Matt's First Discus - 55gal adventure!

[Bizarro252]

Hello! Starting this up now so I can remember to have a place to post progress pics *** my fish grow out and my setup changes.

Below is a link to a lot of the starting details of this setup, but in short the plan is:
55gal standard tank
2-3x sponge filters + AC50 HOB with sponge and BioHome
6x 3" Discus from Discus Hans (waiting for cycle to complete before hitting that order button!!!)
Lots and Lots of varied food - and LOTS of it, I want to help these babies grow!

Pic of the setup so far, I seeded the tank with a sponge from my Mbuna tank and some media (along with new media) in the AC50, dosed with 1ppm ammonia and keeping an eye on it at this point.
Parameters:
Tap Water:
PH: 8.4
GH: 8
KH: 10
Nitrates: 5-10
Tank set to 83F for now.

Looking forward to spending some time around here :)


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And Cichlid 75 Setup :)

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[Jenene]

Looking great Matt! I think I am looking forward to see what you end up with in there as much as you are!

Love the cichlid tank! Gorgeous.

You will need a bigger roll of paper towels with all the water changes! ;)

Welcome again and enjoy the journey!

[Bizarro252]

HA! I used to use a hand towel, found out recently I needed to upgrade to a full towel... I had the line I was pumping aged water to the Cichlid tank pull out - ALL over the place. I was right there and it was only for a second but man, that pump sure pumps water faster when its going to the floor! :P

Thanks! Very excited too :) I dosed back up to 1ppm ammonia last night before bed, checked it this morning an no change, we will see how it looks tonight... I am still not 100% sure what amount it needs to consume to be 'ready' for the fish, but this seems like a good place to start...

[Jenene]

Oh we all have our flood stories! My worst one was a few months ago when I was actually working on the tank and I heard my husband yelling. He was in his "man cave" watching a game his giant new television as water was pouring through the ceiling. The sump was overflowing right under the tank and I had no idea. uh oh....

I started cycling with 4 ppm and that completely overwhelmed the system and stalled my progress. The great guys here got me back on track with lowering it to 2 ppm and getting some of the nitrates out with a water change and Bingo, I was back in business. So less is more in the beginning and you can always ramp it up as the bacteria starts to catch up. Sounds to me you are well on your way! :)

[Bizarro252]

Nice, good to hear, I had heard that 4 would be a bit to high. The first dose to 1ppm went down to between 0 and 0.25 in 24 hours, I was hoping to see faster results this second round. I had read these bacteria will reproduce and double every 20 hours or so so it SHOULD start dealing with it faster. Still weirded out that I never saw Nitrites though, apparently that colony is stronger in the media I moved :P I am seeing Nitrates increase though, so I know the ammonia isnt just floating out of the tank by magic! :D

[Bizarro252]

Added two more sponge filters (Hydor IV Pros) and dumped in a bottle of Tim's Bacteria I overnighted because I am crazy :P
Ammonia is now dropping from 1ppm to 0.25 in about 10 hours (vs 30 on day 1). I keep dosing daily, Nitrite has remained at 0, never seen it jump (weird, but maybe I brought over more of those bacteria in the media...), Nitrate up at 80ppm last night (5-10 at tap) - so its cycled, just keep dosing to grow the colony and get it ready for the load :)

Discus are ORDERED, they will arrive Friday and I have taken the day off of work - going to be a great weekend.

Last thing is to convince myself that 90+% of you are right and I should just temp acclimate and plop and drop these guys in (PH is 8.3 is why I am concerned) but the more I read and look around the more people I find having success, still have not come across anyone that had terrible results, even with 8+ PH.

I have foods in already to get them going, waiting on some worms and worm/beef heart chow from California Blackworm Co. - going to fast them at least until the following morning after they arrive, that seems to be a pretty standard suggestion.

Here is what I got - pictures incoming Saturday when I will actually turn the lights back on :)
(one each)

Checkerboard Discus 3"
Leopard SnakeSkin 3"
Red Scribbelt Discus Fish 3+ Inch
Marlboro Red Discus Fish 3+ Inch
Brillant Turquoise Discus Fish 3+ inch
Cobalt Discus Fish 3+ Inch

[Jenene]

Can't wait to see them Matt! After acclimating for a day it is good to feed them very lightly at first so they don't over eat and get bloat. It is a good idea to soak the pellets (if you use them) in aquarium water to let them expand outside the fish instead of the other way around! :)

So exciting!!!

[Bizarro252]

Thank you Jenene!

Update:
I removed the seeded sponge filter (left the seeded ceramic in the HOB) just to see if the rest of the filters were ready for a load. NOPE! Ammonia only dropped half as much as it has been last night and it was the first time I have seen Nitrite this whole time (even though Jenene may disagree I saw purple!! lol) I of course put that sponge back and held off dosing this am. Assuming that everything will be zero when I get home, then its time for a HUGE water change (last I check Nitrates were over 60) to get the tank ready for the fish which will be here before 10:30am TOMORROW!!!!!!!!! WHOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

Edit:
Just noticing I didnt paste the link in the OP I talked about... uhg..

http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?128461-Hello-Everyone!-Excited-Newbie-to-Discus-Here!

[Bizarro252]

Update!
They are here! I asked Hans specifically about the acclimation and gave him my water params - he suggested a float (if bags were not warm, but they were) and adding some water, and let them sit for 10-15min. I liked this idea but modified it slightly by adding some Prime. Glad I did too, the bags water read 0.5ppm ammonia (I actually figure it would be higher, but they were only in their bags for 10-12 hours).
Of course they are already out and about exploring their new home :)

Pics! Only room lights on for now, better ones will come later :)

Did a water change last night (90%) to get Nitrates down, they were still over 20 this am (I added 0.5ml of ammonia last night to keep the filters BB growing strong) so I did ANOTHER haha, good thing I am getting used to water changes right away :P Paramaters look good, 0/0/15 right now, will do another change after they settle in I think...I have 5-10 nitrate at the tap so thats about at low as I am going to be able to maintain it.

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[Jenene]

Just gorgeous Matt! Can't wait to watch them grow under your care!

So glad they made it there safe and sound! ;)

[cjvdhx]

Good choice with the stendkers I had a great experience in dealing and meeting with Hans as he's somewhat local 1 1/2 drive away. I purchased (5) 4" discus from him and they are beautiful.

[Bizarro252]

Good choice with the stendkers I had a great experience in dealing and meeting with Hans as he's somewhat local 1 1/2 drive away. I purchased (5) 4" discus from him and they are beautiful.

Thanks! I am very happy with them :)

Got a pretty good pic of the Brilliant...or the Sribbled, not sure which is which yet...so uploading a second pic with them both in it lol
Top photo is from the day I got them, the second is from after about 3 days - colors are coming back :)

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[Bizarro252]

Well, they certainly are growing!! SOOO happy with these guys, they are getting more and more beautiful by the day!!
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And a really great comparison on their color and size in just about a months time!!!


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[EJ_B]

Fish look great. What is the picture in the background. Starry Night with a Subie?

[Bizarro252]

Fish look great. What is the picture in the background. Starry Night with a Subie?

Yes indeed :) I had an STi hatch for a while and found that poster on line - now I just moved it to behind the tank, and no need for a background on the tank itself :P

[Bizarro252]

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[Jenene]

Wow! Great pics Matt! It is crazy how fast they are growing and their colors are looking great! Nice work my friend! You earned every millimeter! Your water is not making it easy on you and you have triumphed��

[Bizarro252]

Thanks! The checkerboard seems to be getting more pattern by the week! They have grown at least an inch in about a month, its crazy!

[Bizarro252]

Updates!!


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