My first discus tank

[jratuszn]

Hi everyone!

I'm in the final stages of setting up my first discus tank, and have a few questions. I'll start out with some info about my setup-

I've got a 70g glass tank, with a DIY cement and foam background. After 2 weeks of curing in R/O, it's finally stopped raising my pH. Aside from the backgroung, the tank is bare, but I like the background because I can run my DIY canister over the top of it, and plant some Philodendrons in it to help with nitrates (plus I think it looks nicer than just seeing my wall behind the tank) I'm planning on stocking it with 6 2.5" juvies from an online breeder.

Ok, here come the questions:

I've invested in an R/O setup (a definite necessity here in the BIg Easy, where the tap is ~350 tds!) and was wondering:

- Could I avoid aging water and doing massive daily water changes by running the setup on a constant drip, with an overflow running back to my sink?

-If this is a doable plan, about how many gallons per hour should I have the drip rate at?

-Aside from Philod. and Pothos, are there any fast-growing terrestrial plants that people use to help with wastes?

I really appreciate any other suggestions you might have, and please let me know if there's anything I'm missing.

Thanks!

-Jeff

[Anonapersona]

ARe you planning to breed the discus? Your water is fine for raising discus with that TDS.

[jaydoc]

In fact the juveniles need the minerals for good growth. I have similiar water in kansas and the little buggers grow fine as long as the water quality is maintained ( low ammonia/nitrites/nitrates). I also found that a 75 gallon tank with only 6 discus at 2.5" looks awfully bare. Also, not all of your juvies always turn out the best when they grow out. Certainly the 10 gallon/ discus rule should be considered but I would maybe start with 9 - 10 fish for a better school then sell/trade/cull a few when they have grown a little. Just my opinion.

Yes, you can do the constant drip thing but it should not take the place of daily vacuuming of the waste on the bottom of the tank. do a search in the DIY section for drip systems and flow rates.

[jratuszn]

Ultimately, I do plan to breed the discus, but I'm an indebted med student, so I'm gonna start with a few juvies and see how it goes. I'd rather start out with a fewer number of high quality fish from a highly regarded breeder, and avoid problems down the road.

I have read that younger fish should have a higher tds, but 350 seems pretty high. Most recommendations I've found run between 120 and 180- am I mistaken? My tap comes out at around pH 8.5 to 9, and stays there even if it's aged. I'd prefer to use the R/O, and add shells in the canister if necessary, to up the tds a bit. Is this a sound plan? Will raising the juvies in straight ro/di be detrimental to their health/ growth?

Oh, and I definitely recognize the need for daily clean up. But that won't take out nearly as much water as I'd need to age for big daily water changes.

Thanks for all the replies and advice! Keep it coming! :)

- Jeff

[jaydoc]

I am not the expert but Straight r/o is not great for juvies. You need to mix r/o with tap at a ratio that results in your desired hardness. It is hard to do this with a continuous drip system on a budget. ( You would need a holding tank in which you reconstitute your water then pump it to the aquarium) My ph is 8.2-8.6 after aging and TDS is somewhere North of 300 as well. Most people find that it is easier to only amend the water when you are ready to breed and leave it alone when raising fry. This is what many other breeders in the midwest also do. I have found that the breeders from california get all nervous about the higher ph readings because they have no experience with them. For example, go read Cary Strong's bio on his website ( great lakes discus banner at the top of the page) He even says that he did better when he went to straight tap instead of trying to "perfect" his water. When you get your first batch grown out enough to pair up, then consider the whole water amending thing. In fact, Jack at Discus KC (just upriver from you in missouri) has worse water parameters then yours and doesn't amend his water except in his breeding tanks. Do whatever you think is best.
The more important mistake I made when setting up my Discus tank was to put the Discus in before the tank was well cycled. this can take several weeks of either a fishless cycle with ammonia or with starter fish. I found I was fighting my nitrites/nitrates for quite awhile and my fish didn't take off growing too well for awhile. Many pulled through just fine but a couple stunted and I wonder if this was part of the cause. ( A couple others also stunted but they were heart shaped when they arrived so I think they were already in trouble. A good reason to pick a reputable breeder.)

Hope these comments help

Cary the lesser

[Howie_W]

Hi Jeff,

Welcome to Simply! :) Setting up a new tank is insanely exciting...especially the day your fish arrive.

I agree on not messing with your water too much for raising juveniles. I think daily water changes using aged tap water matching the parameters inside your tank is best. Your going to have to clean the tank daily anyway, so it's only a small amount of extra time to change more water while your at it.

If down the road you decide to get into breeding, the r/o will come in handy...ofcourse by then you'll need another tank! ;)

HTH

Howie

[Willie]

Save money of R/O and spend it to buy a few more fish. Small discus get spooked in a big tank. Don't do it. Start them in a smaller tank or get some more discus. Then just focus on making as many W/Cs as you can and they'll grow out great.

Willie