Beginner needing some expert advice

[nevertooold]

Hi, I'm new here and new to keeping Discus. I have just purchased a used 90 gallon tank that came with and Eheim 2217 canister filter. I have purchased two 200 watt ViaAqua Titanium heaters. I am planning on having a thin layer of substrate and have purchased a 75 watt substrate heater as well. Any input on how to set up or if what I have is adequate or if I should be doing something in a different way, would be appreciated. I do not have any Discus as yet so have time to play around with set up. Thanks

[discuspaul]

Hi, and welcome to the forum.
You seem to be on the right track with your initial equipment choices, so at this point our best advice to you is to do 3 simple things:

1.- Do your homework first, and lots of it. Suggest you have a good read through many or all of the Stickies in the Discus Basics for Beginners section.

2.- Be sure to get at least 6 reasonably good-sized, more mature discus from a well-recognized, reliable source for supplying high quality discus. Any one of the SD sponsors in the "sponsor' section will do that for you at reasonable cost.

3.- Pay particular attention to a routine of frequent, large water changes and tank cleansing, and keep things as simple and uncomplicated as possible at first. That means avoiding a heavily planted environment, multi-level substrates, the use of any additives or water-altering chemicals, careful choice of tank-mates if any, and no CO2 use initially, among other things.

Best of luck to you & enjoy the forum.

[nevertooold]

Thanks for advice. The more I read, the more confused I get. Seems everyone has had a different brand of heater fail and overheat the water. I hope to avoid this by going with two smaller watt heaters instead of one larger watt. I understand the need to keep the water for Discus as clean as possible but just could never live with an empty tank. Can't be much of a life for the fish, even if they are healthy. Don't plan on anything fancy, just a thin layer of substrate and some driftwood to give the fish something to swim around and through. One concern I have is that the Eheim 2217 might not be large enough for a 90 gallon tank? Anyone have any thoughts on that. I've read a couple of places that I might need a HOB filter for extra mechanical filtration

[timmy82]

You seem to be on the right track with filtration I try to maintain a filter that can handle around 3 times the tank volume an hour or greater, the 2217 they say is 264g/hr so should be capable just don't over stock and you should be right.

[nevertooold]

Thanks Tim. I only plan on about 6 discus and maybe some tetras. Have ordered media for the 2217 so hope to get the tank up and running as soon as that arrives. Will get the tank cycled and add the tetras and see how that goes. Want to make sure I understand how to do everything right before I bring home Discus. I have 7 parrots that are looking at the empty tank sitting in the living room and I'm sure they are wondering what kind of bird is going to live in it. They are in for a big surprise, lol.

[Second Hand Pat]

Welcome to Simply nevertooold and you have received some great advice from Paul and Timmy. I would suggest reading up on quarantine especially with discus. I mention this since you are considering adding tetras to the mix. You will want to consider a quarantine tank so you can keep the two groups of fish separate for a period of 4 to 6 weeks.

To help get you started with the basics the following link will help introduce you to the basics of discus keeping and is a nice guide written by Paul (discuspaul).

Beginner's Guide to Getting Started with Discus

There are many threads at the top of the Discus Basics for Beginners section as stickies Discus Basics for Beginners and can be read at any time.

Pat

[nevertooold]

Thanks for the information Pat. I just started reading Beginners Guide to Getting Started with Discus and it's great. Hopefully I will be able to do this. The Discus are so beautiful I can hardly wait to have them in my tank, but I want to make sure I do it right. First step is getting my tank up and running and we'll see how that goes. I have been doing lots of reading on-line but a lot of the advice is conflicting so I'm slowly sorting through things. I really appreciate the people that have already responded to my posting, it's very encouraging. Thanks

[we4wieners]

Ive been keeping fish for 20 years. Just recently, over the last year, been keeping discus. This forum, and its members, will continually teach you new things. Discus are very different from your standard hobby regiments. Be prepared to change a lot of your thinking. Take the advice from members, though not always cordial advice, its the right advice. I am constantly being told to change things up from my old habits, so to speak. Its not criticism it's good advice.

[Second Hand Pat]

Be sure to ask questions along the way and enjoy the journey

[rickztahone]

Welcome nevertooold. You have been given great advice so far. If you have any additional questions, please let us know.

[nevertooold]

Everyone has been great so far. It's been over 30 years since I had an aquarium so any old habits I had are long forgotten. A blessing of old age (or curse depending on what you have forgotten) Back then I bought a tank, threw a bunch of fish in and by some miracle all seemed to go well. I had that tank for a long time, but when I got married and moved the tank stayed behind. I keep thinking of lots of questions, such as is sand or gravel the best substrate, I was going to put some tetras in the tank, cause I read somewhere that was good for the Discus, is that true?, what kind of bottom fish work best with Discus if I decide to put a couple in? Is the 3D backing I see advertised any good in a discus tank? Can I collect driftwood along the river and use that in my tank, and how should I clean it first. I have been doing a lot of reading on-line but it all kind of runs together after a while because there are so many different opinions. I joined Simply Discus because a bunch of people cared enough about their fish to get organized and help each other and that sounded right to me. Thanks again everyone, I may be a bit of a pest for awhile.

[discuspaul]

Everyone has been great so far. It's been over 30 years since I had an aquarium so any old habits I had are long forgotten. A blessing of old age (or curse depending on what you have forgotten) Back then I bought a tank, threw a bunch of fish in and by some miracle all seemed to go well. I had that tank for a long time, but when I got married and moved the tank stayed behind. I keep thinking of lots of questions, such as is sand or gravel the best substrate, I was going to put some tetras in the tank, cause I read somewhere that was good for the Discus, is that true?, what kind of bottom fish work best with Discus if I decide to put a couple in? Is the 3D backing I see advertised any good in a discus tank? Can I collect driftwood along the river and use that in my tank, and how should I clean it first. I have been doing a lot of reading on-line but it all kind of runs together after a while because there are so many different opinions. I joined Simply Discus because a bunch of people cared enough about their fish to get organized and help each other and that sounded right to me. Thanks again everyone, I may be a bit of a pest for awhile.

- Substrate: Sand is better than gravel - easier to keep clean, and wastes don't collect between the cracks to decompose and produce toxicity.
- Tetras as tank-mates: Some are good - some not so good. Suggest you stick with Cardinals, Rummy-Noses, Lemon tetras. Avoid Neons - they're small and don't handle the higher discus temps well - also avoid Serpais - can be nippers.
- Bottom-dwellers: Cories are great, as are Bristle-Nose Plecos.
- Driftwood: Play it safe - buy aquarium-ready driftwood. Collected DW, even if boiled, may still harbor surprises of one kind or another.
- 3-D Backing: Remember what I said in my first post about keeping things as simple as possible, at least at first. 3-D backing can partially come away from your back glass, and result in all kinds of undesirable matter getting in behind it - to potentially cause problems.
Best of luck to you.

[nevertooold]

Thanks. I thought that 3-D backing might be a problem, but figured I'd ask. I'll find something to go on the outside of the tank.

[nevertooold]

Okay, now I have another question. What is the best method of testing the PH in your aquarium? I have a kit that uses a test tube and drops. I tested my tap water and it appeared to be 7, then I left a large glass of water out for a day and tested again, now it looks like 8. Should I be waiting till the aquarium is up and running for a bit before I test? Received all my filter media today, so hopefully in the next few days I can get everything cleaned up and set up. The Eheim 2217 that came with my aquarium had some mechanical media in it which turned out to be the actual Eheim mech media. Can this used product be cleaned up and reused or should I just throw it out and use the new stuff I purchased. I would hate to throw good stuff away. With all the reading I'm doing, I must say I beginning to be a little worried about my ability to do a good job with Discus. Did anyone else feel that way at first?

[discuspaul]

Ok, you tested your water out of the tap and the pH was 7.0 - so far so good.
You might fill a bucket (rather than a small glass) with water, leave it sit overnite, and test it the next day to see how much it has changed, up or down, and let us know.
Meantime, why don't you just get your tank set up, filled with water, with filter & heater going, and start your cycle.
Then test your tank water's pH as this is going on. Be sure to follow the test directions carefully and shake the bottle well before the test.
Re: your Eheim filter - what material exactly are you talking about ? Whatever material came with the filter should be good to start out with, If it's sponges or ceramics - they simply need to be rinsed in tank water occasionally as they dirty.
Shouldn't be any need to throw anything out.

Don't unduly concern yourself - you can do this - if need be, re-read the Beginner's Guide to refresh your memory on any thing that bothers you.
Get a start, and throw out your questions as you proceed with preparing your discus tank. We'll help you out.