50 gallon discus tank transformation!

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lampro

AC Members
Jun 24, 2019
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Hi guys! So I have set up a 50 gallon discus tank 2 weeks ago~
Picture 1: I have 4 discus marbolo, albino red pigeon, blue turquoise, 2 koi angels, 1 common pleco and silver fox. I like the bare bottom tank because I literally only need to clean the filter media and I dont think I will need to do water change weekly for the long run with just bare bottom fish tank.

Picture 2: I added the mopani driftwood the piece is about 7 lbs~ Then I added barteri anubias (on the right), java fern and anaubias nana (on the left side) I have to removed the pleco and silver fox because they might pick on the plants or uplift the plants from the woodpile since I only super glue part of the plants onto the wood. I also added 3 L144 one male two females in the tank. Hopefully they will propagate in the future! They are doing a good job fanning out all the fish waste under the wood but waste have been staying at the bottom of the tank instead going into the filter now because the wood piece interrupted the water flow. But I can still easily remove with a net daily. I think I will need to do 15% water change weekly

Picture 3: taken today I added 4 pots of narrow leaf jungle val. it was given to me from a friend. I think it is a bit overcrowded right now and I am probably going to get rid of 2 of the pots. My tank water flow has decreased a lot because the jungle val and woodpile so I am going to add a wave maker hopefully they will keep most of the waste inside the filter. I also added 3 sterbai Cory and 1 panda Cory in there along with assassin snails. The tank look pretty complete But I will definitely need to trim out some of the plants. I did a 40% water change right after I added the jungle val. I will prob need to do 2 water change weekly with this set up but I like the natural look of set up. If I add Ludwigia Repen super red, do you think the L144 will eat it?

I am using the jcp full spectrum rgb led light for my discus tank and it really provide great color for the fish and plant growth
https://www.amazon.com/JC-Aquarium-...r_1_7?keywords=jcp&qid=1575261473&sr=8-7&th=1

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fishorama

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Jun 28, 2006
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Whee! those are some vigorous vals! I would snip off those runners outside of the pots, but I like the look.

I think you're overloading the bottom feeders in an already heavily stocked tank. & even with just the discus & angels you'll need to do at least 1 major water change/week. I'm confused by you saying you'll need to do only 1 WC/week & you'll do 2 for now...but only 15%/a week eventually? I say think again!

Ancistrus can breed like crazy! Be careful what you wish for!
 
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dougall

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Mar 29, 2005
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I would rethink the common pleco.

It is far too big for your tank as an adult (they can get over 2 feet in size) and will add heavily to the waste and bioload in your aquarium.
 

lampro

AC Members
Jun 24, 2019
57
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Whee! those are some vigorous vals! I would snip off those runners outside of the pots, but I like the look.

I think you're overloading the bottom feeders in an already heavily stocked tank. & even with just the discus & angels you'll need to do at least 1 major water change/week. I'm confused by you saying you'll need to do only 1 WC/week & you'll do 2 for now...but only 15%/a week eventually? I say think again!

Ancistrus can breed like crazy! Be careful what you wish for!
I am doing 25% water change twice a week. Yea I am still working on the plant scape. I will definitely remove the runners for sure to make the tank more appealing. I still want to add some ludiwigia repen super red but I will remove some other plants first.
 

lampro

AC Members
Jun 24, 2019
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I would rethink the common pleco.

It is far too big for your tank as an adult (they can get over 2 feet in size) and will add heavily to the waste and bioload in your aquarium.
I actually gave away the common pleco and silver fox. So I only have 3 x 2" L144 in the tank atm. and 4 cories. I think the bottom feeders should be ok. I need them to see the food that falls in the plant pot or stuck underneath the woodpiece. The cories and L144 pleco are tiny compare to my discus.
 

Rbishop

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Dec 30, 2005
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Pretty fish...pretty small tank.....
 
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lampro

AC Members
Jun 24, 2019
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Your overstocked tank will need more & larger water changes. You know, we're trying to help you, but you seem to want more & more fish in a too small tank...Stop!
I got the tank recommendation from google when I set up the tank that what they said: To keep the discus fish in ideal conditions, a large-sized tank is preferable. One fish per 10 gallons of water would work fine for discus. Since these fish like to live in a group of 5-6 discus, you would have to provide them at least 50 gallons of water.

I am not adding anymore fishes... I am just playing with the tank scape now. my discus are very happy in the tank now so I dont know what's the problem. I will post a video of the discus for you guys to watch.
 
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