# 90 gal planted Discus or Altum tank



## Bien Lim (Apr 21, 2010)

about 7 years ago I bought 6 altums angel at aquarium west needless to say they were expensive but worth it( especially where I bought them). I house them in my 90 gallon planted tank with EI dosing with out any idea what theyre requirement were but luckily they survive. unfortunately life got busier, forgot a few w/c, forgot to feed, and one by one they perished, at one time I saw one of my Altum with otto cat in his mouth, tried to take it out but didnt work, he's dead the next day. So this time I've decided to set up another tank built for them or set up for them.....anyway here r the pics

this set up is 2 weeks old, I decided to put some guppy to help eat the dead bba , and some rummy ( theyre nice to look at)lol


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## Bien Lim (Apr 21, 2010)




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## Peterchow (Apr 21, 2010)

Bien Lim said:


> about 7 years ago I bought 6 altums angel at aquarium west needless to say they were expensive but worth it( especially where I bought them). I house them in my 90 gallon planted tank with EI dosing with out any idea what theyre requirement were but luckily they survive. unfortunately life got busier, forgot a few w/c, forgot to feed, and one by one they perished, at one time I saw one of my Altum with otto cat in his mouth, tried to take it out but didnt work, he's dead the next day. So this time I've decided to set up another tank built for them or set up for them.....anyway here r the pics


Great looking planted tank, Bien !!!!!

Welcome to the BCA Discus Club !!!!!!


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## Fishkeeper (Apr 21, 2010)

Yes, very nice tank....truly a beauty...


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

I think you might as well go discus Bien. Some nice wilds would be nice in there.


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## Bien Lim (Apr 21, 2010)

hmmm, what happened to all the pictures


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## thefishwife (Apr 21, 2010)

I agree where are the pics.


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## CRS Fan (Apr 21, 2010)

Bien. 

You may have uploaded new and deleted or moved some pics within photobucket so the individual ID tag is now wrong. Try to repost and don't remove or move any other pics. That should fox it !

Looking forward to seeing pics !

Stuart


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## Bien Lim (Apr 21, 2010)

there, thanks for looking and kind words. hopefully the pics doesn't disappear this time..lol


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## Luke78 (Apr 24, 2010)

Nicely done , a good choice of plants too.Personally , either the altums or discus will do but iam in for the discus.


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## Bien Lim (Apr 21, 2010)

thanks Luke78, I really want to try discus but I never kept them. I know a little about plants but I'm a total newbie when it comes to discus.

Question for all the Discus LOVER out there...

CAN U DO EI DOSING WITH DISCUS



Luke78 said:


> Nicely done , a good choice of plants too.Personally , either the altums or discus will do but iam in for the discus.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

I believe that's up for debate. I know Tom Barr does, and some people on SimplyDiscus do it, but many are against it. Personally I don't see why not if it's inorganic nitrates, but I'm no discus expert.


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## thefishwife (Apr 21, 2010)

Looks great Bien!! 

As far as EI dosing, you know I don't do CO2 pressurized, but I do use excel flourish and trace, that being said Bien only at w/c time which is once a week and I take out at LEAST 50% of the water. 

I agree with Gary it is up for debate on that one.


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## Peterchow (Apr 21, 2010)

Bien Lim said:


> thanks Luke78, I really want to try discus but I never kept them. I know a little about plants but I'm a total newbie when it comes to discus.
> 
> Question for all the Discus LOVER out there...
> 
> CAN U DO EI DOSING WITH DISCUS


I had a planted discus tank for about 2 years but I used gravel as substrate, and fish poos as fertilizer. I was doing daily dosage of excel flourish. The plants were low to medium lighting. Discus do like to play, dig & nip plants, and they do enjoy low PH environment.


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## Luke78 (Apr 24, 2010)

Bien Lim,

That is something i personally havent done , so i cant speak for it.As already mentioned by a few members here , i also add flourish excel and pfertz once a week for the few plants i have in my discus setup.Dont really like putting so many substances in my tank , as iam worried about the side effects on my stock , and keeping water perimeters where they should be.From looking at the pics you put up , it seems alot of those plants are low light and not to demanding.Keep in mind that there should be an " open area" where discus can spread out sort of speak and be visible.I know my wilds dont like the bright lights on all the time , and currently looking to add a few floating plants(water sprite or other, if anyone has some to sell ) and a few more branches.In your case , you would have to evaluate the lighting period for your setup.



Bien Lim said:


> thanks Luke78, I really want to try discus but I never kept them. I know a little about plants but I'm a total newbie when it comes to discus.
> 
> Question for all the Discus LOVER out there...
> 
> CAN U DO EI DOSING WITH DISCUS


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## Bien Lim (Apr 21, 2010)

thanks for all the expert advised, once the tank is ready I will decide which I should put in the tank and of course availability will take a big role on this part. 

I'm also thinking about going for a CONGO TETRA, what do u guys think? I had congo before but had to trade them when they start nipping on my anubias , since Im more of a plant person than a fish person, they just have to go. but trading them wasn't easy at all, I missed them after a while.


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## jkcichlid (Apr 21, 2010)

I beleive there are a good bunch of congos in the classifieds right now

Oh, and DO DISCUS, you wont regret it


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Congo Tetras with Discus would look great in that tank!


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## Peterchow (Apr 21, 2010)

2wheelsx2 said:


> Congo Tetras with Discus would look great in that tank!


Good thinking but the congo tetras are nippers & fast swimmers, which will definitely bother the discus.


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## thefishwife (Apr 21, 2010)

I would agree with Peter, about the congo's. Try discus Bien, its something you haven't done before, something new. If you want other fish in there, to some they are boring, but rummy noses (tetra's) work well b/c they can tolerate the higher heat and I must say a school of them is nice. Mine don't seem to bother my discus and vice versa.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Peterchow said:


> Good thinking but the congo tetras are nippers & fast swimmers, which will definitely bother the discus.


Are they worse nippers than most tetras? I don't think I've had a tetra that wasn't a nipper at some point. That seems to be their nature. Although I must admit that the bigger the tetra, the more tendency to nip. I know my Emperors are nippers.


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## target (Apr 21, 2010)

Bien, I have done EI dosing with Metricide in my discus tank and never noticed any problems with them. They seemed to love the plants. I agree with everyone saying to try discus. If you want to start with bigger ones then going into a planted tank wouldn't be too much of an issue. If you are starting with small ones, going BB until they grow out a bit is a good idea.


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## Bien Lim (Apr 21, 2010)

ok now I'm leaning more on discus.....king ed has some wild that maybe I could get a discount...



target said:


> Bien, I have done EI dosing with Metricide in my discus tank and never noticed any problems with them. They seemed to love the plants. I agree with everyone saying to try discus. If you want to start with bigger ones then going into a planted tank wouldn't be too much of an issue. If you are starting with small ones, going BB until they grow out a bit is a good idea.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

That's what everyone has told me too Bien. I've been looking at this Discus thing for months now and I'm going to start with 4 inchers at least. Essentially young adults..much hardier.


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## Peterchow (Apr 21, 2010)

2wheelsx2 said:


> That's what everyone has told me too Bien. I've been looking at this Discus thing for months now and I'm going to start with 4 inchers at least. Essentially young adults..much hardier.


Hi Gary,

Get larger discus - 5" +. Trust me !!!!! They will last longer.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Peterchow said:


> Hi Gary,
> 
> Get larger discus - 5" +. Trust me !!!!! They will last longer.


I would if they were available. Ideally 5". But 4" at least, that's what I'm shooting for.


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## Chappy (Apr 21, 2010)

2wheelsx2 said:


> I would if they were available. Ideally 5". But 4" at least, that's what I'm shooting for.


I have an 8 inch Solomon if you're interested and have GOBS of cash !!! Peter is right though - I have also found the larger they are, the hardier and more forgiving.


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## athena (Apr 22, 2010)

Looks great~ is that the 4ft 54w x 4 tek light fixture?


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## Bien Lim (Apr 21, 2010)

yes it is, and I think its more than enough on any set up...low light or high. thanks



athena said:


> Looks great~ is that the 4ft 54w x 4 tek light fixture?


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## Bien Lim (Apr 21, 2010)

a bit bored from waiting for the wife to get home so decided to take some pics. hope u like it ...thnks

ps.
did a minor changes on the left side of the tank I just thought that the left side should be heavier that the right


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## thefishwife (Apr 21, 2010)

there isn't a tank I don't like of yours!  very nice indeed.


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## super7 (Apr 29, 2010)

liking the set up Bien, 
Super7


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## Acipenser (Apr 21, 2010)

Just curious if you have an update ? I am wanting to setup a larger planted tank and am debating an ideal size to go with, do you find a 90 gallon hard to work in ?


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## mikechelsie (Nov 19, 2010)

how do you guys not have algae all over your plants


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## target (Apr 21, 2010)

That looks great Bien.


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## beijing2008 (Aug 17, 2010)

that carpet of S.Repens is gonna look awesome!
in the background you could also use some Eleocharis vivipara to soften up the scape a bit. It's really hardy and easy to trim/maintain. Kinda looks like a drape.
I like this tank.


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## Bien Lim (Apr 21, 2010)

its been a long time and just have some time to take some pictures, hope you like the overgrown look. thanks


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## Bien Lim (Apr 21, 2010)

btw never got around the discus and altum so I end up getting some nice rainbows


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## Bien Lim (Apr 21, 2010)

sorry for the late reply, 90 gal is not bad at all but I would give it up 120 gal 4x2x2 any day that's for sure


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Yep, I think the 120 4 footer has a nicer footprint and would allow more scaping. Not a huge fan of the jungle look but I like how you have the opening in the centre as a focus. Does this have a Tek on top? You ever go to give all that up and go LED? I figured I can pay back any LED fixture in 2 years just with bulb replacements, never mind the power consumption.


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## Scherb (Feb 10, 2011)

Hello. Very nice planted tank. a bit crowded but looks awesome. Cheers


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## crazy72 (Apr 22, 2010)

Looks great, Bien. I am a fan of the jungle look myself. Especially such beautiful jungle.


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## Bien Lim (Apr 21, 2010)

just an update of this tank and a better picture I think!!..hope you like it


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## Momobobo (Sep 28, 2010)

It looks great! Looks just as good as a scape contest winner


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## Scherb (Feb 10, 2011)

Hello. i like your lights. Cheers


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Bien, do you have any secrets to keeping those dense growths algae free? Whenever I get good growth like that, I end up having to do massive trimming because I start to get algae in the middle because (I assume) of very little circulation.

Tank is looking really good. Very nice balance.


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## aquaboy71 (Apr 21, 2010)

looks great especially with rainbows


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## Bien Lim (Apr 21, 2010)

thanks for the kind words guys...

2wheels.....no secret, I actually had a bit of algae before but got lucky and fixed it. the good thing about getting algae in any tank is you learn how to fix them as long as you make slow changes and try to remember those changes. 

Thanks


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## CRS Fan (Apr 21, 2010)

2wheelsx2 said:


> Bien, do you have any secrets to keeping those dense growths algae free? Whenever I get good growth like that, I end up having to do massive trimming because I start to get algae in the middle because (I assume) of very little circulation.
> 
> Tank is looking really good. Very nice balance.


I was going to ask the same thing, Gary.

I think I better start picking Bien's brain again.

Beautiful tank my friend !

Best Regards,

Stuart


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## Bien Lim (Apr 21, 2010)

not much change here but thought I'd post anyway.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Nice update. How do you keep your moss from getting into your carpet plants, Bien? I have to constantly pull my Fissidens from my HC bed.


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## Bien Lim (Apr 21, 2010)

same here , but instead of fisseden I have java moss. I siphoned it every now and then


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## Bien Lim (Apr 21, 2010)

just an up date!! took out most of the plant cause the fish are getting bigger and no space to swim. thanks for looking


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## jobber (May 14, 2010)

That looks gorgeous Bien. Opening up a lot of space. Go discus! 

Sent from my mobile phone


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## Bien Lim (Apr 21, 2010)

jobber said:


> That looks gorgeous Bien. Opening up a lot of space. Go discus!
> 
> Sent from my mobile phone


I wish man!! I'm Broke right now. Actually the wife wants me to sell my ADA 60p and the cube tank to save money on hydro. I might put the 60p first!!


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