5 foot and thinking about 8-10 discus for this tank "is that about right" ?
also setup my 3 footer as a planted tank and going to put 4 in that one...
and made a few changes to the tank since my original pics, took most of the hygro out as i got sick of trimming every week and it gives the discus more swimming room, added some pygmmy chain sword, hairgrass, tiger lotus and a few others...

[tlambert]

looking excellent now rob 8-)

[fish_r]

thx Tyrone :)
it has changed a fair bit now again lol moved a few things around took the moss out, as well as a few others so my discus have more room
plus got rid of all but 2 of my chain swords as they grow too quick and were taking over :roll:

[wind54]

fantastic looking tank Rob! Was nice meeting you mate. Hope the little fellas are settling in ok.

regards Phong

[fish_r]

thx Phong, was good to meet u too buddy and very happy with the fish, i put the gold one "forgot the name already lol"
in my 5 footer and the red turk is in my 3 footer for now :)

[wind54]

lol! yeah golden the crystal mate...you will get used to all these names. hehe. Hope they're eating like pigs.

[fish_r]

ahh thats it golden crystal hehe :)
they both havnt eaten yet, but probably just settling in, it's a bit of a change going from a bare tank to a planted one i guess.
i had a major trim tonight, filled about a 10lt square container of trimmings, going to have to find some where to get rid of these cause i hate throwing it away :(
also wormed all my discus tonight with levamisole for the first time so hope all goes well...
still deciding if to get rid of all the plants and substrate and go a bare tank now, hmmm decisions decisions :)

[wind54]

hrmzz, hard one eh? I say leave that tank as it is beautiful mate! just use your 3ft as the bare bottom tank to grow out your smaller discus, beef them up and then when they grow to adults put them in the planted tank! I saw this 7ft tank full of discus at a restaurant last night! Made me drool and want a bigger tank now. =P Talk to you soon mate

[fish_r]

well after the disaster i had with worming, nearlly killing all my fish
"the two u sold me were ok" :)
i ended up stripping the tank down and started again cause i didnt really like the aquaclay as a substrate.
now i have a very fine layer of peat then red sea flora base then a fine layer of polished 3mm black gravel.
this is it so far :)

[wind54]

oh serious mate? what happened during the worming process? Overdose?
How are your fish now?

regards

[fish_r]

i used poulty wormer, reading that it had levamisole in it but said no mention of any other chemicals.
i got home the after noon after worming them and all my fish in the tank were like they were gasping for air @ the top of the tank, i did a 40% water change and had to go out but when i came home there was one discus dead and a cpl of tetras too :( and the others were close to death too. luckily my 3 footer was cycled and with out any fish in it, so i moved all my fish into it and they picked up with in a few mins.
my fish are looking a lot better now and look like there back to normal again.
pretty sure the wormer i got had glucose in it which caused the problem i think :( i wont make that mistake again :(

[mcloughlin2]

Sad to hear about that mate..

Next time make sure you get your meds from a reputable fishshop or known experianced hobbiest you trust...

I feel the tank will look far better with the black substance...i hate brown gravel...LOL...

Shame you stripped your tank though....it was outstanding.... :(

Ps: Did you chuck out all your lovely plants?? :shock:

[fish_r]

yeah it was a bit of a shock to me when i got home :(
i will use bigL next time, as iv'e read this is safe to use
i have some ideas for my new lay out and hopefully it will look better than b4 ?
i still have most of the plants, just threw out all the hydro and some of the faster growing plants.
going to start replanting now, will put some pics up later :)

[wind54]

oks. Goodluck with them mate, yeah black gravel will look pretty nice. It will probably bring out the colour of your discus more. Looking forward to the pictures rob.

Phong

[fish_r]

this is it so far, still gotta buy some more slower growing plants for the left hand side back drop and some riccia or glosso for the top of the driftwood, but not going to go over board with the planting this time "maybe lol"

[fish_r]

ooops :)

[fish_r]

hmmm so much for the not going over board this time lol :)

here's a cpl of up dated pics of the tank, made a hood for the tank and put another 2 x 4 foot light in the hood, now gives me approx 3.4 wpg of light
had a bit of an algae problem so added more plants and seems to be ballancing out again now.
added all my tetras etc back in and only 3 of my discus so far, but will add another cpl in the next cpl of days...

[dismatt]

looking really good great job :D

[fish_r]

thx dismatt :)
came home tonight to a bit of an algae outbreak lol... hmmm i guess it's that extra lighting i added :roll:

[d6c1]

nice! What are those plant shrubs at the front?

[Benny]

You used a poultry wormer which had sugar in it.

The sugar causes an algal bloom, which slaughters most things living in the tank..

how do i know?

I did the same thing :(

Sorry to see my warnings arent quite obvious enough on the forum...


Condolences, and ur new layout looks wicked

[fish_r]

nice! What are those plant shrubs at the front?
its Blyxa Japonica, i could never get it to grow in my other tank, but since putting it in this tank it has exploded with growth 8-)
the one plant i had left with about a dozen leaves has produced them two large shrubs and another two so far 8-)

yep Benny thats what i did :( and thats what it caused :( i didnt want to take any chances of any more deaths so started the tank all over again
"i know it was maybe a bit extreme" but it gave me all the excuse i needed to get rid of the aqua clay substrate.
my growth rates seem even better than b4 now...

[fish_r]

here is another updated photo...
had a bit of a problem with green water for about a week and a half, but fitted a UV sterilizer and it has now gone to crystal clear again :)

[Mulisha]

Very ncie tankl that tank set up would be having to cost upwards of 3K now .. :wink: :wink:

Fish tanks are awersome.. 8-)

[wind54]

hey Rob
aweseome looking tank. Nice aquascaping. Any updated pics with the discus in it?

[fish_r]

thx guys
i dont even want to think of what is has cost me now Mulisha :? :)

here's a cpl more shots, "the golden is hidding in the driftwood"i took out the ambulia and the stella this arvo.
and replaced it with Mayaca fluviatilis and macrandra. also got some didplus diandra and some riccia to attach to the driftwood

[Nathan]

using any co2?

[fish_r]

and heres a cpl of the fish i got off u :)

[fish_r]

using any co2?

yep pressuried co2 with new aqua medic reactor, doing a great job :)

[wind54]

chrystal is growing nicely! Doing a good job rob.

[fish_r]

thx wind
it has grown a fair bit, doing lots of water changes :)