best shape of a discus tank

[ganesan]

First I know this is a subjective wish. There are cylindrical, hexagonal, square shaped etc. I wanted to know what is the best dimension to school about 15 adults. Yes the height is important and width should be at least as much as height. For a 5 foot long tank what should be the ideal height and width and glass thickness and how many horizontal beams are safe to hold the water weight. What is the best and ideal height for a discus tank. I know that the higher the better as they will not be disturbed by shadows but what is the ideal height that professionals keep in inches above ground level. Also what should an ideal sump size be for say a five feet long tank to be kept below the tank.

[John_Nicholson]

My favorite size was 120 gallon tank with a foot print of 4 X 2 X 2.

-john

[Elliots]

I have a 5' tank, 60X24X24 inches, 150 gal. I did not go to 31" high because I was told it is difficult to clean the bottom and that is correct. The glass is 1/2 thick. My first tank had braces all around the bottom and around most of the top except for less than half the top left where there was no bracing to allow a HOB filter. There was also one brace across the center that supported two glass tops I purchased with the tank. After about 1 1/2 years it cracked for no known reason. I then re-ordered a replacement but this time with two braces across the top. Not for strenght but so I could put an AQ110 filter on both sides hanging on the rear glass. On the first a tank I had a AQ110 next to an AQ70 on one side of the tank (Both hanging next to each other on the rear glass.) There was not enough room for two AQ110 HOB. Now my tank has three glass tops. I prefer the second design. Both tanks came from GlassCages. I live in a small rental apartment. If I had the room I would have bought a 72X24X24, that is 180 gal. I did not consider having the tank built with the two HOB filters hanging off oppersite ends. I do not know if they would make that design.

[DonMD]

You know I think it depends a lot on the size of your room. John's comment about a 4x2x2 is fine, but it wouldn't fit well where I have my 125 gallon tank, which is 6 feet by 18 inches by 22 tall. It's narrower, and so it fits better in my dining room.

Really the answer to your question is: any tank that you can comfortably fit a lot of discus in! Hah!

[OC Discus]

My 55g is in a spot where 4' is max for length. But with width and height options I could upgrade to 75, 90, or even 125 in the same spot. 125 would more than double my capacity, but would require a stool or step ladder for maintenance.

On smaller tanks, long is often recommended to increase the water surface area. This is where gas leaves the tank and oxygen comes in. Shorter deeper tanks may require additional air stones to get oxygen to the bottom.

For 15 discus you are looking at 150 gallons minimum. Shape is a matter of preference, but deeper is harder to clean and requires more added oxygen. Discus would probably like the deeper tanks.


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[discuspaul]

I have a 5' tank, 60X24X24 inches, 150 gal. I did not go to 31" high because I was told it is difficult to clean the bottom and that is correct. The glass is 1/2 thick. My first tank had braces all around the bottom and around most of the top except for less than half the top left where there was no bracing to allow a HOB filter. There was also one brace across the center that supported two glass tops I purchased with the tank. After about 1 1/2 years it cracked for no known reason. I then re-ordered a replacement but this time with two braces across the top. Not for strenght but so I could put an AQ110 filter on both sides hanging on the rear glass. On the first a tank I had a AQ110 next to an AQ70 on one side of the tank (Both hanging next to each other on the rear glass.) There was not enough room for two AQ110 HOB. Now my tank has three glass tops. I prefer the second design. Both tanks came from GlassCages. I live in a small rental apartment. If I had the room I would have bought a 72X24X24, that is 180 gal. I did not consider having the tank built with the two HOB filters hanging off oppersite ends. I do not know if they would make that design.

I totally agree with Elliots' described sizes - to me those are of ideal dimensions, and I particularly like the idea of the brace bars being placed in such as way as to allow 2 - AC 110's to be placed on either end of the tank at the rear.
If I were getting another large discus tank, it would be exactly that.
24" X 24" is a very good height & width for a discus tank.
Taller would be nice, but more difficult to clean & maintain properly.

[GeauxDiscus]

Really the answer to your question is: any tank that you can comfortably fit a lot of discus in! Hah!

+1 - Whatever fits best in your available space.

[kkdiscus]

I am thinking of a 84 width x 30 height x 24 depth inches, any comment?

[Elliots]

30 high will be difficult to clean the bottom. If the tank is against a wall it will be very difficult to clean the bottom along the back of the tank. I thought about 31" high but I was happily talked out of it. Try 24" high. With trhat lenght make sure you have at least 2 HOB or 2
canister filters. Also at least 2 heaters

[discuspaul]

That's a good tank for discus. Only small problem is the 30" height. Unless you're tall and have long arms, it can be problematic to clean the tank properly with wcs.

[rl1360]

What are the thoughts as to glass or acrylic show tank?

[mitmil]

I run a 48 long, 30 in tall and 24 deep. the disk swim the complete tank and the bottom is a little far down, been times my head was into the water, the fish came and checked me out. I run a 40 gal sump and no 02, every one seems very happy. Been running this since they were juvies. Not quite a year now. Planted, 10 disk, 5 long fin bristles and 15 black neons. I find it perfect size, since I have no room for a bigger tank

[aquadon2222]

Discus swim vertically more than they do horizontally. Long shallow tanks display the fish better because they're always in vision, but they do seem to be more comfortable when they can hide under cover and move up and down in a deep tank.