Questions about set up a discus tank for the first time

[Juanperez147]

Hello, my name Juan Perez, I'm from Costa Rica is a small Central american country. 3 years ago I started with the hobby, with tetras, and 2 years ago I have cichlids Americans (chocolate , Maya, various types of severum, nicaguensis, various types of vieja, oscar, etc).
I bought a new tank and want to start with discus. I have no experience with discus. I do not want breeding. I have not even started cycling or set up de tank.

My tank is 48 "long, 18" wide and 22 "high, around 100 gallons.

I think BB and put to use drywood, with some anubias.

I think for filtering using two sump, one with Kaldnes (6 gallons), another with ceramic rings, bio balls, etc.

After read simplydiscus, and see several videos, I get me some questions and I would appreciate you help me:

I would like to introduce cardenales and some tank mates, they must be screen before or after arriving the discus?

Is recommendable use filters with ultraviolet light?

Is recommendable use activated carbon filter?

When discus are juveniles which is a recommendable difference in size of the fish?

[atlantadiscus]

6 gallons of K1 Kaldness should provide plenty of surface area for your setup as long as it is moving freely and kept clean with good pre filtration- not sure I would set up a second sump at all? UV is beneficial only if done correctly,generally those filters that include a cute little uv light are not effective or worth anything.Carbon,Purigen,or other forms of chemical filtering are a personal,individual choice-some use them,others do not.I would go Discus only in the tank if it is your first time.

[Juanperez147]

Thank you very much for the reply. I'll take your advice. I thought two sump to have high redundancy. Also I thought of using some aquaponics, but I do not if it is to add risk.

Thanks again.

[atlantadiscus]

No,nothing wrong with 2 sumps,by all means,if you WANT 2 sumps,do it! Was trying to save you $ and time maintaining the additional sump,but if that is not a concern,there is no real drawback of having the second one!

[Davidzil]

Where would you be getting your discus from ?

[Ryan925]

Where would you be getting your discus from ?

Go to the sponsors section here. You can't go wrong.

Too many people end up in the dea ease section here with online and LFS purchases

[Juanperez147]

I already have everything for the 2 sumps. I have been thinking about this for a while...

[Juanperez147]

I could get them from petshops sales where they import discus from Asia and South America. But I'm going to buy it from a local breeder. I have read that getting them locally is the best way to deal With the adaptation process.

[Ryan925]

I already have everything for the 2 sumps. I have been thinking about this for a while...

I think no matter who you are more filtration the better can be agreed upon I believe. . I am about to start a dump build myself out of a 40 breeder. I will be having a bio media section as well as a fluidized section for K1

As far as UV goes I also use UV. There are those here that will tell you not to but there are no negative effects to it. It will give you added water clarity and can potentially kill pathogens.

The biggest misuse of UV is flow rate. If you exceed proper flow rate it is doing nothing for killing pathogens

[Filip]

Hello, my name Juan Perez, I'm from Costa Rica is a small Central american country. 3 years ago I started with the hobby, with tetras, and 2 years ago I have cichlids Americans (chocolate , Maya, various types of severum, nicaguensis, various types of vieja, oscar, etc).
I bought a new tank and want to start with discus. I have no experience with discus. I do not want breeding. I have not even started cycling or set up de tank.

My tank is 48 "long, 18" wide and 22 "high, around 100 gallons.

I think BB and put to use drywood, with some anubias.

I think for filtering using two sump, one with Kaldnes (6 gallons), another with ceramic rings, bio balls, etc.

After read simplydiscus, and see several videos, I get me some questions and I would appreciate you help me:

I would like to introduce cardenales and some tank mates, they must be screen before or after arriving the discus?

Is recommendable use filters with ultraviolet light?

Is recommendable use activated carbon filter?

When discus are juveniles which is a recommendable difference in size of the fish?

Hi Juan and welcome .

Your tank size and idea of having a BB tank with sump filtration is a great start for keeping discus .
As for your questions
1. its advisable to put the discus first and give them a couple of months to acclimatize to new conditions before you test their immune system with other fish . After that period you can introduce new fish , but only after a proper quarantine procedure is done for the new comers.

2. UV light is a great addition to your filtration IMO only if you are ready to spend big bucks and buy approved and quallity +60 watt UV sterilizer for your tankage.
Just remeber that its only an addition , and you still have to be diligent with your Waterchange and cleaning routine .

3.Carbon is ussualy needed when you want to remove chemicals or meds from the water , otherwise its not needed.

4.Bigger discus you buy , better chances of sucsess you will have . I would reccomend 3 inch as a minimum and 4-5 inch even better if you can afford them for a start. And Max. 10 discus for your tank size .

Good luck Juan .

[bluelagoon]

IMO,10 discus may be a few too many in a 4 foot tank that is approix. 82 gal....48X18x22/231=82 gal.

[DiscusRob]

IMO,10 discus may be a few too many in a 4 foot tank that is approix. 82 gal....48X18x22/231=82 gal.

I was just going to say that, I'm planning on 6 maybe 7 for my 75.

[Willie]

Make big water changes daily. Nothing else will contribute more to your success with discus.

Willie

[atlantadiscus]

IMO,10 discus may be a few too many in a 4 foot tank that is approix. 82 gal....48X18x22/231=82 gal.

82 gallons in main tank,plus 2 sumps of ????? additional gallons........more than adequate to raise 10 juveniles,depending on total system volume,maybe too small for 10 adults in my Opinion.

[DiscusRob]

82 gallons in main tank,plus 2 sumps of ????? additional gallons........more than adequate to raise 10 juveniles,depending on total system volume,maybe too small for 10 adults in my Opinion.

It's more than just tank volume, Discus do like a little room to swim and roam around. Not counting mentioned addition of tank mates down the road, not enough real estate for everyone to be happy. Juvie's yes, adults no way.

[Filip]

I took for granted Juans info that his main tank is 100 galons and plus 2 additional sumps .Thats why i sugested max. of 10 discus for the long run.
80 gallon is different story , and i agree that 10 big ones might be overcrowded in there .

[bluelagoon]

It wouldn't hurt to buy 10 and then cull a couple as they grow out.

[Juanperez147]

Thank you, I will check the flow rate. A friend made his own UV filter and works ver y well.

[Filip]

Thank you, I will check the flow rate. A friend made his own UV filter and works ver y well.

You cant really measure the effects of UV sterilizer Juan.
That's why youll get to see many different opinions upon its use.
The main things to consider when installing a UV are his power (watts) as the most important aspect , and the flow rate accordingly. Its better to go overboard with his power since that will ensure its effectivness IMO.Just like with any other type of filtration,when you are not sure what is enough , just put more .

[Juanperez147]

Thank you Filip you post made clear many things for me. I want todo buy small discus.

[Filip]

Thank you Filip you post made clear many things for me. I want todo buy small discus.

You are welcome Juan .
Just be aware that smaller discus needs extra attention and care, just like with any other living thing.

[Juanperez147]

Thanks for the help, the 2 sumps is about 35 gal.

[Juanperez147]

Youly are totally rigth, with my americans cichlid I rased from small size. I know it's very differente with discus.

[Juanperez147]

I took for granted Juans info that his main tank is 100 galons and plus 2 additional sumps .Thats why i sugested max. of 10 discus for the long run.
80 gallon is different story , and i agree that 10 big ones might be overcrowded in there .


I´m sorry the guy who sold me the tank told me it was 100 gal.

[bluelagoon]

It is very easy to measure gal.LxWxH/231 sq.inches per gal.=gal.