Hi again, another hypothetical setup, just for learning. This time, it's a forest for discus or angelfish. Here's my thoughts:
180 gallon aquarium, with three distinct zones: forest, stump, and tangle.
Forest: Planted primarily with very large vallisneria and sagittaria species. It would be very dense, but still allow the discus or angelfish to weave in and out of the foliage. This would be about 2 feet of the tank. The plants would take in a lot of the nutrients that discus do produce. Substrate would be enriched here.
Stump: A very bare area, with something similar to a large, or a few sort of large "stumps" of wood surrounded by leaves. The "stumps" would function as breeding areas should the fish decide to breed. Leaves would provide plenty of microorganisms. Leaves used would be an array of beech(majority), oak(used for pH and tannins), indian almond (antibacterial functions), and banana leaves(antifungal functions). The habitat for the apistos
Tangle: A large mess of driftwood, which would look chaotic, but would still allow the fish to weave in and out, kind of like mangrove roots.
Stocking: discus or angels, rummynose tetras, Cardinal tetras, Agassizi's apistos, Bristlenose plecos, and Sterba's corydoras.
Discus/angels: Maybe 8 of these fish? The water would be stained with tannins, so probably Wild-type royal blue discus (Symphysodon aquefasciatus), or Altum angelfish (Pterophyllum altum). Note* 8 of either fish, not both fish.
Rummynose tetras: 25. The canaries of the tank, their dimming noses would signal changes in water quality that would help preserve the larger cichlids. Hemigrammus rhodostomus, there should be enough space in the tank, and enough fish, to allow for only the sickly/weak fish to be picked off should the discus/angelfish decide they were hungry.
Cardinals: go with discus, don't ask me why. I just think they should go together, so a school of 25 would be nice looking. Paracheirodon axelrodi, same as the rummynose tetras.
Sterba's corydoras: 15 of these guys, to eat anything the other fish miss out on, as well as to provide a token bottom fish. Besides, they look nice, can withstand warm temperatures, and will keep the substrate from going too anaerobic.
Agassizi's Apisto: A small harem (1M:3F) to inhabit the leaf litter. They're capable of withstanding the high-ish temperatures discus/angels require, and look stunning.
Bristlenose plecos: The algae eating crew of the tank, they would keep the tank clean. You'd probably not notice these guys, since they would stay in the safety of the tangle, but they'd slowly be working at eating all the algae in the tank, and maybe munching on the leaves. 4-5 would work.
Substrate: 1-3 inches of river sand. 1 inch of sand in the middle section, where 2 inches of leaves would cover the rest, 2 inches of sandwhere there would be no cover in the tangle, and 3 where there would be plants.
Filtration: A sump, whos overflow would lie in the tangle, and the return would cover the plant section, allowing for "waves" to occur in the forest. It would also lead to a protein skimmer, whose dual wet-dry function, and protein removing capabilities, would help the fish stay healthy. Along with this, would be an entire section devoted to hydroponic plants (Philodendron, etc.), which would help filter the water, similar to how some people filter their monster aquariums.
Other: Laminar flow would be nice, and provided by a few weak powerheads, again in the planted section, allowing for water flow to occur in the aquarium.
So...thoughts?
180 gallon aquarium, with three distinct zones: forest, stump, and tangle.
Forest: Planted primarily with very large vallisneria and sagittaria species. It would be very dense, but still allow the discus or angelfish to weave in and out of the foliage. This would be about 2 feet of the tank. The plants would take in a lot of the nutrients that discus do produce. Substrate would be enriched here.
Stump: A very bare area, with something similar to a large, or a few sort of large "stumps" of wood surrounded by leaves. The "stumps" would function as breeding areas should the fish decide to breed. Leaves would provide plenty of microorganisms. Leaves used would be an array of beech(majority), oak(used for pH and tannins), indian almond (antibacterial functions), and banana leaves(antifungal functions). The habitat for the apistos
Tangle: A large mess of driftwood, which would look chaotic, but would still allow the fish to weave in and out, kind of like mangrove roots.
Stocking: discus or angels, rummynose tetras, Cardinal tetras, Agassizi's apistos, Bristlenose plecos, and Sterba's corydoras.
Discus/angels: Maybe 8 of these fish? The water would be stained with tannins, so probably Wild-type royal blue discus (Symphysodon aquefasciatus), or Altum angelfish (Pterophyllum altum). Note* 8 of either fish, not both fish.
Rummynose tetras: 25. The canaries of the tank, their dimming noses would signal changes in water quality that would help preserve the larger cichlids. Hemigrammus rhodostomus, there should be enough space in the tank, and enough fish, to allow for only the sickly/weak fish to be picked off should the discus/angelfish decide they were hungry.
Cardinals: go with discus, don't ask me why. I just think they should go together, so a school of 25 would be nice looking. Paracheirodon axelrodi, same as the rummynose tetras.
Sterba's corydoras: 15 of these guys, to eat anything the other fish miss out on, as well as to provide a token bottom fish. Besides, they look nice, can withstand warm temperatures, and will keep the substrate from going too anaerobic.
Agassizi's Apisto: A small harem (1M:3F) to inhabit the leaf litter. They're capable of withstanding the high-ish temperatures discus/angels require, and look stunning.
Bristlenose plecos: The algae eating crew of the tank, they would keep the tank clean. You'd probably not notice these guys, since they would stay in the safety of the tangle, but they'd slowly be working at eating all the algae in the tank, and maybe munching on the leaves. 4-5 would work.
Substrate: 1-3 inches of river sand. 1 inch of sand in the middle section, where 2 inches of leaves would cover the rest, 2 inches of sandwhere there would be no cover in the tangle, and 3 where there would be plants.
Filtration: A sump, whos overflow would lie in the tangle, and the return would cover the plant section, allowing for "waves" to occur in the forest. It would also lead to a protein skimmer, whose dual wet-dry function, and protein removing capabilities, would help the fish stay healthy. Along with this, would be an entire section devoted to hydroponic plants (Philodendron, etc.), which would help filter the water, similar to how some people filter their monster aquariums.
Other: Laminar flow would be nice, and provided by a few weak powerheads, again in the planted section, allowing for water flow to occur in the aquarium.
So...thoughts?
