Suitable for discus?

[crashFragment]

Hi,
I'm a VERY new discus keeper ;Dexperienced fish keeper, and I have a couple of questions about my set-up. Basically I want some reassurance.

Tank size: 48"x18"x18"
Filtration: Fluval404 with a home-made trickle filter on the output. It has a massive capacity.
Temp, ph etc. are all at standard values for discus.
The tank will be set-up as a biotope and will house 4-6 discus and others: tetras, catfish etc.

How does all this sound?
Thanks ;)
-Shaun

[RyanH]

I stopped using Fluvals for my Discus tanks. They get too dirty and if one fails, you have a tank-full of water on your floor. If you do use it. Use a pre-filter and lose the carbon.

[Carol_Roberts]

Hi Shaun, Welcome to SimplyDiscus :wave:
Your tank is a nice size.

I hate fluvals - they are nitrate factories. I prefer a hang on the back filter like an aqua clear wilth a prefilter on the intake and two sponges inside.

If you going to do a biotope I suggest adult discus as juveniles need a bare tank for optimum growth and color development.

Standard water numbers for discus are Temp 84, ammonia -0-, nitrite -0-, nitrAte less than 5 ppm, pH whatever your tap is.

The secret to healthy discus is lots of water changes in a clean tank with a clean filter.

[crashFragment]

would my fluval be ok if i use a pre-filter sponge on the intake? i've found this model to be very clean and effecient, even when my tank was stocked with medium sized south american pimelodids and eartheater cichlids, i had no trouble with nitrite, nitrate, ammonia. i clean the internal prefilter sponges about once a month, they usually don't require cleaning because the filter is far from clogged. i just rinse them out under the tap. all the filter media compartments are filled with bio-media, eheim ehfisubstrate (spelling?), 5mm gravel, ceramic noodles, bio-balls, coarse foam...probably something else too...the bio-media gets a light rinse in dirty tank water every 2-3 months.
and on top of the tank i have a home-made trickle filter, fed by the fluval outflow. the water trickles onto a sponge, then a drip plate to spread it out a-bit. after that it goes through bio-balls, then plastic drinking straws and back into the tank. the reasons for the trickle section are two-fold: extra filtration and oxygenation, because i don't have a spare power supply for a pump ::)
if this set-up REALLY won't work for discus, i have a spare eheim2217 i can alternatively use, or i can purchase an aquaclear.

about the ph, will whatever my tapwater is be ok? i thought discus needed low ph?
the tapwater comes out of the tap at about ph 8, but the buffering capacity is pretty low and once its in the tank and exposed to driftwood etc. it drops to 6 almost instantly.
thanks :-*

[Carol_Roberts]

A small pore pre-filter sponge rinsed daily will help. Your tap water should be fine, but watch out for pH crash. Do you know the GH or KH of your water? Juveniles actually grow better with minerals in the water.

[bikhu]

I swore by Fluval 404. Used it for years with really overrstocked African tanks.... Then one failed and I swore at the fluval!!! In a hurry I ran to the store and bought what I figured would be a good cost effective temporary substitute.... at $30 I couldn't go wrong until I got the replacement parts I needed for the Fluval.... So I brought home the Aqua Clear 500 and will never go back to Fluval again. It is so efficient and easy to clean. All I use is the AC with a prefilter sponge and a sponge filter media. No carbon, no ammo chips or anything else.... I really suggest trying one.... Its worth the effort and y0our Discus will really appreciate it too.
JMO
Peace,
peter

[wyang76]

does anyone have pictures of the home made fluval trickle output?

I'd like to set one up on mine.

[crashFragment]

i don't have any pics...but its pretty simple really, anything plastic container that will hold water should work. drill some holes for the outflow, fill it with bio-media and direct the fluval output into it. it might take a-bit of fiddling about to get enough holes for it to drain out quick, and you need to have something to attach the outflow pipe to, if its not attached or stable theres the danger of water all over the floor...its pretty simple to make one :)
-shaun

[Mykiss]

Hi crashFragment, welcome to Simply! I think the set up would be okay, just don't everload your tank with fishes. if the Fluval is a factory for Nitrates, then too many fish will surely create a bigger problem with the nitrates. However, the trickle filter should house a lot of good bacteria so it should help lower levels of harmful nitrogen. But, you need to do something about the broken down by-products i.e. plants? even better, do lots of water changes, then I can't see why it wouldn't be okay! good luck
pt