My planted 125g Discus tank

[Saverio]

Here's my planted 125. I have a tendency to overstock, but haven't run into any major problems, other than continually battling BBA.
50% WC once or twice a week (depending)
Pressurized CO2
EI dosing with dry ferts
Hope you like!

 

[Coleallensmom]

Great photos!

 

[Jason7894561230]

Nice how many cardinals are in there?

 

[Saverio]

Nice how many cardinals are in there?

Should be about 100 cardinals in there, give or take a few. I know I lost two within about two weeks of receiving them, but that was close to 6 months ago.

 

[ChizerBunoi]

Looks really nice. Is that a tiger lotus? Are you dosing iron?

 

[Saverio]

Looks really nice. Is that a tiger lotus? Are you dosing iron?

On the right side, yes. Also have a smaller one starting to poke out of the driftwood piece in the center.

I dose Fe every other day when I do micro's with CSM+B.

 

[WhiteDevil]

Nice tank sir.

are you using rex griggs ferts by chance? I have a hair algae/bba issue in m 210 discus tank that I cant get rid of, i do PWC's of 40g every other day and use aquariumplants.com's liquid ferts and root tabs, I do have csm+b but the bba is due to iron richness in the water and unsure how to get around the iron part of ferting with csm+b

 

[SeverumGuy]

Beautiful tank. That's my ideal setup. Live plants, discus, and a 6 foot tank.

 

[DragonFish71]

Beautiful!

I love discus tanks

 

[ChizerBunoi]

Are you using a dry iron supplement like (EDTA as chelator) or a liquid chemical like Seachem flourish Iron? I'm currently using the Seachem but would like to switch to a dry form as it is cheaper. I just haven't found a substitute for the flourish iron yet.

I was also wondering why your Tiger lotus leafs are pink in color verus being red.

 

[FishEggs]

me likey, me likey

 

[Jason7894561230]

Thats A LOT of cardinals lol!

 

[Saverio]

Nice tank sir.

are you using rex griggs ferts by chance? I have a hair algae/bba issue in m 210 discus tank that I cant get rid of, i do PWC's of 40g every other day and use aquariumplants.com's liquid ferts and root tabs, I do have csm+b but the bba is due to iron richness in the water and unsure how to get around the iron part of ferting with csm+b

I've ordered from rex grigg in the past, but my current dry ferts are just KNO3 and K2SO4 from greenleafaquariums.com for macronutrients. I don't dose PO4 with KH2PO4 due to the fact that my tap water has phosphates in it. I know CSM+B has iron in it already, but I can't remember how much by volume. I have constant issues with BBA myself, so I'm not sure what is going on in my situation that is out of balance, whether it be lighting, CO2 or my dosing. I just spot treat with Excel. As far as getting away from Fe in your trace mix, maybe check with Orlando at greenleafaquariums.com? He can give you the CSM+B breakdown, and also he has Miller's microplex (have never tried it before) that has a little bit different makeup.

 

[Saverio]

Are you using a dry iron supplement like (EDTA as chelator) or a liquid chemical like Seachem flourish Iron? I'm currently using the Seachem but would like to switch to a dry form as it is cheaper. I just haven't found a substitute for the flourish iron yet.

I was also wondering why your Tiger lotus leafs are pink in color verus being red.

I'm using 10% chelated iron powder that I got a good while back. Can't remember from whom, cuz what I have has lasted a LONG time lol. Might have been leftover from Rexgrigg. Not sure what it uses as a chelator though =( I just mix a 500mL stock solution with it.

My lotus leaves are red, maybe my lighting was a little off in the picture. I suck at taking good aquarium shots heh. What I wish I had was one with green leaves. =)

Thanks for all the nice comments!

 

[ChizerBunoi]

Thanks for responding,that is quite helpful.

 

[Saverio]

Thanks for responding,that is quite helpful.

Very welcome, hope it helps. =)

As far as dry ferts go though, I order from greenleafaquariums.com anymore. That's where I'll be ordering my dry Fe once I need some again. I know the stuff he uses there is 11%, and uses DPTA as a chelator. I don't pretend to know though if it's better than EDTA or what the difference is lol.

 

[ChizerBunoi]

From my understanding, DPTA is a stronger chelator compared to EDTA as it stays in its ferrous state longer (usable form). I have only used Seachem flourish iron (EDTA) but also dose on a daily basis.

When you mix up your stock solutions for iron, do you refrigerate after to prevent mold?

 

[Saverio]

From my understanding, DPTA is a stronger chelator compared to EDTA as it stays in its ferrous state longer (usable form). I have only used Seachem flourish iron (EDTA) but also dose on a daily basis.

When you mix up your stock solutions for iron, do you refrigerate after to prevent mold?

My chelated Fe I do not. Have never had a problem with mold and 500mL lasts me quite a while. I just keep it stored in the dark.

I know folks have had problems with mold forming in their CSM+B stock solutions. So I just dose dry since my tank is pretty big.

 

[ChizerBunoi]

Any discus mating behavior on that echinodorus ozelot?

 

[Saverio]

Any discus mating behavior on that echinodorus ozelot?

Funny you should mention that. When I took the pics, no there wasn't. But since then, 2 of the Mercury look like they're pairing off and have been hanging around the ozelot sword for the past week or so now. They've been shimmying up a storm, but no eggs as of yet. On the right hand side of the tank by the driftwood stump covered in anubias, is a bare spot of bark that my penang eruption and another mercury have staked out. They've laid eggs once so far, but the Mercury ate them. Don't think I'll ever get wigglers though, as I think my tap water is too hard and too high in TDS for them to hatch. Besides, I don't have any room for discus fry.