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Tree Stump Tales

Marc Davis

Marc Davis

Member
Joined
16 Jul 2018
Messages
320
Location
Devon
I've taken down my discus tank and restarted. People have said I'm stupid but you know what it's like, when you feel you have finished something, it's time to restart or become stagnant.

So time for a fresh. Last scape wad rock only, this one is wood only.

Here are the first set up pictures.

Base made from fine gravel, tropica substrate and old aquasoil.
2018-09-01 09.43.40.jpg


Then my hard scape added. Went for a tree stump and roots look.
2018-09-01 09.44.01.jpg


With aquasoil on top.
2018-09-01 09.44.18.jpg


Partially filled and foreground plants.
2018-09-01 09.44.42.jpg


Right after planting and flooding plus my fish put back. 6 discus. About 30 cardinals, 5 corys and a few odds and sods.
2018-09-01 09.45.25.jpg


The next morning:
2018-09-01 09.54.31.jpg


And the most important photo in my opinion that should always be posted....the view from the sofa. For me, that's what it's all about.
2018-09-01 09.47.21.jpg


Shouldn't be a huge amount of maintenance with this tank. I went quite stem heavy.

Plant list:
Rotala rotundifolia
Lugwigia pulustrious super red
Java fern Trident
Java moss
Anubias nana Bart.
pogostemon helferi
eleocharis acicularis
Sagittaria subulata
Hygrophila polysperma
bacopa caroliniana
Various Crypts
A few more I've probably forgot.

Ferts. No macro due to fish load. It just causes algae issues. Micro every day. Ei dosage.

co2. Yeast and sugar diy method with two bell diffusers. I change the 1x 2 litre coke bottle every two weeks to make sure I'm above 1bps at all times.

Lights.
2x t8
2x 8 watt led floodlight.

So yeah, should look good when it's all filled in a bit more and moss goes nuts.
 
Last edited:
Marc Davis said:
And the most important photo in my opinion that should always be posted....the view from the sofa. For me, that's what it's all about.
Click to expand...

Looks perfects. Sometimes you see great tanks, but you wonder how the owner manages to comfortably stare into them for hours with no seating available.
 
Depending on what you find grows the best, it might be nice to have less different species in there... to give it a more "cohesive" look. I am continuously buying and trying new species but I do try and thin things out every now and then and go with the best growers. I heard somewhere that you only tend to get one or two species in a particular environment in nature so I guess that's why it look more natural like that!
 
Matt @ ScapeEasy said:
Depending on what you find grows the best, it might be nice to have less different species in there... to give it a more "cohesive" look. I am continuously buying and trying new species but I do try and thin things out every now and then and go with the best growers. I heard somewhere that you only tend to get one or two species in a particular environment in nature so I guess that's why it look more natural like that!
Click to expand...
I'm in agreement.
Moving house next month so I kind of set this up for an experiment.

I'll see what is doing best and then scrap the ones I don't like.

The whole back wall is rotala rotundifolia. This is basically a glorified plant grow out tank. As I will break it down and then re use everything when I set it up again.
 
Considering Discus for my 200L which I'm going to start setting up this week but I have never kept them before. They look like they have a lot of room in that tank though which is good.
 
Grant Binnie said:
Considering Discus for my 200L which I'm going to start setting up this week but I have never kept them before. They look like they have a lot of room in that tank though which is good.
Click to expand...
They are young. When adults it will be the limit for 6 discus. But as long as you keep your water good, I don't see the size as a problem. Some others don't agree but never mind.
 
I've been a bit put off from keeping them as some people say they are pretty hard to keep and you need a huge tank. Maybe only 2 or 3 for my tank would be ok.
 
Hi all,
Marc Davis said:
The map suggests soft. Which makes sense as I don't get a calcium build up on tanks or kettles or anything.
Click to expand...
Not getting <"any scale in your kettle"> is a pretty good indicator of soft water.

These days pH is a much less good indicator, because the water companies <"inject sodium hydroxide (NaOH)"> to raise the pH of the water. This stops lead (Pb), copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) going into solution from old pipes, but it doesn't raise the carbonate hardness or add any buffering (<"all the Na+ and OH- ions are in solution">).

If you measure the conductivity (either in microS or as ppm TDS) it will also give you an idea. Although this isn't any direct relationship between hardness (both dGH & dKH) and conductivity, they are usually correlated, because Ca++ and HCO3- ions are the largest proportion of dissolved ions in UK waters.

cheers Darrel
 
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