Going from a coral reef tank to a Planted discus tank

[Powerphoto]

I have had saltwater tanks for the past 20 years and even bred clownfish, but as time went on getting married and having kids It became real hard to keep up with the salt water changes and the protein skimmer, so I broke down my 125g coral reef and stuck it in storage. I still have a 30 gallon clownfish tank but am really getting the itch to setup the 125g tank and make it into a discus planted tank.

The 125 gallon tank has the two overflow boxes that go down under the tank thru the 30 gallon for filtration.

I am super excited to try this out and be successful, I am very big on doing this only if I can do it right?

Here are a few questions I have all the help is super appreciated.


Will this tank be suitable for discus and plants??

What else would I need to purchase??

What would be my initial cost to get this tank up and running?

What plants would be best to start out with?

Can I use a stone substrate?

How many fish can I fit in this size tank ?



Thanks

Shane

[Powerphoto]

Thanks as I am brand new to this forum

[Elliots]

Shane, you said it was difficult to keep up with the salt water changes. Discus should have much bigger changes 3-7 times weekly! Adults need less changes of less quantity. Think before you set up for Discus. The biggest initial cost will be Discus themselves. I think if you check Discus Hans site you will see about what Discus cost by the size. For 10-12 5-6" adults I would guess $1000 to $2000. Prices vary at other sponsors.

[Powerphoto]

Shane, you said it was difficult to keep up with the salt water changes. Discus should have much bigger changes 3-7 times weekly! Adults need less changes of less quantity. Think before you set up for Discus. The biggest initial cost will be Discus themselves. I think if you check Discus Hans site you will see about what Discus cost by the size. For 10-12 5-6" adults I would guess $1000 to $2000. Prices vary at other sponsors.

Thanks for the reply, the biggest problem with the saltwater changes was I had to make the saltwater, I would use R/O water and then mix in the salt in a 50 gallon drum, I have everything setup up were the water pumps into the tank from the basement and pumps out into the basement, I believe using fresh water would be a lot easier then having to mix the salt and get the right salinity.

$1000 for 10-12 fish?? What size are these fish? Can I start with smaller fish?

Thanks
Shane

[warblad79]

The big question is how committed you are keeping your discus alive? Discus needs a lot of water changes at least once a day or every other day, 125g is a big tank.

[Powerphoto]

The big question is how committed you are keeping your discus alive? Discus needs a lot of water changes at least once a day or every other day, 125g is a big tank.

How much of a water change would be required daily? If you have all that filtration and if plants are in the tank how come you have to do daily water changes?? Especially if the tank is 125 g

[arielfe]

Hello to everyone:

I am also new in this Forum, I am in the same situation as Powerphoto, I just have a marine aquarium 72 gallons set up for fresh water, No fish yet, yesterday I just planted my first Java Fern, I already have driftwood with Java Moss, I am planning to have only Discus in this aquarium, plus the cleaning crew. So any advice coming will be really appreciated.

[ExReefer]

How much of a water change would be required daily? If you have all that filtration and if plants are in the tank how come you have to do daily water changes?? Especially if the tank is 125 g

If you keep adults, I would say 50% 2-3 times a week if you feed clean foods with 1-2 feedings per day. In a tank size of 125G, I would not bother with anything but adult discus.

I moved from reef tanks to planted tanks to discus tanks. Discus tanks require more of my time than any of the others. The bulk of my time is spent on water changes. However, you can lessen the load on your time if you start out with adult or (near adult) sized discus. Discus of this size don't require as many feedings and therefore require less water changes.

The best advice I can provide is to spend a lot of time on this website before you move forward.

[Powerphoto]

If you keep adults, I would say 50% 2-3 times a week if you feed clean foods with 1-2 feedings per day. In a tank size of 125G, I would not bother with anything but adult discus.

I moved from reef tanks to planted tanks to discus tanks. Discus tanks require more of my time than any of the others. The bulk of my time is spent on water changes. However, you can lessen the load on your time if you start out with adult or (near adult) sized discus. Discus of this size don't require as many feedings and therefore require less water changes.

The best advice I can provide is to spend a lot of time on this website before you move forward.

Thanks for your advice , I am going to absorb all the info before I jump into this I really want to do it once and do it right, I do not like to start something that I am un educated at and kill fish.

[discus6628]

i started with my 100g tank. Luckily my friend gave me some his fry (about 8, around 1"-1.5") and saved me some money. It was my first time raise discus. So I guess if I kill some of them on test run, it still ok on first try. Raising small fry 1-1.5" is not easy on 100g, because I was concerning if they can find food easy on 100g. Then I am glad that I brought some more about 13 more on similar size in about a month later. It made the discus gather together fast on feeding time. I would suggest on 2-3" min or get more discus in the tank

I was suppose to growth them out from 30 gallons but I did not want to carry bucket for every water change. Because I took my time on setup the tank with easy access to drain and water refill. The water change make it easy for me . I would said 10 mins on suck out food and drain water than let the refill from direct tap water would be another 15 mins. ( you consider age water if you can). Because my tank is in living room, I have no place on age water tank.

I do water change daily before about 50-75% on 100g (may be over kill but does keep water clean). It is about 8 months now. some of my discuss growth to 5-6". I am now doing water change every day. about 4 discus die out throughout the 8 months period (most of them happen in the 1st month). I am now have about 17 discus and about 30-35 cranial and 3 stermbie. Have some concern about the bio-load with that many fishes in the tank. But don't want to thin them yet. So water change still keep on schedule.

[strawberryblonde]

The quick down and dirty on keeping discus:

1) It's not the same as a salt tank. There really isn't a "cleaning crew" in the way that you've always had to have one. Corydora's will eat tidbits that the discus miss, but other than that, you will have to do the cleaning yourself. No protein skimmers, no real need for a refugium, minerals in the water are good, RO isn't necessary unless there's a contamination problem with your tap water and aging water is awesome!

There are 2 options for discus keeping. You can choose to purchase less expensive juvies/sub adults and grow them out yourself before putting them into your display tank, or you can purchase adults who can go straight to the big tank.

For juveniles and sub-adults:

1) Purchase a smaller tank for the grow out tank. Paint the bottom and back with white paint, add 2 sponge filters, a heater set to about 82F-84F and an air stone.

2) Check your pH. Fill a bucket and check the pH, then aerate it for 24 hours and check it again. If you have a pH shift of more than +/-.4 you will want to age your water for water changes.

3) Juveniles (under 4") can go into a 30-40 gallon tank in a group. Sub-adults (4" and up) can go into a 55g-75g tank. They grow quickly, so take that into account when purchasing your tank.

4) Young discus will benefit the most and grow the best if you are committed to doing a large daily water change. I personally do 2 changes per day, smaller in the morning and larger at night, but that's just my personal preference. Be aware that if you cut back the water changes you run the real risk of making your discus sick.

5) Young discus need 5-6 smaller feedings per day. Plan to feed a variety of high quality, high protein foods.

6) Once the discus reach 5" in size they can go into your display tank, but even if it's a planted tank you will still need to do large daily water changes to keep the water fresh and clean for them.

7) Discus reach about 6" total in the first year of life, but continue to grow slowly during the second year of life, so if you want to get the maximum growth in your fish you need to keep up the feedings (can cut back to 3-4 larger feedings per day) and the water changes during the second year of life.

It's a lot of work to grow out discus, but very rewarding! They can do well in planted tanks so long as you plan the layout carefully and are scrupulous about keeping it clean. Unlike most tropical fish, discus can't tolerate many nitrates in the water column and don't thrive if there's a large amount of DOC's too.

I hope that helps you in planning what you want to do. =)

[discus6628]

Agreed with Strawberryblonde. If you decided with Juveniles, i would suggest get 6-10. By the time you grow them out, you can select the the group that you like because there is always one or two weak on in the group.


The quick down and dirty on keeping discus:

1) It's not the same as a salt tank. There really isn't a "cleaning crew" in the way that you've always had to have one. Corydora's will eat tidbits that the discus miss, but other than that, you will have to do the cleaning yourself. No protein skimmers, no real need for a refugium, minerals in the water are good, RO isn't necessary unless there's a contamination problem with your tap water and aging water is awesome!

There are 2 options for discus keeping. You can choose to purchase less expensive juvies/sub adults and grow them out yourself before putting them into your display tank, or you can purchase adults who can go straight to the big tank.

For juveniles and sub-adults:

1) Purchase a smaller tank for the grow out tank. Paint the bottom and back with white paint, add 2 sponge filters, a heater set to about 82F-84F and an air stone.

2) Check your pH. Fill a bucket and check the pH, then aerate it for 24 hours and check it again. If you have a pH shift of more than +/-.4 you will want to age your water for water changes.

3) Juveniles (under 4") can go into a 30-40 gallon tank in a group. Sub-adults (4" and up) can go into a 55g-75g tank. They grow quickly, so take that into account when purchasing your tank.

4) Young discus will benefit the most and grow the best if you are committed to doing a large daily water change. I personally do 2 changes per day, smaller in the morning and larger at night, but that's just my personal preference. Be aware that if you cut back the water changes you run the real risk of making your discus sick.

5) Young discus need 5-6 smaller feedings per day. Plan to feed a variety of high quality, high protein foods.

6) Once the discus reach 5" in size they can go into your display tank, but even if it's a planted tank you will still need to do large daily water changes to keep the water fresh and clean for them.

7) Discus reach about 6" total in the first year of life, but continue to grow slowly during the second year of life, so if you want to get the maximum growth in your fish you need to keep up the feedings (can cut back to 3-4 larger feedings per day) and the water changes during the second year of life.

It's a lot of work to grow out discus, but very rewarding! They can do well in planted tanks so long as you plan the layout carefully and are scrupulous about keeping it clean. Unlike most tropical fish, discus can't tolerate many nitrates in the water column and don't thrive if there's a large amount of DOC's too.

I hope that helps you in planning what you want to do. =)

[Powerphoto]

The quick down and dirty on keeping discus:

1) It's not the same as a salt tank. There really isn't a "cleaning crew" in the way that you've always had to have one. Corydora's will eat tidbits that the discus miss, but other than that, you will have to do the cleaning yourself. No protein skimmers, no real need for a refugium, minerals in the water are good, RO isn't necessary unless there's a contamination problem with your tap water and aging water is awesome!

There are 2 options for discus keeping. You can choose to purchase less expensive juvies/sub adults and grow them out yourself before putting them into your display tank, or you can purchase adults who can go straight to the big tank.

For juveniles and sub-adults:

1) Purchase a smaller tank for the grow out tank. Paint the bottom and back with white paint, add 2 sponge filters, a heater set to about 82F-84F and an air stone.

2) Check your pH. Fill a bucket and check the pH, then aerate it for 24 hours and check it again. If you have a pH shift of more than +/-.4 you will want to age your water for water changes.

3) Juveniles (under 4") can go into a 30-40 gallon tank in a group. Sub-adults (4" and up) can go into a 55g-75g tank. They grow quickly, so take that into account when purchasing your tank.

4) Young discus will benefit the most and grow the best if you are committed to doing a large daily water change. I personally do 2 changes per day, smaller in the morning and larger at night, but that's just my personal preference. Be aware that if you cut back the water changes you run the real risk of making your discus sick.

5) Young discus need 5-6 smaller feedings per day. Plan to feed a variety of high quality, high protein foods.

6) Once the discus reach 5" in size they can go into your display tank, but even if it's a planted tank you will still need to do large daily water changes to keep the water fresh and clean for them.

7) Discus reach about 6" total in the first year of life, but continue to grow slowly during the second year of life, so if you want to get the maximum growth in your fish you need to keep up the feedings (can cut back to 3-4 larger feedings per day) and the water changes during the second year of life.

It's a lot of work to grow out discus, but very rewarding! They can do well in planted tanks so long as you plan the layout carefully and are scrupulous about keeping it clean. Unlike most tropical fish, discus can't tolerate many nitrates in the water column and don't thrive if there's a large amount of DOC's too.

I hope that helps you in planning what you want to do. =)

WOW, thanks for the down and dirty. What you said makes a lot of sense, my one questions is the feeding, I am at work during the day so I can feed them before work, and how should I handle the rest of the day, is there a auto feeder I should get?

What do you mostly feed juveniles ??

And what are the best beginner plants??

Thanks again

[Jimbo662]

I'm planning the exact same thing with my 175g. My question is if I set up a grow out tank is it ok to buy 3 or 4 and grow them out and transfer them then buy another small batch and keep repeating till I've got the DP stocked the way I want it?

[strawberryblonde]

WOW, thanks for the down and dirty. What you said makes a lot of sense, my one questions is the feeding, I am at work during the day so I can feed them before work, and how should I handle the rest of the day, is there a auto feeder I should get?

What do you mostly feed juveniles ??

And what are the best beginner plants??

Thanks again

An auto feeder is perfect for those middle of the day feedings. If that's how you are doing it, plan to feed the meaty foods in the evenings, feed FDBW's in the morning and feed discus flake or pellet foods during the day in the auto feeder.

For foods, there are some safe, easy options. Everyone has their own variety that they prefer, but basically, frozen beefheart cubes, freeze dried worms (most prefer black worms, but some use bloodworms) and discus flakes plus discus pellets are all good choices.

For beginner plants, plan on easy, low light plants. Amazon swords make a nice visual impact and get quite large, so one is usually enough. There are many other sword plants out there that won't get as big and those can be used as accent pieces. Annubias is easy and very forgiving. Java fern is also a great plant and don't forget crypts!

I like using a dwarf chain sword as a grasslike plant. It never gets very tall and it propagates itself by sending out runner under the soil, so you start with 3 or 4 tiny plants and next thing you know you have a carpet of them.

[strawberryblonde]

I'm planning the exact same thing with my 175g. My question is if I set up a grow out tank is it ok to buy 3 or 4 and grow them out and transfer them then buy another small batch and keep repeating till I've got the DP stocked the way I want it?

It's possible to do it that way, but not optimal for the well being of the discus. They prefer a larger group, and with true juveniles it is VERY apparent that they aren't comfortable in small groups.

Since you are going to be moving them to a 175g, I'd recommend purchasing 6-7 at a time. That way you can raise just 2 batches of them, and with 7 in the group they'll be comfortable and outgoing, rather than skittish and shy.

I understand wanting to grow them out in smaller, easier to manage groups, but from personal experience, it's just not a good thing to do. I currently have two 3" juvies that I'm dealing with. They are NOT outgoing and happy all by themselves. They are very skittish and still won't eat from my hand. I'm so concerned for their well being that I've been mulling over options for adding another five or six juvies to their grow out tank. Not sure what I'll do with 8 more discus, but also not willing to watch these guys fail to thrive simply because they aren't in a large group.

[Jimbo662]

Thanks for all the great info.

[Jimbo662]

What would be an optimum tank size for growing out 6-7 fish? I'm also moving from a house to a average size apartment so space may be limited.

[strawberryblonde]

Hmmm, ideal size for 6-7 juvies would be a 55 gallon tank. They can remain in that tank till they reach 5" and then go straight to your big tank, then you'd just sterilize the tank, fill 'er up and start all over again with a second group.

A 55 should fit just about anywhere that you can find a 4' section of wall. You could even get creative with the footprint of the tank if you needed to. I grew out my first batch of discus in a 54g pentagonal tank. It was a pain in the patoot during WC's, till I got smart and removed the substrate and plants. After that it was about as easy as changing water in my standard 55g.