90 gallon wild discus biotope

[Kevin22]

finally finished the setup, share with you guys.
please ignore the poor photo quality

[William Palumbo]

Looks good Kevin!...Is the same way I have my few wild tanks set up. I think the addition of a few peices of driftwood would be helpful. The discus would feel more secure, and the tannins that leach into the water really make them shine..Bill

[Kevin22]

Looks good Kevin!...Is the same way I have my few wild tanks set up. I think the addition of a few peices of driftwood would be helpful. The discus would feel more secure, and the tannins that leach into the water really make them shine..Bill

thanks, you meant more wood?
I think it's enough for me, more wood at front will make cleaning more difficult

[Dan S]

Hello Kevin,

Thats looking great. I love that bit of wood you have.

Im sure your Wilds will be very happy in there.

Dan

[William Palumbo]

Hi Kevin...I meant more wood in the form of driftwood for the bottom of the tank. Like a centerpeice. A couple well placed and intresting peices will make your bio-tope tank "pop". As far as cleaning, most decorated or planted tanks are hard to keep clean. No getting around that. You will be busy enough just keeping that substrate clean!. Since my bio-tope tanks are full of wood, there is no need for excessive or special lighting, that and along with the stained(tannins) water leaves no chance for algae growth.....Bill

[seanyuki]

Hi Bill/Kevin

JUst sharing....Stan's tank.





Cheers
Francis

Hi Kevin...I meant more wood in the form of driftwood for the bottom of the tank. Like a centerpeice. A couple well placed and intresting peices will make your bio-tope tank "pop". As far as cleaning, most decorated or planted tanks are hard to keep clean. No getting around that. You will be busy enough just keeping that substrate clean!. Since my bio-tope tanks are full of wood, there is no need for excessive or special lighting, that and along with the stained(tannins) water leaves no chance for algae growth.....Bill

[plecocicho]

Kevin, that branch in your tanks sure has biotope feeling to it. Do you know from which tree it is?

Stan's tank... Perfect combination of natural aquarium trends and correct biotope setup. Big thumbs up!

[Kevin22]

Hello Kevin,

Thats looking great. I love that bit of wood you have.

Im sure your Wilds will be very happy in there.

Dan

thank you Dan, they love it.
I love your tank, too

[Kevin22]

Hi Kevin...I meant more wood in the form of driftwood for the bottom of the tank. Like a centerpeice. A couple well placed and intresting peices will make your bio-tope tank "pop". As far as cleaning, most decorated or planted tanks are hard to keep clean. No getting around that. You will be busy enough just keeping that substrate clean!. Since my bio-tope tanks are full of wood, there is no need for excessive or special lighting, that and along with the stained(tannins) water leaves no chance for algae growth.....Bill

Can I see your tank photos?
I was thinking put the wood on the right on the bottum, it floats, so I cut it shorter and hang it on back.
for now, I vacuum the whole bottum like a BB tank, nothing is in my way.
I do feed them a lot

[Kevin22]

Kevin, that branch in your tanks sure has biotope feeling to it. Do you know from which tree it is?

Stan's tank... Perfect combination of natural aquarium trends and correct biotope setup. Big thumbs up!

not sure, cedar?
just know the wood is redish and very hard, collect from a lake

[Kevin22]

I love Stan's tank, Francis, very clean, thanks for the link,
but as the advantage of locate the wood from top to buttom, I'd perfer keep it my way.
1. shelter 2. natural 3. low maintainese
Plus, I'd keep discus and Altums in two tanks.
Altums are more delicate and decerve their own tank

[William Palumbo]

Hi Kevin...here are a few fast shots of my wild pair in a 29gal. tank. As you can see the water is VERY stained. The discus really light up in it. Also, as you can see it is not manicured in any way. I just left some open space for them to swim around in and feed. They love going in between the thickest parts of the wood. Once in there you really have to get right up to the tank to spot them. The way nature intended it to be. Need to take some better pics after a water change when the water is a bit more clear. Bill

[Kevin22]

Hi Kevin...here are a few fast shots of my wild pair in a 29gal. tank. As you can see the water is VERY stained. The discus really light up in it. Also, as you can see it is not manicured in any way. I just left some open space for them to swim around in and feed. They love going in between the thickest parts of the wood. Once in there you really have to get right up to the tank to spot them. The way nature intended it to be. Need to take some better pics after a water change when the water is a bit more clear. Bill

very nice, Bill. very natrul. how u secure the thin branches?
it's the wood on floor? how you vacuum it?
I like the black water, but my tap water is very soft, stained like this will drop the PH way down, unless I use tons of PH buffer

[William Palumbo]

Kevin...the pieces of driftwood are heavy and dense enough to sink like stone. It comes that way from the pet shops. As for the branches, they are longer than the tank, so I put a bend in them and force them somewhat into the tank, making sure the end closest to the top is held in place UNDER the rim of the tank. Slight pressure holds everything in place. My branches are actually from a hibiscus plant that I had in the basement that dies. It has been in there for some time now and has decayed nicely....Bill

[Kevin22]

ok, I know what driftwood you are using now.
used to have a piece like this.
we have tons of driftwood in lake here, so finding branches are easy.
Do you have a main discus tank?

Kevin...the pieces of driftwood are heavy and dense enough to sink like stone. It comes that way from the pet shops. As for the branches, they are longer than the tank, so I put a bend in them and force them somewhat into the tank, making sure the end closest to the top is held in place UNDER the rim of the tank. Slight pressure holds everything in place. My branches are actually from a hibiscus plant that I had in the basement that dies. It has been in there for some time now and has decayed nicely....Bill