# NEW TO PLANTED TANKS 125 gallon



## psychadelicdream (Jan 3, 2008)

I have a 125 gallon tank that i want to do a planted tank with discus in it. I've tryed a few plants before but they died out on me!! I know ill have to update my lighting would somthing like compact floresents be ok? And im not wanting to drill the tank. I have 2 emp 400's, i have 3 really that i could put on it and a rena 3 canister. I'd actually like to get anouther canister and dump the emps and use this uv filter that i have. Would all this be good for this applacation? Im not new to the f/w side of things but, the planted part i am...so im looking around trying to find books and such on the subject. Will the plants like the lower ph that the discus require?

Thanks 


Oh and im new to this board. I live in kc, I have a 20 gallon s/w used to have the 125 running for 2 years with cichlids!!


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## BryceM (Nov 6, 2005)

Welcome to APC!

I think you'll find that you get better input from other board members if you use correct spelling, appropriate grammar, capitalization, and formal sentece structure. It's very difficult to pick through anything else.


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## psychadelicdream (Jan 3, 2008)

Well, If your going to make a comment on my grammer and spelling abilities, don't you think you should make sure your responce is correct also? 

Nice Greeting, btw i have high hopes for this forum!!


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## bradac56 (May 9, 2007)

Don't worry about those moderator people there a bit different 

I think your compact fluorescents and filtration is fine as long as you stick
with the easer lowlight plants the problem that your going to face is that
you need allot of light per gallon of water to reach the bottom of the tank
something like 2w per gallon or better.

Personally I would go with low-light hearty plants for your next try. I had 
the same problem I went for the cool plants and they died horribly so I tried
the following:

~
Java Fern
Java moss (watch this stuff as it can take over a tank and clog your filters) 
Anubias nana (best "can't kill" plant hands down)
Java Lace Fern 
Cryptocoryne spiralis
Cryptocoryne wendtii small
Hornwort
Wisteria
~

The other thing to consider is your substrate obviously you can't just use
gravel and get plants to grow. You could use a liquid fert like Seachem's
Flourish Exel I use it in a few smaller lightly planted tanks (grasses and anubias)
with just gravel.

But for larger tanks a good substrate is probably the way to go. A few
top notch ones are Seachem Flourite, Echo Complete, Aqua Soil. They are
all about equal in quality but the grains look different so pick the one that
you like the best for your tank. They are a bit of a pain to setup as you
have to pre-wash the living hell out of them before putting it in the tank
and then you will still have cloudy water to deal with but they are dead simple
to maintain and you only need to use a liquid fert after a few years as a 
supplement. The drawback is that it can cost allot in bigger tanks as they
run $20 to $30 for a 10lb to 20lb bag.

The other way to go is with a DIY substrate method you can buy bags of
Schultz Aquatic Plant Soil or Schultz Clay Soil Conditioner (no additives) at
your local lawn care stores, Home Depot, or online for about $30.00 per 
50lbs bags and then put a layer of cosmetic sand and/or gravel on top to
help hold down the plants. You will need to add a pellet/stick fert around
the plants every so often but that's much cheaper than buying liquid fert
every month at $10+ since you're going to need about 5ML of it every
water change for that sized tank.

The top soil is much cheaper but is a bit harder to setup initially as it tends
to cloud the water a bit more than a store bought substrate but works just as
good.

I do a bit of both I use top-soil/sand/gravel for the entire tank and then add
a small layer (hill) of florite where I want to grow a group of harder to grow
needy plants in the corner or back to save money since the hardy plants won't
need as much help.

- Brad


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## Gracecat (Jan 3, 2008)

I'm beginning a new (brand new) 150 gallon with the same goals. I'm far from an expert, much of a beginner that has been studying this for a month now. So take this with a grain of salt.

Many plants will not do well at all in the discus tank because they require much stronger lighting requirements than the discus feel comfortable with. Discus live primarily in tannin-filled waters so your best bet would be to stick to low to moderate light plants. So yes standard fluorescent lighting should be acceptable in most tanks provided you average between one to two watts per gallon. You should have approximately 187 to 250 watts of lighting between 10 to 12 hours per day in a discus planted tank. 

As far as pH values, many reputable aquatic plant dealers that I have found online have "discus" plants that makes it much easier to determine if you're buying the right plants to match the particular environment you're setting up. As long as you are certain the plants you purchase flourish in the Amazon, particularly in moderate to low light levels in tannin-rich water you should be fine in creating a dual hobby tank. 

My advice here and is what I'm doing myself is wait on populating your tank with discus. I'm brand new to both discus and plants. (I'm not new to freshwater tanks however) I have chosen to establish the 150 gallon system and concentrate on creating a flourishing planted aquarium before introducing very particular fish. I don't know enough about aquascaping to know exactly how many times I'm going to have my hands in the water or disrupting the tank during the learning process. I believe it's a safe bet to wait before adding any expert care livestock to a learning tank.

I'm hedging my bets with Seachem Flourite, and Nova Extreme T-5 Fixtures w/Lunar Lights 48" (4) 54w bulb fixture. This is on the low end of the lighting requirements but my tank is also going to receive sunlight from a window. I may increase the wattage of bulbs as necessary (I suspect it will be). I also have a CO2 system.


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## BryceM (Nov 6, 2005)

bradac56 said:


> Don't worry about those moderator people there a bit different


Yup, that's for sure!!! (especially the ones from Idaho)

.... but, when limitted to a written format, it's already hard enough to understand each other as it is. Misunderstandings and hurt feelings often arise when nothing malicious was actually intended. As a general rule, if something is hard to read, I usually just skip it. I assume plenty of others do too. My comments were made in an attempt to help psych get better answers to his/her questions.


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## BryceM (Nov 6, 2005)

It's important when picking plants for a discus tank to select those that can tollerate higher temperatures. If you do a search, you should be able to find plenty of good examples here.


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## psychadelicdream (Jan 3, 2008)

Dont worrry guaiac boy, I've got a thick skin and i give pleanty of **** to people so i wont cry (to much heh) if someone gives it back! And just as a update I've abandoned the 125 planted idea for a smaller planted tank with german rams .....to keep cost's down while i venture into this new planted tank realm!!! HAZZUH! or whatever


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