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aksazeem
IAH New Member
Joined: Sep 23, 2006
Posts: 9
Location: Pakistan, Lahore
Status: Offline
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 Posted: Sat Sep 23, 2006 7:44 am Post subject: Discus Tank Setup |
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hello friends,
I am a discus lover from Paksitan and currently i am starting up a new tank for them. I was searching through the web when i came across this forum and i bilieve that we must be having same problems, and hope you guys will help...i will start with problems i feel i am having. First of all i am starting a planted tank with gravel not a bare bottom. My aquarium size is 4 feet in length 2 feet high and 1.5 feet deep around 90 gallons i bilieve.
-Now do you guys suffer from availability of different plants as well?
-I have undergorund bore water and Govt Pump water(full of chlorine)
Chlorine water i dont use or will only use after aging it with anti chlorine and air stone for atleast 24 hours but tell me isn't the boring water hard in nature as i have seen salt deposits sticking on my aquarium glass and are they bad for discus?
-Do you guys have expensive discus cause here a 4 inch pair can cost upto Rs 6000 depending upon the strain.Like i saw a pair of red marlbros awesome and very healthy and it was for Rs 5000.
-Any one keeping plants? any fertilizers you are using? i have Co2 installed but not using any ferts at the moment.
-I can buy a canister filter but tell cant power heads do the job? I am not installing a UGF but i can get two powerheads i have attached PVC pipe with power head to minimise the current of the water.
All help is appreciated and for some visual assistance i am attaching a few pictures 
Regards
Aks(Not Mr Amitabh Bachan's Movie) thats my name but movie as good. |
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onlydiscus
Regular Poster on IAH
Joined: Jun 08, 2006
Posts: 299
Location: Mumbai
Status: Offline
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| Posted: Sat Sep 23, 2006 11:33 am Post subject: Re: Discus Tank Setup |
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Hi Ask,
Welcome to IAH world.
Your red marlbro pair seems to be costly, but may be its depend on discus availibility in your local area. You are right that different strain cost you different.
Other IAH member can answer your remaining question as I don't have experience about bore water. |
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sandeepraghuvanshi
Moderator
Joined: Aug 19, 2005
Posts: 4718
Location: Mathura, UP
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| Posted: Sat Sep 23, 2006 12:17 pm Post subject: Re: Discus Tank Setup |
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Welcome to IAH aks
| aksazeem wrote (View Post):
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hello friends,
-Now do you guys suffer from availability of different plants as well?
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It depends upon the city, in major cicteis like bangalore, chennai, mumbai, the aquarists can get good quality plants, but for major part of india including lucknow (from where I come) good plants are not available easily.
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-I have undergorund bore water and Govt Pump water(full of chlorine)
Chlorine water i dont use or will only use after aging it with anti chlorine and air stone for atleast 24 hours but tell me isn't the boring water hard in nature as i have seen salt deposits sticking on my aquarium glass and are they bad for discus?
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I too have both type of water  you ar right boring water is very hard and a lot of calcium deposits are seen on glass. However as govt. water is very inconvienent to use I use boring water, it is taken through my kitchen filter. I have a 100 lts drum that I fill with filterd water(not a "RO" unit). This water is left for 24 hrs and then pumped in my aquariums by a small submersible pump
[/quote]
-Do you guys have expensive discus cause here a 4 inch pair can cost upto Rs 6000 depending upon the strain.Like i saw a pair of red marlbros awesome and very healthy and it was for Rs 5000.[/quote]
No idea I don't keep discus
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-Any one keeping plants? any fertilizers you are using? i have Co2 installed but not using any ferts at the moment.
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I love plants, check out the plant forum, it is s mine ful of information, If you are using Co2, fertilizers are essential. Most of us use our own chemical combinations as posted on this site.
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-I can buy a canister filter but tell cant power heads do the job? I am not installing a UGF but i can get two powerheads i have attached PVC pipe with power head to minimise the current of the water.
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Power filters are not good for planted tanks or even discus tanks.
Power filters agitate the surface of water too much, this drives CO2 out of the water.
Discus hail from nearly calm waters of amazon, the turbulance caused by power filter will stress then too much. |
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gokulin
Regular Poster on IAH
Joined: Jul 04, 2005
Posts: 1277
Location: Coimbatore
Status: Offline
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| Posted: Sat Sep 23, 2006 12:25 pm Post subject: Re: Discus Tank Setup |
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Hi Aks,
 to IAH
Enjoy your stay here  |
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aksazeem
IAH New Member
Joined: Sep 23, 2006
Posts: 9
Location: Pakistan, Lahore
Status: Offline
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| Posted: Sat Sep 23, 2006 1:43 pm Post subject: Re: Discus Tank Setup |
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hey thanks for the welcome and help...
home made fertilizers thats great .
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Power filters are not good for planted tanks or even discus tanks.
Power filters agitate the surface of water too much, this drives CO2 out of the water
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as you can see in my third picture i have connected PVC pipe to power filter which goes down at then all the way full length to the back of the aquarium i have also put pipes for Co2 driven by yeast in the pipe what this does is the pressure of the power filter mixes Co2 in water and with tiny holes driven at the end the Co2 mixed water comes out It has 2 benefits
-It has literally zero current in water no movement at all.
-Secondly i have a reaction tube for Co2 and water.
Now as there are no currents in water and i think discus wont have any problems... |
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venki25
Regular Poster on IAH
Joined: Dec 04, 2004
Posts: 409
Location: Chennai
Status: Offline
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| Posted: Sat Sep 23, 2006 3:52 pm Post subject: Re: Discus Tank Setup |
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Hi AKS
Welcome to IAH. WE feel proud to have your association.
For your planted tank setup, i suggest you start off with an external filter instead of alternatives. Though the purpose of External filter is for efficiency in reducing nitrate spikes and the conventional argument that planted tank does not allow any nitrate build up - can never be valid. There is a lot of inconsistency on flow rates of PHeads and the bio load factor cannot be predicted too at this time. Canister filter should be the best bet. You can use your powerheads for aiding co2 reaction. If you have discus in mind setup your planted tank well and then introduce them.
The prices for discus in your country is way too high... 
Weekend traffic in our site is low. Hang on till monday and our Planted Gurus as well as Discus Gurus can offer suggestions or alternatives. Don't be surprised if they also talk about native pakistani plants as well as fishes to ...........  |
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harshal
Regular Poster on IAH
Joined: Jan 12, 2006
Posts: 978
Location: Bangalore
Status: Offline
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| Posted: Sat Sep 23, 2006 4:35 pm Post subject: Re: Discus Tank Setup |
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Hi Aksazeem.
 Welcome to ASK  .Well just to start you off here you have come to the right place for anything aquarium related. In addition ofcourse sme great ple here too. |
Last edited by harshal on Sat Sep 23, 2006 4:55 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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harshal
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Joined: Jan 12, 2006
Posts: 978
Location: Bangalore
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| Posted: Sat Sep 23, 2006 4:36 pm Post subject: Re: Discus Tank Setup |
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Hi Aksazeem.
 Welcome to ASK  .Well just to start you off here you have come to the right place for anything aquarium related. In addition ofcourse sme great ple here too.
 I have a planted discus aquarium. And yes the rates there are very high. Yes we do have sme trouble in sourcing out plants but since the hobby circle is big and growing most of the times we are able to get the things we need. Now i suggestion i'll make is for you to get a canister filter, its that much lesser of a headache for you.
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-It has literally zero current in water no movement at all.
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 This is not a good thing it always good to have a good water current thats when your fish stay healthier also for the plants in "zero" water current there is a chance of algea formation in a few places.
 As for the fertilizers you should check out this site  http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/  It has a nutrient calculator which is a very handy thing to have. Also go thru another site  www.thekrib.com  very good information on this site about home made fertilizers.
 Here are some of my discus tank pics |
Last edited by harshal on Sat Sep 23, 2006 4:58 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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harshal
Regular Poster on IAH
Joined: Jan 12, 2006
Posts: 978
Location: Bangalore
Status: Offline
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| Posted: Sat Sep 23, 2006 4:38 pm Post subject: Re: Discus Tank Setup |
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Srry abt the repeat post. Am not able to delete it.
Regards
Harshal. |
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aksazeem
IAH New Member
Joined: Sep 23, 2006
Posts: 9
Location: Pakistan, Lahore
Status: Offline
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| Posted: Sun Sep 24, 2006 11:26 am Post subject: Re: Discus Tank Setup |
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Welcome to IAH. WE feel proud to have your association.
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Welcome to ASK .Well just to start you off here you have come to the right place for anything aquarium related. In addition ofcourse sme great ple here too.
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Thank you two
Very nice tank man how have you got such a growth and what plants are you using...Are you using Co2 as well? and how many discus you have got there...Discus here are not always that expensive its just that may be that shopkeeper was selling it costly as no discus is available in market all are sold out but yes some strains are that expensive as well...I have recently seen pigeon bloods lepords snake skins san merah etc at much lower prices .... i want to start with juvenlies which i can get for around Rs 2500 a dozen...i hope these prices are better |
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aksazeem
IAH New Member
Joined: Sep 23, 2006
Posts: 9
Location: Pakistan, Lahore
Status: Offline
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| Posted: Mon Sep 25, 2006 12:24 pm Post subject: Re: Discus Tank Setup |
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All this plant growth stuff has made to look towards stripping tank again and doing it again...but f you guys suggest me to do that then tell me should i put any fertilizer below the gravel or something...As we cant put Gobar or Urea in tank what do you guys suggest i put there if at all i should strip the tank.Or can i salvage something right now  and what kinda grass is it in that pic its really lovely |
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sandeepraghuvanshi
Moderator
Joined: Aug 19, 2005
Posts: 4718
Location: Mathura, UP
Status: Offline
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| Posted: Mon Sep 25, 2006 12:33 pm Post subject: Re: Discus Tank Setup |
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Nice tank HArshal 
Is that glosso in front, can you post more details of your tanks |
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sandeepraghuvanshi
Moderator
Joined: Aug 19, 2005
Posts: 4718
Location: Mathura, UP
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| Posted: Mon Sep 25, 2006 12:45 pm Post subject: Re: Discus Tank Setup |
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| aksazeem wrote (View Post):
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All this plant growth stuff has made to look towards stripping tank again and doing it again...but f you guys suggest me to do that then tell me should i put any fertilizer below the gravel or something...As we cant put Gobar or Urea in tank what do you guys suggest i put there if at all i should strip the tank.Or can i salvage something right now and what kinda grass is it in that pic its really lovely
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Fertilizer below substrate is not a very good idea. It might get into water column and algae will result
You need to increase more plants in your tank,else you will have a nutrient mismaatch in your tank when you increase lights, fertilizers, CO2 the plants will.
What gravel do you have, is it between 2-3 mm it is okay for plants.
Unlike land plants, aquatic plants absorb nutrients from their whole body, leaves, stems etc. |
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harshal
Regular Poster on IAH
Joined: Jan 12, 2006
Posts: 978
Location: Bangalore
Status: Offline
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| Posted: Mon Sep 25, 2006 10:38 pm Post subject: Re: Discus Tank Setup |
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Hi sandeep
  Thanks!! Yes that is glosso in the front.
 Â
 Tank 1
  Tank Spec: 48" * 21" * 21" (ibn inches)
   Co2: Automated, at 3 bubbles a sec. SMS122 ph controller. Powered Aquamedic Reactor.
   Filtration: Azoo CF1200, Dolphin C1000
   Lighting: 6nos  36w T8 tubes (8000k, 6000k,5200k,4000k). On for 11hrs/day
   Substrate: 1" Red Mud mixed with peat moss, 2" haridwar sand.
   Fertilizers: Microsol b(daily). KNo3,MgSo4,K2So4(weekly)
   Water Changes: 50% weekly
Ph: 6.7 Kh: 8
 Tank 2
  Tank Spec: 30" * 21" * 21". ( in inches)
  Co2:automated system.At 2 bubbles a sec.SMS122 ph controller.Powered aquamedic reactor
  Filtration:Using an ehiem 2215
  Lighting: 3 plls(7200k,6000k). 36w each. On for 10hrs/day
  Substrate: Red mud mixed with peat moss 1" layer. 2" of haridwar sand on top.
  Firtilizers: Microsol b (daily). Kno3, mgso4, K2so4 (weekly).
  Water Changes: 50%  weekly.
Ph:6.7 Kh: 8
  Regards
   Harshal. |
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aksazeem
IAH New Member
Joined: Sep 23, 2006
Posts: 9
Location: Pakistan, Lahore
Status: Offline
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| Posted: Tue Sep 26, 2006 10:45 am Post subject: Re: Discus Tank Setup |
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What gravel do you have, is it between 2-3 mm it is okay for plants.
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Yes...
Returning to the basic thing how many plants you think i should have there? |
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