Will this work?

[maek999999999]

OK, I could use some help. I have kept fish for a good while, and got out of it for several years because I was complete board with community fish, and didnt have time. I always wanted discus, and someone just gave me a glass tank, its 36 Wide x 22 Tall x 12 Deep. I guess thats around 42-45 gallons. I have a PENGUIN POWER FILER 350GPH that hangs on back type filter, as well as an Eheim 2215, and another pengiun big enough for a 29 gal tank. I was planning on using a sponge filter on the intakes of each, not so much as a biological filter but to keep larger particles out. Anyway...

I dont have a quarantine tank set up but I do have a 29 gal tank that would work. I am not planning on adding anything new once I get going, but what do you all think? I also have several water heaters of various size and Hydor Eth 201 in line heater. Does any of this equiptment head me in the right direction?


I have been given glowing reviews of the Hans discus, my local FS carries many of them, and can order anything I want. I know that major water changes are important, i just wonder about my water condition straight out of the tap, because an RO unit is really not in the budget. I dont mind setting up an aging tank and all, I just wonder if I am going to have to do a million and one things to adjust the ph and gh and all that to get it right. DOnt mind water changes, I just wouldlike to know what I am getting myself into before droping the cash for the fish.

but I am wondering just how much conditioning i will have to do to the water, and if I am just totally kidding myself with the possibilty of doing this with the above equiptment. Daily water changes are fine, but if i have to raise and lower ph and everything and test everything daily this really adds up to something I probably dont want to do.

Here are my water peremeters coming out of my tap, of course its aged a bit so the levels are stable.

ph 7.5-8
Gh 7
KH 3

My local fish store tells me that my tap water is fine, I would just need to treat it for cholamin, metals, chlorine and all that, and make sure its the right temp going in. Do does anything i have above equal a reasonable opportunity to keep discus? IS my water quality close enough for Hans discus??

[Polar_Bear]

Your lfs is telling you the truth, your water is fine for raising discus, hell I have bred them in "worse" water than that. IMO your main tank is just a bit on the small side for a beginning discus keeper though. I really would not put more than 5 discus in that tank. I think you would be doing yourself and your fish a big favor if you got at least a 55 gallon tank. The ETH 201 added to the 2215 will be plenty of heater. I run 55 gallon tanks with basically that setup and the temp remains rock steady at all times.

[Tropical Haven]

Your water is just fine, I would get a 55 gallon drum just as Polar Bear suggested and treat it for Chlorine and chloramines and make sure the water in it is as close as possible with the water temp in your tank. I would look into getting a 55 gallon tank instead before you start with discus, this will give you the option of starting out with 5 to 7 discus which is a great number to start out with.

[Upper Canada]

Polar Bear and Scott are giving you good advice. If that Penguin filter is 350 gph I would not suggest you use it on a small 40 to 50 gallon tank. If it does actually pump that much it would turn the water over 7 times per hour, or every nine minutes. I would think that the water current would be too strong. I prefer calm water where the discus do not have to work all the time to maintain their position.

Bob

[maek999999999]

Thanks Polar_Bear, Thanks swinefka - I appreciate the info.

Can you also tell me a little about the draw backs??

Minimum number of fish for the tank and the min number of fish in the school?

TIA

[Tropical Haven]

Well there is no minimum etched in stone, but the rule of thumb is to start out with 6 or more discus. The reasoning behind this is that discus that are in a bigger group feels more secure and safe. If you get just a few discus they will have the tendency of hiding all of the time plus there is an increased chance of one or two discus getting picked on all the time because there is only a few to be picked on. This is just two main reasons but there are other ones as well that I am sure that other people will chime in on.

[Apistomaster]

Polar Bear and Scott are giving you good advice. If that Penguin filter is 350 gph I would not suggest you use it on a small 40 to 50 gallon tank. If it does actually pump that much it would turn the water over 7 times per hour, or every nine minutes. I would think that the water current would be too strong. I prefer calm water where the discus do not have to work all the time to maintain their position.

Bob

The Penguin "water fall" style return does not set up a strong directional flow. It is rated 350 gph but actual flow in use will be much less. They clog quickly which is why they don't actually perform at their full potential flow. This would be the minimum size of filter I would consider barely adequate for your tank.
I have raised thousands of discus and I normally have a flow of ten tank volumes per hour in my tanks. I only reduce it for breeding tanks and small fry. This display tank has 14 times the tank volume flowing through it per hour. You notice the live black worms still manage to lay on the bottom waiting to be eaten.
http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t41/apistomaster/P8210045.jpg

[pinkertd]

Larry - your fish are stunning!!!!

[Apistomaster]

Hi Debbi,
I appreciate your compliments. I have been keeping and breeding Discus most of my life so I tend to have pretty happy fish.

I have found that Discus appreciate currents but there are some tricks. Use the different filters so the flows oppose each other. This results in partial cancellation of the flows into non directional turbulence. Also strategically placed pieces of drift wood can be used to diffuse the flows. One can then have enormous volumes of water flowing yet the discus are not force to fight it. The idea is to not set up everything so that it flows unobstructed in the same direction. Only do that when trying to simulate a river tank like one set up for plecos or strong swimmers like Bala Sharks or Tinfoil Barbs That, is something discus do not like.