# 60Gal planted discus tank



## jannima (Apr 16, 2006)

Hi all, I would like to share some pictures of my discus tank; this is my first time to try high tech planted tank. I started to setup the tank 10 weeks ago. 
Tank spec : 60Gal, temp 84F, PH 6.8, 54W x 4 T5 light, pressured CO2 injected.
Plants : Pogostemon stellatus, Anubias nana, Java Lace Fern, Java Fern, Didiplis diandre, Blyxa japonica, Star grass, Alternanthera reineckii
Habitant : Discus, rummynose tetra, dwarf neon rainbow, blue ram, otto cat, cory, rubberlip pleco, Queen Arabesque pleco, cherry shrimp.

*Week 1*
Nothing much here, just some rocks from backyard and cherry shrimps. Waiting for driftwood totally sunken.


*Week 2 *
Put Manzanita in, I guess I didn't wait long enough, the driftwood start to grow out some white fungus.


*Week 4 *
Plates ate all the white fungus on driftwood, but I had to use Excel X 5 times to get rid off BBA.


*Week 7* 
Well, the BBA was gone, but the "green algae carpets" are forming.  I pull out the most of the star grass, it grew like weeds.


*Week 10*
BBA is back!! It's all over the driftwood! I am dosing Excel X3 times every other day now, hope it won't kill the discus 






*Habitant pictures*
Rummynose Tetra


Blue Ram


Dwarf Neon Rainbow


Discus






Hopes you guys like it!


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## Steven_Chong (Mar 17, 2005)

Clear photos of a really nice project. Good job!


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## xcooperx (Jun 24, 2006)

Beautiful Tank, i love it  All Plants are healthy


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## lildark185 (Jul 7, 2006)

This is truely a stunning work of art, great job! The discus are wonderful as well, are they a breeding pair? Excellent job on the photography as well, keep us posted of more updates in the future.


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## jannima (Apr 16, 2006)

Thanks all for the comment. I don't think they are pair up. The smaller one always bullies the big one.


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## xcooperx (Jun 24, 2006)

i love to try discuss someday if i got more bigger tank, right now my biggest is 29 gal.


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## @[email protected] (Jul 10, 2006)

Beautiful discus. What kind of discus are they? Where did you get them from if you don't mind me asking.


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## chiahead (Dec 18, 2004)

and this is your first planted tank??? wow, nice work and beautiful discus. Nice job!


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## jannima (Apr 16, 2006)

@[email protected] said:


> Beautiful discus. What kind of discus are they? Where did you get them from if you don't mind me asking.


I got them from a LFS while they were 3 inches, and LFS called them leopard discus.


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## sNApple (Feb 2, 2006)

nice, i like your fish


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## jannima (Apr 16, 2006)

*Baby Ram pictures 10/5 update*

Just found the baby ram are out. arty:




























Whole tank view









Left side









Middle









Right side


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## standoyo (Aug 25, 2005)

Lovely tank and the discus look great.


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## cs_gardener (Apr 28, 2006)

Beautiful, lush tank and the discus are a lovely centerpiece. Everything looks so healthy and you even have fry! You're definitely doing something right.


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## molurus73 (Apr 15, 2005)

Wow. Tank looks great, but those discus are stunning fish.


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## jannima (Apr 16, 2006)

Hi guys, here is update pic. 

10/28/06


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## @[email protected] (Jul 10, 2006)

Even better than before! How's the baby ram doing?


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## jannima (Apr 16, 2006)

@[email protected] said:


> Even better than before! How's the baby ram doing?


Ram parents ate all frys. :frusty:


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## eklikewhoa (Jul 24, 2006)

i had my rams spawn and they didnt let them make it to wiggler stage. 


great pictures and sweet set up!


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## cs_gardener (Apr 28, 2006)

Wow, I'd love to have a tank like yours someday. Great work!


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## redstrat (Apr 3, 2006)

Your fish look incredible!!! But I have to say I really admire your huge lush Blyxa Japonica plants and overall plant selections.


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## shewey (Jun 19, 2006)

That is some beautiful plant growth!!

Is that Rotala all along the back left? If so what type?

Regards,
Mark


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## qpixo (Sep 9, 2006)

very nice looking tank! nice diciplis growth...
this tank has some wild look and I like it that way. 
Malbe you should trim a little bit at middle so we can see a little more depth of your tank.


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## jannima (Apr 16, 2006)

davis
I love Blyxa Japonica also, it was not doing well at first week; was surprised it can survive at 84F.

Mark
I think you were referring to the Pogostemon stellatus, I don't have any Rotala.

qpixo
I kinda have trouble trimming the Blyxa Japonica in the middle, it grows very well, but higher than I expected. What I do is to pull it out, then separate it smaller, however the long root will drag lots of ADA soil and cloud the water.


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## Steven_Chong (Mar 17, 2005)

Hmm . . . I find this lay out to be rather dull. Plant choices, fish choices, hardscape choices and lay out are rather . . . mundane . . .

The fish choices seem to have been made for no other reason than being hyper colorful, and doing little to add to the over-all balance of composition.

That blyxa on the far left side is so big it unbalances the lay out. If you can, I'd try having it switching positions with the anubias next to it. That should help you balance the mid-ground better, putting your largest blyxa groups (which are your dominant mid-ground plant) in an irregular triangle.

The alternanthera is so much stronger than the other plants that it natural snatches your gaze. Which makes it a reall weird color-balance because it's positioned on the far right. I doubt you want the viewer to stare at the far right of the tank the whole time.

Hmm . . . I should say, if those discus weren't there, the eye would be dragged to the alternanthera. Instead, the eyes get stuck to the discus. Which, isn't bad I guess, but it means the rest of the lay-out is harder to appreciate, and it's kind of odd having my attention locked on to 2 discus.

Don't get me wrong, this is definitely a high-level effort, but I just think it could have been much more.


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## jannima (Apr 16, 2006)

Steve
Thank you for the critique. The growth of blyxa is definitely out of control, I didn't expect it grows such high and huge. Trimming is also a headache.
As my previous post, redo the plants arrangement would cloud the water and I don't want to put discus in jeopardy. (I should have done more homework before I setup a planted discus tank, and get a spare tanks.  )
I'm glad that those discus had your attention, since the focal point of this tank is discus, and I'm getting more discus.


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## Steven_Chong (Mar 17, 2005)

I can completely understand the difficulties you mentioned. Sometimes real-life limitations can be such a damper on the things we want to do . . . like always . . .  

If what you really want is a tank that showcases your discus well, than you've already created it. For that, basic aquascaping is far more reliable than trying to make something up.

This strain of Discus in particular, I think is complimented well by the rams. Not so sure about the rainbows . . .

I posted in another thread that I generally don't like Rams + Cardinals, but if this whole lay-out's purpose is to showcase these discus, than both of these fish do that job well since I think both have colors that go well with this coloration of discus.


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