75g first discus tank this spring

[fretbuzz520]

Hey, all, first post. Just wanted to bounce some ideas off everyone.

First, the idea:
Probably 2-4 discus (I will do whatever they are most comfortable with some say 4 is minimum). A school of rummynose tetras, a couple german blue rams, and probably some corys and otos. I will be researching and planning the stocking later. The discus are the most important and that's obviously what this tank will be catering to.

The fixture that will be used would be a 4x65watt PC with two actinics and two white.

*Has anybody heard the argument that actinics do not count towards overall wattage?

Basically, I would like to get away with some very hardy plants if possible. I'm not going to go the full C02 route, but I would do a quality fertilizer substrate if I knew whether or not my fixture was up to the task of growing a few hardy plants. If the actinics wattage count then I would have a full 260 watts (3.4wpg), if the actinics don't count towards the overall wattage then I would only have 130watts (1.7wpg). This will be something that will make me decide to go with fake plants with rocks and wood or go with a few live ones.

*Has anybody heard of a sump design on a discus tank?

I will have a 38gal that will not be used and that would make a wonderful sized sump on the 75. That would also be a very nice form of filtration if I understand correctly. I could probably harvest some macroalgae in a refugium down there?

If I shouldn't go with a sump then I will probably go with a fluval 304 underneath (loaded with media that only needs to be changed every 6 months, so I don't have to service the darn thing all the time) and an emperor 400 up top. I will use peat and carbon if necessary.

*How do I maintain proper pH in this tank?
*What does everyone prefer for water changes? conditioned tap water vs. RO/DI vs. bottled water vs. distilled water?

Feel free to offer any suggestions. I'm still in the researching phase so these are just ideas and please comment about anything. I hope I mentioned everything.

[Apistomaster]

1. Six to eight discus in 75 gallon tank. No less than four but a few more is better.
2. Change all lamps to daylight(~6700K) 130 watts will work fine for attached or potted Anubias and Amazon Swords. Discus don't enjoy the glare that reef animals need. They appreciate floating plant cover. Ceratophyllum or water sprite are good. Actinics are out; they will serve no purpose.
3. wet/dry filters with sumps are very good to use with discus. I like combining both wet/dry and a canister filter, especially in planted tanks. The refugium concept does not merit the added complexity but if you have the space and want to try, it won't hurt anything. It will not be as useful as regular large water changes.
4. If your are buying juvenile discus use a bare bottom tank with potted plants and some drift wood. Discus are best grown to near adult size before making a transition to a substrate planted tank. I often use only a 1/4-inch or less of substrate because it allows discus to forage in the sand as they like but the tank remains easy to keep clean. They like sand not gravel.

These are just some guide lines and remember, there are as many ways to keep Discus happy and healthy as there are Discus keepers.

[happygirl65]

I use 50/50 bulbs on my lower light planted tank (half actinic half 10,000k) and I did that so that I could upgrade later on by switching out the bulbs if I wanted to upgrade.

I can tell you that the actinic half of the bulb really does not do much if anything for the plants.