Discus tank set up recommendations.
Hello all,
This is my first post. I ran into this site while researching about Discus. Long story short, is my wife saw a Discus tank and fell in love. I'm new to Discus, but not to fish keeping. I have not kept fish since the 90s, but was pretty deep into the hobby with both fresh and salt water tank setups.
I'm not sure how much has changed since then, but Discus seem to require some extra "special" treatment. I was hoping for some suggestions or even a full equipment list of what you guys think would work well given the following parameters. I'm sure there are a lot of other considerations that I've forgotten or taken for granted. Please feel free to add. Thank you all in advance for your time and thoughts.
1. 75 Gallon Tank
2. HOB filtration (partial to Aqua Clear 110). How many 1 enough? How about sponge filters..needed as well?
3. Heating. One large or two small
4. Substrate type (This is a mandatory requirement per "the boss" lol)
5. Plants. NOT heavily planted at all, but expect to add some greenery.
6. QT tank. Recommended size?
Re: Discus tank set up recommendations.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
faded14367
Hello all,
This is my first post. I ran into this site while researching about Discus. Long story short, is my wife saw a Discus tank and fell in love. I'm new to Discus, but not to fish keeping. I have not kept fish since the 90s, but was pretty deep into the hobby with both fresh and salt water tank setups.
I'm not sure how much has changed since then, but Discus seem to require some extra "special" treatment. I was hoping for some suggestions or even a full equipment list of what you guys think would work well given the following parameters. I'm sure there are a lot of other considerations that I've forgotten or taken for granted. Please feel free to add. Thank you all in advance for your time and thoughts.
1. 75 Gallon Tank
2. HOB filtration (partial to Aqua Clear 110). How many 1 enough? How about sponge filters..needed as well?
3. Heating. One large or two small
4. Substrate type (This is a mandatory requirement per "the boss" lol)
5. Plants. NOT heavily planted at all, but expect to add some greenery.
6. QT tank. Recommended size?
Welcome to Simply -
- 75 gal tank is great - I'm partial to A/C 110 HOB's as well - go for it - I've used 2 of those on a 75 gal - (sponge filter not needed).
- Heating - I've gone with 2 -300W - second one basically as a back-up. -
- Substrate - recommend # 20 grade pool filter sand - easy to keep clean -
- Plants - suggest Anubias or Java Ferns only - attached to driftwood piece -
- QT tank - you should be able to get by with say, a 20 gal.
Suggest you do a good deal of homework & reading of posts, plus all the Stickies in the Discus Basics for Beginners section before diving into discus - you'll be happy you did - it could save you big $$$ by not losing any fish due to being unprepared.
Best of luck to you.
Re: Discus tank set up recommendations.
Just a few thoughts for you to consider:
D-I-S-C-U-S - 6 CARDINAL RULES FOR NEWBIES TO FOLLOW
First I'd just like to mention once again that discus are hardier than many people think, and are not difficult to keep, so long as one is prepared to accept and adhere to a few key practices that will provide the best chances of success with discus.
This listing is recorded more or less in order of importance:
1) - D - Do your homework well before delving into discus. Read and research all you can beforehand. Googling will certainly help, as well as spending a good deal of time reading the posts and threads on the simplydiscus.com forum, particularly the stickies in the 'Discus Basics for Beginners' section, which will provide you with much of the material you need to digest.
2) - I - Investigate and learn of the best sources to get your discus stock. Find those breeders &/or importers that are long time, well-experienced, responsible, reputable, and known to supply high quality, healthy, and well-shaped discus. Buy your discus from one of these sources in order to insure that you get off on the best footing possible.
This is the single, most important factor in succeeding with discus.
The simplydiscus.com forum has a sponsors section which lists a good number of high quality discus suppliers in North America. Check it out.
3) - S - Set up and plan to follow a strict regular routine of fresh water changes, tank wipe-downs and cleansing, vacuuming of wastes, and regular filter and media cleaning, changes, replacements, and maintenance. Be fully prepared for the kind of commitment it takes to produce and maintain the highest water quality and conditions that you can.
4) - C - Carefully consider the type of tank set up you start with. Make sure the tank size is ample enough to start with 5 or 6 discus. Don't be tempted to begin with a tank of less than 55 or 60 gallons, and don't try to justify going smaller by just getting 1, 2, 3, or 4 discus for cost or other reasons.
Wait till you have sufficient resources to get a proper-sized tank, and the suitable size and number of fish to insure continuing good health and harmonious discus sociability.
Do not start with small, undersized, very juvenile fish which have not yet developed a more mature immune system, are more demanding to raise properly, and much more prone to health problems and other issues. Get fish of at least 3.0" in size, preferably larger.
5) - U - Undertake to start off with a bare bottom tank, unless you're getting fully adult fish and have previous good experience with fish-keeping generally, and maintaining a planted tank in particular. If you must have some decor, limit yourself to a very thin sand substrate layer, and perhaps a piece of driftwood with just a couple of small plants attached, or one or two potted plants.
Once you gain several months' of experience getting to know your discus' traits & behavior, and your discus get larger, then you may proceed to an aqua-scaped environment, to possibly include some other species of compatible discus tank-mates. Feed a varied diet, several times a day, and learn which foods will achieve a nutritious diet, by researching.
6) - S - Simplify. Keep things as simple as you can to start. Don't complicate your start with discus, at least at first, by placing them in a heavily planted environment, using CO2 and a strict fertilization regime. Make sure your tank is fully cycled before adding the fish, and don't be tempted to alter or change the pH of your water, or modify your water conditions and parameters by using chemicals of any kind. No need to use RO water or adopt any other procedures that would tend to complicate what should be a simple start to your discus launch. If you plan on eventually having a community tank set-up, carefully research the species of other fish you'd like to keep with the discus, to insure they are able to withstand the higher discus temp of at least 82 F, and that they are fully compatible with discus.
And do a complete and proper quarantine before adding any such tank-mates to your discus tank.
Follow these 'rules', and there's little doubt you will succeed with discus !
Re: Discus tank set up recommendations.
2. AC110 is fine, two would be better. I run one and a sponge filter on my 75, but waste does collect on the side the AC is not.
3. 2-3 small. Watts needed: ((desired temp - room temp)/10)*(gallons)*(3 to 5 watts)
Ex: ((82-70)/10)*(75)*(3 to 5 watts)=270 to 450 watts of heaters.
4. Supposed a painted bottom is out of the question? There are some nice spray paints that look like sand. If it's written in stone, something like <1/4" of pool filter/quartz sand would be okay. I also use Carib Sea Peace River in some tanks and like it quite a bit.
5. Potted sword species look nice in most SA tanks. The AC110 might be too much turbulence for floating plants like water sprite. I'd look at hardier fish if your goal is to have a planted substrate.
6. How many fish? Unless you have a fishroom setup with other fish to protect, you're probably better off just letting them loose in the 75 (assuming it's new setup). Not a particularly big tank, so meds won't be too costly if trouble pops up.
Re: Discus tank set up recommendations.
Paul,
Thank you for the two detailed responses! Exactly what I was looking for. I'm not in any rush to fail, so I will begin looking at all the stickies and threads as suggested. Again, THANK YOU!
Re: Discus tank set up recommendations.
Adam,
Thank you for the response! Very helpful to have that formula for heating requirements. Painted bottom maybe a good compromise, but I would need to show her some examples and get buy-in heh. Sounds like both you and Paul have mentioned Pool filter sand. I think that would be the way to go if she doesn't like the painted bottom. Thank you again for the recommendations.
Re: Discus tank set up recommendations.
Hi and welcome to this forum, nice to see new people catching the discus bug.
With the advice above you can't really go wrong so no need for me to repeat it. Just adding my nuggets: before painting bottom and/or sides of the tank you may want to have some dry runs putting cardboard painted with your choice of colour beneath/behind the tank. Alternatively you could use yoga mats trimmed to size (added advantage of insulating the glass from temperature/vibrations/uneven stand. Easy to change if the colour is not working for you. Best anyway to avoid darker tones that may encourage some strains of discus to darken as a kind of mimetism.
My second bit of advice is to plan beforehand how you are going to do the water changes, you are going to be changing probably a lot more water more often (particularly if you purchase younger fish) than you did with your previous tanks. The more of a chore changing water becomes and the less you will feel like doing it. In a recent topic we were remarking how often we spill water on the floor, that can lead to a very disgruntled spouse!
Last bit of advice is to get a decent (liquid reagent) test kit (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate as a bare minimum but pH, KH, GH and phosphates are also nice to have) and let us know how your tap water tests out.
Most of all though enjoy the ride!
Re: Discus tank set up recommendations.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Paul Sabucchi
Hi and welcome to this forum, nice to see new people catching the discus bug.
With the advice above you can't really go wrong so no need for me to repeat it. Just adding my nuggets: before painting bottom and/or sides of the tank you may want to have some dry runs putting cardboard painted with your choice of colour beneath/behind the tank. Alternatively you could use yoga mats trimmed to size (added advantage of insulating the glass from temperature/vibrations/uneven stand. Easy to change if the colour is not working for you. Best anyway to avoid darker tones that may encourage some strains of discus to darken as a kind of mimetism.
My second bit of advice is to plan beforehand how you are going to do the water changes, you are going to be changing probably a lot more water more often (particularly if you purchase younger fish) than you did with your previous tanks. The more of a chore changing water becomes and the less you will feel like doing it. In a recent topic we were remarking how often we spill water on the floor, that can lead to a very disgruntled spouse!
Last bit of advice is to get a decent (liquid reagent) test kit (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate as a bare minimum but pH, KH, GH and phosphates are also nice to have) and let us know how your tap water tests out.
Most of all though enjoy the ride!
Paul, great advice! I didn't think to test my tap water prior to purchasing the equipment. Always thought I would simply "adjust it". I have read a ton from the "Discus basics for beginners" thread and then some. I have not given up, but am beginning to doubt how regularly I can keep up with water changes. It seems that the successful folks on here do daily changes. I can handle weekly, as that's what I had to do with my salt tank before. Other than the initial costs, it sounds like a salt tank may be easier to maintain in the long run lol. Can you recommend a good water testing kit?
Re: Discus tank set up recommendations.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
faded14367
Paul, great advice! I didn't think to test my tap water prior to purchasing the equipment. Always thought I would simply "adjust it". I have read a ton from the "Discus basics for beginners" thread and then some. I have not given up, but am beginning to doubt how regularly I can keep up with water changes. It seems that the successful folks on here do daily changes. I can handle weekly, as that's what I had to do with my salt tank before. Other than the initial costs, it sounds like a salt tank may be easier to maintain in the long run lol. Can you recommend a good water testing kit?
No need to give up - you can readily keep discus doing only one or two large water changes a week IF you:
- Get adult or near adult discus - say, no less than 5" in size.
- Go with a bare-bottom tank, or very minimalist set-up - e.g. thin substrate sand layer with a piece or two of driftwood.
- Under-stock, given the size of your tank - e.g. no more than say 5 discus in a 75 gal tank.
- Don't neglect doing frequent tank cleansing, glass wipe-downs, removal of wastes, etc.
Re: Discus tank set up recommendations.
What he says!
Regarding a test kit, probably the API freshwater master kit is a reliable choice at a very reasonable price (big bottles of reagents at a small price), particularly as if you want to get your tank ready with a proper fishless cycle it will involve repeated testing for ammonia to start then nitrites and eventually nitrates.
Only issue is/was? with the nitrate test the reagents tend to precipitate in the bottle so you have to shake the heck out of the bottles before each use (and from the first time you use it). There are more high end test kits, Sera and Tetra here in Europe, Salifert, LaMotte, Hach and so on stateside but again a bit of a waste particularly while you have no fish but are just dosing ammonia to your tank, maybe you can upgrade later
