# Discus tank v2



## cb1021

Another planted Discus tank.

*Hardware:
*
72x24x24 Tank
2 x Eheim 2217
1 x Ecotech Vortech MP40QD
3 x Ecotech XR15FW 
20lb pressurized co2

*Fish soon to be added:
*
7 Adult Discus
5 Dantum Angelfish
8 Altum Angelfish
Some small schooling fish

*Plants:
*Plants will be mainly low Crypts, Echinodorus, Apongogeton, Anubias, Bolbitis heudelotti, etc. No stem plants.

Water still cloudy. 1 Light missing waiting to be shipped.


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## coldmantis

nice wood layout


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## cb1021

Thanks. Left ample space in between for large swords plants and tall crypts


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## cb1021

Angelfish laid eggs on front glass panel creating a war zone. One discus pair laid eggs last week but in the video you can see another pair wanting to lay right beside the angels.

Good news is that Angel eggs didn't turn white this time. Would love to facilitate breeding now that they've had a few attempts eggs becoming fertile for first time.

Just waiting for 180g to be cycled then all fish moving over.

Video of war zone:


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## cb1021

3rd LED light arrived.


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## slipfinger

Nice looking tanks. Water cleared up nicely in the new tank.

Did you not sell the rimless with the ATI light or is this a different tank?


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## infolific

I hope you get some wigglers. My angels have spawned multiple times. They've always eaten the eggs once day 2 rolls around. I don't really have any room for more angels anyway...


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## cb1021

The tank is pending pick up from a month ago. I just couldn't take it down because 180g took a long time to set up.


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## cb1021

infolific said:


> I hope you get some wigglers. My angels have spawned multiple times. They've always eaten the eggs once day 2 rolls around. I don't really have any room for more angels anyway...


Haha yea. I'm not expecting anything since there's way too many fish around. 8 Altums coming too. Excited about those.


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## vincel892

Where'd you get the altums ?!? 

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## cb1021

http://www.gtaaquaria.com/forum/showthread.php?t=282689

See if he has anymore for sale.


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## cb1021

Fish in. Plants to come in a couple days. Discus in corner feeding. Stendker discus acclimates very well, feeding after several minutes after transferring to new tank. Highly recommend them.


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## infolific

That's some nice looking blyxa japonica. Where'd you get it?


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## slipfinger

Ya the guy that grow that must me a master!


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## cb1021

Yea finally got some blyxa from you guys.

Going home tonight to check on tank - see what's happening. Will install Nest Cam soon. Also considering UV sterilizer.


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## slipfinger

Aqua Soil? 

Have you had issue with algae outbreak after really stirring up the sub?

I have yet to have any issues, I try and only stir a 1/3 of the tank at an given time, plus a big water change right after.

I have read many journals were people run a UV for 24h after they really stir up the sub. 

Does UV mess with nutrients at all?


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## cb1021

I don't stir the substrate. In what circumstance do you stir substrate?


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## slipfinger

Not a day goes by that I don't do something in the tank. Maybe as simple as trimming a couple of ratty looking leaves, to full on pull, top and replant whole groupings of plants. 

I save the major moving, topping and replanting for water change days so I can get rid of some of the stirred up water.

The mess AS can make, even if you try to be gentle is my only beef with the product, oh and the price


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## cb1021

Oh haha yea if you play around it can be troublesome. How's the Taiwan lily doing?


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## infolific

cb1021 said:


> How's the Taiwan lily doing?


Did you mean to ask me? The Taiwan lily is doing fine. I trimmed a lot of the "messy" stems and left the nice looking ones. No melt so far and I see some new growth so I'm expecting all will be well.


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## cb1021

Okay cool.

Found old pic of my 75g.


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## cb1021

What do you guys think I should plant on the driftwood branches? Or just leave it bare? Needs to be super low maintenance. Not sure if planting anubias on there would throw off the balance or over complicate the scape.


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## cb1021

Tank's been a lot of work setting up. Planted some plants, still need to plant the dwarf hair grass, trident fern, and Bolbitis heudelotii. Need to install co2 and reactor. Get all the timers right. Then clean up cabinet.


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## tom g

*Awesome*

Tank looks fantastic ......


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## cb1021

thanks tom. Any SW-->FW converts?

Hmm white background is a new look but definitely doesn't give that contrast. If I were to do it again I'd go for a black background.


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## vincel892

You doing anything special for the altums ? I remember talking to the guy that sold you yours and they seemed like quite a handful to take care(RO water, water changes etc), especially since they are wild caught 

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## cb1021

Nothing special for altums. We'll see how they do long term. Water seems to be good for other fish. Found some eggs on glass yesterday, not sure who. Espei rasabora spawned too. They twitch beside each other and you can see the egg dropping.

Tanks a bit overstocked unfortunately. This was supposed to be a low maintenace tank....


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## cb1021

Feeding video:


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## cb1021

View from Nest Cam


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## cb1021

Tank is overstocked after moving over previous livestock from 75g. Not sure if bioload will hold. Great fish but plants and low maintenance is priority (fish+plant health). 

9 Discus
8 Altums
5 Dantum Angelfish
20+ Sterbai Cories


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## cb1021

Sterbai cory laid eggs all over the glass. 

That said, foresee challenges with WC. Water is getting dirty, fish showing fin degradation. Cleaned both filters today, some filter floss was black. 

I think solution is more WC and feed less. Not sure if UV or Purigen would help.


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## cb1021

Lol the spawning Discus pair in left pushed everybody else to the right.


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## cb1021

Tank difficult to photograph due to LED. The spot-light nature of them create shadows at many angles. One thing different than T5HO. Even in person, the fish are in shadows. The only disadvantage of LEDs so far.

Also see Discus with split fins. Water quality not perfect lately since tank is not very established and had to transfer all the fish from 75g to 180g within the matter of days.

Otherwise all good.


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## cb1021

All fish doing better now - knock on wood. Water is clearing up. 2 x 50% WC weekly. The fish devour frozen bloodworms. Went through one of those large flat packs in 3 weeks. Looking for better quality foods. Fins on Altums recovering.


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## slipfinger

The first photo, wow. Looks so cool with the angels all schooled together.


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## cb1021

View via Nest Cam. No need for multiple tanks.


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## cb1021

Very difficult to take photos with LEDs - the directional light causes a lot of shadows. Fish are always too hungry and keep coming to the front of the tank.

What i've learned:
- Discus in planted tank can work but they eat a lot (ie. goldfish), must watch out for dirty water. Filters are being cleaned every 2 weeks here. 
- Aquasoil poor choice for discus tank, a lot of debris and unnecessary for low-light plants.

I trimmed back a lot of the plants due to brown algae. Ideally need to jam this tanks with Vals + Swords to purify water and control algae. If this tank gets an outbreak, will be PITA considering size and bioload.

You can see the ISO on the photo is high, thus grainy. If I do any more light, it's almost guaranteed algae. Too much waste in this tank, not balanced.


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## Poseidon

I'm sure you'll be able to get it where you want it. For what it's worth, your fish look stunning together!


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## cb1021

Thanks Poseidon. Found this trick by chance. Photos come out better when there's less water during a WC. Not sure why.


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## guitarprod

*friendly advise*

hi, you want to put the two heaters on opposite ends of the tank for equal heat distribution. Angling them near the bottom is best, discus hate temperature fluctuation. Also large angelfish with smaller discus is not a good idea, they take away food from the smaller discus, just watch what happens when you feed them next and you will see what I mean. 
Goodluck


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## cb1021

Thanks for your comment. No issues with feeding however bioload is getting high as fish grow (20+ Bristlenose fry, 20+ Sterbai cory) and Discus/Angelfish growing more. It's affecting plant growth, some algae is showing. 

Will move Altums to an empty 125g at my condo soon. It's a PITA though. Larger tanks are time consuming to deal with.


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## cb1021

Plant growth manageable. Light is kept really dim.

Maybe fill background with more vals..looks a bit empty.









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## jimmyjam

looks good man. If you ever want discus from a breeder .. I know a guy who sells for great price.


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## cb1021

I think I have enough fish for now. Really no time for aquarium these days - just do a WC every week thats it. Plants are trimmed every 4 months. Tank is 6 month old. Still early.


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## cb1021

Tank is 6 months old.


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## iamaloner

cb1021 said:


> Tank is 6 months old.


Very nice
This forum needs a like button

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## planter

Looks real sharp nice tank cb


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## littletnklvr

Tank looks very beautiful, and I agree a like button on this forum would be great!


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## cb1021

Thanks. The tank is low light so not much to update. Not much change. I do know the water quality is not great due to overstock.

Will move the Altum angels to my condo 125g so do look for new post on that. 

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## cb1021

Couple close-ups. Been noticing a lot about LEDs lately, especially the shadow they create. Inferior to T5HOs when it comes to spread. Colors are not as pleasing either, too sharp.


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## infolific

cb1021 said:


> Couple close-ups. Been noticing a lot about LEDs lately, especially the shadow they create. Inferior to T5HOs when it comes to spread. Colors are not as pleasing either, too sharp


Is the inferior spread due to T5HO setups consisting of multiple bulbs that cover a large part of the top of the tank rather than the LEDs not doing so i.e. tightly packed LEDs form a light source that is smaller? I'm a fan of LED strips for this reason.

As for the colour, can't you adjust the spectrum on the Ecotech XR15FW to have less/more of whatever you're looking for?


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## cb1021

Did a trim and clean up. Glad the plants are growing slowly. Trim/general grooming once every 2 months. WC once or twice a week. Filter clean 1 filter a month alternating. 2 filters total.

Altums are growing the quickest. Lovely fish, however, this tank not the *best* for them. Could use a tank with more pristine water conditions so they grow huge.


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## Poseidon

Wow! It's looking beautiful. The fish. The tank. Keep it up!


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## vincel892

didnt you have 2 more dantums? are you breeding them in another tank :O ?


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## cb1021

:O 

haha nope. 2 died unfortunately. Not sure why. Only death in this tank.

They're amazing fish. I wanted to breed them since they're also pretty hard to find. Easy to take care of also. However I think tough to break even on expenses. People don't even breed discus.


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## vincel892

cb1021 said:


> :O
> 
> haha nope. 2 died unfortunately. Not sure why. Only death in this tank.
> 
> They're amazing fish. I wanted to breed them since they're also pretty hard to find. Easy to take care of also. However I think tough to break even on expenses. People don't even breed discus.


Oh man. Sorry to hear that. I lost two as well. Waiting for finatics to stock more. But he hasnt had any for months.

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## cb1021

Ahh shucks. Give me a heads up if you see them.

Got a macro lens. Do discus have HITH disease?


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## iamaloner

cb1021 said:


> Ahh shucks. Give me a heads up if you see them.
> 
> Got a macro lens. Do discus have HITH disease?


No idea. But great shots.

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## cb1021

Lol thanks. Just Googled...seems so-so. Adult Discus will show those holes but none of the photos are severe as mine. That said...close up to this level looks kinda disgusting...


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## infolific

cb1021 said:


> Do discus have HITH disease?


Everything I've read and seen says yes to HITH. A lot of conflicting ideas about what causes it though. Those that believe it to be a result of hexamita treat with metronidazole. Others blame poor diet, lack of certain nutrients in the water, stress, and even the use of charcoal. Apparently fish can live a long time even with the holes suggesting there are different causes.


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## planter

No they are fine. All of the discus I've ever had has had those tiny holes on their face and head. You can always get on the simply discus forum and post some pictures if you want kill all doubt.


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## cb1021

Haha all good. Discus are old and showing some age.


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## cb1021

infolific said:


> Everything I've read and seen says yes to HITH. A lot of conflicting ideas about what causes it though. Those that believe it to be a result of hexamita treat with metronidazole. Others blame poor diet, lack of certain nutrients in the water, stress, and even the use of charcoal. Apparently fish can live a long time even with the holes suggesting there are different causes.


Yea totally agree. My fish are not 100% mint, more like 90% mint. Comparing to the 70% mint ones in the wild, these seem pretty good!


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## cb1021

loooool.


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## solarz

How do you take those pics?


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## cb1021

Here's an update, almost 6 months no update. Nothing really changed. Discus still growing. The plants don't really grow much (ie. grow 1 leaf, lose 1 leaf) since I'm running super low light. The anubias at hte bottom likes to grow tall rather than horizontal. The huge amazon sword I bought from Big als as Tropica XL so it came this big. I foresee it shrinking as the larger leaves die off. I don't want to increase the light in fear of algae (biggest PITA in the world). The tank is reaching pretty high bioload simply due to the size of the fish. I feed 2-3 times a day, WC once after 2 days.


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## iamaloner

Looking nice 

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## cb1021

Update - AMazon sword died a while ago. Not enough light.

I love turning this tank light very low (and more reds and no blues), gives it a really nice peaceful aura. Water is really clear now.


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## hendy8888

Looks even better without the sword! I like how the lights can be so dim but still make the fish vibrant. Is that a Crinum or Crypt Balanese? A little more of that in the middle would look good.


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## cb1021

hmmm been 6 months since last update wow. Removed all plants as they weren't growing so well. But now looking at the old photos, plants look amazing.

Really miss having planted tank. Discus are beautiful but there's something about plants....


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