bare bottom discus tank

[niladri dey]

hi,
I have 5 ft x 1.5 ft x 1.5 ft aquarium . How many discus fish can put in the tank? and i will buy 2.5 inch size fish and with neon,cardinal and congo tetras. i will update 8x2(H)x1.5 ft tank latter. which rock can i put ? I go with bare bottom tank. I get 2 top filter,2 sponge filter. and 2 heater.Is it fine for beginner like me?

[Sabrina]

Hello Niladri,

Welcome to the boards here. A 5 foot tank is a good size, I would suggest 6 discus but being a beginner I would not buy such small discus to start with, I would at least start with 4-5 inch discus. I would also stay away from other small fish in the beginning like the ones you mentioned above (neon, cardinal and congos), you will find you have enough work with just the discus. With rocks, they can raise your PH levels in the water, discus need lower levels of PH. You are better off having driftwoods in a discus tank, they help lower your PH level at a slow rate. Bare bottom tank sounds great and is much easier to look after with juvenile discus. The filters and heater sounds good too, discus love clean warm water. Buying discus for the first time is something you do not want to rush into, its better to be fully ready and be very up to date with the care they need to take on these beautiful fish. Please keep asking lots of questions here and get as much information and help as you can before you start your discus journey.
I hope I have given you some ideas and help, and that a more experienced member here will chime in soon and correct me if I am wrong on any of the above notes

[bluelagoon]

If you are not sure what rock to use;you can do the baking soda test.Most rocks are ok but you shouldn't use anything that will fizz when baking soda solution is put on the rocks.Gypsum,limestone or any other calcified rock will raise PH.No other fish are best with young discus;that can wait until they're grown out.I would go with 7-10 discus at 2.5";you may want to cull one or two as they mature.If you haven't seen this,take the time to watch it.http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showth...TCH-THIS-VIDEO!

[niladri dey]

[QUOTE=Sabrina;1283565]Hello Niladri,

Welcome to the boards here. A 5 foot tank is a good size, I would suggest 6 discus but being a beginner I would not buy such small discus to start with, I would at least start with 4-5 inch discus. I would also stay away from other small fish in the beginning like the ones you mentioned above (neon, cardinal and congos), you will find you have enough work with just the discus. With rocks, they can raise your PH levels in the water, discus need lower levels of PH. You are better off having driftwoods in a discus tank, they help lower your PH level at a slow rate. Bare bottom tank sounds great and is much easier to look after with juvenile discus. The filters and heater sounds good too, discus love clean warm water. Buying discus for the first time is something you do not want to rush into, its better to be fully ready and be very up to date with the care they need to take on these beautiful fish. Please keep asking lots of questions here and get as much information and help as you can before you start your discus journey.
I hope I have given you some ideas and help, and that a more experienced member here will chime in soon and correct me if I am wrong on any of the above notes [/QUOTE

Thanks for give me suggestion. I live in kolkata, india, here hot and rainy monsoon weather is maximum on year.winter lasted for 2-3 month. Because of that can heater continue for full years or for winter ?
4 -5 inch Bangkok discus is too costly about 2 to 3 thousand rupees per fish(Malaysian discus more expensive) . 2 to 2.5 inch Bangkok discus is 300 - 400 rupeees per fish. so i thought for small discus . I heard slate rock is safe and not rise PH lavel for this. I had 1.5 ft x1 ft tank and experience 4 years with gold,moly,angel ect. so i now decide to brought large tank 8x2[h]x1.5 ft tank with discus fish,I change 5ft to 8ft. what background color is best ? is need more filter for 8ft tank?

[Sabrina]

Hello,
With the heating of your tank, I am not sure what to suggest, we have hot summer here, dry heat, and I left the heater running in the case the temp did drop. If you have a thermostat heater it will only turn on when the temp goes below the setting, so it saves power while in the off mode I think. Perhaps someone else here might know a better solution for your area.
I see why you want the smaller discus now, if you have plenty of time to maintain the water and fish of course getting the smaller size would be ok. I just suggested the bigger size as they can be a little less to worry about. Bluelagoon suggested above that 7-10 discus would be ok for your tank size, I think as long as you have more than 5 you will be doing ok.
With the slate rock, I'm not sure on that, maybe do the test with the baking soda suggested above, discus like low range PH so you don't want something in the tank making the PH too high for them.
I found with the back grounds you want something lighter in colour so your discus don't get peppering on their bodies. So don't get black or dark colours would be my suggestion.
Yes you will need big filters for an 8 foot tank, I cant be sure what to suggest for a tank that big, maybe someone else could.
I hope some of these suggestions help, I'm not an expert but I have been reading about discus for years now and have some experience in keeping them so I hope I gave you good advice. Please keep asking more questions here, if I cant answer them I'm sure someone else can

[niladri dey]

thanks for giving me suggestion. with 8x2(H)x1.5 ft tank i now used 2 top filter 2 sponge filter.what extra filter require? Is sum system or go with canister filter? which i used ? and pls have any details about DIY system .is it good for water changing facility? what plant can used for bare bottom tank and how?