building a 1200L nature aquarium with Wild Discus & jungle-nature feel

[Djoko Sauza]

You can also get a load of floating plants - they quickly add to the plant mass and help cut light to the tank,

I would recommend floating plants as well. It is easy, foolproof and brings many immediate benefits.

You'll be able to tell if you are nutrient limited by looking at your floaters. Since they can get CO2 from the air, if they are not healthy it means you have a nutrient issue.

And, in my experience, algae really takes a beating when floating plants start to rapidly multiply.

 

[aeneas]

I would recommend floating plants as well. It is easy, foolproof and brings many immediate benefits.

You'll be able to tell if you are nutrient limited by looking at your floaters. Since they can get CO2 from the air, if they are not healthy it means you have a nutrient issue.

And, in my experience, algae really takes a beating when floating plants start to rapidly multiply.

That is a good point. I do have floating plants (Limnobium laevigatum), however they get quickly overwhelmed by algae (in their roots the algae multiply like crazy) so I keep throwing them away and only keep a few. It is true that initially the floaters were nicely green, now they are getting more yellowish. So not as healthy as they used to be. They still multiply quite fast.

 

[Wookii]

That is a good point. I do have floating plants (Limnobium laevigatum), however they get quickly overwhelmed by algae (in their roots the algae multiply like crazy) so I keep throwing them away and only keep a few. It is true that initially the floaters were nicely green, now they are getting more yellowish. So not as healthy as they used to be. They still multiply quite fast.

You can just remove the roots, and any bad leaves, and they will grow new ones of both - save you having to throw the whole plant away.

Pistia stratiotes (Dwarf water lettuce) is another you could add - possibly one of my favourite floating plants, that will spread rapidly.

 

[MichaelJ]

+1 on the recommendation on floating plants to provide cover and suck up waste and lower light intensity.

Hi @aeneas your tank is beautiful and those Discus are stunning! One question: how often and how much WC do you do?

I've had adult Discus in a big tank on a couple of occasions back in the day. These guys are incredibly messy!! I am not necessarily saying your tank is overstocked (12 adults is tethering even for a 1200 L tank), but they do require A LOT of maintenance including massive water changes - thats where I personally failed with mine. You algae problem could easily be compounded by organic waste buildup.

Cheers,
Michael

 

[Konsa]

Hi
With Limnobium you can just cut the roots clean off if they are algae infested instead of throwing them out.They sprout new ones rather quickly.
Unfortunately you have too many variables to play with to find the culprit for your issues.
Main ones being unknown CO2 levels,high temperature , insufficient nutrients and sensitive fish while your lights seems rather strong.
I will second the post suggesting to go low tech and focus on the fish with strong hardscape and carefully chosen plants that can handle the high temperature.
Regards Konstantin

 

[PARAGUAY]

The fish look well magnificent got to say it. I looked after a Discus fish house a while back and his Wild Discus tank was nowhere near as pristine as the other tanks mainly stem plants growing up and out the surface. I don't think he used much in the way of plant food either relying on the fish to fertiliser the plants.