planted aquarium with discus

[liquornpoker]

Hello guys, I have a 60 gal aquarium that i was thinking of making a planted discus aquarium. I was thinking of making those CO2 out of those soda bottle and add water, yeast and sugar but i'm not sure how many bottle i should make. would 2 be good enough.

[kalebjarrod]

you sholud use two reactors and one 1.25lt bottle as a safegaurd against any yeast entering the tank

check http://www.qsl.net/w2wdx/aquaria/diyco2.html

[flukes]

This your first discus tank??

I would suggest not too do a planted tank for your first and i would strongly suggest not too play with a DIY yeast co2 injector on a discus tank..

The first one many wont listen and will find out the hard way and the second you really need to know what you are doing. They are very unstable which is something you cant afford in a discus tank..

[Chafule]

y would it be hard to sustain discus in a planted tank for someone who is new discus

[Proteus]

personally I dont think it would be too hard to sustain, just with a BB tank, it gives you more experience as to the water chemistry side of things before stepping into other areas, such as plants and the additional water paremeters required.

I feel it is more about learning the basics over anything else.

[weird]

I never realised how much fish/discus poo until I went bare bottom ... I don't think I would be able to vacuum it all up if I did not go b/b. Just makes it way easier to see all the cr8p.

[lesley]

Why don't you start off with plants attached to driftwood, and floating plants. Keep a careful eye on your pH and kH and do lots of reading about co2. I have stopped using it and my plants are still quite happy and look good.

You do want to have a good read of water chemistry if you are going to use it, but then it's a good idea even if your'e not.

Lesley

[weird]

That is a good idea. I would get a big piece of drift wood, tie 2 pieces of anubia and 2 pieces of java moss to it with fishing line ... you have an instant forest. Place 2-3 of these around the tank ...looks great, and you can move the pieces of driftwood when vucuuming for the poo ... you have best of both worlds.

[Trebs]

I agree with being cautious about planted discus tanks. Don't get me wrong they can work very well together but it means there are also more variables you need to control, which can lead to conflicting requirements at times. Depending on your experience I would suggest looking at using plants in pots or on driftwood in conjuction with a bb tank. I also wouldn't recommend using CO2 with discus until you are comfortable with both planted tanks and discus. I'm yet to get the courage to give it a go.
You can achieve some very good results with low light plants which will be easier to achieve.
Just my thoughts.
Decide what you want once you have weighed up your options either way we should be able to help.

[lesley]

I know it seems to go against the norm, but I have always found a planted tank easier to keep stable. I only plant the back of the tank, give the discus lots of room in front, they sleep at the back in plants at night, and then spend the day in the open. If you run the tank initially catering to the needs of the discus and let the plants take care of themselves, I think you will be okay. Choose the low light plants, start off with it sparsely planted and let them grow.

For instance, changed water yesterday - must have forgotten to put something in because all the fish in both tanks were just a little skittish. Checked the pH - was 6 in the planted tank and 5 in the sand tank with plants on driftwood (I normally run them at just under 7). Same water, same additives for both tanks, but the fully planted tank balanced the water out more.

I don't add fertilisers to the tanks, the discus provide all the fertilisation. Initially your plants will do it tough but once they establish you won't be able to stop them growing. My plants do fine, the discus are happy - a win/win situation!

HTH, Lesley