Setting up a new 75 gallon Discus Tank

[Salvoman]

Hello All-

My name is Sam. I am new to the site as well as fish keeping. I haven't had a tank of any kind for quite awhile. The last tank I kept was an African Cichlid tank. So of course I want to start a Discus tank.

Initially, I was going to try Cichlids again in a 55 gallon. But they're mouth brooders and we have a 5 yr. old at home. We don't have room for a breeding tank and I didn't want him to watch fry being eaten. Actually we didn't want to either. My wife and I have always loved Discus & since they are egg layers and I assume less likely to breed in a community tank, we thought it was a good idea.

Because we wanted a mixed tank, after reading many posts on the site, I decided the 75 gallon was the way to go much to my wife's chagrin. At least she had her Discus but the tank would take up more room in our Manhattan apartment.

So here's what I've initially decided:

A Clear for Life 75 gallon display tank. Dimensions are 48”W X 20”H X 18”W.
2 Eheim 2217’s or 2 Fluval 406’s.
2 Hydor 200W in line heaters with a thermostat.(Has anyone had any experience with in line heaters)? I think I'll need to replace the ribbed hoses with vinyl tubing & reducers on the 406 to use these correct? If that's the case I'm leaning toward the Eheim's.

Also I’d like a few simple plants without a true substrate. Minimal soil such as pool sand or gravel, some rock and driftwood. I'm thinking Java Fern, Java Moss or Christmas Moss, & Anubia, glued to the rock and driftwood. The light would be a Finnex planted 24/7 LED.

I'd like to stock the tank with the following:
6 Discus
2 Appistogramma (I considered G. Rams but read they are more difficult to keep).
2-4 Hypancistrus Plecos or Peckoltia Leopard Frog L134
3 Clown Loaches
12 Neon or Rummy nose Tetras

I've read that unless I do a BB tank I should not raise juveniles so I guess I'll start with six 3-4" discus. I do not have room for a quarantine tank so that is not an option.Hans gets a lot of good reviews. I've also been in touch with Mathias at Discuss Madness.

I believe I'm capable of two 25% water changes per week along with 1 major cleaning. If any more is required besides regular maintenance, please offer your opinions.

I hope i'm going in the right direction here. Clearly there is so much I don't know. I've been reading your posts here as well as The Planted Tank & have downloaded "Getting Started With Discus" by Paul Villeneuve. The learning curve seems steep and some of things I've read are very intimidating. I want to be a responsible fish owner and get the most out of the hobby for me and my family. My son is a smart little guy and really wants to experience fish keeping too. Hopefully we can all enjoy it together.

Any other advice you’d like to give would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks a lot,
Sam

[Phillydubs]

Sam,

First and foremost, welcome! From one former manhattan resident to a current, I know your pain!!!! Most people on here won't bat an eye at your apt. comment, however the struggle is real!!! Lol, I at one time had 3 tanks going in a one bedroom!

I, much like you forayed from African's to discus... Funny thing is now I am on long island, nice sized home and I have one tank at work, lol, go figure!

Anyway... you seem to be part of a growing trend here. Educated people doing the right thing and researching here first before they dive! I was not one of them and it was a struggle, and still is sometimes because I can never seem to stay out of my own way. I guess it wouldn't be a hobby if we didn't tinker right???

Anyway, I am happy to give my suggestions and help based on what you wrote and I am sure others will chime in to help you.

I think you are well on your way to being successful with a few minor tweaks....

First off, good move stepping up from the start tot he 75, another thing I wish I did. You will be very happy you did it. Does your building ever have power outages or surges? I lost an entire tank of gorgeous show Africans after a weekend outage when away and my canister's didn't fire back. I have always had a dislike and a battle with canisters. I honestly prefer the ease of a nice HOB over them. My fave though is a sump, so you may want to consider it.

Based on your desire for some light sand, wood connected plants, tank mates and all, I would do your best to up those water changes and keep above 50% at least until you see how it fairs. I would also strongly suggest bigger fish to start and make the investment to start, because again, given your desired regiment and the feedings and work it takes to grow discus and the amount of growing left to do at that size I would suggest going big. Just like you don't want to see fry being eaten, you also wont want to see stunted or iffy discus in the tank.

Also, given your lack of qt and all as described, you may want to choose a supplier who offers mates, wither already with discus or on the same system or something like that, or be aware of the potential risk of mixing and adding fish. You do have some good choices locally to select from, may even be fun and worth it to go visit these places or hand pick. I have yet to have the pleasure to visit hans, but I have been to discus maddness and going to any fish importing setup is always fun!

[Phillydubs]

P.S. - There are some good local breeders near you as well that you may want to look into, your options are high! Also, don't forget, ordering fish is easy and gives you so many more options, don't fear the cross country online order if you never did it you may be surprised!

Your doorman may find it weird though!

[Ryan925]

I would agree with Phil. If you are only capable of a couple water changes per week you really want to start with adults. I would avoid gravel and stick to sand.

For the lighting I would suggest the current USA satellite pro plus over the 24/7. I have both. The issue with the 24/7 is with it in 24/7 mode you cannot adjust light spectrum. It will be a lot of light during the peak of the photo period for the plants you will have. With the satellite plus pro you can customize the spectrum and still program a day and night schedule.

My two heaters recently failed on me and I'm now running a hydor 300w in line connected to an inkbird and no issue. I too have a 75. I've been running a single eheim pro4+ 600 for a year now with no issues.

[Salvoman]

Hey Guys-

Thanks for the response.

Phil, we just moved downtown into a new full service building and I believe they have back up generators. I've looked into a sump but I'd rather not take care of 2 tanks. Plus my wife is not keen on the idea or HOB's either. So my only choice is a canister. A lot of guys around here have had good results with them. I'm pretty sold on the idea of 2 filters instead of 1 the only question is which one? I'll go with 2 in line Hydor 200W with the Inkbird, USA Satellite Pro (Thanks Ryan) & pool sand on the bottom.

For the Discus, how young can I go and will I want 3 mated Pairs. If I can do two 25% waters changes I'm sure I can do two at 50% it can't be that different. Since I'll be using good ol NYC tap water is there a good additive to alter PH levels and a testing kit you can recommend as well?

My plan is to get the tank completely set up, rocks (are Seiryu ok?) sand, wood, plants and get into a good rhythm of water changes and testing for a couple of weeks before adding any fish. Is this a good idea? Then slowly add the tank mates before introducing the Discus. Or is it better to add the Discus first to allow them to get comfortable? As a newbie I'm really not sure of what's best for the fish.

Also if you know of any reputable local breeders besides the ones I mentioned please let me know.

Sam

[Ryan925]

Hey Guys-

Thanks for the response.

Phil, we just moved downtown into a new full service building and I believe they have back up generators. I've looked into a sump but I'd rather not take care of 2 tanks. Plus my wife is not keen on the idea or HOB's either. So my only choice is a canister. A lot of guys around here have had good results with them. I'm pretty sold on the idea of 2 filters instead of 1 the only question is which one? I'll go with 2 in line Hydor 200W with the Inkbird, USA Satellite Pro (Thanks Ryan) & pool sand on the bottom.

For the Discus, how young can I go and will I want 3 mated Pairs. If I can do two 25% waters changes I'm sure I can do two at 50% it can't be that different. Since I'll be using good ol NYC tap water is there a good additive to alter PH levels and a testing kit you can recommend as well?

My plan is to get the tank completely set up, rocks (are Seiryu ok?) sand, wood, plants and get into a good rhythm of water changes and testing for a couple of weeks before adding any fish. Is this a good idea? Then slowly add the tank mates before introducing the Discus. Or is it better to add the Discus first to allow them to get comfortable? As a newbie I'm really not sure of what's best for the fish.

Also if you know of any reputable local breeders besides the ones I mentioned please let me know.

Sam

The smaller the fish the more wcs required. If you get them at 3" they are still in a very important growth stage. They would require daily or every other day most likely. I was able to grow mine out nicely with 80% every other day.

I started with a planted tank but soon found growth and appearance of my fish were lacking.

Seiryu is ok. I used to have a lot in my tank. I eventually removed it all because rock traps a lot of debris. With your minimal water changes it's a lot of food and waste left there rotting.

As far as suppliers take a look at the sponsors page here.

Best advice I can give is really think things through and plan. Do it the right way from the start and you will save yourself a lot of trouble. Take it from someone that had the wrong setup to begin with and spent a lot of time and $ correcting it.

Take a look at my tank journal if you have a few free moments. You will see what I mean.

http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showth...ney&highlight=

[Salvoman]

Ryan-

Thanks so much for your advice and posting your tank journal, I read every page & your fish are beautiful. That being said, if this is the process I need to follow to keep Discus, I'm not sure they are for me. I was under the impression that todays bred Discus was easier to keep. I've received lots of contradictory information online. Keeping a planted Discus tank, that they're ok in a 55G, etc. The internet can certainly be a blessing and a curse.

Knowing what I now know, I can't in good conscience give these beautiful fish the life they deserve & need. Maybe someday...

Thanks again for your time & insight.

[Ryan925]

Ryan-

Thanks so much for your advice and posting your tank journal, I read every page & your fish are beautiful. That being said, if this is the process I need to follow to keep Discus, I'm not sure they are for me. I was under the impression that todays bred Discus was easier to keep. I've received lots of contradictory information online. Keeping a planted Discus tank, that they're ok in a 55G, etc. The internet can certainly be a blessing and a curse.

Knowing what I now know, I can't in good conscience give these beautiful fish the life they deserve & need. Maybe someday...

Thanks again for your time & insight.

Discus are not as difficult as it can seem but it does require you to be diligent with wc and tank maintenance.

Obviously an understocked tank with adult fish would require less maintenance than a tank with juvies

Maybe you can find a balance with adult/semi adult fish, stocking levels and scape

If you feel you can't fully commit it is very wise to wait. Maybe have failed for that very reason