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View Full Version : New to the family need alot of help.Please



Yamyort
04-09-2017, 02:03 PM
Hello I'm Troy from Virginia.First thanks so much for having me. I'm brand new to simply discus and to fish tanks in general.I thought I was smart jumped on the Web did a ton of research and decided there was no fish I wanted other then the majestic discus.So with permission from the boss (My beautiful wife) I headed out bought a 73 gallon bow front,an emperor 400 filter,a 200 watt heater with a gravel substrate and 1 piece of driftwood and a led light strip .Set it all up cycled it for 2 weeks.Then went and bought 7 candy cane tetras and 3 plants and 1 pleco.Ran it for 2 more weeks checking all levels and doing 20% water changes every other day.I so wish I would have found yall first because the next step I'm sure will make yall cringe.I went from fish store to fish store buying random discus adding them at different times.I have 5 in total 4 under 2 inches 1 about 4.My whole family quickly fell in LOVE with them.Some how they are doing well after reading some of the horror stories on juvenile discus.But I want them not to do well but to live long happy healthy lives so I beg of yall to get me in order.I read some of the planted/none planted threads on here and it kinda scares me the passionate debate yall have.I'm going to list my problems/questions any help will be taken serious and with great thanks.

1.Is 3 plants a planted tank?
2.My levels stay around amm .5,ph 7,nitrate 0,nitrite 0. I have been doing every other day 50% water change and I can not get the amm.to budge and I'm sure this is my biggest enemy
3. I keep my temperature around 84.Is heater placement critical? see them in many places
4.I feed them frozen blood worms and live black worms and flakes.Is one better then another?
5.Should I purchase a 2nd emperor 400?
6.Have my led set to 16 hours on 8 hours off good or bad?
7.I bought sand after hearing about how bad gravel is.What's the safest way to get the gravel out and lite sand in.I was gonna buy a new bucket pump my water in it catch my fish place them in bucket and drain tank almost all the way get gravel out put down sand refill.Is that the proper way?
8.I know there's a ton more I need to ask but I think this is a good start

Kyla
04-09-2017, 04:16 PM
im def on the non-planted side of the debate. in fact im a bare-bottom tank lover! thats what i would recommend at this stage because u r new to discus and they r the easiest to maintain.

1) remove fish to bucket with heater
2) keep filter material wet
3) remove all water and gravel, wipe down tank, refill with water of same temp and dechlorinate
4) add filter back to tank
5) add fish back to tank

if u really want to keep the plants, i'd recommend to put them in little pots. u can always add sand later once ur little guys have some time to grow. a lot of ppl paint the undersides of their tanks a light colour if they go with BB.

light - 16 hrs a day is prob gonna lead to algae issues. i only run mine 6-8hrs (i have no plants, but my plants did well with 8hrs of light when i did have them)

nitrate - i suspect u need to retest this, all tanks have some amount of nitrate if the cycle is complete (is the cycle complete?) if u r using the api liquid test u may need to really bang and shake the liquid bottles to get a proper reading.

ammonia - does ur tap water have ammonia straight from the faucet? there should be no ammonia if ur tank is cycled. its possibl uneaten food ia rotting and maybe ur filter cant handle the bioload and u do need more filtration... OR ur tank is still cycling... removing the gravel should help with cleanliness, but removing gravel can also remove some of your beneficial bacteria which may be living on the gravel. if u remove the gravel u may need to increase water changes while the removed BB grows back elsewhere (eg in the filter). make sure u test ur water regularily for a while if u remove the gravel.

food - more variety is great. my discus love freeze dried black worms the best. be aware live food does carry risks, tho some ppl swear by it. i cant feed frozen bloodworm anymore myself because im allergic to it.

heater - placement is ok. i like to lay mine across the bottom so i can wc very low without exposing it, plus i feel there is a more even heat distribution but its just my preference.

and welcome to the forum! excited to see pics of ur tank as it evolves

Yamyort
04-09-2017, 04:52 PM
Yes every time I check nitrates it's zero.Maybe I don't have it cycled correct.Well water has a zero amm reading.When I been doing water changes I use a python straight to the faucet.I drain half and refill adding nothing but water.I should be adding dechlorinate every time I do the change?And I so appreciate your help and knowledge thanks

Neptune
04-09-2017, 05:02 PM
Yes every time I check nitrates it's zero.Maybe I don't have it cycled correct.Well water has a zero amm reading.When I been doing water changes I use a python straight to the faucet.I drain half and refill adding nothing but water.I should be adding dechlorinate every time I do the change?And I so appreciate your help and knowledge thanks

If you have water with chlorine added you must add dechlorinter in the proper amount with every water change. If it's well water, it does not have chlorine and dechlorinator is not really necessary.

If you are using the API test for nitrate you LITERALLY have to shake the bottle for 30 seconds to get a correct reading. If you don't it will read 0.

Yamyort
04-09-2017, 05:14 PM
It is api and I did what you said and now I'm getting a 5.0.Is that better?Thanks Kyla and Neptune

Kyla
04-09-2017, 06:06 PM
is ur filter the type which uses those disposable filter inserts, flat cartridges which slide into grooves and get replaced periodically?

Yamyort
04-09-2017, 06:11 PM
Yes they are

Kyla
04-09-2017, 06:25 PM
i have always preferred the hang-on-back filters which use reusable filter material, eg the aquaclear filters. i feel they provide a better opportunity for growth of beneficial bacteria (both on their sponges and via other bags of bio media u can add). my main concern with those disposable cartridges is that when u toss them u also toss any BB they harbour (and they will contain lots of BB). this can set a tank's cycle back a little every time the filter is cleaned, even if there r 2 cartridges and they are changed on a rotating cycle. it is possible this could lead to small ammonia spikes while the BB recover.

PLUS my biggest pet peeve with these filters is that they are literally designed to force aquarists to spend $ buying replacement cartridges... this is a total money grab by the company IMO. esp when there are other (better designed) filters which do not require constant replacement of media and which provide more consistent biological filtration. eg with the aquaclears u just rinse ur sponges in a bucket of tank water and plop them right back in the filter... all the gunk washes away but the BB remains. im not saying this is def the cause of ur ammonia issue but it would be on my suspect list and id recommend u add an aquaclear style instead of an emperor if u add a second filter.

Yamyort
04-12-2017, 07:19 PM
OK thanks alot for the help so far.Got all the rocks out.Have a BB now don't love the look but if it's best for the fish I can deal with it.Ammonia level is dropping to near zero now thank goodness.But new problem I am doing every other day 50% water changes but seems to keep the water cloudy.I can't get it to clear up every time I change the water seems to get worse.Any pointers?Also ordered the aqua clear 110 that Kyla suggested will be hooked up tomorrow along with the emperor 400.Thanks

MendoMan
04-12-2017, 07:33 PM
Cloudy water is very common in a new tank. I wouldn't worry to much about it. As long as you have zero ammonia and nitrites you'll be okay.

Ryan925
04-12-2017, 08:51 PM
OK thanks alot for the help so far.Got all the rocks out.Have a BB now don't love the look but if it's best for the fish I can deal with it.Ammonia level is dropping to near zero now thank goodness.But new problem I am doing every other day 50% water changes but seems to keep the water cloudy.I can't get it to clear up every time I change the water seems to get worse.Any pointers?Also ordered the aqua clear 110 that Kyla suggested will be hooked up tomorrow along with the emperor 400.Thanks

Those I fish are very small. You will be very happy you made those changes several months down the road when you see their growth.

Kyla
04-12-2017, 09:54 PM
awesome! big changes! dont worry, u can add sand back to the tank when they are older, so the BB doesnt have to be forever.

just keep changing water daily and keep an eye on ur water parameters, the cloudiness may be because u removed the gravel. i wouldnt toss out ur filter cartridges for a while - just rinse the cartridges gently under a bucket of tank water to get the gunk off and put them back in the filter. only rinse one of them at a time to save BB during this transition. BB lives on the surfaces of the cartridges so they should not be too affected by rinsing out the cartridges. when ur new filter comes run both filters on the tank simultaneously. i think u will really like the aquaclear! sometimes the aquaclears come with baggies of carbon, but i dont bother adding carbon to my tanks, just sponges and biomedia is all u need.

Yamyort
04-25-2017, 08:20 PM
Me again have both filters going strong and doing daily 50% water changes.I have 5 potted plants and the BB of course.It's been 3 or 4 weeks since removing the gravel and still have cloudy water.Hoping it's going away on its own havnt added any chemicals.Put up a few pics for yall to see.Wait the cloud out is the correct move still??And all my levels are good btw (finally).Plan on getting with Kenny on his next shipment but want everything perfect.Thanks as always 109206

Yamyort
04-25-2017, 08:21 PM
109207

Neptune
04-25-2017, 08:28 PM
I find it interesting that you are doing 50% WC daily and still have cloudy water. Something in the tank is causing it and I'd guess about the only thing it could be is that hunk of wood.

Yamyort
05-04-2017, 07:56 PM
Took out the hunk of wood still cloudy and signs of algee.Running my lights around 8 hours a day now.Hoping things will clear up.I'm curious if I should buy a canister or a sump system.Looking for crystal clear water and something quieter. But know nothing about either.Any pointers,tips,recommendations?Thanks

Ryan925
05-04-2017, 10:52 PM
Took out the hunk of wood still cloudy and signs of algee.Running my lights around 8 hours a day now.Hoping things will clear up.I'm curious if I should buy a canister or a sump system.Looking for crystal clear water and something quieter. But know nothing about either.Any pointers,tips,recommendations?Thanks

My water is always crystal clear with a canister but with that sand I am switching to a sump

Kyla
05-05-2017, 09:52 AM
did u end up getting an aquaclear HOB as well? u could try putting some extra filter floss in one of ur HOBs
to clear up small particles. filter floss clogs fast so it will need to be tossed and replaced regularly, and keep an eye on it to make sure ur HOB isnt going to overflow if it clogs. it would be added in addition to ur regular sponges and bio balls, not instead of them.

xxalanxx
05-12-2017, 11:42 AM
Nice tank. Love the fish and the plant in the last pic.
IMO, I found the seachem purigen is helupful to keep the water crystal clear. You may want to try that. Just my 2 cents

Yamyort
05-13-2017, 11:30 AM
Thank you very much Alan will give it a try

MarkGSmith
05-14-2017, 04:42 AM
If I've had cloudy water in the past I use SymecMicro held onto a powerhead with elastic bands. It clogs quite quickly so would be a pain in your main filter but you'll be amazed how much dirt it collects even from a pristine tank.