New Discus tank - Advise appreciated

[drummerboy7816]

Hi All,

I'm planning to start a new discus tank and would like to introduce myself here and get any advice from ya'll based on my setup/goals. I have been reading quite a bit around here and stealing knowledge as best as I can :) Using the intro guidelines in the sticky section, here I go..

Background: Started planted aquariums about 5 years ago, low-intermediate high tech tank setups keeping primarily easy fish (betta, corydoras, tetras, ghost cats, shrimps, etc.). Currently just have one 17 gallon planted tank.

Goal: I got a Mr. Aqua rimless 65 (48 x 18 x 18) and want to set up a hardscape only Discus tank as a centerpiece in my living room. I want to try to keep water changes to once a week max, so please let me know what I need to do (equipment and otherwise) to make this happen as best as possible.

Equipment:
- Mr. Aqua 65 tank
- Aquatic fundamentals stand
- Eheim 2215 filter (92 gallon rated)
- Python water changer
- Hydro 300w inline heater (also the adapters to connect this to the Eheim)
- Finnex planted+ 24/7 LED lighting 48". Plan on keeping at a relatively low lighting during the day and utilizing the custom color functions to bring out the color of the fish.
- MAYBE an inline UV sterilizer, undecided..

Hardscape:
- Large Manzanita driftwood (see attached). It's about 48 x 13 x 16.
- Stones: Seiryu stones (if I can find some affordable on CL..) or considering none as it might be easier to not affect the water quality?

Livestock (planned):
- 4 adult discus
- 7 Rummynose tetra
- 5 Julii Corydora

Tap water hardness here in Santa Ana is about 7.8, pretty high as I understand it.

Questions:
- With the size of my driftwood, pretty much takes up 60% of the tank's capacity, is my live stock too much?
- Any other tips so I can "get away" with weekly water changes?
- Has anyone every created a top for a rimless that looks good? I don't want my fish jumping.. but I don't want to have something ugly over it either :)

Thanks in advance!

Ben

88181

[jmf3460]

Welcome Ben. What a sweet looking piece of driftwood, is that from Rich at Manzanita burlworks? a couple of pieces of advice based on my discus experience.
1. get over only doing one water change per week, just forget it, plan on doing at least 3 big ones per week (if you get adult discus that is)
2. throw out the UV idea, it wont do nearly as good as upping your wc plans
3. get 5 adult fish, get adults over 5", get wilds they will look good with that piece of wood.
4. move your tank close to a window if its not, it will make water changes easier. (or just make sure your syphon hose is long enough)
5. up the school of rummys to like 15, up the school of corydoras to like 10
6. throw a thin layer of sand on the bottom of that tank
8. get some tannins to darken your water
7. enjoy the benefits of owning a sweet *** biotope tank

[cellingson]

Rimless top, check out the salt water reef forums for DIY and ideas for covering.

You may be able to rotate that drift wood so it looks like it is coming out of the ground and the branches are overhanging the water. May look more natal and then decrease the amount of bottom area is takes up. Also could attach some java ferns to it if you are wanting to go that route.

[rickztahone]

Hi All,

I'm planning to start a new discus tank and would like to introduce myself here and get any advice from ya'll based on my setup/goals. I have been reading quite a bit around here and stealing knowledge as best as I can :) Using the intro guidelines in the sticky section, here I go..

Background: Started planted aquariums about 5 years ago, low-intermediate high tech tank setups keeping primarily easy fish (betta, corydoras, tetras, ghost cats, shrimps, etc.). Currently just have one 17 gallon planted tank.

Goal: I got a Mr. Aqua rimless 65 (48 x 18 x 18) and want to set up a hardscape only Discus tank as a centerpiece in my living room. I want to try to keep water changes to once a week max, so please let me know what I need to do (equipment and otherwise) to make this happen as best as possible.
If this is your goal, then the only thing that will work for you will be adult discus. You will feed less food and in turn you will keep the wastes down as well. Do not get juvies if you do not plan to change a lot of water daily.

Equipment:
- Mr. Aqua 65 tank great tank, but you will need some kind of cover for the rimless. I have seen quite a few good ones, but the best I think are the glass lids with the tabs.
- Aquatic fundamentals stand
- Eheim 2215 filter (92 gallon rated) You may need a sponge filter additionally to the filter, or simply another small canister filter.
- Python water changer good investment. Make sure you have enough hose to get you out the door/window
- Hydro 300w inline heater (also the adapters to connect this to the Eheim)my favorite. Never fails
- Finnex planted+ 24/7 LED lighting 48". Plan on keeping at a relatively low lighting during the day and utilizing the custom color functions to bring out the color of the fish.sounds good
- MAYBE an inline UV sterilizer, undecided..not needed

Hardscape:
- Large Manzanita driftwood (see attached). It's about 48 x 13 x 16. looks nice
- Stones: Seiryu stones (if I can find some affordable on CL..) or considering none as it might be easier to not affect the water quality?I have some for sale ;-). But then again, I am in California

Livestock (planned):
- 4 adult discus Up this to 5 at least. 6 may be pushing it considering how large that piece of driftwood is
- 7 Rummynose tetra fine
- 5 Julii Corydora fine


Tap water hardness here in Santa Ana is about 7.8, pretty high as I understand it. fine


Questions:
- With the size of my driftwood, pretty much takes up 60% of the tank's capacity, is my live stock too much?
- Any other tips so I can "get away" with weekly water changes?
- Has anyone every created a top for a rimless that looks good? I don't want my fish jumping.. but I don't want to have something ugly over it either :)

Thanks in advance!

Ben

88181

Check red answers ;)

[Larry Bugg]

Sounds pretty good. As suggested you need a minimum of 5 to help prevent natural cichlid aggression. Water changes - one a week will push it. Since you are planning on adults I think you could probably get away with 1 30% to 40% change every 3 to 4 days but be prepared to up that if necessary.

[drummerboy7816]

Thanks for all the great information/advice!

jmf - damn good guess! It is indeed from Rich at Manzanita burlworks . Super cool guy, excellent pieces and prices, literally got my wood the day after I ordered!
celling - I actually did try it as you mentioned (using it as a tree), and it looks pretty amazing (see pic attached). Problem I have with that is that in my own artistic opinion, it would make it more of an Iwagumi style and I would want to go crazy in doing all the hills and what not with obscene amount of substrate and have it fully planted (with my limited experience, especially with discus, thought it would not be a good idea *yet*), also having my slime low profile LED light and adding a cover would be more challenging.

I will go with 5 adults as suggested once everything is set up and cycled and look into getting another filter or maybe just use my extra AC 30 as a supplement. Will really try to keep up with WC every 4 days (don't think I can consistently pull off 3x a week given my work/other hobbies schedules, but I guess it all depends how easy the Python ends up being!).

Will update once everything is set up in the next few weeks! 88211

[rickztahone]

Actually, draining is rather easy. What is your plan for refilling?

[drummerboy7816]

Was planning to get tap water to approximate correct temp from sink then just go straight from tap to tank with my Python. Is there a better way with the Python?

[jmf3460]

I remember that manzanita piece from Rich because I almost bought it OP, I do agree with you that it looks too iwagumish when you turn it like that. will it stand up like it was in the first pic but upside down?? what type fish are you planning? please say something epic.

[drummerboy7816]

Rich has some amazing huge root/branch pieces that would be an insanely beautiful centerpiece if I had a 200+ gallon..

Haven't done my Discus species research yet since my tank is probably still a month+ to be ready for them, but as a idea starting point.. I'm thinking a blue theme with 5 discus of different shades and patterns (solid turquoise, solid blue, blue with red, etc.). What type that actually is.. no idea, advise appreciated :) Thinking of getting it from Kenny's as he seems like a great source of healthy adults!

I left the wood at the Iwagumi position yesterday and it's starting to really grow on me (and the wife, who owns half the living room apparently), may try to think of simple scapes to make it work that way.

[rickztahone]

personally I like it the first way better, only because it will be rather difficult to make some kind of lid to keep jumpers in the tank with the wood sticking out like that. The traditional "Iwagumi" design calls for smaller, less is more approach. This wood piece seems to be the opposite of that imho. However, it is still a rather nice piece, stand alone.

[cellingson]

I do like it better overhanging the tank like that, but your the one that has to look at it every day, and your wife, so do what works for you. Plus Rick brings up a good point that it will be hard to cover.
All in all love the tank and can't wait to see it filled with water. Are you going to try and use the original plastic returns from your canister filter, or go with a glass or steel ones.
As for the top. I just bought clips off amazon for my Mr Aqua 60g cube rimless and had a local guy make an acrylic top for it. I'll let you know how it works out. But ideally you'll get your's figured out before then as I don't anticipate it going on the tank for another week.

[Discus-n00b]

I like the first way better myself, just seems more natural. Though I might try to bring the stump portion up the wall/corner a bit rather than laying down totally flat...if possible. But like said above, it's what you enjoy looking at! Neither is a bad choice though I would make sure that is secure. If it falls it could freak the discus out so they start jumping or ramming the sides of the tank, or even crack the side. I've never been one to cover my tanks, I struggle to see the reasoning of paying and setting up a rimless/frameless tank and covering it with anything. Takes away the beauty. And with the branches sticking a bit above the water I think it would just add to this. But it is a risk you take because discus can and will jump out of the tank I just personally never had a huge problem with it. Only lost 1-2 juvis to jumping over the course of my discus keeping.

Here is my former tank with wood sticking out.
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c172/clemmatt/fts4.jpg
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c172/clemmatt/fts3.jpg

[cellingson]

Discusnoob, that is a great looking tank. I agree with your ideology on rimless. But then I had a discus jump out of mine this morning, no top yet, luckily I heard it. Mine seem to jump when the morning sun starts to shine through the windows. Certainly is a risk reward decision.

[drummerboy7816]

Rick - I agree, the scale is a bit "zoomed in" for Iwagumi with the tree brach, would look off especially if I add five 5-7" fishes.

Cellington - How much did you end up paying for the custom cut acrylic? I looked online and it was $150+ or something like that for a custom size. Acrylic would be great since it's easier to cut out holes for tubes and auto feeders and what not. I just ordered glass lily pipes off ebay so the tank will remain clean looking (assuming I can clean them frequently enough, haha).

Discusnoob - Amazing looking tank and fish! If I go with the first layout of my DW, I would be going for a very similar "feel" to yours! I like the idea of the stump higher, I tried to do that at one point in my "how long can I play with 1 piece of wood?" session, but found that it doesn't hold naturally in that position, maybe I'll just need to tie it somehow.. or hoist the end of the stump with a rock.

[jmf3460]

maybe I'll just need to tie it somehow.. or hoist the end of the stump with a rock.

OP you can take a piece of slate and attach the wood to it in whatever position you like, the slate will hold it upright and will keep its positioning. drill a hole in your wood and in your slate (this is not nearly as hard as it sounds) the bolt the two together. ive done it with suction cups and ive even used the glue (saltwater product made for gluing down coral frags to live rock) to keep wood attached to something heavy. I do not recommend the coral glue for long term use though it doesn't hold.

[drummerboy7816]

OP you can take a piece of slate and attach the wood to it in whatever position you like, the slate will hold it upright and will keep its positioning. drill a hole in your wood and in your slate (this is not nearly as hard as it sounds) the bolt the two together. ive done it with suction cups and ive even used the glue (saltwater product made for gluing down coral frags to live rock) to keep wood attached to something heavy. I do not recommend the coral glue for long term use though it doesn't hold.

That's pretty brilliant! Thanks. Expands the possibilities. guess my wood arrangement session continues tonight! :)

[drummerboy7816]

So I got my light much earlier than expected, picked up some Seiryu stones, and after some careful stone placement.. water went in! Really liking the Finnex 24/7 light. SO much control over the lighting via an included REMOTE. Essentially I can customize the level of the white light and then the mix of red, green, blue to accompany the white light. Sweet. Getting the Rummynose and Cory's tomorrow.

Some update pics:

884508845188452

[Mgus]

Awesome piece of driftwood. That hardscape looks amazing with the rimless tank. You might want to go with 20 or so tetras I have 25 in my 125 and they are not that noticeable with the big discus. They are such small fish that a few extra won't have a huge impact on your bio load. Tank looks great. Good luck with it.

[rickztahone]

Beautiful scape. I believe the stones raise pH so watch out for that

[drummerboy7816]

I got 15 tetras today and so far looks pretty good (I might get 5 more like you said down the line).

I'll definitely keep an eye out in the ph and plan to stabilize it somewhat before I get the discus. Need to pick up a ph test kit :)

[pastry]

Ben, that is bad@**... looove that look. Reminds of this picture (link: http://www.aquariumdesigngroup.com/data/photos/16_1aquarium_red_discus_fishtank.jpg by "Aquarium Design Group"). I know you want different strains but man, if you go with the same strain or 50/50 of very similar strains then that thing would be sleeeek... (jmo!). Good job man. Can't wait to see it with fish regardless of what you put in it.-Elliot

[Discus-n00b]

Love that look!

[drummerboy7816]

Thanks! That scape was definitely a big inspiration for this tank. I'm definitely leaning towards having the same type now that it's all set up.

[SeattleMarathon]

Love the wood! I wonder if the sharp branch might pose potential hazard to the discus? At 80+F water, the rimless aquarium is a great humidifier! :-)

[cellingson]

Great looking scape. The rock work looks very natural burried in the sand, and you may want to put 1-3 loose pieces scattered away from the hill to give it a more gradual transition.
As for your inquiry of my top. I went to a local acrylic store that built custom shelving and such. I gave them my design and they cut a 24X24 3/8" acrylic for me for $50. I purchased these clips from amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JX9215Q?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00.
The acrylic warps at the corners. I have to flip it with each water change…not ideal. So if I did it again I would get thicker or using some other material. Maybe there is a heat resistant type. Or maybe glass?
The clips work great. I placed a few pieces of cardboard paper in the portion that attached over my glass to make a more firm hold on the tank and to prevent it from dropping to deep into the tank-essentially helping the acrylic sit flush with the top of the tank.

[cellingson]

Ben, that is bad@**... looove that look. Reminds of this picture (link: http://www.aquariumdesigngroup.com/data/photos/16_1aquarium_red_discus_fishtank.jpg by "Aquarium Design Group"). I know you want different strains but man, if you go with the same strain or 50/50 of very similar strains then that thing would be sleeeek... (jmo!). Good job man. Can't wait to see it with fish regardless of what you put in it.-Elliot

Agree. Go with the same strain.