# Help with starting a lightly planted discus tank.



## EngineChauffer (Apr 3, 2013)

I am thinking one of the reasons you have had algae issues is you should PLANT HEAVILY from the start. Right from day 1 fill it up. You can always remove and rearrange as you see fit. If you allow algae to have first dibs on the nutrients in your water it grabs a foothold and is very very difficult to remove and control. Just from what you listed you are low on light, you may want to consider adding a second light or possibly buying a new fixture or retrofitting the one you have. It would really help us all if you posted pictures so we could help out some more. Best of luck, there are some very very knowledgeable people here willing to help! Read all you can. It seems like greek at first, but just take your time and read read read.


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## manzpants92 (Dec 6, 2012)

I went through the same thing that you did. I had a planted tank but struggled, then added discus and vacumed the bottom of the substrate all the time and it disrupted my plants quite a bit. The only real recommendation i would give you is to, like you said, plant some anubias on driftwood or rocks(things of that nature), or keep all your plants grouped in one area allowing easy access to your substrate for cleaning.


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## discuspaul (Jul 27, 2010)

Russ, not sure whether you want to, or will, maintain the tank BB with just driftwood & attached plants, or if you plan on having substrate (what kind ?), and rooted plants too.
Please let us know and we'll try to help further.

It's not difficult to maintain a more or less algae-free, low-tech planted environment for discus, if light intensity is not overdone, and the photo-period is controlled and limited.

Here's an example for you:
http://s1105.photobucket.com/albums/h357/discuspaul/lolliblues


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## Russ11777 (May 30, 2013)

I really only want to add around 6-10 plants, is it possible to maintain that many plants with no algae? I am currently keeping the lights on for 5 hours and I am not planning on adding more lights, I would like to have low light plants.

I have a sand subsrtrate but i don't want to plant any plants, only attach them to driftwood and rocks. BTW that's a great looking tank discuspaul. 

I will post a picture of my tank either later tonight or tomorrow.


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## Russ11777 (May 30, 2013)

Here are some photo's of my tank, only the discus are in it now, the other fish are in new arrival quarantine.


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## discuspaul (Jul 27, 2010)

Those are gorgeous- looking yellows, Russ - what specific strain are they ?

Your tank looks real good - Anubias are good low light plants - you could attach up to 10 or 12 of them to your DW and I feel they would do well, if slowly.
Your lighting period sounds fine, and you could increase it by one hour or so.
As you saw from my pics, I had quite a few Anubias on my DW.
Since they are slow-growing, they may well attract some algae on the leaves over time, which you could spot dose with Excel - Anubias are hardy enough to handle it.


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## Russ11777 (May 30, 2013)

Thanks, they are albino millennium gold discus, I got them from Kenny a sponsor on simplydiscus.com

Do you know a good place to get Anubias, I would like to get a couple of tall ones and some that stay on the short side, do you know what species are best? 

I was told not to use any algaecides with discus, that's why I bought some bristle nosed plecos, but I don't know if they will keep algae off the plants. If I got a small CO2 doser would that stop the algae?


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## discuspaul (Jul 27, 2010)

Don't know where you are in Florida, but most larger cities in the State would likely have several good quality LFS's, which would carry 2 or more varieties of Anubias, or they would order some in for you if you take a half-dozen or more.

Anubias barteri var. nana don't grow more than 4"-5" tall - that's what I have in my tank.
Anubias barteri coffeefolia grow to approx. 6" -8"
Anubias barteri var. barteri; anubias gracilis; or anubias barteri var. caladifolia can grow up to 12", while anubias angustifolia can grow to around 8".
Hope this helps.

I've used Excel in moderation in my discus tanks for several years, with no ill effects whatsoever to the fish, but have had some Vals melting from time to time (corkscrew).

BNP's may help in removing some types of algae from plants, but not all kinds.

If you're speaking about a "mini" pressurized CO2 kit, I really don't think it would do much to prevent algae formation on slow-growing plants like Anubias, in a tank the size of yours, but you could try it. 

As I said before, your discus from Kenny are beautiful - I hope they don't start to turn orange on you. Have not had albino millenium golds so I don't know if they're prone to that, depending on what they're fed.


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## Russ11777 (May 30, 2013)

Thanks again Paul, I checked one of my LFS's and they didn't have any Anubias, I will have to check some others that are a little farther away.

I hope the discus don't turn orange, I feed food with no color enhancers or shrimp, I have had them for around 4 months now with no change. I have seen some pictures of adults and they were still yellow.


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## discuspaul (Jul 27, 2010)

That's a real good sign that your yellows haven't gotten darker-colored in 4 months, but you're being careful with what you feed them so that's good.

When you check with other LFS's - if they don't have Anubias in stock, just ask if they'll order some in for you.

BTW, here's a small 15 gal tank of mine, with several Anubias Nana (petite), that are literally growing at triple, or more, their normal growth rate, with 7 hour T5 HO lighting, and daily dosing of CO2, using a Fluval 88 mini pressurized kit.
For a long while they were getting 2 or more new leaves a week, which I found to be outstanding.
Started with 4 plants and I've since split them up into more than a dozen plants.

http://s1105.photobucket.com/albums/h357/discuspaul/Anubias

And since you're wanting to maintain a low-tech planted discus tank, as a matter of interest you may wish to have a gander at 2 other configurations of my discus tanks:

http://s1105.photobucket.com/albums/h357/discuspaul/3RedSnakeSkins
http://s1105.photobucket.com/albums/h357/discuspaul/Sept2011


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## Russ11777 (May 30, 2013)

Those are some beautiful tanks, i love those Red Snakeskins, top notch specimens. Do you run CO2 on those discus tanks?


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## discuspaul (Jul 27, 2010)

Thanks - those RSS were just 3" kids when those pics were taken.

No - my planted discus tanks have always been low-tech.


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## ScottFish (Sep 24, 2011)

Beautiful tank of Discus! Discuspaul has been given you excellent advice. Anubias and Java (for contrast) would look awesome in that tank. That's the set up I have in my Discus tank. Thanks for the pictures.


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