How do I set up my first discus tank?

[Carol_Roberts]

Here is how I grow out juvenile discus

Equipment
55 gallon bare bottom tank.
Aqua clear 500 (two internal sponges - one prefilter sponge on the intake)
250 Watt heater and thermometer. Temp 84 degrees
Siphon hose to clean tank
Water storage container (pump and hose optional)

Discus
6 - 10 healthy juvenile discus from a reputable breeder

Care
50% daily water change with aged (dechlorinated, warmed, aerated) tap water.
Wipe down inside of tank with paper towels at least every week.
Rinse prefilter daily, sponges and internal filter once a month.

Food
Feed juveniles 4 - 6 times per day. (Quality flakes and bits, black worms, beefheart) Don't overfeed.

Grow out the juveniles in this tank with no additions. You will have to remove some discus as they grow. These can be sold to other hobbiests or the local fish store. A 55 gallon tank will hold 5 or 6 fully grown discus.

Later, when you get other tanks, especially large show tanks, remember . . . Quarantine all new fish and plants 4 - 6 weeks before adding to your existing stock

[Ardan]

This is great information!
Nice post Carol! I put a sticky on it for now, hope you don't mind. :)

WC's are very important. SO is stability in water parameters.
Check for ammonia, and nitrite often in new tanks. They should not be present or should be kept near 0.

hth

[Smokey]

Excellant post , Carol. keep them coming.

I use a ''dedicated'' foam to wipe down the insides of my tanks. Foam - on - a - stick. Home made , of course!!!

Smokey

[Carol_Roberts]

Hi smokey:
How do you make your homemade sponge on a stick?

[gary1218]

AHHHHHHH, I love the KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) method of raising discus. Simple and to the point Carol :thumbsup:

GARY

[iceskater]

Excellent advice Carol for us newbies Carol.

Smokie I am also interested in your sponge on a stick.

Karen

[BlueTurquoise]

Very sound advice! good job Carol!

Smokey I will have 2 sponge on a sticks, one with bbq sauce the other with tomato and mustard thanks ;D ;D ;D

Chong

[thebaglady]

LOL Chong.

Carol, i always wondered why you use paper towels for the wipedown? Transferring something from one tank to another?? I'm using a dedicated algae scrubber just specific to my discus tank. Isn't that OK? ??? Jen K.

[Smokey]

Take a piece of wooden dowel or what ever; a piece of foam - A/C 300 spongers work well. Stick the dowel into the foam and glue. silicone or even super glue will work .
Actually , mine are held on with a rubber band!!!
Been using the same one now for 5 years.

Works for my tanks.

Smokey

[Carol_Roberts]

A dowell and a rubberband . . . I think I can do that, lol.

I use paper towels because the tan diatoms on the galss cling to it and can be thrown away. Spnges are better for scrubbing the algae spots you can see, but just knock stuff loose rather than remove it from the tank.

[gretag]

Very good information indeed, especially for a beginner like me, what is the size of your 55 gal carol?

thanks
Andy

[Carol_Roberts]

55 gallons tanks are 4 feet long . . I think that is 120 centimeters long and 220 liters?

[Smokey]

Andy / Carol: A Hagen tank is - 36'' L x 18'' W x 20'' High.

Remember - the size of the tank is not a true 55 G. You would have to measure the inside dimensions - to get the actual ''TRUE'' volume.

ex: - a 50 G. tank using 3/8'' glass, with a raised bottom has an interior measurement of - 35.375 x 17.375 x 18.875 has a volume of = 50 gal. us./ 190 Liters. Actual water volume is only 47 us gal. / 177.6 Liters.
{ a tank is never filled to the top ].

Smokey

[Carol_Roberts]

You are right Smokey, 55 gallon tanks come in different dimensions. My favorites are the standard All Glass that are about 48 long x 13 wide x 21 high. Easy to reach into to clean and give enough swimming room

[iceskater]

Carol,

Do you ever have problems with paper towels coming apart and leaving tiny tiny pieces floating in the water. I tried it once and had a mess. I use sponge now, but you are right I just feel like it moves the dirt around

Karen

[Carol_Roberts]

I buy the expensive rinse and reuse paper towels like Viva.

Your husband can leave them in his pockets and they will still be in one piece after a trip through the washer and dryer. It is worth it to me to pay an extra dollar a roll so that I will never have to pick shredded pieces of paper towels out of me washer and dryer again. ;)

[Smokey]

Carol

What thickness glass does AllGlass use on their 55 unit ?
How do they compare in cost compared to Hagen's???

curious

Smokey

[Carol_Roberts]

Is that an engineering question Smokey? Lol, I don't know and I can't find it in my All Glass catalog. I don't own a Hagen, so can't compare the two.

[Smokey]

use a tape measure ... you know that thing with all the asending numbers on it. LOL

Smokey

[xpotato]

Hi all,

I have a 45 gal (36"*12"*24) tank. Is it good enough to keep 6- 8 discus?
Do you know that is Marineland Emperor 400 filter is good enough for my tanks

[Smokey]

Howdey xpotato;
Depending on their current size [ under 3 - 4 inches] sure!!!

I would also suggest adding some large air driven bio-foam filters. Just for the added biological bacteria to settel in. Set them at the opposite end, away from the Emperor. This will increase the water circulation, eliminate any ''dead spots'' and increase the oxygen. Every bit helps.

Just keep on top of the water quality ! W/C W/C W/C. Good rule of thumb - try and keep the " NITRATES ' below 10 ppm. Optimally -below 5 ppm's.
Two to three 5 gallon buckets daily will surfice. lol... Don't over feed. I find feeding them smaller portions 2 to 4 times daily is better than 1 large feeding. Just like us !!!
AND - they associate people with food. A good thing.


NOT like mine --- they know were the frigde is .. and help themselves.

Caught one trying to order a seafood pizza !!!!

Take care

Smokey
Smokey
Discus like clean water.

[xpotato]

Thanks Smokey.

Do you know is a power filter and a sponage filter together are better than one canister filter?

[Carol_Roberts]

I hate canister filters and do not use them any more. Hang on the back power filters like aqua clear (or emperor) and sponge filters are much easier to clean and maintain.

[lesley]

Smokey,

are you sure that was a seafood pizza that was being ordered?? not a beef heart pizza?
;D

I think one of many great things about Discus is their interaction. My son was most upset when ours did not want to take food initially from him. Although he pretends to not care, he is obviously please now that they acknowledge him!!!!

[Carol_Roberts]

Hi Smokey my 55 gallon and 29 gallon tanks have 1/4 inch glass

[Smokey]

Carol - up here in Canada -= the 55's are made of 3/8'' thick glass. I guess we hace to compensate for when the water freezes and expands. hahahaha

[Smokey]

xpotato - it is not so much that one is better than another; YES IT IS !

CLEANING - if access is difficult - cleaning is a pain in the a@s, or gets over looked. NOT GOOD!!!

Aireation - oxygen is necessary for the bacteria to survive. Enclosed [sealed] filters tend to be O2 deprived. AND if they lose power - they can become death "BOMBS".

Capaicty - I am refering to the bio-logical load a filter can carry. CANISTERS may have an advanatage - IF the foams were not full of "GUNK". [see cleaning].

COST - canisters can be expensive[$$$.$$], where as large hang- on filters may be the fraction of the price.

Large submerable foams - very inexpensive, easy to clean, easy to place, supplies O2, etc.

IMPORTANT - try not to ask one filter to do everything. Both mechanical filteration and biological filteration are necessary. Try and set up so both can be incorperated.

MASS - in this case bigger is better. ex; a BIO-TOWER utilizes 120 cubic inches mechanical filteration AND 240 cubic inches bio logical filtration; minimum!

A A/C 500 has only 80 cubic inches of combined mech/bio.
filtration. One foam.

A canister - well if they could be filled with only bio-logical material , ok. Still the aireation situation !

HTH.

Smokey

[Smokey]

Lesley - sounds like the discus are "TRUSTING" your son. Let him interact with them; NO MILK , PLEASE. LOL

Persons learn that trust works both ways. Be nice to them and they will be nice to you. A life Lesson.

They bite me once - ok . They bite me twice ... look out; I'M COMING IN !!! [ or leaving quickly] ha ;D ha.

NOPE - it was definately a sea food pizza - shrimp; plankton, alage, salmon, sprinkled with tetra bits and garlic. Mmmm mmmm good!

Smokey

[Smokey]

Carol; refering back to the post #15; how dare you suggest we men leave stuff in ower pockets.
WELL, maybe the receipts from the last trip to the discus store. But that is besides the point .

That is why we get married in the first place; so the wife can clean us out. Errh, I mean the pockets. I"M in trouble now, aren't I. hahahhaha
O.K. I leaving now, foot is stuck in mouth mumble mumble mumble.

Smokey

[jamesmcsyd]

Just to make a slight correction, and also to add some other common weights

55 US gallons = 208 litres (approx)
29 US gallons = 110 litres (approx)
1 imperial (UK) gallon = approx 1.2 US gallons
1 litre = 0.2641721 US gallons
1 US gallon = 3.7854118 litres

This site is a super converter
http://www.onlineconversion.com/

James

[Luca]

Hey guys, the best way for an approximate tank volume capacity is to simply times the width by height by length. I know this works for cm to litres so i assume it works for inches to gallons. This is a good method if you want to work out what volume you have in a tank that is not entirely full :)

PS James or Lesley, do you have discus you are selling/breeding at the moment? I see you are from Australia and I am from New Zealand, transportation is therefore a lil more viable than from here to America!

Cheers,
Luca.

[jamesmcsyd]

To be honest with you Luca, i've got no idea about exporting to another country, or what importation laws you might have in NZ.

post a question in the general discussion forum at

www.sydneycichlid.com

There is a big importer who operates up in cairns, who ships to any capitals inOZ, but i'm unsure about NZ. In anycase his site is worth a look. I've bought some off him before and he's a good bloke. His range discus on offer are superb.

http://www.users.bigpond.com/donr2/index.html

James

[lesley]

:wave: Hello Luca

I am very new to Discus and do not have any breeding pairs; maybe it would be only fair to warn you that being a discus owner appears to be an obsession ;D

It is good to see more Discus people at this end of the world.

Good luck with your Discus.

[xpotato]

I would like to know that do you ppl use Power head or air pump for your sponge filter?

Which one is better for 55 -75 gal bb tank?

[Carol_Roberts]

Air pump.

I really like hang on the back power filters for grow out tanks. The water column stays much cleaner than with air driven sponge filters

[Smokey]

Yup, go with the air pump. A lot less turbulance. and you get nice water.

Smokey

[jrpatter]

be sure to get one of those flow valves that prevent water from flowing back to your pump, it rarely happens but when it does it can be a real mess.

john

[Smokey]

Good advice - John. A airpump full of water is not good !

Or mount the air pump way above the highest tank.

Smokey

[xpotato]

I have another question?
How can I soft my water? use peat?

[Carol_Roberts]

Two questions . . .
1. How hard is your water now?
2. Why do you want to soften your water?

Peat may soften it a little or a lot depending on the hardness of your water.

Reverse Osmossis removes minerals and softens the water. Juvenile discus need minerals.

[EIHAB83]

Great Infos. Carol, If you write a book about Discus I will be the first to buy
all the best :)

[pauly]

Just a reply for Luca ,
THe importation laws in NZ are very strict and any thing that comes into NZ needs to go though a MAF approved Quarentine facility .There are only a hand full of these in NZ and they are all run by the major wholesale importers Who would rather import the bread and butter fish rather than the more expencive ones . If you can get hold of one of these importers , it will be hard for you to convince them to put you fish though quarintine, as it means only your one little import can be in the quarintine station and it takes over a month for the quarintine period to finish. Ie, they loose time and money. Maybe if we all lobby the wholesalers for better fish we will have beautiful discus like the ones on this site (lucky buggers).
Check out the NZ fish forum at www.fnzas.org.nz ,or www.maf.govt.nz for more info.

Good luck and have fun, Discus are worth it .

[April]

there you go..you found some kiwis pauly.
Pauly is right. very hard to import. you all need to get togeather and breed and swap fish.
or all get togeather and get some in and share the expense of the quarantine period etc. almost every post of all the new zealand guys are all looking for the same thing. how to get nice discus into nz. so....post in the locator section and collect your kiwi buds altogealther and see who has what.

[AquaMan1]

Try making it a planted aquarium I've heard that reallly keeps the discus happy and healthy.

[Carol_Roberts]

I do not reccommend a planted tank to grow out juvenile discus or for a first time discus hobbiest. Learn how to raise discus first. then experimient with discus in a planted tank.

[Lacrosseman]

By aged water........You mean keeping a tank full of dechorlinated, warm, tap water? Why does the water need to be aged? And how long does it have to be aged? Thanks for your time

[Carol_Roberts]

Yes, a tank of warm water the same pH as the discus water.

The reason we agitate or "age" our water is that water under pressure contains CO2. Aigtating or aerating it releases the CO2, stabilizing the pH. This is also why the pH from the tap is generally lower than the pH of the tank water.

Length of time to stabilize the pH varies from place to place. My moderately hard well water (GH 11, pH 7.8) takes about 3 hours of vigorous agitation with a pond pump. It takes more than 48 hours to raise my pH with just an airstone. Other folks with soft ground water from a resevoir may be able to stabilize their pH overnight with just an airstone.

You need a pH kit and to test your water to see how long and what level of agitation it takes at your house. Post your numbers and I can help you guess.

[Lacrosseman]

Thanks Carol! ;D How do I aged the water and what would be a good size container if I got a 55 gallon tank or a 75 gallon tank? ;D Also I see I will need a pond pump because we have almost the same water conditions. Mine being ph 7.6 and hardness 10. Where is a good place to get a reliable but somewhat inexpensive (i am only 14)? Thanks again.

[Carol_Roberts]

The big pond pump I use in my 55 gallon barrels is from Walmart and costs about $60. Maybe others will know of a cheaper pump.

You can age water in any large, round plastic container - like a rubbermaid 35 gallon trash can.

The pump will make water changes much easier as you can pump the water back to the tank.

[Lacrosseman]

Thanks for the info this is a great forum with lots of helpful people. I really like the orange discus in your picture what strain is it?

[Carol_Roberts]

Thank you, that is a pigeonblood. Similiar to a morning glory

[Lacrosseman]

Do you know of the pump model and name I need to start a gather supplies for my first tank. thanks ;D

[Carol_Roberts]

My Walmart only has 3 models of pond pump. Small, medium and large - I pick the large pond pump. It agitates harder and fills the tank quicker. The medium will work, don't get the small.

[Lacrosseman]

Thanks

[Lacrosseman]

My mom is wondering about how much time would it take to do water changes daily? This is a key factor due to the fact I will be taking honor classes and be on the lacrosse team at my high school. Also can discus be kept in a basement if i visit them daily and do water changes and have a light down there on during the day and night. (it is underground, no natural light)? Thanks for your time.

[low]

Hi,

I am new in discus. recently got a tank 24"(L) x 18"(H) x 18"(B). :D

I have 12 juv in it and using 2 filter, one overhead filter to serve as mechnical filter and 1 Eheim 2233 to serve as Bio filter. :P

Is that ok ? ???

Thanks

[Carol_Roberts]

You have a 33 gallon tank with 12 juveniles. Thats fine when they are small. They will out grow your tank pretty soon. Are you planning to get a larger tank or sell them off as they grow?

A mechanical filter means it traps debris - pulls solids like feces and uneaten food into the filter. Do you rinse it out every day or two? If not you should. Every drop of water is cycling thru that filter several times per hour.

A biological filter means it converts ammonia into nitrite and then to nitrate. Do you have a prefilter sponge on the Eheim so that only water and no solids enter the canister?

It's really good to have a group of 12 babies. They eat better and feel more secure. Just pay attention to your water quality (and what is hiding in your filters) and your discus should do just fine. ;D

[low]

Thanks Carol.

I use cotton that normally serve as top filter layer as a prefilter for the Eheim. Eventually, yes will move to a bigger tank.

[Carol_Roberts]

:thumbsup:

[outlawpc]

Smokey stated:

MASS - in this case bigger is better. ex; a BIO-TOWER utilizes 120 cubic inches mechanical filteration AND 240 cubic inches bio logical filtration; minimum!

OK, what is a Bio-Tower?
Who is it made by?

[Anna Piranha]

I am curious about filters powered by air pumps. What is this? Did I misunderstand?

[Carol_Roberts]

Hi Anna:
Are you talking about an air driven sponge filter that sits inside the tank? That's all I can think of .

[bobcat]

???I have
30 gal bare bottom,
emperor 400 bio wheel filter with bio max as media, fluidirizebed sb300.
daily change water 30%

How many discus juveniles can I keep and
Is it the Uv sterilizer is necessery
They all coverted from the gold fish tank so should I do any disinfectious metods and how?

bobcat

[Carol_Roberts]

Hi Bob:
An Emperor 400 is pretty big for a 30 gallon tank.

UV is not necessary

I'd clean the tank really good then feed filter with pure ammonia for a couple of weeks prior to introducing new discus (modified fishless cycle). Many fish dependant parasites should die in that amount of time without fish hosts.

How many juvenile discus can you keep in a 30 gallon tank? Six or eight or twelve if they are small. How many adults can you keep in that size tank? Two. So you either have to get rid of a discus every month or two or buy a 55 gallon in a couple of months to finish growing them out. (your Emperor is just the right size for a 55 gallon)

[bobcat]

Thank you very much. The info are very helpful.
Bob cat

[kevmo]

Hey yall.
I'm new to discuz and i have an existing 55 g. I was wondering if it would be best to drain and refill the tank with rain water or some other type of treated water? The tank has and existing out the back powerfilter at 250ghp, and a 200w heater. I'm in no big rush after all i have kept fish befor for about 4 years, and know that you cannot rush yourself into things with this hobby.

[Carol_Roberts]

Hi Kevmo and welcome to SimplyDiscus :wave:

It's best to use the same water everyday. I bet you don't have access to 20 gallons of rainwater everyday, so I would suggest tap water that has been dechlorinated and agitated to stabilize pH. Most of us use plastic barrels to "age" our water.

You want a heater that can easily maintain 84 degrees and raise the tank to 92+

[ybnormal]

Have I just been lucky? I change about 25% daily right from the tap. I just add a little dechlor. If my fish are growing and doing well, should I start againg the water anyway?

[Carol_Roberts]

Test the pH of your water from the tap. Test the pH of your tank water 24 hours after a water change. Are they the same or very close?

My tap water is pH 6.8. My tanks are pH 7.8+. The difference is because I have a well and there is lots of disolved CO2 in my water. The CO2 is released (offgassed) as the water moves in the tank. A 50% water change would lower the pH to 7.3 in minutes. Too big of a drop for discus.

As I said, if your tap pH is either higher or close to the pH of your tank water you will not have to worry about pH shock.

There are other reasons to store water besides pH swing. Some times cities add extra chlorine or flush the pipes. Every once in a while we read here that someone has lost lots of discus due to unexplained water problems . . . . If you have stored water you can quickly do a water change.

[jpborralho]

Hi

I'm about to create a tank with a friend just for discus,(we never had discus before, just some knowledge about these fishes) we are considering to use a Reverse Osmosis filtering sistem (wich i have to order from US).
I would like to know wich impact that have on the water quality and how often the water changes are needed.

Thanks

???

[Carol_Roberts]

RO removes minerals. Juveniles actually grow better with minerals. Adults will lay eggs in mineral rich water, but the eggs will NOT hatch if the water is too hard (too much minerals), then you would need an RO to removed minerals for the eggs to hatch.

You may need an RO later, but probably not right now. Post the pH and hardness of your water after it has set in a cup on the counter overnight and we can better advise you.

[jpborralho]

Thanks Carol

It's just because i've been worryed about keeeping the water a bit acid (Ph between
6 to 6,5) and i thought that kind of filter would help since the normal water which we get in our house generally tends to be hard (more than 8) and in my experience i found that the water ph naturally rises (maybe because the gravel, rockwork or so) , later on i found some post saying that there is no need to change the ph and the fishes are live and well and breed with a ph of more than 8, to be honest i'm a little confused and i don't know which filter to use.

can you help me out ? ???

Joao Pedro

[Carol_Roberts]

You don't have to keep babies in acid water. my pH is 7.8, GH 12. What is the pH of your water from the tap and from a cup of water that has set on the counter overnight?

What is the pH of the water the discus were raised in?

[jpborralho]

Hi

Well, the water from tap is something around ph 8, which i think i high, i always thougth that discus prefer acid water but looks like isn't 100% wright, anyway you made a good question about the ph of the water where they were grow.
But my question is:
What tipe of filter should i use ?, What filtering media should i use ?, In wich order should i put it ?

Thanks

[Carol_Roberts]

I like a hang on the back filter like an aqua clear 500 for a 55 gallon tank. Here is a link http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=3610&N=2004+113133&in_merc h=1
I put two sponges inside and a prefilter sponge on the outside intake tube as pictured below

[jpborralho]

Thanks Carol ;) that was very helpful, but... uh there is one thing i have been notice in most of the pictures in this forum, this might be a silly question i have to ask :
Is there some reason for the tanks allways have a bare bottom ? i didn't have seen any with gravel or sand in the bottom neither a bottom filter. ???

Thanks in advance

[Haywire]

Here is how I grow out juvenile discus

Equipment

Discus
6 - 10 healthy juvenile discus from a reputable breeder

Care

Food



Hey, no tank mates? cat fish? or anything like that? I keep panda cory's and albino bristlenose's with all my discus.

[Haywire]

JP,

did you also notice that the water was crystal clear? and that the arrow plant had it's roots in the tank?

Bare bottom tanks are super easy and fast to clean. Carol's tank isn't meant for show it's set up for maximum growth of these discus.

I made the mistake of starting with discus in a community tank and then getting small babies because they were cheaper than the adults. Problem is puitting juveniles in tanks with hiding places trains them to hide behind the bushes mentality.

In a bare tank they are conditioned to be free swimmers, bold and generally not easily spooked.

[jpborralho]

Hi

I thought those tanks with no gravel in the bottom and undergravel filter could be related with the water quality or breeding but in my case breeding them isn't my first objective since i don't have where to put them, i just want to give them real good conditions and learn what i can about them and of course try to create a good looking scenario with dark gravel, driftwood and maybe plastic plants.
Since you had mention tank mates, i was considering about put a group of neons (Parcheirodon innesi) from 10 to 20 and 1 or 2 Plecostomus before bring the discus to the tank, but i'm a bit affraid for the neons, what's your oppinion?

[Carol_Roberts]

Neons can't take discus temps.

The only things inside my discus tanks are heaters, filters, discus and water.

You can put adults in graveled, planted showtanks if you must. Generally 2 1/2 inch juveniles will stay 2 1/2 inch juveniles in graveled tanks. They do not grow and develop the colors of discus grown out in bare tanks.

[jpborralho]

Thanks Carol ;)

I've been notice that most people on this forum maybe kept more than one tank, actually i only can have one which i try to keep attractive not only whith fishes that's why i asked about the gravel, of course the more developed the discus can be the more beatiful they are. But i have some kind of problem which is: water changes, i've seen some posts telling about daily water changes (30% of the tank) what this supose to mean, i thaught the water needs to be changed once a week or so, didn't thought its more often
will somebody can help me with this?

[Carol_Roberts]

Discus are different than other tropical fish. They need very clean water to thrive. I do daily water changes of 50% in my discus tanks. You can get by with less water changes if you stock less discus and keep the tank and filters very clean.

[Haywire]

I agree with Carol about the neons, they don't like the heat.

But I also disagree with Carol up to a point. Tank mates that I have/had with mine and yes they can take the heat at 84 are: rummy nose, cardinals, angels, clown loaches, rams, peacock gudgens, panda cories, albino brisltenose's, a royal pleco, some guppies, sailfin plecos (up to 6" after that they are gone).

JP, if you want a show tank you'll need to get mature discus. juveniles will be constantly hiding and lookin insecure in tanks with places to hide. Keep the tank simple and easy to clean, that's the key.

[sstainback]

This forum is great. Thanks to everyone for making this information available.

Carol ( and others ) -
Regarding water changes... How many tanks do you have and how do you do the water changes on multiple tanks quickly?
Are you syphoning off of the bottom to clean up debris each time or are you just taking the water from mid-tank and letting the filters take care of debris?
It looks like at least one of you tanks is in the kitchen. Do you have a permanent water change setup or are you pulling syphon hoses and barrels of water around?
Making the water change process easy has been my biggest challenge.

Thanks,
Steve

[Carol_Roberts]

Hi Steve:
I don't have a nice compact fishroom set up. Instead my tanks are scattered throughout the house. One in the kitchen, one in the livingroom, one is the master bathroom and 4 in the master bedroom.

I have a 55 gallon storage barrel in the kitchen with a pump and hose. The kitchen tank has it's own siphon hose too (kept under the kitchen sink).

The master bath has three 55 gallon storage barrels (one barrel is an RO/tap mix for breeding). Each barrel has it's own pump and hose.

The bathroom tank has it's own siphon hose and the 4 bedroom tanks share two siphon hoses.

It take me about an hour to "do" the tanks each night.

I siphon all visible debris everyday. I especially don't want food and feces to rot inside the filter. I wipe down the inside glass of the tanks as needed. I have several siphon hoses going at once and then begin filling several tanks at once. By the time the last tank is clean it's time to start refilling the storage barrels. The trick is to keep the tanks and storage barrels from overflowing :P No answering questions on Simply or talking on the phone.

The livingroom tank has it's own 50 foot siphon hose that I also use to refill from the kitchen tap. That tank is full of Africans and they don't care if the pH swings a bit from their twice weekly 25% water changes.

Multiple siphon hoses and water pumps make the job faster and help to keep cross contamination to a minimum.

[Haywire]

5 tanks set up, my old 20 seperate from the main it's got an orange cockatoo pair I got from Jim Brown's estate,

A 25 quarantine tank, with a pair (blue panda and marlborough :o) with a juvenile pigeon who's a complete piggy :bounce2:

On my central system I have a 25 with a breeding pair of blue angels
50 comunity tank with rams, 50 with juvenile discus and 4 empty 25's, ultimatly all 25's and 50's and my 20 will be on the central once I get a few more heaters for the sump, and a good pump.

I clean the debris daily off the bottom, that's about 20% and twice a week I pump my sump and one tank down to total about 50%.

My refills are easy, I add water to my sump and the distribution system balances the tank levels :)

[Duffer]

I have recently started to set up a 110 gal tank in my office at work. I have already put gravel in the tank and am trying to get the water to cycle and what not.

I have as much time as I want to set this up, so I am in no hurry to rush this. I want to make sure I do it right.

So far all I have is a canister filter to circulate the water. I am waiting on heater, plants, certainly the fish, and any other accoutrements that I will need until I know for sure what I will need and WHY.

At any rate, from what I have read so far, I am already shooting myself in the foot. Should I take the tank down to nothing and start over with a bare bottom or leave it as it is without plants and hiding places?

OR, should I go ahead and let this tank get set up by getting some plants started and rasing the juveniles at home and them bringing them in to the office when they have matured?

OR, go about it some completely different way?

thanks.

josh

[Carol_Roberts]

Is this tank in your own private office or in a shared space (perhaps a reception area?) If you feel you must do plants and gravel I would suggest buying adults. Especially if you will not be able to do daily water changes.

If you want to grow out juveniles get rid of the gravel.

[Duffer]

Well, it is in a reception area, but, it is in a cabinet shop show room, not exactly heavy traffic.

I would also like to raise them myself.

So do you think it would be o.k. to raise them in my house in a bare tank? or would it be better to take the tank in the office down to bare bottom until the discus have matured enough? (I would be able to do daily water changes without any problem.)

[Carol_Roberts]

Raise them at your house and take them to the office tank when they are done growing. IN the meantime you can put a large school of cardinals in the office tank after it is fully cycled and you have the plant stuff all under control

[Duffer]

All right then. ;D thank you for your help

[Milleruszk]

:D

Boy this site is great! I feel very lucky to have stumbled upon it! I am thinking of getting back into fish again. I sold my tanks and moved up the food chain (birds) about 13 years ago. I currently raise American Singer canaries and some finches. I always had at least 1 fish tank my entire life. I'm 54 (looks old when you see it in print). The last tank I had set up was a 55 gal with mbunas in it. Anyway, I am going to get another 55 gal and put it in my aviary. Yeah I know, it won't be long before I have at least 2 tanks. That's OK, I have the room. The humidity from the tanks will help the canary eggs hatch. I found the info about the filters and tank setups priceless. Thanks alot. I will post again when I get my tank and am looking for Discus stock.
Tom

[outlawpc]

Milleruszk. . . sounds a lot like me, but with larger parrots.

Give this some thought since you have the room. . . go big. . . how about a 125 AGA in oak. First class all the way. Hey you deserve it, you made it to a ripe old age and this may be your last tank.

You will find you can keep more discus, have better water quality (assuming you will adhear to frequent water changes) and have a tank that not only you will ooh and aah over, but so will anyone else who sees it :-)

[Milleruszk]

Jim,

The 125 or 150 gallon will be my second tank! I always wanted a "big" tank. I have a spot for it in the aviary. I have the 6' of space. You are right.........you never know what tank will be your last! And as you pointed out .........I am getting older by the minute. LOL. I think I will just move into my basement. Between the birds and the fish, I might never come above ground. I always remind my wife that she is a very lucky woman.........she always knows where I am!

Tom

[outlawpc]

. . . that was the same thing my wife said :-)

[Haywire]

Hey don't forget that 125's are availailble in 4' tanks too, a lot more depth and height, plus now I've seen they have the 30" tall tanks.

[Carol_Roberts]

Unless you are a professional basketball player the deep and tall tanks are very difficult to clean ;)

[marcw]

Hi all!

I'm new here, and am in the process of setting up my first tank, BUT, things are slightly different 'cause I discovered this site about a week too late! And now my tank is at the stage where I want to add some fish.

In hindsight, I would've done things a bit differently, but a VERY strict budget means this is where I'm at, and I can't go backwards. :(

I have a tank that holds about 38 gallons, and it has gravel and a good selection of plants and driftwood. It also has 10 neon tetras, and 3 small bristlenose cats.

My filter is a Millennium 2000 (158 gallons/hour) which has a high surface area plate for the bacteria to colonise, and a combination mechanical/chemical cartridge. I've taken this combination cartridge out, and have replaced it with a bag of peat moss.

The tank has been cycled, and 3 x 2.5 inch discus were added, with the plan to add 2 more when the dealer got 'em in. But aggresiveness between the 3 have meant I've returned them to the dealer until the remaining 2 are in stock, when I'll get the 5 and introduce them all at once.

So, now's the time to back out if the going's going to get too expensive for me - or to get fully grown discus instead. (a smaller number, of course, because I have no more money to spend). Advice here seems to indicate that the small fish will not grow in the planted tank.

Other downsides I see with my set-up is that I don't have a quaratine tank - and can't afford to get one. BUT - this first purchase of fish, I also see as being my last (HUH! Famous last words, I hear you all cry, as the addiction takes hold.) ( I DO have a 3 1/2 gallon tank with 2 goldfish in it!)

Can you see anything it this lot that I can improve on without me spending too much more money?

[Carol_Roberts]

I have a cheap solution ; ;D Throw out the gravel, plants, decorations etc. Replace the peat with any brand aquarium sponge. Then add 5 juvenile discus.

IF you have your money back on the discus you returned I recommend finding a local breeder or ordering discus from one of the guys with a banner on this site. You will save so much money starting with heathy discus in the long run.

[lauris]

I have a 110 High that looks good full of growing fry. its 30 inches deep. one of these days i will fall in trying to clean the bottom and i have long arms. or maybe tippy toe on my stool i will tip it over. its a nice tank though.

[marcw]

I have a cheap solution ; ;D Throw out the gravel, plants, decorations etc. Replace the peat with any brand aquarium sponge. Then add 5 juvenile discus.


Great advice I'm sure, Carol, but alas my wife would not be happy if I was to discard what I'd just spent a fair bit of money on. Plus it all looks pretty good at the moment - just no fish! I think the plants and stuff are going to have to stay.

I've got at least a week to figure out what to do. 5 juveniles, 1 or 2 fully grown ones, or stear clear of discus altogether. Would LOVE to keep the discus, but obviously not if I can't look after them properly.

And just a small aside, Carol. I've read elsewhere you saying that the juvenile discus won't grow and get nice and big and colourful in a planted tank. Any idea why? To my uneducated mind on this matter, I would've thought lack of space would keep them small, but not the fact that there's also plants in there.

Thanks!!

[Carol_Roberts]

You can't keep a graveled, planted tank clean enough for juveniles to grow to their potential.

For your tank I'd suggest a pair of adults (not two adults - a pair). Many times hobbyists will have a pair they no longer need and will sell fairly cheaply.

[hexed]

Hi everyone,
I have read this entire thread and responded to some of the people asking questions about discus in a gravel tank privately. I have a sand substrate in my tank along with driftwood and some plants. I also have 18 discus, a cory catfish, an algae eater and a Bichir (an eel) in a 55 gallon tank. I purchased the discus when they were 2-2.5 inches. They are currently between 4- 5.5 inches long. You need to remember 1 inch of fish per gallon of water. If an adult discus is about 6 inches, then 6 gallons of water is needed. When you buy babies you need to remember that each will need at least 6 gallons to grow. I have had 18 grow in my planted tank up until now. I had an adult pair in my other 55 gallon tank which I removed and placed 9 of my younger ones into so they can finish growing out. Baby discus will grow, it's an act of God. If you put a discus into a small tank they will only grow so big, such the word "stunted" There is a big difference raising discus in a BB tank then a planted one. I lost 13 discus doing daily water changes in a substrate tank. I removed the bacteria in the bio bed (substrate) and uncycled my tank. YES it happens! You cannot do daily water changes in a gravel tank. I do weekly changes and I now have happy healthy discus. My water is as follows: ammonia, nitrite and nitrate is 0, temp is 84, Ph is 6.0 in one tank and 6.4 in the other tank, my Gh is 3-4 drops in both tanks (sorry I lost my chart, but 3-4 drops turns the test tube green).
I was told on simply discus that doing daily water changes wouldn't remove the bacteria, well it did and I lost 13 discus at $30 each due to high ammonia levels. That's a lot of money :(
Most discus keepers enjoy a BB tank and some do not. I'm sorry, but I think they are the most ugly sight to see. Yes, they are easy to clean I agree but I just do not want to see the seals and whatever else is under my tank. I pass my experiences on to others who are willing to learn, heck I'm still learning myself. But some experienced discus keepers need to understand that water changes don't always solve the problem sometimes they create it and this is true to substrated tanks. I kept doing water changes and water changes still my ammonia level was going higher and higher. I was told to do bigger water changes and I did, still my discus were dying. I finally followed my common sense and stopped, problem solved. Please understand I'm not bashing anyone (I love everybody) it is just there is a BIG difference from a planted tank to a BB one. If you want to see what some of my young discus looked like then and what they look like now, just go under the topic "breeding" and click onto "breeding in a 55 gallon tank" the most recent pics are on page 10.

[SSrowr]

Isn't the norm 10g of water per adult fish? Discus require more space than normal fish I think.

[Carol_Roberts]

. . . and I disagree with many of Hexed's statements, but I like him any way. ;D

My daily 50% water changes have never killed the biobed in my aqua clears - how could it kill the bacteria in the gravel?

Tank size does not inhibit growth - dirty conditions do. In asia they cram juveniles into tanks, do continuous water changes in barebottom tanks and achieve phenomenal growth.

10 gallons per adult is a safe number for new hobbyists. Yes they can be kept in more crowded conditions, but you have to be very diligent in your water changes. 15 gallons per adult discus is even safer.

[hexed]

I Love you too Carol! Always will! ;D
I do not vacuum my filter either.
When vacuuming the gravel in goes up into the vacumm head and tumbles and spins into each other, just like shaking out a mop. Doing it everyday removes the bacteria everyday. There is no bacteria in a BB only on the sponge filters and/or glass (but that gets wiped down at every WC). When I do my water changes, my water does not smell at all unless I wait longer then it will smell like dirt. My water readings are just BEFORE I do my water change not after. I'm not saying a gravel tank is better than a BB, what I'm saying is a discus will still grow in a gravel tank. There is a statment on this thread saying "if you put a 2.5 inch discus into a gravel tank it will remain 2.5 inches" That is what I am responding to. A lot of people with gravel tanks has sent me an email saying "They have done daily water changes and the ammonia level is off the charts, how do you keep yours at zero?" I did tell them that I do not to do daily water changes that I do weekly and the ammonia levels went down according to the emails. Thier discus are still healthy and growing. If you want to grow out discus in a BB then go for it, but if you want to put your discus into a planted tank I say go for it also. It is really up to you and what you want to do and not for me to say different. I'm just posting my experience with planted tanks. I have no way of knowing what a discus looks like in a BB tank, other than pictures and mine seem to be just as nice. I read under breeding that a guy's discus breed and have wigglers, but the discus isn't at full length, only about 4.5-5.5 inches. Then it is stated that it will not grow much more then that. His are in a BB tank. Why did it stop growing? He did daily water changes. I just don't want people to be afraid of a gravel tank. I just want someone to give thier experience with that type of tank and not say throw out everything and start with BB. I have 1- 1 1/2 inches of sand in my tanks. I was going to move the nine today but wrote the above post before doing so. I now have to wait because my adult female laid eggs last night so I have to wait. I will enclose a picture of my tank as soon as I can. Today is water change day for that tank and I want to get a before and after pic.

[hexed]

Below are 2 pics of my planted tank both are before the water change.

[hexed]

I posted this pic because it shows the 9 inch bichir (eel) in the middle of the tank. It will give you an idea of how big my discus are.

[hexed]

SSrowr,
Yes you are right but I was giving the least amount. You still should judge 1 inch of fish per gallon at least. More is always better and healthier. But you should have at LEAST 6 gallons per discus when buying them. I stated that because 12 babies in a 30 gallon won't last and I agree with Carol that they will have to be moved. If you think of what I'm trying to say you will then start with a larger tank correct? Or you can put at least 5 baby discus into a 30 gallon. Putting only 3 would be much much better :D

[groovay]

I am gonna be starting a tank of discus soon, I work at a LFS and my boss does alot of discus Breeding. I will getting about 6-8 1 inch discus.

I'm gonna show my idea and any help would be great.

The 1 inch discus will go into a BB 29 gallon tank. Since I've read this forum I decided to place them in a BB tank for now till they grow into adult and show their true colors. My filter will just be a regular big pond sponge filter. Water change of 25% everday, so every 2 days there will be 50% water change. My tap(before overnight settling) is 7.1, tap water after overnight is 7.4-7.6. I was thinking of getting a extra 10 gallon to let my water settle and filter in peat with a heater, but still thinking about it....

After they get around 2.5-3 inch in size I will be moving them into my 55, Planted tank with a school of cardinals and 1 Pleco and a few otto. I will not keep them in a BB tank now becuase I'm not gonna be a big breeder and think it would look alot better in planted tanks just like my other fishes. There is no point In me getting them if they are just gonna sit in BB tank, they look beautifull and so should their surrounding.

Advice Please, thanks Peter. ;D

[Smokey]

Peter:
I am a user of "black water" - peat filtered water.
Main reason - to have the discus water at a KH hardness of 45ppm. Young fry like the softness; the tannins and humic acids, the peat moss releases, also provide a healthy environmnet.

Be sure to test the water before adding the water to the discus tank. [Canadain] peat moss can remove all hardness from water - leaving the water -which may be :"TOO SOFT".

A bit of experimenting will give you an idea as how much peat moss to use for a given volume of "YOUR" water.
Also, the amount of time the water is in "contact" with the "same" peat will affect the water numbers.
A KH test kit will let you determine the final numbers.

HTH

Smokey

[groovay]

I use the "Black Water" stuff on my Bettas, when I want to breed them. Works great, I'll probably use that. For aging water, I decided to go with a big garbage(homedepot) can full of water with a heater in side with black water added to it.

How much can a 55 hold, it's gonna be heavily planted. The lighting will be at least 2.5-3.0 WPG, driftwood, rocks. Will 6 adults be ok? Is it better to get either 1 or a school of 6 then just having 2-3(non-pair discuss), cause I know there are some fishes that have to be in school or just 1 in a certain tank.

Thanks for the reply.

[Howie_W]

Hi Peter,

A thorough search through this part of the forum will answer your questions.

Most people use the rule of 10 gallons of water per Discus. Keep in mind that a full 55 gallon tank actually hold less than 55 gals. Add fish, plants, subtrate etc., and the amount of actual water in the tank continues to drop. At the same time, remember that Discus are schooling fish, a minimum of 6 fish is best...and the more the merrier.

The best thing for your Discus is to grow them to full size in a bare bottom tank before placing into a planted environment. The liklihood is very high that they will never make it to full size if you try to grow them in a planted tank.

Howie

[Carol_Roberts]

I think no more than 4 adults in your heavily planted, decorated, graveled tank - 2 would probably be better

[groovay]

wow This is gonna take a bit of space. Ok change of planes then...

The 1 inch discuss will still be kept 29 G till they are 2-3 inches??? After that they will be moved to The heavilly planted tank(55 G), once one of them pairs up it will be moved to the 29 G. And once the discus show their true color I will only keep 4-5 of my favorite, most likely 5, lol I won't beable to part with too much. I sell the rest and save up for my bigger tank, once the new bigger tank comes it will be turn into the show tank and the 55 G will turn into a bare tank which will be use for growing the adults to their true size....

How does that sound?

For the 55 G I'm thinking of using a cartridge filter, maybe a magnum or a fluval??? The cartridge will be modify so that the water dripts back into the tank instead of flushing back so fast and causing such a huge current.

[Carol_Roberts]

I recommend a bare 55 gallon tank with a hang on the back aqua clear filter and heater to grow out juvenile discus . . .

I strongly advise against gravel, plants, canister filters and decorations.

Discus do not mind current . . . they do mind less than pristine water conditions . . .

[groovay]

ok it seems this bare bottom thing is really an issue, and I'd be a complete idiot not to listen to you guys and guys, as stuborn as I am and as much as I want Plants, I will go with the bare bottom. The 55g will be bare bottom till I get more experience on discus. Then when I know I'm ready I'll go get me a bigger tank with which I can experiment with plants.

No more canister, I will got with aqua clear. Should I go with the AC 500 or 2 AC 300? There will be a presponge on the intake, 3 sponge on the inside with no carbone.

I'm still having issues with the water though, should I put peat moss in filter of my 55 g and the filter of my age water so that both get a bit acid and soft. Or should I just place in "black water " solution to my age water? Or will age tape water do? My tap(before overnight settling) pH is 7.1, tap water after overnight is 7.4-7.8.

[Carol_Roberts]

I use one aqua clear 500 on a 55 gallon tank. It holds two internal sponges.

Your aged tap water is fine for growing out juveniles. You do not need to add peat or blackwater extract (waste of money) The pH of my aged tap water is 7.8

It's a good idea to work on a seperate tank for plants.. You can experiment with water conditions and the plants can get fully established. When your discus are grown add them to your planted tank

[groovay]

thanks Carol. ;D

A man came into the store today with some of his dead baby discuss, now I;m kind of scared in getting little discus...Is it wise to start with small discus instead of getting adult ones?

[Sindhu Lim]

G'day Folks,
this is my first post here and want to thank all esp Carol for all the replies and help given.

It was interesting to note about wiping down the tanks with paper towels. I tried it out on my QT tank., after using a scourer, my usual arsenal, and to my horror, the brown stains left on it. Now I'm hooked to the idea. Thanks Carol for the great tip.

Rgds
Sindhu Lim

[Luca]

Hello -

I get a bit twitchy when i read people saying that peat is a waste of money and when gravel, plants, canister filters and decorations are advised against I know this cannot (entirely) be a good thing. I am informed about the benefits of barebottom tanks and for juveniles it indeed sounds like the best way to go, but for a discus to spend its whole life in a lifeless tank that resembles nothing of its natural habitat, I have a problem with that.

Peat is from a discus' natural habitat, if you can use it without your pH crashing (from making the water soft), then by all means use it.

[Carol_Roberts]

This thread is entitled "How Do I Set Up My First Discus Tank?" I do not recommend peat, plants, gravel, canister filters or decorations for a first discus tank.

[groovay]

My parents are actually letting me get a big tank, so now my plans have change once more.

The tank will be a 100 g tank, the filtration will be a wet dry system. Drill holes, pumps, the works. I will be reseving juvi 10 discus, they willl still be growing out in a 30 gallon tanks but I will move them when they reach 2 inches, after that right into the 100 gallon bare they go.

question: is it ok if I just put the juvi in the 100 g right away instead of just growing them out in the 30 g? Will the wet and dry do? or is more filtration needed?

[Carol_Roberts]

I've never had a wet/dry.

Yes, you can put the juveniles in the 100 gallon tank, but they may feel more comfortable if you partition off a smaller section of the tank for them the first couple of months

[Bastianelli]

My friend and I are going want to setup a discus "oriented" (a little different from dedicated ;D ) tank. So far we have a 65g tank full of tap water, gravel, and a H.O.T. Magnum filter. We do not want to be doing daily water changes. Weekly not too bad, but monthly would be much nicer. As having a 90g reef tank, 40g planted community, and another 40g community; fills enough time. But would the 65g be fine with 2 adult pairs, adding them already as adults. Then adding a school of some other fish (cardinals, runny nose, or the like) and some a few plecos. Would this be an OK setup? Also it would probally end up heavily planted w/ a stong lighting setup. Also because of the saltwater reef we constantly have a large supply of RO/DI water if this would make life easier.

Another question what kind of pH do discus really thrive in? (adults & juv.) And finally the key to discus is just stable water conditions, a pH of ____, and a water temp of 84ºF?

[Bastianelli]

Also what size discus should we look for to add to this tank? And would getting them at the LFS really be that bad? The one I plan to get them from is one of the best in my state (Michigan). Being the "saltwater relm" :P , I have learned to steer far and clear from most all LFS advice and most of their livestock. However this one particular LFS seems to be half way decent in saltwater and fresh and most of their livestock is real healthy. So is there just certian problems with the average LFS w/ getting discus?

[Carol_Roberts]

Discus thrive in a very clean enviornment. They don't much care what the pH is as long as it's close to the same everyday. I would not invest a lot of money in discus if you only plan to change water once a week or less . . .

[Bastianelli]

Even just 4 total discus in a 65g? Would they really dirty the tank so fast that it would need to be changed many times a week? To me it seems like the biological filture should at least be doing some work and keep the tank clean for at least a week or so?

Again from the saltwater world here, so the biological filture is a key thing to me in my large reef and the fish rely on it quit a bit to. Theres a protien skimmer in their but still the bio filter (live rock, sand, algea farm below the tank) is the thing holding it all together and keeps the tank paramaters really stable.

Thanks Carol for any and all information you can give me in advance!! :)

[etr63]

Hi Bastianelli

What part of Michigan are you from? Im in Lansing.

Earl

[Howie_W]

Hi Bastianelli,

Welcome to the forum! :)

If you are interested in Discus, you should spend a fair amount of time reading up on them...most of the answers to your questions are available throughout this forum.

In general, if you are not planning on doing regular water changes, you should not get Discus. These fish need a strong diet, and solid water parameters...this equal water changes.

As a beginner, you should consider starting with juveniles. These are schooling fish, and most comfortable in a group no smaller than six (the more the merrier). To grow properly, they need daily water changes, and multiple feedings.

Discus are not hard to manage if you are prepared to make the commitment of the daily care they require. Even if you are positive you want to buy adults from your lfs (or whomever), you will need to quarantine them for a while (4 to 6 weeks)...6 adult discus will need a large size tank (10 gallon per fish rule).

Good luck, and keep asking questions!

Howie

[Bastianelli]

etr63 - I'm in Davison, east of you over by flint. Moving to east lansing area with in the next week though.

So say I get a school of juvinials and grow them out like recomended here (BB, daily water changes), then could 2 to 4 of the adults do find in a 65g with just weekly water changes? Or do even the smallest amount in a large tank require daily water changes? Or how big of a tank with how many adults would you have to setup to stray away from daily water changes? (My first tank was a 10g saltwater, it had daily water changes and had to add more water daily for evaperation, It drove me nuts. So I went with a far bigger tank, 90g. No more daily water changes. I'm trying to do the same thing here, if possible?)

[etr63]

Here in lansing we have soft water kh 2 gh 7 In order to maintain my PH level I do 50% water changes every day. With the low kh the ph is not stable. IMO it is easier to do daily WCs then mess with chemical buffers. I age my water 24 hours in a storage barrel and that drops my ph to 7.0 ( its 8.6 out of the tap ).

HTH

Earl

[ronrca]

Why do wc's?

Couple reasons!

- discus require very low to 0 nitrate levels (especially important with juvs)
- clean up feces and left over food
- its like a breath of fresh air........but using water instead
- lowering the mysterical growth inhibiting hormones
- and my favoritre reason, because I like to ;D

The frequency and volume of wc's is dependant on a number of factors:
- frequency of feedings (juvs are fed 4-6x/day, adults 2-4x/day)
- type of food
- stocking denisty per gallon
- tap or source water parameters (especially if nitrates and/or chloramines are present before the water even enters the tank)

Couple of factors mentioned which I hope helps! ;) ;D

[redribbon]

I think ,we have alot of common here:
Bare bottom tank
Plant tank ,peat, plants, gravel, canister filters or decorations
Water change daily,weekly ...50% ,25% 30% ETC..ETC
So! i wonder ,how are the discus living in the wild and in what water condition????
Do they live in BB or with plant ,sand or gravel or mud,peat,drift wood or any kind of wood in amazon river or some thing more beside these ???
How is the water so clean to them ?
What is the pH ,GH....???ETC in nature
I really want to set up the tank in that nature way ...cuz i think if they could lived well and grown big by time in the nature condition then that set up could be good to them even some are small fry .Any one could help???

[krandrus]

Having been to the amazon I can tell you --- there is a massive amount of fresh water flowing through their environment all of the time. I mean fresh straight from the clouds. Imagine an area the size of Texas that is just rivers and swamp, with rain coming down on it daily.

From what I have read here discus evolved in this clean water environment with low PH and high temperature. These factors presented them with different challenges from your normal aquarium. As a result they have limited defenses to many of the parasites and nasties in a fish tank if the water is not perfect. Most of us can't get the ph and hardness just right. So we try the best we can with water changes and heat.

I was a twice a week guy, I figured that would be enough. But if you really appreciate your discus it will only take one round of Hex to motivate you to do daily water changes. If you don't want to do the daily water changes, try children I hear that they are less demanding! ;)

Best of luck,

Kevin

[babyjess210]

Here is how I grow out juvenile discus

Equipment
55 gallon bare bottom tank.
Aqua clear 500 (two internal sponges - one prefilter sponge on the intake)
250 Watt heater and thermometer. Temp 84 degrees
Siphon hose to clean tank
Water storage container (pump and hose optional)

Discus
6 - 10 healthy juvenile discus from a reputable breeder

Care
50% daily water change with aged (dechlorinated, warmed, aerated) tap water.
Wipe down inside of tank with paper towels at least every week.
Rinse prefilter daily, sponges and internal filter once a month.

Food
Feed juveniles 4 - 6 times per day. (Quality flakes and bits, black worms, beefheart) Don't overfeed.

Grow out the juveniles in this tank with no additions. You will have to remove some discus as they grow. These can be sold to other hobbiests or the local fish store. A 55 gallon tank will hold 5 or 6 fully grown discus.

Later, when you get other tanks, especially large show tanks, remember . . . Quarantine all new fish and plants 4 - 6 weeks before adding to your existing stock



Carol
Very helpful info!!!! I have been on this site everyday since i found out about it. I had Discus about 10 years ago and now the discus are even better looking than before and things have changed. I am setting up a tank for my Baby Jessica and ordered my Aquaclear filter. Thanks for all the helpful info from everyone!

[Carol_Roberts]

You're welcome ;D

[babyjess210]

Carol
I'm doing a fishless cycle on a 40 gal with AC 300 and sponge filter. I'm a little confused???????

8/21/04 add 2 capful of pure ammonia to 40 gal. :-[ ooops!! Ammonia levels was 8 ppm

8/24/04 test ammonia level and still 8 ppm

8/27/04 test ammonia and nitrite Ammonia level still 8 ppm and nitrite is reading .25 ppm

Question: Is there too much ammonia causing the nitrite to show in a week? Should I remove some Ammonia with amquel or just leave it alone?

thanks
Kenny

[Carol_Roberts]

Leave everything as is for another week - test on 8/31 and see what type of numbers you get. Don't add any more ammonia until in goes to 1.

[peter]

new bie

[babyjess210]

Carol
It's me again. Ok, I test all three today 8/31/04
Ammonia 8 ppm
Nitrite 2 ppm
Nitrate 10 ppm

Please advise
Kenny

P.S. Thanks again

[Carol_Roberts]

Looks like it's cycling. Test it again in a couple of days and see if the ammonia continues to go down while the nitrates continue to rise.

[babyjess210]

Carol
Ammonia and nitrite going down and nitrate going up just like you said.

I notice on the pics of your tank that you don't run airstones. Are the AQ good enough for water movement and oxygen?

1 more question please

In the water storage barrel you run the pump to agitate for 3-4 hours after that, Do you move the water with an airstone or just let the water sit??

Thanks in advance
Kenny

[Carol_Roberts]

Hi Kenny:
When the ammonia reading gets down to 2 add less than a capful of ammonia and see if reading goes up to between 3 - 5 ppm.

The Aqua Clear produces plenty of aeration as the water cascades into the tank - no airstone needed.

It takes 3 hours to raise the pH from 6.8 to 7.8 at my house. Then I unplug the pump and just let the water sit overnight until the next water change. Please test your pH prior to agitation, then every hours or so to see how long it takes to stabilize the pH at your house.

[cowboy steve]

I'm a beginner to discus and I am currently in the process of learning everything I can prior to set up and purchase of fish.

I currently have a 90 gallon saltwater community tank, and a 55 S.A/C.A cichlid/catfish tank.

Here is my planned set up for growing juvenile discus:

55 gallon bare bottomed tank.

A 29 gallon tank for water changes, on a stand behind and above the 55 I intend to use, drilled with bulkheads and a ball valve. I can use gravity to drain the tank,through a spray bar to minimize current.

Appropriate heaters for both tanks.

A wet/dry filtration system, 500 gph, 10 gallon sump.

I'm unsure on lighting, I currently have a run of the mill fluorescent hood.

Thank you.

[Carol_Roberts]

That sounds fine and your run of hte mill flourescent light will be fine too. Most important - start with healthy stock. Buy all your discus from the same seller at the same time. Buy from someone who specializes in discus and enjoy :)

[cowboy steve]

Thank you.

I've already zeroed in on a breeder who deals only in discus and has a sterling reputation in the industry, and I shall buy them all at once. I'm planning on starting off with six.

One more question, I've noticed in pictures I've seen on this and other forums that people use a solid color background on their tanks, usually some shade of blue, and I've seen a couple of red ones where the fish themselves were blue, if someone were to have a mix of greens, reds and blues could they use black, to accentuate all the differant hue's?

The only difficult thing is squirreling away enough money to buy them, my wife does not get this whole fish thing.

She has a great aesthetic sense so I'm sure she'll love them when she sees them, but the bill for buying them would most likely result in a lot of couch sleeping time for me.

[Carol_Roberts]

Discus usually do not look their best with dark backgrounds. Most here choose pastel shades like pale blue.

[cowboy steve]

Thanks again, glad I asked.

[waL1141570]

Hello noce forum

[PamelaJ]

I am getting ready to cycle my first tank, and I'm a little confused about the cycling. Everything I've read said the ammonia that you use should have no scent. The only ammonia I have been able to find smells like ammonia (like perm solution). It's clear colored with no suds. Is this the right stuff? :confused:

[RyanH]

What people are referring to are perfumes and scents that are often added to ammonia to make it smell better. Only buy plain ammonia without perfumes, colors, or flavors and you will be fine. :)

[PamelaJ]

I told my husband to make sure the stuff he bought was unscented, so the first thing he does upon opening the bottle is take a big old whiff of it. He says his nose hairs may never recover. :D

[Carol_Roberts]

LOL I bet he doesn't try that again :)

[PamelaJ]

New questions...

What temperature should I keep my tank at during cycling? Lights on or off? I have a 300 watt heater for a 190 gallon tank. Will this work or do I need 2 smaller heaters? After adding the first ammonia, how many days does it usually take for the water to clear? What percentage of the water should I be changing and how often during cycling?

Thanks in advance.
PamelaJ

[Carol_Roberts]

Hi Pamela:
I would put two 300 w heaters in that tank (3 watts per gallon). I keep the tank at 82 - 84F. After adding the ammonia I test to make sure it is between 3 - 5 ppm. I don't change any water. I test the tank evey day or two for ammonia - when it falls below 3 ppm I add more. The time varies - it depends how how quickly the "good" bacteria find your tank and start acting on the ammonia.

[PamelaJ]

Thanks Carol. My kit tests for max of 5.0 mg/l. :undecided I guess that's not good.

[Carol_Roberts]

I think that is pretty standard. That's why I say to add more than 3ppm and less than 5ppm :)

[discus2010]

hello i am a sort of new discus keeper i have had a pair but its not and has never been more seriuse then weekly water changes since i make impulsive decisions i got them when i was 12 (i am now 13).SO anyway i am now finding more about discus to start a fifty five gallons, i have made many mistakes but i wanted to know a "reputable breeder" as you stated above that hasnt got outrageos prices i have heard about cary but wanted t oknow some other options and some websites to see selections and prices excetera.

Thank you so much
:confused:

[Carol_Roberts]

Where do you live?

[Serbi]

Hi Carol...
I have a Fluval canister filter and I find that it's definitely too hard to maintain it properly for a discus tank. I have a 55g tank... and you recommend an Aquaclear 500 filter. Do you have a good (meaning cost-effective) source for those filters? I've looked on-line a bit and don't seem to find any. What do you think about Penguin filters?

Thanks,
Serbi

[dishpanhands]

the 500 is now knowing as the 110. look at the top of the page here.
http://www.thatpetplace.com/Products/KW/F28/Class/Fish+Supplies+Power+Filters/T1/F26EX+0171+0290/EDP/9563/Itemdy00.aspx

[Greg Richardson]

discus2010. You are very lucky imo as you can go visit Rick and hand pick.
He has some great discus.
I have some of his melons in my tank right now.

Check out the map to see where he is..........
http://www.frappr.com/daahdiscusaddicts

[Kap]

Greg,

How do we get in touch with Rick on daahdiscusaddicts?

[Greg Richardson]

Hi Kap. Sign up is easy there. Rick is a moderator there.
Sent him a PM so hopefully he get ahold of you or you can go there.

http://www.discusasahobby.com./index.html

[Kap]

Hi Greg,

Thanks for the info--I'll do that!

[momozzz]

Hi guys. I'm new in keeping discus here. I have keep 6 disucs in a 100 gallons tank. Currently i just using a air pump buble for it without any filter system install to my tank. And i'm feeding them with beefheart. Huge of wc everyday. Does it have any problem with my discus?

Newbie.

[blaze]

Currently i just using a air pump buble for it without any filter system install to my tank.

why ?

[momozzz]

I have been told by someone that to use air pump is enough. He told me that keeping discus have to make a huge wc everyday. So it's kinda waste to install any filter system. But i'm not sure will this harm my fish? Any advice are welcome.

Newbie.

[blaze]

I know its done is some places is asia.......... but in those cases the usually have river water flowing through

[momozzz]

I see now. Thats mean if i dont have use river water i must install a filter system into my tank?

[blaze]

I see now. Thats mean if i dont have use river water i must install a filter system into my tank?

not exactly. they actually channel water from the rivers and do 80 - 100% WC every hour or so.

how much of a water change do u do ?

[momozzz]

About 90 - 100% WC everyday.

[blaze]

About 90 - 100% WC everyday.


how, cuz if u do it the traditional methods , sphioning ..........
sound kinnda stressing on ur fish

[momozzz]

Hmm. Look like i have not much choice but to install a filter system into my tank. But i still have a question. Do i still have to WC everyday after installing a filter system to my tank? Because i'm feeding them BH. I notice that after i feed them with BH, my water will turn cloundy and smelly. If yes. How much of % WC should i do.?

[RoninGai]

Hmm. Look like i have not much choice but to install a filter system into my tank. But i still have a question. Do i still have to WC everyday after installing a filter system to my tank? Because i'm feeding them BH. I notice that after i feed them with BH, my water will turn cloundy and smelly. If yes. How much of % WC should i do.?

def a must no matter what setup u have.is there a heater in there as well? bb or gravel in tank? bb would be easier to clean up, if u have gravel i hope u have some cats or loaches doing the dirty work. as far as filtration goes anything for over 100gal is good you want to have maximum gph going through some kind of fiter media. btw is it a beef heart mix or just beef hearts like chunks?

[momozzz]

Yes there a heater in my tank. no bb and gravel just a simple bare tank with my discus inside. And for the food is BH mix with prawn and some pellet product from Thailand for discus.
And bout tank mate, can i add some of the upside down catfish with my discus?

[pcsb23]

how, cuz if u do it the traditional methods , sphioning ..........
sound kinnda stressing on ur fish

doing 100% changes is not necessarily stressing on fish, after the first couple of times they normally just lie flat and quiet.

Also in Asia, at least at Yeng's place, they do 1 or 2 100% changes a day and run no filters. They don't do it every hour. However there is no reason not to run a filter of some description, with the humble sponge filter probably being as good an option as any with 90%+ w/c a day.

[pcsb23]

Hmm. Look like i have not much choice but to install a filter system into my tank. But i still have a question. Do i still have to WC everyday after installing a filter system to my tank? Because i'm feeding them BH. I notice that after i feed them with BH, my water will turn cloundy and smelly. If yes. How much of % WC should i do.?

Yes you will need to do regular w/c, if its a sponge filter do daily changes, a large cannister you may be able to do every other day. Its not just the ammonia and nitrite that is the issue with discus, they are less tolerant of nitrates and other doc (dissolved organic compounds) than other fish. For optimal growth daily w/c work best imo. A minimum of 50% would be good too.

[momozzz]

Ok. Now i know what should i do. A million thanks guys.

[FishLover888]

Keep doing the daily water changes for at least a week of so after you installed the filters. That way the filters have a chance to catchup with the bio-load of your tank. After that, you can go back to every other day water change. Beefheart is really mess and you need to do more water changes because of that. I don't feed mine with beefheart and I do a 40% water change twice a week. The only time I feed them frozen food is an hour before water change. That way I can take out the un-eaten food with the water change.
If your water become cloudy and smelly after beefheart feeding, that means your bio filter is not strong enough to handle the mess created by the feeding. You need to change water right away if that happens again.

[momozzz]

Keep doing the daily water changes for at least a week of so after you installed the filters. That way the filters have a chance to catchup with the bio-load of your tank. After that, you can go back to every other day water change. Beefheart is really mess and you need to do more water changes because of that. I don't feed mine with beefheart and I do a 40% water change twice a week. The only time I feed them frozen food is an hour before water change. That way I can take out the un-eaten food with the water change.
If your water become cloudy and smelly after beefheart feeding, that means your bio filter is not strong enough to handle the mess created by the feeding. You need to change water right away if that happens again.

Thanks for your great infor. Will try my best.

Newbie

[specialsuperK]

Anyone that has an answer. I have a air wand in my tank, i think it is moving water to be circulated correctly, what is it really doing to the water in my tank? is it changing PH levels?

[2075turner]

Hello, just wondering why you have a plant in the water, and what kind is it? I'm raising out some juvies myself, all is going well so far. Thanks for the info. I found it helpful! :)

[G550]

what do you cycle the tank with befor you put in your fish and not add harmfull things that will affect your fish, are you able to take spongs from other fish tanks with fish and use these our does that wipe out the quarantine theory?

[jamie sutherland]

when you clean the filters once a month, how exactly do you clean them...rinse...etc? and also what does everyone do when they go on vacations?

[dishpanhands]

when you clean the filters once a month, how exactly do you clean them...rinse...etc? and also what does everyone do when they go on vacations?

I clean my filter in the old tank water. when I do my water change I use the water coming out of the tank to clean the filter.

When I get to go on vacation I party my tail off..:crazy:...lol

HTH

[jamie sutherland]

ahahaha well i meant what do you do with your tank...

[dishpanhands]

It just depends on how old the fish are..If they are grown. I take off and party they can go awhile without anything..If they are young I have family feed them a small amount just a couple times a day. I get them to change the water once while I'm gone and I try not to have any free swimmers at the time even if I have to scrape eggs. Its not the best, but it works for me.

[2075turner]

I do the same thing for the filters, rinse them out in the old water. And as for when I can get away, automatic feeders set set for four times a day on the young, and twice a day jobbies on the adults. I made the mistake of trusting my neigbour for a weekend, I had about inch of food at the bottom of my tank, after telling him only a pinch. Needless to say that I lost all of my fish over a short amount of time after that. I would have been better to just leave them with nothing. There was 6 full adult wild greens,4 blue diamonds,4 bright and beautiful turq`s, all gone, the thing that was real bad about this is that the greens had just paired up laying about 200 eggs and I said that I would set them up in a breeder when I got back. His excuse, they looked hungry and kept coming up to the glass. I was ready to kill.:angry: word of advise, don`t trust anyone with your fish, there better off with a good h2o change and no food for a couple of days (if there adults)

[darrin34]

hello new discus person , well almost I am converting a tank i am using from tangynekan cichlids to discus i have never had anyproblems with te fish in there . well one fish got bloat . i medicated the tank and no other fish has had it since . 8 months ago . I was wondering because i would like to use the sand substrate ( pool filtre sand ) And i was planning on using some drift wood . oops sory this is a 54g tank 36x18x20 i am planning on 5-6 discus , does this sound ok or should i just empty the substrate into a new 108g and go bare bottom ??? this is my first tank for discus . Because of my nasty water perimeters i wanna keep them as comfortable as possible .

[hrgilbe]

Hello to all,

I've been reading in this forum for the last few weeks. I'm starting my first dicus tank as soon as I get all the facts together. One thing that still worries me is the water cycling. I'm not a 100% sure on how to accomplish this. If I'm getting a 90 gal tank with a wet/dry filter, bare bottom initially, how can I grow a nitrifying bacteria culture without adding fish other than discus. I used to have a salt water tank and the cycling happened when I added the live sand. Not quite sure about Discus tank though. Any help, please.

[dishpanhands]

search the form for fishless cycle..We use clear pure Ammonia.


HTH

[heavenly discus]

Hello! this is my first post, and everyone has put out alot of great information for newbies! I got the bug to raise some discus and try my hand at producing quality discus. I've got a question is it an overkill to put a air powered sponge filter in with the aqua 500 with 2 internal sponges? Thanks!

[pcsb23]

Hello! this is my first post, and everyone has put out alot of great information for newbies! I got the bug to raise some discus and try my hand at producing quality discus. I've got a question is it an overkill to put a air powered sponge filter in with the aqua 500 with 2 internal sponges? Thanks!No it's not, and welcome to SD :)

[evanawatson]

2 questions:

1) I am getting 2-3'' discus (so I suppose Im 'growing them out') WHy do people advise against a gravel or any substrate bottom? I want my aquarium to look decent, not like a lab...


2) I already put 6 small tetras in there to keep the filter alive- should I think about removing them when the discus arrive- from my research, they are supposed to be compatable...

Thanks!

[*Polka dots roc*]

The reason they say to use a barebottom is because while you are growing them out you do alot of waterchanges and the water has to be very clean, with gravel or substrate food and debris gets caught and unless you get it out it can go rotten and foul the water. I recently got 5 discus and I am thankful for having it bb makes it much easier and it may look like a "lab" but its not forever.

[deanne]

Would someone mind posting a picture and description of a sponge filter? The pictures that were posted a while back are no longer showing up, due I understand to an upgrade to the forum software.

So I would greatly appreciate seeing a photo of one of these sponge filters people talk about. The LFS folks don't know what I'm talking about.

Thanks!
d

[seanyuki]

Just sharing...

Sponge filters

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh127/seanyuki/DSCF0596.jpg


http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh127/seanyuki/DSCF0675.jpg


Pre filters

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh127/seanyuki/DSCF0597.jpg


http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh127/seanyuki/DSCF0601.jpg


Cheers
Francis:)



Would someone mind posting a picture and description of a sponge filter? The pictures that were posted a while back are no longer showing up, due I understand to an upgrade to the forum software.

So I would greatly appreciate seeing a photo of one of these sponge filters people talk about. The LFS folks don't know what I'm talking about.

Thanks!
d

[deanne]

That's great! Thank you! Having a picture of the box will allow me to show my LFS what I mean.

Is there a good online source? You have to drive it with an air pump? I have canister filters on a 55 gal show tank and I'm think I'll add a sponge pre-filter to keep some of the gunk out of the canister. I don't like air pumps because they are noisy. I think my next upgrade will be to a sump to allow me to use a protein skimmer and have an open system in case of power outages. For now though I can clean the sponges inside the canisters more.

I understand now that to raise babies you want to avoid canisters altogether, and that set-up is different anyway with its single purpose of raising the young discus up. Not the same aesthetic goals.

Great forum!

Deanne

[seanyuki]

Hi deanne,

The picture of the box...lol

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh127/seanyuki/Hydro-SpongePro.jpg


FYI the Hydro sponge filters comes in five different sizes

I got mine from Kenfish.com.....here's the link


http://www.kensfish.com/aticompletefilters.html


Cheers
Francis:)








That's great! Thank you! Having a picture of the box will allow me to show my LFS what I mean.

Is there a good online source? You have to drive it with an air pump? I have canister filters on a 55 gal show tank and I'm think I'll add a sponge pre-filter to keep some of the gunk out of the canister. I don't like air pumps because they are noisy. I think my next upgrade will be to a sump to allow me to use a protein skimmer and have an open system in case of power outages. For now though I can clean the sponges inside the canisters more.

I understand now that to raise babies you want to avoid canisters altogether, and that set-up is different anyway with its single purpose of raising the young discus up. Not the same aesthetic goals.

Great forum!

Deanne

[cory]

1. Where can I get pure amonia?
2. I have read a lot on here about growing out juve discus. How big do you recommend they get before moving them to a graveled tank?
3. What size is a good size to buy for growing out?
4. Is it better to stick to like 6 of the same color/type or mix and match? I want to try and get a pair to match up for breeding.
thanks.
cory.

[Fishfanatic]

Ok, I've spent alot of time reading all the posts about BB tanks vs substrate tanks. I agree that BB would be easier to clean, but here's my predicament. I have two 55 gal tanks that have gravel substrate and have been up and running for over a year and contain angelfish and Cory cats. I plan on purchasing 6 small 2-2.5 in Discus and growing them out in one of my 55 gal (Yes I will move the Angels to another tank) .Should I leave the substrate as is since all parameters (Ammonia, Nitrite amd Nitrate) are at 0,0,5ppm. Or should I remove the gravel substrate and driftwood and go with a BB tank? I thought about siphoning the existing water into barrels to keep it from getting fouled as I remove the substrate and then pump the water back into the aquarium. Would I be upsetting the biological filtration and cause the tank to recycle? Also if I do 50% daily water changes would it matter if the tank starts to recycle again? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[uli and ria]

IMO , I had a problem with this. Now I love BB. After the first 100 wc it made sense. I moved from Kazoo to Lawton,,,placed disks in buckets,,new tank old cans, placed disus in the whole time freakin. The bacteria in the cans is more important then the old water. I tested constantly. I even have a note book by the tanks so I can check what is going on with water quality from days gone by. Also went from city to well water. Thank god for the fish, I was more worried with them then the moving of the rest of the house.

[vincentliu89]

this post helped me start my first tank! thanks!

[ujwaldignified]

I have two tanks.
1...60"lenghtX24" heightX18"width which is a 112 Gallons tank.
2...54"lengthX21"heightX18"width which is 80 Gallons tank.

Am planning to keep 9 Discuses in tank 1
and 6 Discus in tank 2.

I have a
Dolphin 500, 6W Hang on filter....with sponge on each tank
and
a Ehiem 440Litres/hr in the first tank.
How often shud i clean the water??

[DLock3d]

Has anyone else noticed that this thread started almost 6 years ago? Wow... Maybe this is common for you guys but I've been a part of multiple forums in the past and never seen something like this. I'm new to simplydiscus and it's awesome to see everyone so active!

[discusrookie]

Hi all, Just wondering what size and brand of air pumps you would use for a sponge filter in a 55 gal tank? Do you want to have a lot of air flow or just a gentle flow? thanx, Steve

[adamplein]

kinda sounds like you need boutny paper towels ;)

[ace1948]

Have a 90 gallon tank filled it up 2 days ago. Was planning on putting Discus in but not sure if I can the way it is setup. Gravel bottom with rocks plants and driftwood. Can I put a few adults in the tank with some other fish and if so what will go with them, what temp to keep the tank and what ph level should it be at .

Thanks Gary

[Eddie]

Hi Gary welcome to simply!

First and foremost cycle your tank. Search the site on doing a fishless cycle.


Eddie

[namrfigk]

Can I put a few adults in the tank with some other fish and if so what will go with them, what temp to keep the tank and what ph level should it be at

well, its 1 discus to 10 gallons of water if u wanna maximise their growth. corys, tetras and rummy nose serve as good companions. optimum temp is 29 degrees and ph is 6.5 - 7

[discusjoe27]

hi I know this for juvies, but what "size" do discus stop being juvies and start becoming adults. I have 4- 3.5-4 inch discus and a 2 inch in a 135. I have a lady coming over to buy them. I bought a 55 gallon setup complete but used for $45.00(sweet, score).... and I want to set it up for 5-6 big(adult 5.5+ inch size discus), will I still need to do bare bottom, and will a aquaclear 300 be enough filtration, or should I get a 305/405 or a xp2/xp3 canister filter?

[Eddie]

hi I know this for juvies, but what "size" do discus stop being juvies and start becoming adults. I have 4- 3.5-4 inch discus and a 2 inch in a 135. I have a lady coming over to buy them. I bought a 55 gallon setup complete but used for $45.00(sweet, score).... and I want to set it up for 5-6 big(adult 5.5+ inch size discus), will I still need to do bare bottom, and will a aquaclear 300 be enough filtration, or should I get a 305/405 or a xp2/xp3 canister filter?

Hey there Joe, if you are going to go with adults (>5.5 inches) You wont be feeding as often as you would with Juvies so you can maintain water quality with a gravel bottom. Alot of it really depends on the types of food you will be feeding also. I don't have any experience with the filters you are suggesting but I do know that alot of people use the xp3 and rave about how nice it is.

HTH
Eddie

[discusjoe27]

Hey there Joe, if you are going to go with adults (>5.5 inches) You wont be feeding as often as you would with Juvies so you can maintain water quality with a gravel bottom. Alot of it really depends on the types of food you will be feeding also. I don't have any experience with the filters you are suggesting but I do know that alot of people use the xp3 and rave about how nice it is. HTH Eddie

thanks eddie, I do still have some questions. what name brand would you recommend for food? hiriki San frinscio bay,h20? also in a discus tank, is carbon soppost to be in the filter? also would a 2 pair- male/female_ male/female and a male all snakeskins that grow up together be find in a 55 gallon? or do they need more space. also how many times should adults be feed? and mine that I have now 4.0 from head to end of tail how many times a day should they eat, and how many cubes do I feed?

[Eddie]

thanks eddie, I do still have some questions. what name brand would you recommend for food? hiriki San frinscio bay,h20? also in a discus tank, is carbon soppost to be in the filter? also would a 2 pair- male/female_ male/female and a male all snakeskins that grow up together be find in a 55 gallon? or do they need more space. also how many times should adults be feed? and mine that I have now 4.0 from head to end of tail how many times a day should they eat, and how many cubes do I feed?

Hi there Joe,

Best brand for food is Ocean Nutrition and I also like a flake from AngelPlus called Hi Pro-Growth.

Carbon, not required. There are better forms of media than Carbon. Carbon has its time and place but no need for it in a discus tank on a regular basis IMO.

The 2 pairs and 1 adult, thats a tricky question in which nobody has the answer. Each fish has its own personality and they could be very aggressive or very timid. Being that you will have some spawning going on in 2 areas, I'm thinking it could be a bit of a mad house with 4 fish being very territorial. That is just my opinion. Adult fish, fully grown, I'd feed them 3 light feedings a day.

Fish that are 4 inches can be either 4-5 months old or 2-6 years old. Size doesn't have anything to do with age really. The age of the fish is more important. If a 4 inch fish an adult, feed them 2-3 times a day. If the 4 inch fish is a juvenile discus, I'd feed them alot more because they have more time to grow. Personally, 5 fish in a 55 gallon, 1 cube each feed. Thats just what I do, not what is recommended or what may be best for the fish.


HTH,

Eddie

[discusjoe27]

Hi there Joe,

Best brand for food is Ocean Nutrition and I also like a flake from AngelPlus called Hi Pro-Growth. Carbon, not required. There are better forms of media than Carbon. Carbon has its time and place but no need for it in a discus tank on a regular basis IMO. The 2 pairs and 1 adult, thats a tricky question in which nobody has the answer. Each fish has its own personality and they could be very aggressive or very timid. Being that you will have some spawning going on in 2 areas, I'm thinking it could be a bit of a mad house with 4 fish being very territorial. That is just my opinion. Adult fish, fully grown, I'd feed them 3 light feedings a day. Fish that are 4 inches can be either 4-5 months old or 2-6 years old. Size doesn't have anything to do with age really. The age of the fish is more important. If a 4 inch fish an adult, feed them 2-3 times a day. If the 4 inch fish is a juvenile discus, I'd feed them alot more because they have more time to grow. Personally, 5 fish in a 55 gallon, 1 cube each feed. Thats just what I do, not what is recommended or what may be best for the fish. HTH,Eddie

thanks, eddie um so is Ocean Nutrition a frozen food, or a flake food?
and the snakeskins should I do all males,or females then? (there namgts(ali)
I was thinking about setting up the 55 I got and put them in there.

[Eddie]

thanks, eddie um so is Ocean Nutrition a frozen food, or a flake food?
and the snakeskins should I do all males,or females then? (there namgts(ali)
I was thinking about setting up the 55 I got and put them in there.

I use ON Flakes and primarily feed my fish my own mix.

Wether or not you should choose all males, all females or pairs is more or less your best decision. I'd get the pairs and the one male and be happy, but thats me! :D LOL

Eddie

[discusjoe27]

I use ON Flakes and primarily feed my fish my own mix.

Wether or not you should choose all males, all females or pairs is more or less your best decision. I'd get the pairs and the one male and be happy, but thats me! :D LOL

Eddie

cool thanks, so what do you think about a 135(84X16X22?) that is where my 13
discus are staying right now. it works but it keeps them all spreaded out, and just seems way to long. don't discus need a short, and tall tank?

[Eddie]

cool thanks, so what do you think about a 135(84X16X22?) that is where my 13
discus are staying right now. it works but it keeps them all spreaded out, and just seems way to long. don't discus need a short, and tall tank?

No, not really short and long is not bad either. How big are your other discus?

Eddie

[discusjoe27]

No, not really short and long is not bad either. How big are your other discus? Eddie the are 4.0 inches from mouth to end of tail.

[Eddie]

the are 4.0 inches from mouth to end of tail.

So basically you can put 6-7 of them in the 55 and add the snakeskin to the135 then right. I mean you would have to QT the snakes in the 55 first.

Eddie

[discusjoe27]

So basically you can put 6-7 of them in the 55 and add the snakeskin to the135 then right. I mean you would have to QT the snakes in the 55 first.

Eddie

a little confused. so I could put 6-7 of the fish I have now in the 55, and if I get the snakes skin, I could just put them in the 135? / I mean you would have to QT the snakes in the 55 first? or could I just sell the 135 and the discus I have now. set up the 55 and buy the snake snake_skins.
what would be a good price for a complete 135 gallon setup with a fx5 on it?
would a aquaclear 300(Rated for a 75 gallon) be enough for a 55G ?

[Eddie]

a little confused. so I could put 6-7 of the fish I have now in the 55, and if I get the snakes skin, I could just put them in the 135? / I mean you would have to QT the snakes in the 55 first? or could I just sell the 135 and the discus I have now. set up the 55 and buy the snake snake_skins.
what would be a good price for a complete 135 gallon setup with a fx5 on it?
would a aquaclear 300(Rated for a 75 gallon) be enough for a 55G ?

Any new fish need to go through a QT period of 6 weeks, after that, then you can move the snakes to the 135 and put 6 or 7 of your old fish in the 55. Thats just an option.

Dont have a clue about the price for a 135 with an FX5. You need to do some research. I would use the AC300 on the 55 and maybe add a simple sponge filter.

HTH
Eddie

[discusjoe27]

Any new fish need to go through a QT period of 6 weeks, after that, then you can move the snakes to the 135 and put 6 or 7 of your old fish in the 55. Thats just an option.

Dont have a clue about the price for a 135 with an FX5. You need to do some research. I would use the AC300 on the 55 and maybe add a simple sponge filter.

HTH
Eddie

cool, thanks. I found a marnieland mag. 220 for 50.00 I'm going to use that one the 55.

[Eddie Wells]

Carol great information indeed !!!
Thanks for the thread !

[selvon]

Thanks for the info, makes life easy:thumbsup:

[halo_demo]

Hello everyone! I just had a few questions, and I'm sorry if any have been asked before. I currently have a marineland 60 (48w 13d 24h) an emperor 400 filter with the blue filter pads that come with it, the grey containers have ammocarb in them at the moment. A stealth pro heater. My tank has about one inch of sand, and is planted. The temp currently is at 80degrees F ph is 7.0 I have 5 neon tetras an albino longfin bushynose pleco (about 2in) and 3dwarf grouarmis. Obviously my ultimate goal is to have discus in the tank. I had planned on getting 5-6, proably juvies. I was wondering what you believe I should do to my current setup in order to accomidate the discus. I was thinking of purchasing Peat Granu Media 500 GM for the grey plastic trays since I heard it will help bring the water to the slightly acidic side. Should I purchase another filter? If so.. what kind would be best? I've just read multiple things form websites and breeders alike.. I'm just worried about the health of my future fish. I know a planted tank will be more work, but I'm willing to put in the effort. I am trying to get it discus friendly asap. Please help
Thanks
Mike

[Eddie]

Hello everyone! I just had a few questions, and I'm sorry if any have been asked before. I currently have a marineland 60 (48w 13d 24h) an emperor 400 filter with the blue filter pads that come with it, the grey containers have ammocarb in them at the moment. A stealth pro heater. My tank has about one inch of sand, and is planted. The temp currently is at 80degrees F ph is 7.0 I have 5 neon tetras an albino longfin bushynose pleco (about 2in) and 3dwarf grouarmis. Obviously my ultimate goal is to have discus in the tank. I had planned on getting 5-6, proably juvies. I was wondering what you believe I should do to my current setup in order to accomidate the discus. I was thinking of purchasing Peat Granu Media 500 GM for the grey plastic trays since I heard it will help bring the water to the slightly acidic side. Should I purchase another filter? If so.. what kind would be best? I've just read multiple things form websites and breeders alike.. I'm just worried about the health of my future fish. I know a planted tank will be more work, but I'm willing to put in the effort. I am trying to get it discus friendly asap. Please help
Thanks
Mike


Welcome Mike! Your PH is fine, no need for peat. IMHO, if you want to start out with Juvies and its your first time with discus, I'd recommend removing everything from your tank and making it bare bottom discus only or getting a new tank for the discus. You will have a greater chance of success and much better experience, trust me.

All the best,

Eddie

[mmorris]

The temperature is low, as well. I recommend mid-80s for juvies, 82-3 for adults.

[John_Nicholson]

Mike nice to see another Texan on here. Since you are new you might not have noticed but we are having a HUGE discus show/workshop in Dallas June 11th - 13th. I know it is a long drive but there will be more discus knowledge at this shoe then has ever been assembled in North America. Showing up would vastly increase your knowledge and chances for success.

www.discus2010.com

Good luck.

-john

[tbone83]

just invented a method the other day, i use a small canister filter with the intake hose connected to small vacume cleaner attachment i can wipe down plus suck all the crap up in one go, the canister filter is packed with mech sponge and filter wool, when finished cleaning i turn it off, and repack every month, there no chance of the detritus and feces in the filter to reach back into the tank,but dont tell anyone about it or ill haft to kill you,(just Joking) lol :-)

[Brevcom]

Thanks Carol for the info. 4 to 6 weeks to quarintine new fish? Wow, that's news to me. I've kept african cichilds all my life and never had to do that.

Thanks again for the info.

[Skip]

Thanks Carol for the info. 4 to 6 weeks to quarintine new fish? Wow, that's news to me. I've kept african cichilds all my life and never had to do that.

Thanks again for the info.

well, thats why those who can do Discus.. those who can't do Africans ;))))

ps.. welcome to SD

[ultimatediscus]

Hey guys. Just set up my first discus tank. I have a 150 gallon, filled with an RO unit. I put in two schools of 10 tetras. How long until I can put in my discus? I was thinking of just getting 2 or 4 juvies at first.

Corey

[Eddie]

Hey guys. Just set up my first discus tank. I have a 150 gallon, filled with an RO unit. I put in two schools of 10 tetras. How long until I can put in my discus? I was thinking of just getting 2 or 4 juvies at first.

Corey

Hey there Corey, might post this in the basics for beginners section for more visibility. Welcome to Simply!

Are you adding any essential elements to reconstitute your RO water? A 150 gallon tank is pretty big for just 4 juvenile discus. Kind of like throwing them in the ocean, they will never find each other. Discus like to be in schools to feel secure and a big tank can be pretty intimidating for 4 little ones.

[phil47952]

I'm new to this forum and maybe to discus also, I was into discus in the later 60s, early 70s, much has changed I see
Right now it's reef tanks but I never lost my desire for the wonderful discus and may just try it again..


Phil

[gsteve]

Im starting over and trying to follow the ideas in here. I have a 3x cannister filter. I have it filled with sponges in one basket , bacterial stars in another and a ammonia removing element and stars in the last topped with a micro filter pad.
What should i change?

[SeaDragon]

I'm still fairly new to Discus, things are going pretty good. I have a main 90gal with a few live plants with 4 Discus (two of those being a pair) and then another pair in a bb 55gal to hopefully get them breeding But I was wonder is it too much water movement to have a Ehiem 2073 spray bar on the 90gal and two powerheads running on the undergravel filter, right now I only have one power head on just to keep the circulation as I wanted to see what others thoughts are on the movement and if it's ok to have a undergravel filter in a Discus tank.

[BHarris '10]

Thanks for the helpful info. One question though. I have found on multiple postings info on staring the nitrification cycle in the tank; however, I do not know where I can purchase pure ammonia from to dose the tank. Any suggestions?

[moon_knight1971]

Dollar Tree or most hardware stores. Just make sure there's no additives.

[mike046]

Hi Carol in the past i had kept a few Discus before but had to take my Aquarium down due to some problems...but now I'm ready to battle the tender care of keeping Discus. I"ve read so many threads from most folks here but one little problem when it comes to wc i dont have the room to keep a large barrel for aged water how can i add water to my Aquarium should i use it staight from my tap then add additives like Prime? im gonna set up a 125 gl with a few plants and im gonna use sand as a substrate and driftwood just to give u a idea and for filters 2 aqua clear 110.

thank u much
mike

[Luixx]

just wanna ask because i bought discus and they all died, what i did is i dechlorinate the water and run the filter 4 days before i bought the discus but after a week they all died...this is the first time to have discus the tetras that i bought didn't die its just the discus

[Skip]

just wanna ask because i bought discus and they all died, what i did is i dechlorinate the water and run the filter 4 days before i bought the discus but after a week they all died...this is the first time to have discus the tetras that i bought didn't die its just the discus

new tank, not cycled..

probably no water changes

ammonia

mix fish from more then 1 source...

it could be lots of things. however, it was probably something to do with water quality..

[aussiejas]

just wanna ask because i bought discus and they all died, what i did is i dechlorinate the water and run the filter 4 days before i bought the discus but after a week they all died...this is the first time to have discus the tetras that i bought didn't die its just the discus

:argue: 4 days????? :confused: are u srs? Ive had my filter running 3 weeks and i still would not consider putting discus in there yet.

[discuspaul]

I think you should read this:
www.forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?86009- Beginner-s-Guide-to-Getting-Started-with-Discus

[chesney01]

I have a magnum 350 Cannister Filter with the activated carbon installed. It also comes with a Micron filter element. Should I replace the carbon with the micron? I have the ejection port hooked to a Biowheel pro 60 unit (stand alone, unpowered dual 5" biowheels), so I am getting some biological filtration. In your opinion is this a good set up for discus?

[discuspaul]

chesney - not sure what it is you're asking or what your underlying concern is.
Are you concerned over your tank being in fact cycled, or maintaining suitable biological filtration ?
Your Magnum 350 is a fine filter, and if it has various media in it, has built up a sufficient BB colony, and your params test out well for discus - then you're fine. Don't know why you're asking about, (or using for that matter), activated carbon - do you have a particular reason for using that ?

[Skip]

you need to establish the biological filter with bacteria.. it takes weeks for it to happen.. your fish probably died of ammonia

[bigjohnson]

Hello,

New guy here...why does the tank need to be bare bottom?