Simply fabulous. Very artistic and creative. Love the aquascaping, use of rocks and the varying depth of the substrate. How does one vacuum the substrate with peat underneath? I'm working on a 75 gallon set-up and starting my research. Thanks.
@dyamarick Thanks. The substrate in this tank had a thin layer of peat, then sand on top of that then fine gravel on top of that and finally larger rocks on top of that. I vac'd just what I could see on top and employed a fleet of grass shrimp and corys to clean. The mulm from the fish waste helps fertilize the plants so I didn't go crazy with vacuuming. Just removed uneaten food and waste on top. What went down in the gravel got consumed by the plant roots.
@phildlight Thank you very interesting. I supppose water changes helps also. I"ve been debating cichlids vs discus tank. Cichlids are so interesting (behaviour, color) but the agression...(would I get tired of it?) unless one loads the tank with fish. Your tank is peaceful, relaxing.
@phildlight Remember, Discus are cichlids and they fight/peck with each other too. You see a bit of it in this video. I ended up with 2 pairs in this tank and they bred several times (see other vids). While they were choosing mates etc there were some heated debates between them. I always loved Bolivian rams. They're a great choice for docile cichlids and much easier to keep than blue rams.
@FarangBalls It was around 80-82 (80 normal, 82ish with lights). I think the trick was that I set the tank up and planted and got everything established at around 72 degrees F. Over the course of about 2 months I gradually increased the temp to get it up to discus temp. Once I got it in the 80's, I kept it there for a few weeks before I got the discus. I wouldn't recommend getting plants and dumping them in a 80 degree tank.
@phildlight Cool how did your panda corys do in that temp? I have read that they like 77F max. I have pepper corys in with my rams now at 80F and they are lethargic and dont do much..
@FarangBalls Thx. I'd say the panda corys did the worst of all fish. I can't certainly attribute it to the tank conditions though. I bought 8 of them and kept them in quarantine for about a month. They were in 72ish degree water during most of that time. I kept the temp stable in their quarantine tank (20 gallon long) for about 2 weeks. During that time, I lost 5 of the original 8. Most within a week. The final week I brought the temp up to 80. Only 1 survived til the end.
@phildlight I also tried to keep panda corys before, again in with my rams at 80F. My pandas lost their barbels to fungus then died.. The only thing I could figure is that my temp is too high for most corys. there are some warmer water species though. sterbais supposedly like water in the 80s. I have been reading about the different species on plantetcatfish
@FarangBalls They're great at helping clean up but they're a bit fragile I guess. I actually had crazy good success in this tank with grass/glass shrimp! I threw them in to see what would happen and they multiplied. Those things were the best clean up crew ever. They hid most of the time but I would catch them late in the evening in force. When I tore this down I found thousands of them in the filters!
@phildlight Found it! Look up flag tail panda cory (Corydoras oiapoquensis). they look like a panda cory and like temps up to 82.4F !! Now if i could only find them locally..
What are your tank dimensions? I really like what you have done creatively in it. It really is a beautiful scene. Why so many water changes? Are the discus that dirty? I had tanks for about 20 years but not for the last 5. I miss it too much though and your tank makes me think 75 gal is enough. Thanks for posting it....Mr Ray
@mrraymond99 It was a standard 75Gal long. Discus got fed 3 times a day. Meaty food. If you don't clean the left overs and waste out on a fairly frequent basis, the detritus buildup on the surface (where the plants can't use it) will start to cause pH swings. 75gal was def enough for this setup. The discus mainly stayed put in one 2'x2' area of the tank.
Yo what is the water chemistry for ur tank? whats the temp? what fertilizer do you us and how often do you use it? are any of the fish agressive torward the discus?
@60gallon pH was around 6.5-6.8 and fluctuated by a degree or so depending on time of day, week and even month. Variations occur when the lights are off and the Co2 buildup isn't used by the plants, water changes, type of ferts and frequency of ferts. I dosed flourish every other day. Flourish excel once a week after wc. Once a week with iron, potassium, nitrogen and phosphate. Powdered form and about half the recommended dose because of the flourish dosing. No ferts until 3months established
just wanted to give you a heads up on the water flow in your tank, the tank is beautiful but, dscus tend to want a tank without a lot of water flow that might help them become more relaxed
@ssprettyflowers The flow was restricted pretty much to the top of the tank. The discus were happy and spawned a few dozen times in that tank. The flow wasn't as bad as you think. It was a small power head and a fluval 405 pushing across the surface of the tank. Down where the discus are in the video there was very little flow.
@ssprettyflowers Well, the discus bred in that tank about 6 times before I sold them. They even produced fry with no intervention. The lady who bought them got them to breed regularly and was selling the offspring. The plants blocked most of the flow by the time it got to the far side of the tank. It wasn't as bad as you might think.
Great tank! I had a 72 bow with discus, rasbora, bristlenose plecos and such. Beautiful, but a ton of work. I didn't have much luck with plants, but I've been reading that a fully planted aquarium works best. FYI - You probably already know this, but be very careful with those bubbles blowing through your powerhead. If they get too small, they could give your discus serious problems. If you cut off the airflow of the power head, but still have agitation along the surface, you'll be fine.
Great tank! I had a 72 bow with discus, rasbora, bristlenose plecos and such. Beautiful, but a ton of work. I didn't have much luck with plants, but I've been reading that a fully planted aquarium works best. FYI - You probably already know this, but be very careful with those bubbles blowing through your powerhead. If they get too small, they could give your discus serious problems. If you cut off the airflow of the power head, but still have agitation along the surface, you'll be fine.
Usually no. Angel fish are parasitic carriers (usually). Wild angel fish are more dangerous than captive bred, but the species as a whole is prone to parasitic infestation. Angel fish can carry parasites and never exhibit any signs of the infection. Discus on the other hand are typically more susceptible to disease and can pick up the parasitic infection easier. It's best not to mix them. That and angels can be aggressive toward discus.
Why do you do so many water changes each week? Do you use a KH or GH water conditioner? I would think that would become an unnecessary expense if you are. Planted aquariums, in my experience can hold much more stable parameters, and water changes at that frequency might be more harm than good.
Water changes were more for the discus than the plants. That said, I found that if I didn't do frequent water changes, algae would creep in. The tank had a pretty high bio load, and the disucs were fed 3 or 4 times a day. All that food waste needed to be removed. Most plants were root feeders, so they didn't use the waste in the water column. Once the fish were grown out, and things stabilized, I reduced water changes.
@adav1d Yes CO2 is can be an expensive setup, but it is the limiting factor usually in a plants growth. And really, its not expensive to run. But right now i'm using your natural approach and has been working well. I use a filter that creates minimal surface disturbance and near over stock fish to create higher CO2 content in the water. All it is is results. Its just CO2 can get you there alot quicker.
Yes, don't use peat that is enriched with miraclegro or any other fertilizers! If it doesn't harm the fish (which it very well may), it will almost definitely cause a bad algae outbreak. Either green water or slime algae. Only use 100% organic peat. You can usually buy giant bails of the stuff at most of the big box home and garden stores for very cheap. Just make sure it's got no added fertilizers etc.
They refuse to eat over everything; if other fish are to greedy and boisterous, if the water is dirty, if they are stressed....after you add them it can take a week for them to start eating... If you don't give them variety they may just stop eating what you are giving them......
On the whole they ain't that bad just a bit picky.
lol i have 3 goldentail killie with my discus and they are monster eaters at the top and my discus learned very quickly how to push them out of the way to eat... preffered food of my discus experience has been blood worms frozen, live black worms favorite of the discus and i have friends who breed with nothing but flake food
absalutely beautiful, im hopeing to give my first go at a planted discus tank late this summer, and i could only hope mine turns out this well, (iv sucesfully done well with both now its time to get them together =D) wonderful tank and beautiful fish.
sweet tank, do you have a ph controller in there?? how do you keep your water parameters constant?? ive had discus for a long time and scared to go planted cause of water chemistry :( great job man ;)
No pH controller yet. So far, it's been consistent. cO2 comes on before the lights and off before the lights go off. I change the water every other day to every 3 days. I actually had my first spawn in the tank last week! I couldn't believe it because these guys are only 3-4 inches but growing fast. Way too young to reproduce, but 2 have paired up and the female laid around 30-40 eggs.
My personal opinion is the plants give you a little bit of breathing room on water changes.
GREAT tank, very natural appeal but all the flair of the most exotic tanks. Props!
fulishproductions 2 weeks ago
What temp do you keep the tank at?
NFSxgtivr6 4 months ago
@NFSxgtivr6 Around 79F
phildlight 4 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
come check out my channel i've got salt reef fresh planted and pond sub if you'd like
samuelwaynefoleyjr 7 months ago
Simply fabulous. Very artistic and creative. Love the aquascaping, use of rocks and the varying depth of the substrate. How does one vacuum the substrate with peat underneath? I'm working on a 75 gallon set-up and starting my research. Thanks.
dyamarick 10 months ago
@dyamarick Thanks. The substrate in this tank had a thin layer of peat, then sand on top of that then fine gravel on top of that and finally larger rocks on top of that. I vac'd just what I could see on top and employed a fleet of grass shrimp and corys to clean. The mulm from the fish waste helps fertilize the plants so I didn't go crazy with vacuuming. Just removed uneaten food and waste on top. What went down in the gravel got consumed by the plant roots.
phildlight 10 months ago
@phildlight Thank you very interesting. I supppose water changes helps also. I"ve been debating cichlids vs discus tank. Cichlids are so interesting (behaviour, color) but the agression...(would I get tired of it?) unless one loads the tank with fish. Your tank is peaceful, relaxing.
dyamarick 10 months ago
@phildlight Remember, Discus are cichlids and they fight/peck with each other too. You see a bit of it in this video. I ended up with 2 pairs in this tank and they bred several times (see other vids). While they were choosing mates etc there were some heated debates between them. I always loved Bolivian rams. They're a great choice for docile cichlids and much easier to keep than blue rams.
phildlight 10 months ago
Whats that music? Amon tobin?
schtals 11 months ago
@schtals it's Lamb, the song is linked in the video description.
phildlight 11 months ago
@schtals 40% h20 change 3x week.. thats insane. Isn't that tooo much?! I to like 20% 1x or 2x a week and dose KNO3 + Flo.Exl + Fe. Plants are boomin'
schtals 9 months ago
BTW, you can see the discus breeding in my other video
phildlight 1 year ago
what temperature was this tank kept at?
FarangBalls 1 year ago
@FarangBalls It was around 80-82 (80 normal, 82ish with lights). I think the trick was that I set the tank up and planted and got everything established at around 72 degrees F. Over the course of about 2 months I gradually increased the temp to get it up to discus temp. Once I got it in the 80's, I kept it there for a few weeks before I got the discus. I wouldn't recommend getting plants and dumping them in a 80 degree tank.
phildlight 1 year ago
@phildlight Cool how did your panda corys do in that temp? I have read that they like 77F max. I have pepper corys in with my rams now at 80F and they are lethargic and dont do much..
FarangBalls 1 year ago
@FarangBalls Thx. I'd say the panda corys did the worst of all fish. I can't certainly attribute it to the tank conditions though. I bought 8 of them and kept them in quarantine for about a month. They were in 72ish degree water during most of that time. I kept the temp stable in their quarantine tank (20 gallon long) for about 2 weeks. During that time, I lost 5 of the original 8. Most within a week. The final week I brought the temp up to 80. Only 1 survived til the end.
phildlight 1 year ago
@phildlight I also tried to keep panda corys before, again in with my rams at 80F. My pandas lost their barbels to fungus then died.. The only thing I could figure is that my temp is too high for most corys. there are some warmer water species though. sterbais supposedly like water in the 80s. I have been reading about the different species on plantetcatfish
FarangBalls 1 year ago
@FarangBalls They're great at helping clean up but they're a bit fragile I guess. I actually had crazy good success in this tank with grass/glass shrimp! I threw them in to see what would happen and they multiplied. Those things were the best clean up crew ever. They hid most of the time but I would catch them late in the evening in force. When I tore this down I found thousands of them in the filters!
phildlight 1 year ago
@phildlight Found it! Look up flag tail panda cory (Corydoras oiapoquensis). they look like a panda cory and like temps up to 82.4F !! Now if i could only find them locally..
FarangBalls 1 year ago
What are your tank dimensions? I really like what you have done creatively in it. It really is a beautiful scene. Why so many water changes? Are the discus that dirty? I had tanks for about 20 years but not for the last 5. I miss it too much though and your tank makes me think 75 gal is enough. Thanks for posting it....Mr Ray
mrraymond99 1 year ago
@mrraymond99 It was a standard 75Gal long. Discus got fed 3 times a day. Meaty food. If you don't clean the left overs and waste out on a fairly frequent basis, the detritus buildup on the surface (where the plants can't use it) will start to cause pH swings. 75gal was def enough for this setup. The discus mainly stayed put in one 2'x2' area of the tank.
phildlight 1 year ago
excellent set up . very inspiring .
12inahead 1 year ago
veri nice set up please check my video of my discus and please coment and recomend
camejame1 1 year ago
Yo what is the water chemistry for ur tank? whats the temp? what fertilizer do you us and how often do you use it? are any of the fish agressive torward the discus?
Beautiful tank by the way
60gallon 1 year ago
@60gallon pH was around 6.5-6.8 and fluctuated by a degree or so depending on time of day, week and even month. Variations occur when the lights are off and the Co2 buildup isn't used by the plants, water changes, type of ferts and frequency of ferts. I dosed flourish every other day. Flourish excel once a week after wc. Once a week with iron, potassium, nitrogen and phosphate. Powdered form and about half the recommended dose because of the flourish dosing. No ferts until 3months established
phildlight 1 year ago
amazing tank
travelin6661 1 year ago
check my video youtube.com/watch?v=WoKSzUV-wI4
123skuppu 1 year ago
just wanted to give you a heads up on the water flow in your tank, the tank is beautiful but, dscus tend to want a tank without a lot of water flow that might help them become more relaxed
ssprettyflowers 1 year ago
@ssprettyflowers The flow was restricted pretty much to the top of the tank. The discus were happy and spawned a few dozen times in that tank. The flow wasn't as bad as you think. It was a small power head and a fluval 405 pushing across the surface of the tank. Down where the discus are in the video there was very little flow.
phildlight 1 year ago
@ssprettyflowers Well, the discus bred in that tank about 6 times before I sold them. They even produced fry with no intervention. The lady who bought them got them to breed regularly and was selling the offspring. The plants blocked most of the flow by the time it got to the far side of the tank. It wasn't as bad as you might think.
phildlight 1 year ago
everytime i see this vid, i fall in love with this tank! ahahah!
MondoTropicale 1 year ago
really wonderful tank, nice layout.. the way that you used stones is genial..
MondoTropicale 1 year ago
What type of filter are you using? And is it dangerous for the discus fry?
Darknight1989 1 year ago
dont even know where to start
loved the discus
loved the whole look with the branch
absolutely loved the song
laricalarica 1 year ago
you're a genius!awesome! beautiful!
vimmioevimmia 1 year ago
A beautiful tank! Really well done with it, I love it!
metallicplatinum 1 year ago
Great tank! I had a 72 bow with discus, rasbora, bristlenose plecos and such. Beautiful, but a ton of work. I didn't have much luck with plants, but I've been reading that a fully planted aquarium works best. FYI - You probably already know this, but be very careful with those bubbles blowing through your powerhead. If they get too small, they could give your discus serious problems. If you cut off the airflow of the power head, but still have agitation along the surface, you'll be fine.
garkael 1 year ago
Great tank! I had a 72 bow with discus, rasbora, bristlenose plecos and such. Beautiful, but a ton of work. I didn't have much luck with plants, but I've been reading that a fully planted aquarium works best. FYI - You probably already know this, but be very careful with those bubbles blowing through your powerhead. If they get too small, they could give your discus serious problems. If you cut off the airflow of the power head, but still have agitation along the surface, you'll be fine.
garkael 1 year ago
im going to use your tank as an inspiration when i get the money for a larger tank. Nice work
EatMySchwartz61 1 year ago
thanks!
phildlight 1 year ago
@EatMySchwartz61
very nice indeed looks like a river!!!
krumbalu 1 year ago
can u mix discus with angelfish
if you know
reptilerob57 1 year ago
Usually no. Angel fish are parasitic carriers (usually). Wild angel fish are more dangerous than captive bred, but the species as a whole is prone to parasitic infestation. Angel fish can carry parasites and never exhibit any signs of the infection. Discus on the other hand are typically more susceptible to disease and can pick up the parasitic infection easier. It's best not to mix them. That and angels can be aggressive toward discus.
phildlight 1 year ago
thanks
reptilerob57 1 year ago
Nice tank, I wish discus could tolerate colder water. Love the amon tobin too.
Vlaxitov 1 year ago
Why do you do so many water changes each week? Do you use a KH or GH water conditioner? I would think that would become an unnecessary expense if you are. Planted aquariums, in my experience can hold much more stable parameters, and water changes at that frequency might be more harm than good.
NSRudat 2 years ago
Water changes were more for the discus than the plants. That said, I found that if I didn't do frequent water changes, algae would creep in. The tank had a pretty high bio load, and the disucs were fed 3 or 4 times a day. All that food waste needed to be removed. Most plants were root feeders, so they didn't use the waste in the water column. Once the fish were grown out, and things stabilized, I reduced water changes.
phildlight 2 years ago
@phildlight I like your setup. A little more maintenance than I would like to do. I hate changing water. But don't cleaning.
NSRudat 1 year ago
your tank is beautifull how do you deal with algae im only lightly planted and algae grows all over around my plants
henrysfish 2 years ago
nice tank
GM3339 2 years ago
ph or co2 its all waste of money!
i got plant'd tank with 11 discus and guppys and clown cat fishs and i dont do shit its all grow by its self its nature
i change water once every 2weeks and only 30% and leave the filter dirty up to 6months
and they make eggs every week and eat and everything:)
adav1d 2 years ago
@adav1d Yes CO2 is can be an expensive setup, but it is the limiting factor usually in a plants growth. And really, its not expensive to run. But right now i'm using your natural approach and has been working well. I use a filter that creates minimal surface disturbance and near over stock fish to create higher CO2 content in the water. All it is is results. Its just CO2 can get you there alot quicker.
NSRudat 2 years ago
Hey I have a question; if you use peat moss that is enriched with MiracleGro plant food under your sand, will it harm the fish?
PSNjizzcake 2 years ago
Yes, don't use peat that is enriched with miraclegro or any other fertilizers! If it doesn't harm the fish (which it very well may), it will almost definitely cause a bad algae outbreak. Either green water or slime algae. Only use 100% organic peat. You can usually buy giant bails of the stuff at most of the big box home and garden stores for very cheap. Just make sure it's got no added fertilizers etc.
phildlight 2 years ago
What are you keeping the PH at? I have heard that if the water quality isn't perfect that they will refuse to eat. Is the same true for yours?
makun16 2 years ago
They refuse to eat over everything; if other fish are to greedy and boisterous, if the water is dirty, if they are stressed....after you add them it can take a week for them to start eating... If you don't give them variety they may just stop eating what you are giving them......
On the whole they ain't that bad just a bit picky.
Sean117Ply 2 years ago
lol i have 3 goldentail killie with my discus and they are monster eaters at the top and my discus learned very quickly how to push them out of the way to eat... preffered food of my discus experience has been blood worms frozen, live black worms favorite of the discus and i have friends who breed with nothing but flake food
xxflynryanxx 2 years ago
absalutely beautiful, im hopeing to give my first go at a planted discus tank late this summer, and i could only hope mine turns out this well, (iv sucesfully done well with both now its time to get them together =D) wonderful tank and beautiful fish.
evilEKegg 2 years ago
do the plants die easy in warm water??
times58 2 years ago
sweet tank, do you have a ph controller in there?? how do you keep your water parameters constant?? ive had discus for a long time and scared to go planted cause of water chemistry :( great job man ;)
benito1188 3 years ago
No pH controller yet. So far, it's been consistent. cO2 comes on before the lights and off before the lights go off. I change the water every other day to every 3 days. I actually had my first spawn in the tank last week! I couldn't believe it because these guys are only 3-4 inches but growing fast. Way too young to reproduce, but 2 have paired up and the female laid around 30-40 eggs.
My personal opinion is the plants give you a little bit of breathing room on water changes.
phildlight 3 years ago
cool setup!
TKP316 3 years ago
nice set up.. whats the temp of your tank?
insekured 3 years ago
Wonderful layout! Makes me want a discus tank :)
I have to ask... What music is this? It sounds like a remix of Clair de Lune.
LunarJay 3 years ago 2
Good guess on the music.
It's Lamb-Angelica, which is a remix of Clair de Lune.
phildlight 3 years ago
Comment removed
LunarJay 3 years ago
Nice layout, If I were a fish I'd love to call your tank home.
partyonman1959 3 years ago 2