My fully planted discus tank aquascape planted aquarium now 150 days old! Discus Aquascape Tutorial video - ruclips.net/video/5Enczcjte-4/видео.html Discus Aquascape 50 day update video - ruclips.net/video/k2Sutk7gx8U/видео.html Tank - OASE HighLine 400 - 413 litres / 108 US gallons Lighting - OASE Premium 120 with EAC Filtration - OASE BioMaster 250 and 850 Thermo, 28C / 82F CO2 - GLA regulator, inline diffuser, 4BPS, solenoid Substrate - Tropica Aquarium Soil, 4x 9L Ferts - Tropica Specialised Nutrition, 30ml daily Water changes - Approx 90% weekly, hard tap water (400ppm TDS), water parameters not tested Plants from Tropica Aquarium Plants - Anubias bateri Anubias nana Anubias coffeefolia Anubias 'Petite' Microsorum 'Trident' Various crypts ('Tropica', undulatus, willisii, parva) Echinodorus 'Bleherae' Livestock Discus (Stendker 9x Brilliant Turquoise) Lemon tetra Amano shrimp Cherry shrimp Nerite snails Signed copies of my book on Aquascaping - Worldwide shipping! www.georgefarmerstudios.com/book My website - www.georgefarmerstudios.com Our aquascaping podcast - anchor.fm/georgefarmer Follow me on Instagram - instagram.com/georgefarmerstudios/ Where I get my plants - bit.ly/2JkGEWl My favourite aquariums with a lid - bit.ly/oaseaquarium My favourite filters - bit.ly/oasefilter Fritz Aquatics - fritzaquatics.com Oase biOrb Air - www.biorb.com/en-US/air/air-60/ Buy merch - mosscotton.com/george
Your Discus Tank is incredible. They are absolutely by far, hands down, in my book.... the most beautiful fish in the world 😍 20 years ago, I was keeping discus myself until I had a heater malfunction and lost my beloved fish of 6 years 💚 and to be honest I didn't know very much about these beautiful fish back then except for what my fish store could tell me. I wish I had had you and all these incredible channels back then. It's so amazing all I've learned on RUclips and I have been able to achieve planted aquariums like I'm having now. Absolutely beautiful and inspiring!! Someday when my budget allows, I will keep them again!! Until then thank you for sharing yours and for sharing your journey along the way!! I've told you this before and I'll tell you again, you're an incredible teacher and you lead by example. To answer the question about the filtration, I do use Puritan in my aquariums on top of Seachem matrix.. The only thing that stopped me right now is basically finances. Now that I have this incredible platform I'm trying to learn everything I can before I make a go at it again 👍♥️ I really appreciate you sharing your experience on keeping these fish and it will definitely help me and many others!! I hope you're having a wonderful day!!🙏🌿🐟🌿💚
I'm researching plants for my son's new aquascape (thanks Green Aqua). I'm reading the descriptions of the plants and it is in your voice. I'm a speed reader but I cannot break through your calm cadence. Thank you for reminding me that our hobby is about slowing down and enjoying a slower pace. Cheers!
This is so spectacular George. It really inspires me to do something similar. I especially like how you focused on trying to keep it less plant care intensive with all easy plants. Keep up the great work!
George, your tank is beautiful. I know I haven’t been around much. I’m not sure about UK pharmacists, but in the USA we can vaccinate. Needless to say, I’ve been working way too much lately. To answer you questions: no chemicals, no CO2 (no reason at the moment), Fluval Stratum with a sand cap, no regular fert schedule because I forget (my plants would love it if I remembered), no regular beneficial bacteria added to established tanks (I use it on new tanks and I use Fritz), a bigger tank is always better (as long as you have room in your home and Emma likes the idea). Take care and give Tommy some ear scratches and tummy rubs from me.
George I always love your updates. I’ll answer some of the questions. In my community tank it has a lid and I prefer it. I have a nano tank without a lid and I’ve woken up with dead fish and it breaks my heart. So I’ve changed that. As far as chemical filtration I will only use it early in a setup to clear things up. An established tank will normally have the biological material sufficient to clear your tank. I do not use CO2 as it’s just another thing to possibly malfunction and as I’ve learned in this hobby what can go wrong will go wrong! I prefer low tech setups. I run a medium-low light aquarium and fertilize on a specialized fertilizing regimen adapted from Tom Barr’s EI. I fertilize micros Monday, a day after 50% water change, macros Tuesday and then that’s it for the week. I’ve found with this combination I get decent growth, with good color, but very manageable to maintain and enjoy. Maintaining a beautiful aquascape is enjoyable but it’s always secondary to the fish in my opinion. I just love a tank teeming with moving color and personality. Thank you for allowing me to ramble. Cheers
George, beautiful tank as always! Now to answer the questions: I prefer lidded, but if I can lid the tank and still have it look rimless it's a plus! I don't use chemicals. I use CO2 in some tanks, and not in others (depending on the plant load); right now I am doing an experiment to see whether all plants labeled CO2 needed can run in a non-supplemented tank (so far most plants I've tried have grown well - although their true and full colorations may not be showing - my profile picture here is a picture of the tank I'm growing plants without co2). Preferred Substrate: Fluval Stratum. Fertilization daily so that there is more consistency (I spread out all doses as best as I can). I don't supplement any bacterial products weekly, although I do use some when setting up a new tank. And about getting a bigger tank: Well bigger is better, but I also go by if it isn't broken don't fix it; your tank looks quite well stocked and balanced!
Another great video George, tank looking amazing I tend to add bacteria every month and weekly water changes using seachems prime and stability, keep up the good work! 💚
Simply elegant tank and fish. I could watch them for hours. I prefer a glass lid and no rim on my tall acrylic tank. I use acrylic clips. I do use bb occasionally.
I used to work as take away driver in UK, once I got customer who got 2 massive tank in his apartment. I just had a glance through the door, he detected my interest and let me in to have a look. Amazing tanks but what maked me surprised was how many devices and gadgets he kept in couboard to run whole system. Discuss is majestic and elegant fish like some art work!
Wonderful , the sort of set up we all aspire to but most can't achieve.Those discus are amazing.Lemon Tetras look great also.think they are very underrated.Well done George,you should be very proud.
George, I agree that the pre-filters on the Oase filters together with the in built heaters are excellent. I just wish they didn’t make soo much noise. It’s like air is getting into the filter. Not good. Excellent video and super discus.
New subscriber Nice story Sounds exactly like what happened to me Had beautiful tanks and had to take them down was very sad day. Also now 10 years later, I’m going to start up again. Thanks 🙏 ✌️🇨🇦
This combo is truly amazing. You should be so proud!!! Now, my input its- i don't think its overstocked at all. But I think they're too big for that tank proportionally. im sure you know what I mean. But bravo sir!!!! One of my bucket list systems!
Nice tank, awesome scape! and stunning fish. Thank you for a very informative and enjoyable video as usual. However I personally much prefer your more connected, unscripted, natural flowing videos George. Well intended personal feedback from a 4yr+ subscriber 👍. Looking forward to your next video already. Keep on scaping 👍😉
I do add Seachem stability and rotate with pristine for BB additives. Seems to be working well... I do not yet use CO2 but am starting to think that I definitely need it. It just seems a little overwhelming but I think I will just start with a low level boost. I do like a little bit more sparse stocking of center piece fish. I think two or three could live elsewhere or like you said a bigger tank. Very beautiful scape and inspiring use of “easy” plants.
Hey George I have lived with the Discus dream for about 20 years also. I have two 60 gallon with Discus. No plants. Love watching you live and maintain this tank. Ultimate goal is to have plants with discus. And you have done it. 4 bubbles a second. That seems like quite a lot. Have the Discus reacted negatively to that? I guess not. It would be nice if you could have a lighter background and bring out the blue color of your Stendkars. They would go well against the green swords. And yes I would get a bigger tank if your going to keep the fish. More swimming room. I love when the Discus can swim and school. I am dreaming of a 180 gallon for me in the future
Gorgeous tank & discus!!!! All 5 of my planted tanks have sponge filters, no CO2, and no fertilizers - I do occasionally use Fritz bacteria. Plants in the tanks are crypts, val, various anubias & bucephilandra, several different types of bulb plants (including dwarf tiger lily, Madagascar lace, aponogeton ulvaceus), mosses, java fern, mini bolbitis, swords, dwarf water lettuce, frogbit (4 of the tanks also have duckweed - I love & hate it). I even have some monte carlo & hydrocotyle japan, which is growing well enough, but I'm not concerned with carpeting any of my tanks (I have cory's everywhere) so it's just tucked into rocks & driftwood for accents. Lighting varies from tank to tank but none are high end. Seems to all be working for me & my fish/shrimp! I actually use the "dirty" tank water from water changes to water my various houseplants (orchids, jasmine, snake plants, desert rose & plumeria) w much success.
You answer so many question from the community, it's only fair... too answer your questions: -I do prefer a rimless tank up to a point. 4 feet is around that point, after that I'd want a lid due the the amount of surface area for evaporation contol. -My current system does run CO2, and minimal fertilizer. I don't generally run chemical filtration unless I find an adverse condition. Then I'm not against using GFO or activated carbon. -I add fertilizer with a pipet, after tests indicate the necessity. I try to test monthly to follow and correct trends, but I don't chase numbers. -My go to substrate has been ADA Amazonia over a layer of ecocomplete. I can locate competitors like fluval, but tropica can be hard to source in the Eastern US. -I also love the dry weir design, I think it's brilliant. However, my personal bias leans twoards a sump (from studying and dabbling in saltwater). So I'd personally lean twoards an overflow. I think that's a beautiful tank in hardware and biology. Nice to see it thrive
To be honest I was hoping you had a catastrophic failure so I felt better about the 36 discus I purchased and could not keep alive last year. I had every problem known to these fish and lost my last remaining two (and probably others) to wasting disease. Sigh. I’m happy your tank is thriving. 😩
I very much agree that sponge filtermedia works fine. Yes, if you compare clean filter media under microscope, Matrix and all the others "advance user"-medias have more surface are. But look again after couple of months when all the Matrix small porous are clogged with dirt and bacteria..
Such an amazingly gorgeous tank but yes I think you should definitely get a bigger one! 😬 especially with your dedication to your tank. Also I’m surprised you change 90% of the water weekly. I’ve found my fish tanks have done best with 20% water changes or less. They aren’t nearly as clean as your tank but my fish all live a very long time.
Hi George, I noticed that you use hot tap water to get your incoming water to the right temperature. I was just wondering whether this is safe for the fish and where you did your research? I always thought you shouldn't do it, but I'd love to know if that just applies to certain water boilers and hear whether you have had any issues or not! Love the fish centric approach to this aquarium. Wonderful to hear your passion for fish as well as plants!! Thanks George!!
Definitely one of my favourite tanks of yours. Perfectly balance of fish and aquascape....stunning. One question, you say the lights are a 12 photo period, this seems a lot longer than the usually advised 8, why the change from normal?
Absolutely gorgeous George. Are you able to you share your discus supplier as I cannot find any suppliers in London who have anything like the quality of your fish. I have a new 125gal tank due in a few weeks time and will be looking to buy fish in a few months when fully planted and cycled. Keep up the great work and thank you
Hi George, just curious, for 400 liter tank, isn't daily 30ml of liquid fert too much? What is the benefits of overdosing, i do not think you are overdosing too much to be honest.
I love the overall design of the aquarium. But I am inclined to agree with George: while the aquarium may not technically be overstocked, I think from an aesthetic POV, I agree with George.
Beautiful tank. How often are you feeding your discus and what foods? How big where they when you bought them? They are so messy and produce so much waste, do you not need to siphon the substrate or do your plants break down the organic waste sufficiently?
George i bought the aquascaper 600 in 2019 and i have had about 8 fish jump to there death but mange to save 1 and had mold issue in my bedroom as for the moisture the tank creates. Since then using Ada metal lid hooks and getting a piece of acrylic cut to size have created a lid to save the fish and moisture issue. Il be buying my first home next year and will swap the aquascaper for a oase 400 or even 600 if they make it.
hey george thanks to your discus tank i want one in the future too and started doing my research :) i just read that stendker advises people buying their discus that they should use an airpump with a bubblestone to get oxygen rich water. they also said in a discussion about this matter that strong surface movement from the filter outlet alone is not sufficient for the gas exchange. what is your opinion about this? from what i saw youre not using a bubblestone and i think it would counteract on the co2 infusion. do you check the o2 amount frequently?
Hi George. Appreciate this is an older video. I have an Oase 650 thermo with on a 250 Discus Planted tank. I’m really interested to here your thoughts on adding activated carbon to the top layerof the canister filer itself? Does it pullout the liquid fertiliser from the water column? What’s your recommendation for the best set up for “any” external filer? Also I have the external Osae thermometer which gives a certain reading, thermo gives another, and a non contact thermometer is giving another….. I’m very confused. Please help…. Also continue with your videos, they’re the best online by far! Hoping to here from you. Thanks, Ken
I prefer looking at rimless tanks, but after owning one, I definitely prefer keeping tanks with lids. I used to use carbon in my aquascapes but stopped when I switched to making my own water with RO/DI and Equilibrium. I don't use CO2 in my systems because it's hard to find equipment where I live :/ I use sand, it makes my life more difficult but my Khuli Loaches love it... on my next tank I might layer the sand over a nutrient-rich substrate or soil I add tropical specialized nutrition daily
Looking good mate! I know what you mean about stocking numbers once they grow to full size. I find some of my adult males go darker in periods and recon that its a dominance thing within the community as it changes month by month. Definitely going to move from my sump to your set up for filtration. Do you recon you need both the 850 & 250?
Hi George, Love your content - one thing I’m not sure about is that you mention the Oase stops jumpers, but there doesn’t seem to be anything to accidentally stop fish getting spooked and accident jumping down the dry shaft. Am I missing something?
What a stunning tank! I'm currently setting up a 150L aquarium and I'm considering a CO2 system, I've never injected CO2 before and find it a bit daunting! Is there a complete start up CO2 system you would recommend?
I don't use CO2 in my 750-800 litre aquarium as it'd cost me too much. I fertilize TNC Complete daily but have started to see weird things happening to the plants. Might still be too early though, I only planted it last week.
Thank you for sharing your beautiful creation. 1. Function and practicality over aesthetics. 2. Home-made Chemipure for chemical (phosphates) removal. Learned through Dr K Novak's channel. 3. CO2 injection - yes. 3. Plenum covered with a kitty litter, laterite, kitty litter sandwich, capped with Eco-Complete 5. Liquid fertilizer with weekly water changes 6. FritzZyme 360 7. Stocking level is correct. Discus tend to make aquariums appear smaller. Bigger is usually better.
My fully planted discus tank aquascape planted aquarium now 150 days old!
Discus Aquascape Tutorial video - ruclips.net/video/5Enczcjte-4/видео.html
Discus Aquascape 50 day update video - ruclips.net/video/k2Sutk7gx8U/видео.html
Tank - OASE HighLine 400 - 413 litres / 108 US gallons
Lighting - OASE Premium 120 with EAC
Filtration - OASE BioMaster 250 and 850 Thermo, 28C / 82F
CO2 - GLA regulator, inline diffuser, 4BPS, solenoid
Substrate - Tropica Aquarium Soil, 4x 9L
Ferts - Tropica Specialised Nutrition, 30ml daily
Water changes - Approx 90% weekly, hard tap water (400ppm TDS), water parameters not tested
Plants from Tropica Aquarium Plants -
Anubias bateri
Anubias nana
Anubias coffeefolia
Anubias 'Petite'
Microsorum 'Trident'
Various crypts ('Tropica', undulatus, willisii, parva)
Echinodorus 'Bleherae'
Livestock
Discus (Stendker 9x Brilliant Turquoise)
Lemon tetra
Amano shrimp
Cherry shrimp
Nerite snails
Signed copies of my book on Aquascaping - Worldwide shipping! www.georgefarmerstudios.com/book
My website - www.georgefarmerstudios.com
Our aquascaping podcast - anchor.fm/georgefarmer
Follow me on Instagram - instagram.com/georgefarmerstudios/
Where I get my plants - bit.ly/2JkGEWl
My favourite aquariums with a lid - bit.ly/oaseaquarium
My favourite filters - bit.ly/oasefilter
Fritz Aquatics - fritzaquatics.com
Oase biOrb Air - www.biorb.com/en-US/air/air-60/
Buy merch - mosscotton.com/george
Your Discus Tank is incredible. They are absolutely by far, hands down, in my book....
the most beautiful fish in the world 😍
20 years ago, I was keeping discus myself until I had a heater malfunction and lost my beloved fish of 6 years 💚 and to be honest I didn't know very much about these beautiful fish back then except for what my fish store could tell me.
I wish I had had you and all these incredible channels back then. It's so amazing all I've learned on RUclips and I have been able to achieve planted aquariums like I'm having now.
Absolutely beautiful and inspiring!! Someday when my budget allows, I will keep them again!! Until then thank you for sharing yours and for sharing your journey along the way!! I've told you this before and I'll tell you again, you're an incredible teacher and you lead by example. To answer the question about the filtration, I do use Puritan in my aquariums on top of Seachem matrix..
The only thing that stopped me right now is basically finances. Now that I have this incredible platform I'm trying to learn everything I can before I make a go at it again 👍♥️
I really appreciate you sharing your experience on keeping these fish and it will definitely help me and many others!!
I hope you're having a wonderful day!!🙏🌿🐟🌿💚
ooooh
I don’t know what is more beautiful the scape or the amazingly healthy discus. Toby of course wins for cuteness.
I'm researching plants for my son's new aquascape (thanks Green Aqua). I'm reading the descriptions of the plants and it is in your voice. I'm a speed reader but I cannot break through your calm cadence. Thank you for reminding me that our hobby is about slowing down and enjoying a slower pace. Cheers!
Stunning tank, stunning film, stunning script.
Absolutely amazing George
Best online discus tank!! A real work of art and best of all, fish are doing well.
Good job buddy, this makes me really want to start at discus tank of my own
A very beautifully put together video George. I felt instantly relaxed. Thank you!
I love your tank just the way you have it. I don’t think it is overstocked. I’d sit and watch this for hours ❤️
So many products! Beautiful tank and discus 👍
So envious of this tank George. Really beautiful piece of living art.
Stunning tank George job well done bravo 👏👏👏
This is so spectacular George. It really inspires me to do something similar. I especially like how you focused on trying to keep it less plant care intensive with all easy plants. Keep up the great work!
Great video George! Those discus and that aquascape are absolutely stunning, amazing job 🌿 🐠 🙌 😲
One of the most beautiful aquariums I've seen. And that's not easy knowing your other jobs
Looking great george thanks for the update, missing the pod casts hopefully you get round to next one soon 😁
I fully agree with you George! I knew that I had to keep discus fish after first seeing them. Hope that this happens in the near future!
💯👍♥️
Finally!!! 😄 beautiful video, and I love the shot of Tommy at the end!
Wow! Fantastic scape and beautiful fish George! Thank you for sharing! Cheeri-O! - Little Bobby
Fish color blends with the plants so beautifully!!❤❤😊😊
I didn't know you can keep cherry shrimp with discus, thought they would eat them. Wow thanks, beautiful fishes George. 👍
Well done 👏
Very beautiful aquarium 👍 I love this beautiful fish 👍😃
George, your tank is beautiful. I know I haven’t been around much. I’m not sure about UK pharmacists, but in the USA we can vaccinate. Needless to say, I’ve been working way too much lately.
To answer you questions: no chemicals, no CO2 (no reason at the moment), Fluval Stratum with a sand cap, no regular fert schedule because I forget (my plants would love it if I remembered), no regular beneficial bacteria added to established tanks (I use it on new tanks and I use Fritz), a bigger tank is always better (as long as you have room in your home and Emma likes the idea). Take care and give Tommy some ear scratches and tummy rubs from me.
Stunning tank with such beautiful healthy fish, I love how they aren't spooked by you now
That tank and light control is f’ing sweet👍
Thank you ,,,, Basic building blocks for any Aquarium ,,,
Roland
Herts UK
The hardscape and planting look beautiful and complement the fish so well
Absolutely stunning, you are a master of your art 👌
Honestly it’s a beautiful tank. So enjoyable. Your fish 🐠 are magnificent, lovely demeanour 🥰
George I always love your updates. I’ll answer some of the questions. In my community tank it has a lid and I prefer it. I have a nano tank without a lid and I’ve woken up with dead fish and it breaks my heart. So I’ve changed that. As far as chemical filtration I will only use it early in a setup to clear things up. An established tank will normally have the biological material sufficient to clear your tank. I do not use CO2 as it’s just another thing to possibly malfunction and as I’ve learned in this hobby what can go wrong will go wrong! I prefer low tech setups. I run a medium-low light aquarium and fertilize on a specialized fertilizing regimen adapted from Tom Barr’s EI. I fertilize micros Monday, a day after 50% water change, macros Tuesday and then that’s it for the week. I’ve found with this combination I get decent growth, with good color, but very manageable to maintain and enjoy. Maintaining a beautiful aquascape is enjoyable but it’s always secondary to the fish in my opinion. I just love a tank teeming with moving color and personality. Thank you for allowing me to ramble. Cheers
George, beautiful tank as always! Now to answer the questions: I prefer lidded, but if I can lid the tank and still have it look rimless it's a plus! I don't use chemicals. I use CO2 in some tanks, and not in others (depending on the plant load); right now I am doing an experiment to see whether all plants labeled CO2 needed can run in a non-supplemented tank (so far most plants I've tried have grown well - although their true and full colorations may not be showing - my profile picture here is a picture of the tank I'm growing plants without co2). Preferred Substrate: Fluval Stratum. Fertilization daily so that there is more consistency (I spread out all doses as best as I can). I don't supplement any bacterial products weekly, although I do use some when setting up a new tank.
And about getting a bigger tank: Well bigger is better, but I also go by if it isn't broken don't fix it; your tank looks quite well stocked and balanced!
Thanks for sharing Mridul🙏❤️🌿🐟🌿
The discus look great!
Another great video George, tank looking amazing I tend to add bacteria every month and weekly water changes using seachems prime and stability, keep up the good work! 💚
Wonderful Aqua Scape and Fish.
Awesome and the best Diskus tank ever!!
Gorgeous combination of plants and fish. Congrats!
Lovely Video George, Thank you for sharing the journey.
Simply elegant tank and fish. I could watch them for hours. I prefer a glass lid and no rim on my tall acrylic tank. I use acrylic clips. I do use bb occasionally.
Your Discus Tank is incredible. Thank you
I used to work as take away driver in UK, once I got customer who got 2 massive tank in his apartment. I just had a glance through the door, he detected my interest and let me in to have a look. Amazing tanks but what maked me surprised was how many devices and gadgets he kept in couboard to run whole system. Discuss is majestic and elegant fish like some art work!
Fantastic scape with beautiful discus. I have lids on all my tanks. Definitely cuts down on evaporation. 👍😎
Hi
Super looking aquascape, and beautyful fish + plantes.
Greatings from DK
Frank
Those are some nice Discus George!
I was skeptical of this setup at first but am happy it's working out so well.
Wonderful , the sort of set up we all aspire to but most can't achieve.Those discus are amazing.Lemon Tetras look great also.think they are very underrated.Well done George,you should be very proud.
Such beautiful fish! The tank is extraordinary!!
Amazing video George... Super thorough and beautiful imagery...🙏🌱🌿
This film sounds like a dishwasher commercial from the 80’s😂
Beautiful fish and beautiful tank!!!
This discuss tank is most calming aquarium in the world!
Absolutely stunning!
Hi George, always love ur videos, mind blowing tank btw
George, I agree that the pre-filters on the Oase filters together with the in built heaters are excellent. I just wish they didn’t make soo much noise. It’s like air is getting into the filter. Not good. Excellent video and super discus.
New subscriber Nice story Sounds exactly like what happened to me Had beautiful tanks and had to take them down was very sad day. Also now 10 years later, I’m going to start up again. Thanks 🙏 ✌️🇨🇦
I think the reason why this scape looks so great is that the discus appear to have evolved in it.
I actually quite like that the discus have taken on a darker colour...
Wow!!! Just WOW!!!!
This combo is truly amazing. You should be so proud!!! Now, my input its- i don't think its overstocked at all. But I think they're too big for that tank proportionally. im sure you know what I mean. But bravo sir!!!! One of my bucket list systems!
Awesome tank a real pro aquascaper 👏🏼👏🏼👍🏻
Awesome work. Discus are majestic fishes. Just don’t like how finicky or how easily they get startled and swim into a corner
Nice tank, awesome scape! and stunning fish. Thank you for a very informative and enjoyable video as usual. However I personally much prefer your more connected, unscripted, natural flowing videos George. Well intended personal feedback from a 4yr+ subscriber 👍. Looking forward to your next video already. Keep on scaping 👍😉
So beautiful... greetings from South Africa!
I'm also from SA
@@callumhodkinson5721 Hi from JHB.
Hi I'm from cpt
STUNNING!!!
I do add Seachem stability and rotate with pristine for BB additives. Seems to be working well... I do not yet use CO2 but am starting to think that I definitely need it. It just seems a little overwhelming but I think I will just start with a low level boost.
I do like a little bit more sparse stocking of center piece fish. I think two or three could live elsewhere or like you said a bigger tank.
Very beautiful scape and inspiring use of “easy” plants.
Personally not a big fan of discus but I must admit they are perfect for this tank seems really natural
Hey George I have lived with the Discus dream for about 20 years also. I have two 60 gallon with Discus. No plants. Love watching you live and maintain this tank. Ultimate goal is to have plants with discus. And you have done it. 4 bubbles a second. That seems like quite a lot. Have the Discus reacted negatively to that? I guess not. It would be nice if you could have a lighter background and bring out the blue color
of your Stendkars. They would go well against the green swords. And yes I would get a bigger tank if your going to keep the fish. More swimming room. I love when the Discus can swim and school. I am dreaming of a 180 gallon for me in the future
Your video made my day! And haven’t even watched it completely
Gorgeous tank & discus!!!! All 5 of my planted tanks have sponge filters, no CO2, and no fertilizers - I do occasionally use Fritz bacteria. Plants in the tanks are crypts, val, various anubias & bucephilandra, several different types of bulb plants (including dwarf tiger lily, Madagascar lace, aponogeton ulvaceus), mosses, java fern, mini bolbitis, swords, dwarf water lettuce, frogbit (4 of the tanks also have duckweed - I love & hate it). I even have some monte carlo & hydrocotyle japan, which is growing well enough, but I'm not concerned with carpeting any of my tanks (I have cory's everywhere) so it's just tucked into rocks & driftwood for accents. Lighting varies from tank to tank but none are high end. Seems to all be working for me & my fish/shrimp! I actually use the "dirty" tank water from water changes to water my various houseplants (orchids, jasmine, snake plants, desert rose & plumeria) w much success.
You answer so many question from the community, it's only fair... too answer your questions:
-I do prefer a rimless tank up to a point.
4 feet is around that point, after that I'd want a lid due the the amount of surface area for evaporation contol.
-My current system does run CO2, and minimal fertilizer. I don't generally run chemical filtration unless I find an adverse condition. Then I'm not against using GFO or activated carbon.
-I add fertilizer with a pipet, after tests indicate the necessity. I try to test monthly to follow and correct trends, but I don't chase numbers.
-My go to substrate has been ADA Amazonia over a layer of ecocomplete. I can locate competitors like fluval, but tropica can be hard to source in the Eastern US.
-I also love the dry weir design, I think it's brilliant. However, my personal bias leans twoards a sump (from studying and dabbling in saltwater). So I'd personally lean twoards an overflow.
I think that's a beautiful tank in hardware and biology. Nice to see it thrive
It's stunning tank👌a bit overcrowded tho, take out a couple of Discus and a dozen tetras and it would be just perfect✨
To be honest I was hoping you had a catastrophic failure so I felt better about the 36 discus I purchased and could not keep alive last year. I had every problem known to these fish and lost my last remaining two (and probably others) to wasting disease. Sigh. I’m happy your tank is thriving. 😩
I very much agree that sponge filtermedia works fine. Yes, if you compare clean filter media under microscope, Matrix and all the others "advance user"-medias have more surface are. But look again after couple of months when all the Matrix small porous are clogged with dirt and bacteria..
Amazing aquarium
Such an amazingly gorgeous tank but yes I think you should definitely get a bigger one! 😬 especially with your dedication to your tank. Also I’m surprised you change 90% of the water weekly. I’ve found my fish tanks have done best with 20% water changes or less. They aren’t nearly as clean as your tank but my fish all live a very long time.
Thank you for the excellent video the plants look amazing but some of the discus seem darkened are they stressed?
Hi George, I noticed that you use hot tap water to get your incoming water to the right temperature. I was just wondering whether this is safe for the fish and where you did your research? I always thought you shouldn't do it, but I'd love to know if that just applies to certain water boilers and hear whether you have had any issues or not!
Love the fish centric approach to this aquarium. Wonderful to hear your passion for fish as well as plants!! Thanks George!!
Definitely one of my favourite tanks of yours. Perfectly balance of fish and aquascape....stunning.
One question, you say the lights are a 12 photo period, this seems a lot longer than the usually advised 8, why the change from normal?
Absolutely gorgeous George. Are you able to you share your discus supplier as I cannot find any suppliers in London who have anything like the quality of your fish. I have a new 125gal tank due in a few weeks time and will be looking to buy fish in a few months when fully planted and cycled. Keep up the great work and thank you
Devotedly Discus 👍
Hi George, just curious, for 400 liter tank, isn't daily 30ml of liquid fert too much? What is the benefits of overdosing, i do not think you are overdosing too much to be honest.
I love the overall design of the aquarium. But I am inclined to agree with George: while the aquarium may not technically be overstocked, I think from an aesthetic POV, I agree with George.
Awesome looking tank and i can’t wait till I set mine up,thanks for the motivation
Really stunning tank. I wonder what the name is of the dark planets on the left side
chemical filtration, sch as seachem purigen will help in planted tank. what do u think
Beautiful tank. How often are you feeding your discus and what foods? How big where they when you bought them? They are so messy and produce so much waste, do you not need to siphon the substrate or do your plants break down the organic waste sufficiently?
Just speechless! So envious 👍🏼
George i bought the aquascaper 600 in 2019 and i have had about 8 fish jump to there death but mange to save 1 and had mold issue in my bedroom as for the moisture the tank creates. Since then using Ada metal lid hooks and getting a piece of acrylic cut to size have created a lid to save the fish and moisture issue. Il be buying my first home next year and will swap the aquascaper for a oase 400 or even 600 if they make it.
hey george thanks to your discus tank i want one in the future too and started doing my research :)
i just read that stendker advises people buying their discus that they should use an airpump with a bubblestone to get oxygen rich water. they also said in a discussion about this matter that strong surface movement from the filter outlet alone is not sufficient for the gas exchange. what is your opinion about this? from what i saw youre not using a bubblestone and i think it would counteract on the co2 infusion. do you check the o2 amount frequently?
I was thinking this too. The fish appear to be breathing hard.
A beautiful tank but
i have a question about the shrimps in discus tank
Hi George. Appreciate this is an older video. I have an Oase 650 thermo with on a 250 Discus Planted tank. I’m really interested to here your thoughts on adding activated carbon to the top layerof the canister filer itself? Does it pullout the liquid fertiliser from the water column? What’s your recommendation for the best set up for “any” external filer? Also I have the external Osae thermometer which gives a certain reading, thermo gives another, and a non contact thermometer is giving another….. I’m very confused. Please help…. Also continue with your videos, they’re the best online by far! Hoping to here from you. Thanks, Ken
I prefer looking at rimless tanks, but after owning one, I definitely prefer keeping tanks with lids.
I used to use carbon in my aquascapes but stopped when I switched to making my own water with RO/DI and Equilibrium.
I don't use CO2 in my systems because it's hard to find equipment where I live :/
I use sand, it makes my life more difficult but my Khuli Loaches love it... on my next tank I might layer the sand over a nutrient-rich substrate or soil
I add tropical specialized nutrition daily
Looking good mate! I know what you mean about stocking numbers once they grow to full size. I find some of my adult males go darker in periods and recon that its a dominance thing within the community as it changes month by month. Definitely going to move from my sump to your set up for filtration. Do you recon you need both the 850 & 250?
Just FYI I never got your book from Amazon, seems they haven’t received any stock.
😊👍
Gorgeous but how do you keep the substrate clean?
Hi George,
Love your content - one thing I’m not sure about is that you mention the Oase stops jumpers, but there doesn’t seem to be anything to accidentally stop fish getting spooked and accident jumping down the dry shaft. Am I missing something?
Thanks for sharing! Rimless aquariums are beautiful but they are not for me. I keep rainbows and they like to jump! Plus, cats! 🐈 🐱 🐈⬛
What a stunning tank! I'm currently setting up a 150L aquarium and I'm considering a CO2 system, I've never injected CO2 before and find it a bit daunting! Is there a complete start up CO2 system you would recommend?
I don't use CO2 in my 750-800 litre aquarium as it'd cost me too much. I fertilize TNC Complete daily but have started to see weird things happening to the plants. Might still be too early though, I only planted it last week.
Thank you for sharing your beautiful creation.
1. Function and practicality over aesthetics.
2. Home-made Chemipure for chemical (phosphates) removal. Learned through Dr K Novak's channel.
3. CO2 injection - yes.
3. Plenum covered with a kitty litter, laterite, kitty litter sandwich, capped with Eco-Complete
5. Liquid fertilizer with weekly water changes
6. FritzZyme 360
7. Stocking level is correct. Discus tend to make aquariums appear smaller. Bigger is usually better.
Wow! Where can I get those Purple Discus
What are you doing to prevent the snails from laying eggs allover the place?