Newbie first discus tank. 260 litre

[discus and shot put]

1) Please Introduce your self and tell us what your experience is with fishkeeping, give us as much information as possible as to how long in the hobby, what you have kept in the past and what you currently are working with.
Hi everyone, my name is Darren, I'm from the UK, and I'm new here! I've kept fish for a few years now, usually planted community type tanks. Always liked the idea of trying discus, and I feel now is the time.

2) If you have no previous experience with keeping discus, have you done any research to properly prepare yourself, e.g. have you read any Stickies in this section of SimplyDiscus, or other material?
Thanks to this forum and youtube I have absorbed lots of useful information so far, but I still have a lot to learn.

3) Describe your tank, its size and dimensions, breeding or display. Include how long it has been setup or if it is still being cycled.
The tank is not up and running yet, I'm still in the process of planning and gathering equipment. The tank I'm going to use is a Jewel vision 260 (260 litre - 68 US gallon?). Dimensions are approx 48" x 18" x 25".

4) Describe the décor for the tank; type of substrate or bare bottom (BB), whether the tank will be planted or a biotope.
Tank will be bare bottom. I read this is the best way to go for growing young discus. I really like the simplistic look, and will be aiming for something along the lines of these:

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8190/8...170572de_b.jpg
http://lemonsymphony.com/wp-content/...3456.jpg?w=656

5) Describe your water changes planned or practiced, percentage and how often. Include if you age your water and use of tap/RO or mix.
I plan to carry out 50% water changes 6/7 days per week. At least until the fish are fully grown.
I have purchased a 135 Litre (35 gal) food grade plastic container to use for ageing the water each day, along with a 300w heater and an air pump, and Prime.
The idea is I will use a Python system for cleaning/draining the tank each day (awaiting delivery), and I have a 3500 litre per hour pump for replacing the water from my container to my tank.
Due to lack of space near the tank, the container with the aged water will be set up in my conservatory and I have a 30' long pvc tube that I'll attach to the pump to fill the tank with.
Does this sound acceptable?

6) Describe the type of filtration planned/used for the tank; sponge, HOB and/or sump. Also include the other equipment you are, or will be, using in your tank, e.g. heater, lighting, etc.
I need some advice here.
The tank has the standard Jewel internal Bioflow built in (http://prntscr.com/h22lpq) I have also purchased 2 large sponge filters and an Eheim 400 air pump. What I would really like to do is get rid of the internal Jewel filter/pump and just use the 2 sponges, but I'm not sure if that would be sufficient or not (keeping in mind daily water changes)?
Second option would be to leave the Jewel in, and use the sponges as well.
Third option would be to invest in a good canister filter.
All options are doable from my point of view, its just I would prefer to run the sponges only and scrap the internal filter/pump to try and get some of the space in the tank back. The question is though would this be safe?

The tank has HeliaLux LED 1200 lighting with day and night controller.
The tank has a 300w fluval heater

7) If the tank is already setup and running, include the water parameters;

- temp _____

- tank ph _____

- Ph of the water straight out of your tap _____

- ammonia reading ____

- nitrite reading ____

- nitrate reading ____

- well water ____

- municipal water ____


8) Describe your current or planned stocking levels; number/size of discus and number/type of dither fish. Where did you get your discus from or do you have a proposed source for getting your discus?
I guess 6 or 7 discus would be ok, going off the 10 gal per fish suggestion?
No other fish planned.
I do not have a source in mind as of yet. Please feel free to suggest a good source suitable for a UK buyer. I would like the discus to be young, but good examples.

9) Describe your planned or existing feeding regimen. Include what and how often you are feeding on a daily basis.
4-6 times daily while growing. A varied diet of the usual recommended foods that I see mentioned.
I work full time, so would an automatic feeder be worth thinking about? My idea would be to have the auto feeder feed them small amounts 4 times per day, and then I would feed them 1-2 times per day myself?

10) What are your goals in this hobby? For example are you looking to keep discus in a planted community tank, or do you hope to become a hobby breeder of Discus? Do you want to raise Discus with the hopes of competing in shows?
For now I just want to grow good discus and care for them the best I can. Who knows after that

Thanks for reading and I look forward to any questions or suggestions.

I will keep this updated from time to time, as time goes by, good or bad, as a learning exercise for myself and future discus keepers

[Phillydubs]

Welcome ! Sounds like you did your home work and are ready to go. I don't see any issues here what so ever. You could easily get away w the sponges and your planned regiment. If the tank has the filter built in already I'd run it but that's your call. Otherwise do your thing and keep us posted. Any idea what you want? Strain wise? Blue diamonds ?

[discus and shot put]

Hi, thanks for the reply!
Glad to hear I could use sponges only if I decide I want to go that way, still not 100% sure. It does seem a bit of a waste ripping out the internal filter considering its already in there, but I just don't like them for some reason, I'll have to keep thinking about that one.
I have no idea what strain to go for yet. I think its more a case of finding a good stockist first and then looking into what they have available rather than been fixed minded about a certain strain at this point.

[discus and shot put]

Question: If I put two or three sponge filters into my already up and running aquarium, would that allow me to transfer them to my discus tank when the time is right and no longer need to cycle the tank? If so, how long do people suggest leaving the sponges in the existing tank for?

[Filip]

Hi OP and welcome to our discus group .

You got very reasonable plans and expectations about keeping discus right from the start .

I would start with 8-10 discus though , and sort out the favorite 6 as they grow , since you said that you want it to be a grow out tank .

You can do just fine with just 2 large sponge filters if that is what you want . Although leaving your build in filter wouldn't hurt too , as long as you keep them all clean .

You can safely use eheim autofeeder but first you have to teach your discus to eat and accept flake or granulated food . FDBW are another option for autofeeder and are more readily accepted than the granules or flakes .

I would not start the tank with a filter sponge from some other running tank IIWY. There is a chance for cross contaminating your fragile baby discus right from the start , and that's a very bitter experience for an happy and eager discus newbie .
Start from zip , instead . Sterilized and new fresh tank cycled with bottled biobacteria and dosing ammonia or fish food to feed the beneficial bacteria until your discus comes .
It takes about 3-4 weeks for the full cycle to happen.

Try IP Discus or Francis HU discus if you are in UK . They both got some quality stock IMO.

Good luck and keep us updated .