New tank setup

[Sabihusmani]

Hello fellow discus fans! My name is sabih and I am setting up a new 75 gallon discus/angel fish tank. So far I have the tank and I am having the stand built in a few days.I am in the process of getting a canister filter (filters up to 200g) and working on getting a heater. I will hopefully get the tank ready for cycling by mid December. Right now the lighting I have is stock lighting that came with the tank from petsmart and will by feb upgrade to LEDs. My question is in regards to the placement of the tank. Right now the tank will be in the main floor in the living room which generally does not have high traffic except in the evening for a few hours when the family comes home. I don't have any pets or kids ;). Will this be a good placement for the tank? As I know they get scared easily. The tank is away from direct sunlight and from any direct wind flow. As I get closer to getting the fish I will have more questions that I will post. Also, any help in regards to water changes would be great. I'm nervous about getting the right chem balance because I know the discus are really sensitive to water quality. I'm going to be using tap water for the water changes and at this moment I can't invest in a RODI unit. How do you guys do the water changes? Please help and sorry about the uber long post.

[RogueDiscus]

Hi Sabih and welcome to SimplyDiscus. Your tank location sounds fine to me. It might take a little while for your discus to get used to you, but that's pretty normal. Other folks may have other suggestions. If you're new to discus I recommend reading posts in the Beginner's section and watching this video made by Al the forum owner.

http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?122038-Are-you-new-to-discus-WATCH-THIS-VIDEO!

Good luck with your tank and come back with questions.

[Sabihusmani]

Hello, thank you for the reply. I actually watched the whole video yesterday and that's how I learned about this forum. Any tips on water quality? I've been in contact with several people about discus. Just trying to be as informed as possible.:) also do you all have tips on planted aquariums?

[Ryan925]

The fish will get used to traffic once settled in. I practically had to tip toe passed tank when I first got them. The tank is in a very high traffic area in my kitchen. Now we walk right by, vacuum etc with no issues. My 5 year old sprints passed the tank all the time and doesn't even phase them

[Sabihusmani]

The fish will get used to traffic once settled in. I practically had to tip toe passed tank when I first got them. The tank is in a very high traffic area in my kitchen. Now we walk right by, vacuum etc with no issues. My 5 year old sprints passed the tank all the time and doesn't even phase them


Thank you! I was really worried about because I didn't want them to get stressed.

[Phillydubs]

Welcome. If you are new to discus I would start slow and keep things basic. Less is more if you ask me. You are probably overwhelmed right now. You start to read read and it's like your twisted all over.

Don't worry about he traffic my fish are in a busy office and could care less. All they see is oh maybe god one will feed me! So ryan is spot on.

Can you age water ? Have you tested your water from the tap and then let it sit for 24 hrs and test again ? That's what you should do. Discus like stability. Don't get caught up trying to manipulate water chemistry. Make sure you use a dechlorinator

Can you age water if need be? Will your tank be near a kitchen garage basement ? Anything where you can pump water to and from?

[Sabihusmani]

Hmm ok. Thank you Phil. My tank will be near the kitchen and a bathroom. I'm going to test my water tomorrow and Im going to use prime as a declorinator for the tank. As for aging I was thinking of getting a canister from Costco to use for prepared tank water. Something small yet big enough to hold 30 gallons of water.

[adrian31@outlook.com]

Hi Sabi,

Welcome to the forum! Sounds like you're new to Discus, but have already done some reading. You're right to focus on water because that is key, Discus are unbelievably sensitive to dissolved solids in the water (not just nitrates), and also changes to water chemistry.

I do my WC with water straight from the tap and my fish are happy & thriving. But many people, for example in the U.S. northern climates, age their water. This is because colder water retains more dissolved gases, the water can also contain additives, which need to be gassed off through aging (ex/ 24 hours with an aerator or power head to agitate the surface). This is necessary mostly to keep your Discus' water PH stable. You can test this now by comparing the PH of your tap water to water you've aged in a bucket for 24 hours with something to keep the surface water moving.

I do my water changes using a 50ft Python I purchased from amazon.com for about $70. It's really convenient compared to doing it by hand using buckets (did that for 2 weeks until my Python arrived). I normally do WC 25%x5 days, 60%x2 days, but just added 5 new Discus in my 180gallon tank which now has 11 Discus, so I'm doing WC 50%-60% daily until my tank completes it's mini-cycle (nitrifying bacteria catch up to new bioload), then I'll maintain a daily WC somewhere in between those two schedules.

The biggest thing you need to keep healthy Discus is stable, fresh, clean water. Besides water changes this means keeping the tank substrate, walls, and filters really clean. Waste and uneaten food can't stay in the water, it needs to be siphoned out. I do this after every feeding.

Keep asking questions, and read all the stickies as you'll learn a great deal there.

Good luck!

Kenny

[Sabihusmani]

Hello Kenny, thank you for all the great information. My county publishes a water quality report and they just released a new report. Here are the results:

[Phillydubs]

The results didn't post

[Phillydubs]

Sounds like a good plan. I recommend a 50-55 gallon. Brute and some wheels. I got mine on Amazon delivered to the door cheaper thank any local shop and like I said brought right in the door. I got a nice sturdy dolly thing is a beast and I love it. You should go that route. Kenny is right for the python or something to ease your changesin that regard. I'm in the process of something similar. Buckets get old fast but are a nice workout ;) lol

Test your water personally. Do as I said test from tap and then put in a bucket w air stone let sit for 24 hrs test again. That will tell you all you need.

Then order some nice healthy fish from a sponsor and you are off to the races.

[adrian31@outlook.com]

Hello Kenny, thank you for all the great information. My county publishes a water quality report and they just released a new report. Here are the results

Hi Sabi,

The report doesn't show. Are you able to paste it in? I might be able to see some things and hopefully some of the more experienced persons here can also help.

I looked at the report my water authority published and it's quite different from what I tested. Bear in mind that the information in these reports can be outdated, and also they use equipment for their testing which can give different results than what we get testing ourselves.

[Sabihusmani]

Hi guys sorry I'm not able to post the result. I think it's cause I'm using my iPad. I have to head out for a few and when I'm back I'll try and post it. Thank u all again very much.

[adrian31@outlook.com]

Then order some nice healthy fish from a sponsor and you are off to the races.

+1 I can attest to this from personal experience.

[Phillydubs]

I would test yourself. The report means nothing really but what is coming out of your tap does. If you can age I always say age it truly is what helped me in this hobby. If you can't and make it work another way fine. But sounds like you can so why even risk a thing. Get that brute and age away

[Sabihusmani]

So I'll stop by and get an air stone and I already have a test kit. I'll let u all know the result by Tuesday cause I'll get everything by Monday evening. Should I cover the water I'm leaving overnight?

[Sabihusmani]

So the report says that nitrate is 10 ppm while nitrite is 1ppm.

[Sabihusmani]

The report is from like 4-6 months ago, I think.

[Filip]

Hi Sabi and welcome aboard .
I would be a little worried about your 1 ppm Nitrite readings . Are you sure your water test shows any nitrite ? Did you try to remeasure it with some other test kits ?

Otherwise ,like the rest of the members have already adviced ,just aging water prior WC and use of dechlorinator would be enough to keep discus happy and thriving .
I look forward to see your upcoming tank and discus .

[Sabihusmani]

Hi thanks Filipino. These results are from the water quality report that the county issues. I haven't done an actual test yet. I'm going to test the water on Monday.

[Sabihusmani]

Sorry my phone auto corrected to filipino. I'm sorry about that filip.

[Filip]

Hi thanks Filipino. These results are from the water quality report that the county issues. I haven't done an actual test yet. I'm going to test the water on Monday.

Try to test them your self and see if it reads any Nitrite and Nitrate . Generally they are not good for discus , but that does not means that you can't keep discus with this amount of No2 and NO3 in your tap water .
You should consider RO unit as a plan B option if you experience problems with nitrites in your tap water along the way of keeping discus.

[Filip]

Sorry my phone auto corrected to filipino. I'm sorry about that filip.

Don't worry Sabi . It happens all the time with this auto correct feature :) .
Filipino actually sounded a lot younger and it made me laugh too :)

[Sabihusmani]

lolz. Thanks!

[Sabihusmani]

104326 - I just did this test on my water right now. I will also leave the water overnight for 24 hours and test again to see what the parameters are. 104327

[Neptune]

The fish will get used to traffic once settled in. I practically had to tip toe passed tank when I first got them. The tank is in a very high traffic area in my kitchen. Now we walk right by, vacuum etc with no issues. My 5 year old sprints passed the tank all the time and doesn't even phase them

yep, I don't have a 5 year old any more, but the dog tears by a lot!
My discus now see movement and its feeding time and they race to the front glass.

[adrian31@outlook.com]

Don't worry Sabi . It happens all the time with this auto correct feature :) .
Filipino actually sounded a lot younger and it made me laugh too :)

lol Filip:)

[Sabihusmani]

Hi guys so here are the test results after the 24 hours aging water with air stone. Nitrate is 20ppm,nitrite is 0ppm, hardness is 300ppm,chlorine is 0, alkalinity is 40ppm, pH is 8.4. So I need to bring down the ph and work on improving the others. What are the ideal parameters for discus fish?