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Thread: Contemplating 500 Gallon Tank

  1. #1
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    Default Contemplating 500 Gallon Tank

    I am strongly considering tearing down my reef and switching to a lightly planted discus tank. Initial thoughts are to use hardwood gathered from the forest around my house as the primary decor, with java moss and other greenery attached to the wood, maybe a few giant amazon swordplants. The tank is 36 inches deep, so lighting the bottom will be hard for anything other than very low light plants.

    My well water is the following right out of the tap:

    NO3 - 25mg/l
    NO2 - 0
    GH - 3 degrees
    KH - 10 degrees
    pH - 7.6
    Chlorine - 0
    CO2 - <15mg/l

    I really want to run continuous water changes, aiming for 50 gallons per day. I do have the RO equipment and could do that as an alternative, but that would require me to dose back and use a lot more source water. What is everyone's thoughts on these parameters for CWC?

    Thanks!

  2. #2
    Registered Member Luke in Phoenix's Avatar
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    Default Re: Contemplating 500 Gallon Tank

    Looks great to me except for the NO3. My fish seem to do best when this is below 5ppm and definitely below 20ppm. Your tank could benefit from a method of reducing nitrate. There are a few options out there.

  3. #3
    Homesteader Filip's Avatar
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    Default Re: Contemplating 500 Gallon Tank

    Hi and welcome to Simply discus Jose .
    Your plan and your well parameters sound OK to me except the NO3 levels which are on the high end but still tolerable if you manage to keep them from further raising.
    I would also recommend you to add at least one , weekly traditional 50% WC with siphoning , tank glass wiping , filter and prefilter changing or cleaning .
    And going with raised discus with this tankage and routines would be the safest bet to start with .

    Good luck with your project Jose , and don't forget to send us some pics once the action starts .

  4. #4
    Homesteader Paul Sabucchi's Avatar
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    Default Re: Contemplating 500 Gallon Tank

    I agree a nitrate filter on your water supply would be appropriate, also not quite clear how you can have a KH of 10 and a GH of only 3. Also if you are planning on purchasing young fish to grow out I will repeat the general advice given on this forum: keep the decor and plants to a minimum (none is even better). If you would rather not fit a nitrate filter and still want plants and wood then purchase discus that are fully grown or thereabouts. Anyway with your tank you have the potential for an amazing setup

  5. #5
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    Default Re: Contemplating 500 Gallon Tank

    Quote Originally Posted by Paul Sabucchi View Post
    I agree a nitrate filter on your water supply would be appropriate, also not quite clear how you can have a KH of 10 and a GH of only 3. Also if you are planning on purchasing young fish to grow out I will repeat the general advice given on this forum: keep the decor and plants to a minimum (none is even better). If you would rather not fit a nitrate filter and still want plants and wood then purchase discus that are fully grown or thereabouts. Anyway with your tank you have the potential for an amazing setup
    Unfortunately, this is a showpiece tank taking up one wall of my rec room, so it needs to look 'decorative' (the wife's word). At the very least I am going to have to aquascape it with wood and rocks.

    I am using JBL ProScan for my water tests, and I got the same KH and DH readings both times. I am going to order an API test kit and compare.

  6. #6
    Homesteader Paul Sabucchi's Avatar
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    Default Re: Contemplating 500 Gallon Tank

    Just purchase discus that are fully grown or thereabouts so you can add the decor to appease the Boss! It will be interesting to compare the results of the proscan with those from the API kit, Practical Fishkeeper magazine did a comparative test a while ago and while the proscan was the best performer amongst the strip tests it still underperformed compared to liquid reagent ones

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