# Best discus planted tank ever



## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

This tank blew me away. It's even better than the big one ADG had setup years ago with a bunch of blue discus, white sand, two islands of Swords on both sides and Halide lights to get the shimmer effect.

It is so apparent that the discus and the cories feel great in this tank. I cannot even imagine how he keeps the tank so clean. But notice one thing - the tank is 1000 liters and his filter is 300 liters. So a filter that is 1/3 the volume of the tank. Also the biomedia is "Siporax" which is a biosubstrate popular in Europe. As I understand it has a huge surface area - more than most biomedias. Either way - keeping this tank in the shape that it is is just about a miracle with discus.

Also note the flow - it is pretty strong. The hairgrass at the bottom is leaning and moving on the current. The cories that venture in the grassy area swim against a current.

Another interesting detail is how both discus and cories prefer to hang around the open area with no plants. The discus do not appear to have stunted growth. This means that water changes must be pretty often (every other day maybe).


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## mudboots (Jun 24, 2009)

I notice the relative bioload is light with the amount of fish-mass to the 225 gallon storage. 

If I can ever decide to afford it, I thought about a similar concept for a 125. I had considered reworking a 40 gallon shallow tank, like a coral tank or something, to be a filter tank that would empty into the 125 at one end so I could have more flow with less initial turbulence than a small hose outlet (900 gph from a 1" hose has lots of initial blast compared to similar or more flow spread over 18-20 inches). If I decide to invest money into something like this the aquarium tank width would be 24", and the filter tank outlet would sit just inside that measurement with some type of baffle to direct water outflow into the water in the aquarium, instead of across the top of the surface. But that's a long way in the future at this point, so I have time to keep learning and studying.


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

The things I notice are great simplicity and restraint. There are only three or four species of fish, three or four species of plants, and subdued hardscape.


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## Tex Guy (Nov 23, 2008)

Restraint?!?! This is TEXAS! Too much is never enough!


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## snowball2020 (May 26, 2004)

they like to hang out in the open probably b/c that's probably where the owner drop their food (so they can eat it on an open bottom as opposed to the grass where it may be lost)


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