'scaping ideas for a 30x30x22"

[amy4342]

Ok peoples - here's your chance to shine! I'm looking for some ideas for my new opti-white which is going to be an early (I hope!!!) Christmas present. I'm going with Nature Soil as a substrate, FE with inline diffuser co2 and EI dosing. The tank holds 325l/72g, has an eheim 2126 (thermo) and 2028 filtering it, and lights are 4 x 55w, giving me 220w overall, which is 3wpg. I'll start with 3 tubes at a time, but I might need four because of the depth of the tank.

I have no idea what style I'm after 😀! I'm finding it a bit difficult because the length dosen't give me much to play with, but the width is huge, and I'm wondering how to fill it all. It's going to house 5 Discus - they're moving from my 2star 120l appartment into the Hilton . I think the width would really lend itself to an iwagumi, but I'm not especially happy with the thought of displacement because the rocks would be so large and I don't think an iwagumi would give the Discus enough hiding places.

So - ready, steady, go!

 

[Nick16]

well firs tthing i would say, is 2AM!!, you need sleep my friend

start by looking through the journals and findind scapes you like, whether it be a whole scape or just a corner (like a patch of crypts)
then you can basically snip bits from each scape. 😀

 

[George Farmer]

Hi Amy,

Sounds like a very exciting project. I'm excited for you!

Nice dimensions too. Is it 22" tall, or 22" front to rear?

IMHO a planted tank with discus should have the layout designed around these beautiful fish, which I think you intend to do anyway, by your comments already.

With this in mind, a jungle-style would be ideal. I don't think an Iwagumi would really suit the fish and dimensions of the tank.

Amazon swords, such as E. uraguayensis that's more slender than the common E. bleheri would suit well as a background. Or if you're after something a bit faster, some giant vallis or other narrower variety. Personally I'd go for slower growers so you don't have your hands in the tank too much.

I'd actually be tempted to go for an Amazon 'biotope-flavour' and possibly stick to Echinodorus throughout the aquascape. There's plenty of varieties to choose from to fit your midground and foreground. The vertical nature of the leaves really suit discus and they'd look right at home, helping them to feel very secure

Large, tall spindly pieces of Redmoor wood would work well too I think, and accentuate the aspect ratio of the aquarium.

Also consider an open-area with bare substrate (graded gravels and sand perhaps) where the discus food can settle and the fish can graze. Discus love to pick their food from the bottom.

Finally I would consider not using 4x T5s, but sticking with 2, at least for the first couple of months.

Swords are low light tolerent given good nutrients via the substrate and water column and discus may well prefer the more subdued light too. 3wpg T5 is really overkill IMHO.

The lower lighting would also help prevent algae issues. Discus are heavy and messy feeders prefering food high in protein. This can lead to tiny ammonia/ammonium spikes (even with excellent plant growth and biological filtration) that would very likely trigger nuisance algae, especially if you have your 3wpg.

Once the plants are mature, providing a lot of cover, then you can always up your lighting, if you wish. Just be prepared to monitor CO2 and other nutrients very carefully to help prevent algae issues.

Good luck with your project. You have the ideal opportunity to create something very special indeed!

 

[amy4342]

well first thing i would say, is 2AM!!, you need sleep my friend

Well, you know what it's like when you have 'scaping on the brain . Funnily enough, I was going through pages of journals and looking at the pics I liked bits from each one. Like you say, a snip from that one and a snip from another one I think is going to build this project lol.

Thanks George! Yea, I can't wait until the tank comes! It's 22" high, although I might make it 24" if I can get away with it - I already have to use a stepladder for maintenance so a few more inches wont hurt lol. It's a 30" square on the bottom, so I think the placing of hardware is going to be critical. I'm liking your suggestions - I was actually thinking closely along those lines with a vallis background - Nick had the fantastic idea of putting plastic 'lining' in the soil to keep the stuff in check, and putting in like a double layer, so it would really help make the Discus secure. So I'm thinking that, with a group of Amazon swords (thanks for your suggestion of E. uraguayensis instead of E. bleheri-I think the more delicate look would suit the look much better!) in the back left hand corner. Then, I've got some lushious mopani wood which I've had saved for just the right moment lol, with some mini landscaping rock to make a smallish mound shape using the golden ratio, on the righ hand side, which I'll plant with, um, something. Then lots of Blyxa in front of the swords, coming round to the wood, and tapering off into E. Tennellus, with a bare foreground, and I like the idea of graded gravel here.
Thanks for your comments on the lights too - I think I'll stick with your advice and only run 2 tubes at a time, especially with the swords and vallis because it'll stop them from getting out of hand too quickly. Also, it'll hopefully prevent any algae issues.
Thanks for all the advice and encouragement!

 

[George Farmer]

30" front to back is amazing! I'm very impressed. The sense of depth will be incredible, especially with the right layout.

All the best with it, and I'm glad I helped in some way.

 

[Nick16]

yeah 30" is huge!!! i thought me going for a 4x2x2 was going to give me depth, you can make that tank amazing!