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View Full Version : Let me know how my setup is



PerFiikT
04-11-2011, 11:27 PM
OK i am going to start a discus tank and just want to know what you guys think. First a little about myself. My names chad im 20 years old. Ive been keeping fish for about 7 years now and am very familiar with planted tanks. I also have a bearded dragon and hes the best and i love taking care of him. Heres what i have for my discus tank.

75 gallon tank.
Fluval 405
2 250watt heaters
water test kit
6500k full spectrum lights for plants( not going crazy cause discus' cant be in too bright of light)
im going to use sand bottom
like i said live plants
no carbon in the filters
digital thermometer
water temp roughly 84-85*
plan on getting 7 discus
im going to cycle the tank for probably 2 months just to keep an eye on water conditions. i will cycle with tetras and maybe a few clown loaches

anything else i should consider?

Eddie
04-12-2011, 01:39 AM
Nice to meet you Chad! Not bad, I'd recommend adults for this tank and skip the loaches. Thats just me. Also, I would not cycle the tank with fish, I would do a fishless cycle. This is for disease prevention. It would suck to have 7 adult discus fall ill and die from a tiny tetra. Plus, you would need about 200-300 of them to match the bio load that 7 adults discus will be needing. ;)

ericatdallas
04-12-2011, 02:27 AM
That's almost exactly like my setup in my planted tank except I also ran a HOB (was a Whisper 60, but I upgraded to an AC110) along with my Fluval 405 and added a sponge pre-filter on the intakes. Not that I don't think a Fluval 405 can't handle it, that's just what I have. The nitrates/nitrites/ammonia are always at zero although I think I need to look into CO2 with my setup.

I haven't done this yet, but I'm considering getting a power head. I find there are a lot of dead spots where debris builds up (especially with the plants). I think this also helps prevent algae with the air flow.

So again, not sure if it'll work or if it's worth it, but it's at least worth thinking about as you're setting up.

The planted tank with discus is definitely the biggest pain. One or the other isn't too bad, but there's a bit of a balancing act combined.

I would also recommend the adults for the tank. I had 6 juvies in my tank and 5 became stunted. I finally moved them to a BB to grow out. None of them recovered... :(

The adults didn't have too hard of a time adjusting although I think they still get frustrated when food gets caught up in the plants. They give up pretty easily though so it helps to have dither fish pick up after them so food doesn't rot in the plants (although the power head would also help with this).

PAR23
04-12-2011, 10:57 AM
I would also get some sponge filters......Great bio media.

DonMD
04-13-2011, 12:52 PM
Nice to meet you Chad! Not bad, I'd recommend adults for this tank and skip the loaches. Thats just me. Also, I would not cycle the tank with fish, I would do a fishless cycle. This is for disease prevention. It would suck to have 7 adult discus fall ill and die from a tiny tetra. Plus, you would need about 200-300 of them to match the bio load that 7 adults discus will be needing. ;)

+1

calihawker
04-13-2011, 11:02 PM
Hi Chad, welcome! I too have a bearded dragon, love 'em. Definitely do a fishless cycle like Eddie said. Also if you don't have a lot of experience with planted tanks then I would suggest you spend some time with that to start. There's low tech simple ways to do plants and there's the high tech method. For sure do your research there.

Good luck!

Steve