:: New Tank for Discus FINAL UPDATE Scroll down for pic : )

[Mulisha]

Well how big is that tank and when the lights are on the co2 will be on and you should be fine becuase the plants abosorb the co2 when the lights are on but when the lights are off the co2 should be turned off at the same time becuase at night the plants will release co2 into the water.

So what i'm trying to say when lights on the plants use co2 and and release o2 that makes the fishys happy

But at night it does the opposite. People put air stones on at night to get rid of the excess co2 in the water so the are happy but i personally never had a problem with fish not having enough o2.

When you want to start injecting co2 to use it to it's full Potential you will need to add some ferts i don't mean go out and but all Seachem range just see how your plants go with just say Florish but if you see holes in leaves etc etc you will have to add certain chem to fix it.

How many lights/watts are you going to be putting over the tank?

Thats a bit of a run down if you need anymore info just post

Cheers mate and good luck

[Mulisha]

[quote="shewey"]
Some people keep their CO2 going 24 hours a day. Others only inject CO2 during the lighting period or inject CO2 24 hours and turn on a airstone when the lights go out.
quote]

If you inject co2 24hrs a day and turn a air stone at night on that's wasting co2 completly becuase co2 will ecape the tank soon as the water is broken so who ever does that is just wasting co2

You shhouldn't get much of a ph swing as long kh is 4-5 and you arn't going much over 1 bubble per second.

Good luck and like shewey said ur tank is already looking great

[aquartos]

Thanks for the help Mulisha...
Just a quick updated pic... now I need fish : )

This is prob all the plants that ill be having in there... I might add in a couple more swords.



Cheers,

Shev

[Mulisha]

OMG very nice tank very nice contrast between the white sand and the green plants

OK if your going to have manily swords etc in the tank my suggestion would be you won't need co2 and not huge amounts of light but one thing i can suggest for swords is that they are very heavy root feeded so the best thing for them is root tabs. I was speaking to a forums member the other night about whats the ferts etc and value for money we came to a conclision that clay based tabs are the best such as Dupla K that are on on AOA site for a good price. One thing you could have a probelm with is the clay leeching into the tank because you have a fine gravel/sand.

IMHO i would go with the Seachem Tabs from APW that are on special becase they arn't clay based but will do the same thing just won't last as long.

I'll put some links for you to have a look at i have 5 Amzon Swords in my tank and they grow at a okay speed and i have never used any ferts in tank but i have co2 injection and 3WPG but i'm going to add tabs and ferts soon.

Hope that has helped you out a bit any more questions just ask

http://www.aquariumproducts.com.au/prod793.htm

http://www.aquariumproductswholesale.com/cart.php?
m=product_detail&p=1018

Cheers mate and good luck. :P

[aquafrogstuff]

Have you got anything in the way of fertiliser underneath the white substrate?

[aquartos]

Thanks for the heads up on the fert... ill grab some ASAP as i can see the plants are not doing so well... Ill go for the sachem tabs.

aquafrogstuff, im not using any laterite or anything under the sand.

BTW, i have air running in the tank. Just want to know if this is harmful to the plants as it is adding more o2 onto the tank... i only have an handful of fish in there atm so there is not much Co2 at all!

Turn it off, or just leave it?

Cheers, and thanks for your helpful suggestions!!!!

Shev

[MattB]

very very nice tank

Just out of interest, is that tiny little fish in the picture a platy?

[Mulisha]

Thanks for the heads up on the fert... ill grab some ASAP as i can see the plants are not doing so well... Ill go for the sachem tabs.

aquafrogstuff, im not using any laterite or anything under the sand.

BTW, i have air running in the tank. Just want to know if this is harmful to the plants as it is adding more o2 onto the tank... i only have an handful of fish in there atm so there is not much Co2 at all!

Turn it off, or just leave it?

Cheers, and thanks for your helpful suggestions!!!!

Shev

I'm not exact;y sure but a air stone shouldn't hurt your plants at all but like you said there won't be any co2 in the water.
I can't wait to see some fishys in that tank it's awersome as.

Good Luck mate :P

[Merrilyn]

You've done a lovely job setting up that tank. I really like the look you've got. Not too crowded, but enough to creat interest right across the tank.

If you're going to stick with Amazon sword plants, then remember that they are low light plants, and don't need too much light. As already mentioned, they are heavy root feeders, so you'll do well with just root fertilizer. Unless you plan to grow lots of stem plants, I don't think you'll need to add CO2 in any form.

Keep things simple to begin with, then when you have mastered the discus keeping aspect, you might like to go for more exotic plants.

Personally, I think you tank is perfect just the way it is. :P

[aquartos]

Ok, Here is the update on the tank...
Added some fish!!!

20 Cardinals, 10 Rummy Nose, 1 RedTurq and 2 RedWhites... Just need some bottom feeders and 3 more discus and im DONE!

The plants are doing really well... the runner has exploded since i got a 4ft t5 reflector.

Hope you like...



Cheers,

Shev