Morgan's Discus adventure

[wsdiscus]

After many years out of the fish keeping hobby i have decided to start my own discus aquarium. After reading and studying for over 2 months, here chronicles my new adventure:

7/19/17
filled my new 75 gallon aquarium with water..using Fluval 406 filter, 2 Eheim heaters, and an inch of Caribsea Aquarium sand and some artificial plants.
added 2 pieces of driftwood

7/23/17
added 6 temporary tenants to my tank...3 zebra danios and 3 dalmation molly's
a plan is in place to re-home these guys when i am ready to add 6 adult discus and some Sterbai Corycats.

[Ryan925]

Welcome Morgan look forward to seeing your journey. Hope we all can be of help.

Do you know what strains you will getting and where from?

[Jenene]

Yay! The Journal Journey has begun! First request- pictures please!!!

I am subscribed and will be following your progress. It is really fun to watch a new tank go up and get stocked. It brings back the excitement and I can live vicariously through it.

Thanks for that Morgan! ;)

[White Worm]

Why the temporary tenants? I'm going to assume to get the filter started but have you looked into fish-less cycle?

[Ryan925]

Why the temporary tenants? I'm going to assume to get the filter started but have you looked into fish-less cycle?

+1

Those tiny little fish won't do much to establish BB to handle the bioload of the discus. Definitely plan on doing large daily wcs until the filter fully cycles. I'm also a big fan of stability as a supplement

[wsdiscus]

Not sure yet
I want a mix of colors to make a nice display
I'm not yet decided on who I will get them from

[wsdiscus]

Default Re: Morgan's Discus adventure
Not sure yet
I want a mix of colors to make a nice display
I'm not yet decided on who I will get them from

[wsdiscus]

Yes exactly
I have a friend with a new community tank they will go to
They are not jump starting my bioload
They are just too small
I use Prime now
What will Stability help me with?
Thanks for contributing!

[wsdiscus]

Thanks Jenene
You have already been a tremendous help
I'm happy to have your advice and interest!!
Morgan

[wsdiscus]

You already have Ryan😊

[wsdiscus]

I have read some about fish less cycling but not tried it
Carefully monitoring and frequent water changes when introducing the discus (after having the tank for 6 weeks)

[Ryan925]

Yes exactly
I have a friend with a new community tank they will go to
They are not jump starting my bioload
They are just too small
I use Prime now
What will Stability help me with?
Thanks for contributing!

I have found stability to hold true to its claims and speed up the cycle process. Daily wcs of 80-90% will be a mist for you until the tank is cycled. Dosing stability can cut that long cycle period down

[wsdiscus]

111905

[wsdiscus]

Hi Mike,

Do you have a good resource for the fishless cycle
I'm confused by all the different advice and opinions

Thanks,Morgan

[Ryan925]

Hi Mike,

Do you have a good resource for the fishless cycle
I'm confused by all the different advice and opinions

Thanks,Morgan

I believe there is a sticky somewhere here for it

[EJ_B]

Hi Mike,

Do you have a good resource for the fishless cycle
I'm confused by all the different advice and opinions

Thanks,Morgan

http://www.drtimsaquatics.com/resources/fishless-cycling

[White Worm]

http://www.drtimsaquatics.com/resources/fishless-cycling

Good Link.

[White Worm]

111905

Nice looking tank.

[wsdiscus]

Thanks

[Ryan925]

Nice looking tank.

+1

[White Worm]

Thanks

A blue background would hide the equipment/hoses and really make it pop!

[Jenene]

Love it Morgan! Beautiful set up. Can't wait to see some discus in there.

[wsdiscus]

Yep I have a background just haven't put it on yet

[wsdiscus]

Me either
Lots of planning and preparing and I'm ready
Except I'm afraid to cycle with discus in tank

[DJW]

You could always remove the tankmates to a small tank and start feeding ammonia to the 75g and build up the filter to handle a group of discus. Then you can have some quarantine.

[wsdiscus]

You read my mind😊

[wsdiscus]

Ok, my patience is wearing and i have decided to start a fishless cycle on my 75 gal discus tank......the 6 small inhabitants just is not enough bioload to make a difference after a month of waiting. I am transfering these guys to a new 20gal L today and starting the cycle on the discus tank tonight
I don't want to cycle this tank with my discus.....wish me luck
anybody have suggestions on the fishless cycle i would love to hear it.

[Jenene]

Good luck Morgan. The only issue I had is I stalled the cycle by letting the nitrites get too high. Someone here recommended water changes and to not dose too much ammonia at once. I think the key is to keep it between 2 and 4ppm. It might help to just do a search here using the keywords and you can learn about other people's experiences with it.

[EJ_B]

Ok, my patience is wearing and i have decided to start a fishless cycle on my 75 gal discus tank......the 6 small inhabitants just is not enough bioload to make a difference after a month of waiting. I am transfering these guys to a new 20gal L today and starting the cycle on the discus tank tonight
I don't want to cycle this tank with my discus.....wish me luck
anybody have suggestions on the fishless cycle i would love to hear it.

I posted a link to Dr Tim's Aquatics at the top of this page. I think there is some good info there. I would trust this over some random kid on YouTube or facebook. I have used his nitrifiying bacteria and have found that it does work quite well.

[wsdiscus]

I posted a link to Dr Tim's Aquatics at the top of this page. I think there is some good info there. I would trust this over some random kid on YouTube or facebook. I have used his nitrifiying bacteria and have found that it does work quite well.

Yes I read the Dr Tim's info and another one I found from a good source which were very helpful
Yeah there are plenty kids that love posting YouTube videos while pretending to be experts but hey they're just having fun sharing the hobby

[AquaWoman]

Sounds like you're off to a good start! Do you have any particular Discus strains in mind? I can definitely recommend Hans Discus. But I bet all of the vendors associated with SD are great. No doubt, If they weren't they wouldn't be here.
Love the pics!

[gimmpylady]

Ok, my patience is wearing and i have decided to start a fishless cycle on my 75 gal discus tank......the 6 small inhabitants just is not enough bioload to make a difference after a month of waiting. I am transfering these guys to a new 20gal L today and starting the cycle on the discus tank tonight
I don't want to cycle this tank with my discus.....wish me luck
anybody have suggestions on the fishless cycle i would love to hear it.
I have had great luck with Dr. Tims One and Only, Check him out on youtube. Love your tank !!

[wsdiscus]

ok fishless cycle started last evening and i got the ammonia level way too high...did 50% water change and is still high but better...i wondering if i should attempt another water change today or just wait it out ...the ammonia tested at 4ppm plus and i think is still higher than 4ppm. anyone have thoughts on this situation?

[DJW]

Are you using the existing filter that was already (mostly?) established? The main thing is to have the ammonia where it is easy to measure changes, from 1-4ppm. I wouldn't want it higher than 4. WCs are easy in a fishless tank, temp is less important and no ageing needed.

[wsdiscus]

Yes I'm using same filter system
I'll do another water change so the ammonia is in a "measurable " range

[wsdiscus]

Fishless cycle day 2
still high ammonia today (over 4ppm) so we are doing a 90% water change
water testing 2ppm after the water change so I think everything is ok for now
getting some good experience with the water changes and a feel for water chemistry that will help me later when it counts with the discus in house

[Jenene]

Good attitude Morgan! It took me a long time practicing water changes before me and my floors could remain dry. I was always popping hoses out of the tank or some other disaster. Practice helps before you are dealing with livestock in there.
Keep on keeping on. You will get there.

[wsdiscus]

Thanks for your encouragement Jenene!!!
You're awesome 😊

[Jenene]

Thanks for your encouragement Jenene!!!
You're awesome ��

Ha ha! You are very welcome Morgan. Just calling it as I see it. From the start you have been asking great questions, practiced much patience and are more willing to do the work before jumping in. When you are ready for your discus, they will have the best chance to not just survive but to thrive and will reward you for all your preparation many times over. ;)

[wsdiscus]

Day 6 of fishless cycling
Holding steady at 4 ppm ammonia
Adding Stability daily waiting on ammonia level to drop

[Jenene]

Any nitrites at all yet?

[wsdiscus]

Haven't tested for nitrites
I was waiting til ammonia is dropping
I'll test nitrites tonight though

[Jenene]

Haven't tested for nitrites
I was waiting til ammonia is dropping
I'll test nitrites tonight though

Good thing to know..Keep is posted....

[wsdiscus]

Day 7 of fishless cycling
Something is happening!
Ammonia was 4ppm and nitrites were 0 last night
today ammonia has dropped to 2ppm and nitrites have soared to 5ppm

[Neptune]

Day 7 of fishless cycling
Something is happening!
Ammonia was 4ppm and nitrites were 0 last night
today ammonia has dropped to 2ppm and nitrites have soared to 5ppm

you are on your way!!! Start testing for nitrate soon.

[wsdiscus]

Day 7 of fishless cycling
Something is happening!
Ammonia was 4ppm and nitrites were 0 last night
today ammonia has dropped to 2ppm and nitrites have soared to 5ppm

[Jenene]

Day 7 of fishless cycling
Something is happening!
Ammonia was 4ppm and nitrites were 0 last night
today ammonia has dropped to 2ppm and nitrites have soared to 5ppm

Oh cool! You are on your way. Just so you don't get too anxious, the Nitrite to Nitrate part takes a bit longer than the first stage. It can get really frustrating seeing the Nitrites staying high but then it will drop to zero almost over night. if they get too high you may want to do a little water change so the cycle doesn't stall. i think mine were up really high for a long time and another member suggested I lower them and boom! That got it rolling along again. Just give it some time first and see what happens though.

[wsdiscus]

Day 8 of fishless cycling

Ammonia has dropped to 1-2 ppm , i am adding ammonia to boost it back up
Nitrites are 5ppm
first test for Nitrates today reading is 40ppm+

[Jenene]

Day 8 of fishless cycling

Ammonia has dropped to 1-2 ppm , i am adding ammonia to boost it back up
Nitrites are 5ppm
first test for Nitrates today reading is 40ppm+

You are moving along really fast- nicely done Morgan!

[wsdiscus]

Day 9 of fishless cycling

Ammonia is again 4 ppm after another boost of ammonia

[wsdiscus]

Day 10 of fishless cycling

Ammonia 2 ppm
Nitrites 2 ppm
Nitrates 10 ppm

[wsdiscus]

After about 12-13 days tank is fully cycled and ammo,nitrites,nitrates are zero
pH fell but stabilized at 6.6

[Jenene]

Nicely done Morgan! Will you need to age your water for changes? I can't remember what your Ph is coming out of your tap.

[DJW]

Time to get some fish. 12 days isn't bad, the filter must have had a good head start.