Am i ready to take the plunge?

[MaryStephens]

Hello... I am new to the discus hobby and have been doing a lot research. I was hoping I could get some input from the more experienced here on whether my tank is ready for discus.

I have a 55 gallon tank (I don't have room to go larger) running and cycled. I have a Eheim professional 4 canister filter, fluval aqua clear filter, 2 eheim heaters & eheim air pump with 2 bubblers.

My water parameter are as follows: PH - 7.2 ; Ammonia, Nitrite & Nitrate - 0 ; KH - 3 ; GH - 4

My tank is bare bottom with 2 pieces of congo wood, some rocks and plants planted in glass jars with pool filter sand. I have 5 lemon tetras, 10 neon tetras (I know these could become a snack) and 2 cory cats.

I'm hoping to get 5 - 4" discus from DiscusHans in a couple of months.

All opinions & suggestions welcomed! Thank you!

[MaryStephens]

I would really appreciate some responses.

[two utes]

Sounds like you are good to go Mary Beth.

Good luck with your new venture.

[Ryan925]

Sounds good to me too

[Neptune]

You say your nitrates are at zero, you should have some nitrates if your tank is cycled. How did you cycle it and how long?

[DatDiscusDude]

Seems like you are off to a good start.

What temp are you keeping things at? What are your plans for water changes once they come in? If you can push it go the extra inch and get 5".

[MaryStephens]

Thank you for the responses.
My water temp is about 84-86.
I plan on doing water changes maybe 3-4x a week.

I used microlobe to start cycling and dose about 1x week. It's been going probably 3 weeks. I'm not planning to get the discus until August; first, i want the tank to be good and cycled and second, I have multiple trips planned in the next couple of months and want to wait till after those.

[MaryStephens]

thanks so much!

[discuspaul]

You say your nitrates are at zero, you should have some nitrates if your tank is cycled. How did you cycle it and how long?

Neptune has made a good point - with no nitrates present, and only 3 weeks since the tank was set up, I don't think you are cycled yet, Mary Beth.
Has your cycling strictly relied on the fish that you have in the tank to produce ammonia ? When did you put them in since you set up the tank - seems like it was just recently, with no ammonia showing up yet ?

[LizStreithorst]

Neptune is right. If the nitrate is 0 the tank is not cycled.

That being said, only you know if you are ready to take the plunge. You'll dive in when you are ready to.

[gluedandscrewed]

again , i dont understand the preoccupation with cycling the tank, i have 9 discus that went into the tank a day after i filled it with water,that was 4 months ago, have not had any sort of a problem with the fish, as a matter of fact i have 7 more being delivered this morning that will go into a grow out tank that was filled with water yesterday, so what is the deal with wasting weeks of time to cycle the tank just to change the water every day anyways? splain it to me lucy

P.S. i know i'm ruffing some feathers but it just doesn,t make sense, and as judge judy says " if it dont make sense, it isnt true"

[DatDiscusDude]

No one says you are wrong... I believe Liz herself is a fan of the quick start up as I have read in other posts...

There is just a big risk for those who don't realize how much daily WC can be! You don't want to miss a day or mess something up in an un-cycled tank.

I personally have never done it but I hear many who have!

[Neptune]

again , i dont understand the preoccupation with cycling the tank, i have 9 discus that went into the tank a day after i filled it with water,that was 4 months ago, have not had any sort of a problem with the fish, as a matter of fact i have 7 more being delivered this morning that will go into a grow out tank that was filled with water yesterday, so what is the deal with wasting weeks of time to cycle the tank just to change the water every day anyways? splain it to me lucy

P.S. i know i'm ruffing some feathers but it just doesn,t make sense, and as judge judy says " if it dont make sense, it isnt true"

Now I'm confused between GluedandScrewed and the OP?????

But in terms of 0 nitrates in a "cycled tank"...Just going to take a shot here....you are using the API Master test kit????

[Ryan925]

Now I'm confused between GluedandScrewed and the OP?????

But in terms of 0 nitrates in a "cycled tank"...Just going to take a shot here....you are using the API Master test kit????

That would be my guess. I often see posts stating 0 nitrate in a well established tank. I would have to believe this has to relate to how the test is performed.

[gluedandscrewed]

just left them alone for 5 days while camping,, normal feeding the day before with normal, about 30% water change,that was Wednesday, just a 30% WC thursday morning before leaving, nothing friday, saturday had a neighbor feed them once, nothing sunday,,got back monday, last monday, evening with absolutely no ill effects or sign of stress in the fish...think this discus keeping has been made out to be a lot more complicated than it has to be, the only chemical parameter i check is the ph, dont own any other test kit, only filter the water for particulates, nothing else...