50 gallon tank vs. 120 gallon tank for 12 discus

[storyofafish]

I have 12 discus at 4.5 to 5 inch which I currently have in a 120 gallon and planning to move to a 50 gallon. Filtration is a wet & dry filter in both setup and setup is bare bottom. I currently do 25% to 30% every 5 days at the 120 gallon. When I move the 12 discus to the 50 gallon, I plan to do 50% every 2-3 days.

My question is whether moving 12 discus to the 50 gallon and doing more water change (higher % of total water volume) would be ok?

Appreciate in advance any advice and thoughts on this.

Thanks.

[jmf3460]

Jack, 12 discus in a 50gallon tank is a very bad idea! are you really considering it or do you have your numbers reversed and are planning on moving them to the 120??

[storyofafish]

Unfortunately yes. I live in Southern California, have too many tanks in my house and trying to limit my water changes so my family don't make my hobby an issue. If I live anywhere else where water usage is not an issue, I would definitely keep the 120 gal and change water every day.

Would keeping 12 discus in a 50 gallon be too cramp and stunt their growth? or is it a water quality issue even if changing 50% of a 50 gal tank every 2-3 days?

Appreciate your thoughts.
Thanks

[jmf3460]

oh dear, you are in California, this explains everything. I think under the circumstances, you have no choice. hey why not keep them in the 120 just lower the water level by 30-50%??

[Jnotjane]

I agree with Jacklyn. I think moving to a 50 gallon would require you to do more water changes that would negate any water savings you want to achieve. I would suggest keeping the fish in the 120 and doing a 50% WC once a week while keeping a strict eye on the fish to ensure they are not negatively effected by fewer water changes. Seriously, I think if you did the math on your proposed changes, you would see the difference in water usage isn't enough to justify the change.

[Jnotjane]

30% WC on a 120 gallon every 5 days = 40 gallons
50% WC on a 50 gallon every 2-3 days = 50 gallons over the same period of time. You've actually increased your water usage.

[storyofafish]

Thank you both for the input. I will keep the 120 gal and increase the water change to 50% per week and monitor the discus. Saves a lot of headache making the switch. Also, one thing that happened today that reinforce why bigger is sometime better is that my power for some odd reason went out during the night and with the bigger tank, the water temperature did not drop as much - with 50 gallon it would have dropped considerably. Also, 120 gallon will allow me to increase to a few more discus. I was considering selling off some - but don't have to now. Thanks again.

[Jnotjane]

Thank you both for the input. I will keep the 120 gal and increase the water change to 50% per week and monitor the discus. Saves a lot of headache making the switch. Also, one thing that happened today that reinforce why bigger is sometime better is that my power for some odd reason went out during the night and with the bigger tank, the water temperature did not drop as much - with 50 gallon it would have dropped considerably. Also, 120 gallon will allow me to increase to a few more discus. I was considering selling off some - but don't have to now. Thanks again.

oh yeah, been there and done that! There are so many advantages to a bigger tank, especially when it comes to maintaining a stable environment during "upsets" like a power outage.

[MendoMan]

I live in Northern California and although we've gotten over 30" of rain this season we will still fall under the states guide lines. I have a 140 and change 40 gallons for 2 days then rest for one and then the 40 gallons for 2 days again. I use every drop of water for my garden and will have no problems with the new guide lines. I did let my lawn go and don't miss it a bit.

[Banzai883]

just keep the big tank. if and when those fish grow in that 50 you will want to move them again to a bigger tank.

[John_Nicholson]

The problem in California is ya'll have let the environmental nutcases run the state. Ya'll have gotten plenty of rain but it just all runs into the ocean. You were not doing enough water changes for good growth in your current setup and it definitely will not be enough if you more them to the 50 gallon. In that setup with 12 discus I would recommend at least 50% daily. If that is not possible maybe you should consider angels. Their water requirements are not as high. Next step is when you vote try to find a candidate that will not mind catching some of the water that is leaving the state currently.

-john

[Exotic-Discus]

If you siphon out the left over food everyday, let say 10-20 gallon a day then top it off with fresh water and do 50% water change every 5 days, it should work in your situation. But it will not do your discus any justice as they require clean water. If you can change 50% water twice a week it will help them a lot.

[Reesj]

I have 12 discus at 4.5 to 5 inch which I currently have in a 120 gallon and planning to move to a 50 gallon. Filtration is a wet & dry filter in both setup and setup is bare bottom. I currently do 25% to 30% every 5 days at the 120 gallon. When I move the 12 discus to the 50 gallon, I plan to do 50% every 2-3 days.

My question is whether moving 12 discus to the 50 gallon and doing more water change (higher % of total water volume) would be ok?

Appreciate in advance any advice and thoughts on this.

Thanks.

Best advice I can give you in this situation others have not is, DO NOT feed messy food like home made beef hear mix and stuff. Try to feed freeze dried stuff or pelts. If you were to feed those and can siphon off the poo(once per day or once every otehr day) very fast to not let water levels drop that would be way more than adequate to have a nice set-up going!

[Reesj]

Also if you can get a good filtration system you should have no problem with a 120 gallon running 12 discus and even more! People have been keeping adult discus with less than a water change for few months very healthy and successfully with good filtration.

[MendoMan]

The problem in California is ya'll have let the environmental nutcases run the state. Ya'll have gotten plenty of rain but it just all runs into the ocean. You were not doing enough water changes for good growth in your current setup and it definitely will not be enough if you more them to the 50 gallon. In that setup with 12 discus I would recommend at least 50% daily. If that is not possible maybe you should consider angels. Their water requirements are not as high. Next step is when you vote try to find a candidate that will not mind catching some of the water that is leaving the state currently.

-john

You got that right but I fear you'll never see a reversal of this states politics. You wouldn't (yea you probably would) believe the amount of water they release daily from our local reservoir. Fed's won't let them cut it.

[ESXiGuy]

The problem in California is ya'll have let the environmental nutcases run the state. Ya'll have gotten plenty of rain but it just all runs into the ocean. You were not doing enough water changes for good growth in your current setup and it definitely will not be enough if you more them to the 50 gallon. In that setup with 12 discus I would recommend at least 50% daily. If that is not possible maybe you should consider angels. Their water requirements are not as high. Next step is when you vote try to find a candidate that will not mind catching some of the water that is leaving the state currently.

-john

John - how many guns do you have along with your Discus? ;)

We could also find a candidate that would value desalination plants more than a multi-billion bullet train that goes nowhere.

My Discus and my grass are worth more than our nutjob of a governor and the nutjobs that put him there.

[Kyla]

google "eheim quick vac pro"... it is a little battery operated device which sucks up uneaten food into a pouch, returning the water to the tank through the mesh. this could help remove uneaten food between ur weekly water changes without requiring water use. good luck!!

[Kyla]

and i too urge u not to put the discus in a 55gal, but it already sounds like ur sticking with the 120 so that's excellent