500 Gallon project, Dreaming of keeping Discus but afraid!

[magedsabri]

Hello Everyone

I am in the process if building my dream setup which will be an in-wall 500 Gallon tank viewable from both sides, below are some pictures for the work in progress and full setup design, I will not have any live plants in this tank, I will have a white sand substrate with rocks and driftwood only.

I have successfully kept African Cichlids before for few years in my old and smaller tank, this is my first time going for such large setup. I have been dreaming to keep Discus but I'm always afraid to do so because I'v been warned on how it is very complicated to keep them and how sensitive they are.

Now with my new setup, I really want to make it a Discus Tank, kindly let me know your feedback on the setup and what I need to know/do to keep this wonderful fish.

Full_Setup_Design.jpgFish_Tank_4.jpg

[Pices]

Wowie Mowie, that’s a huge tank! I love the planned aqua scape. How big is your sump and how much water can you hold in storage under the tank? I’m no expert in these areas, just nosy. Ha ha
Patty

[jeep]

Very nice project and goals you have going on! Please keep us updated as you proceed!!!

You might find this thread to be of interest. It's a similar project... http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showth...0-gallon-build

I'm sure Tobi would be happy to answer any questions you may have...
Brian

[Cove Beach]

I like the scape you are going with, it leaves plenty of open space for them, yet gives escapes in case of any chasing that may occur. I do have a couple of concerns and suggestions. Having set up several large systems both fresh and saltwater, having easy access for maintenance is a huge key to success. From the picture you posted it looks like a very small space between the top of the sump and bottom of the display. Having space to work to clean without hitting your head will help make life easier down the road. Also is there enough room between the baffles in your sump to be able to clean? Getting a siphon to all areas to remove detritus is a must. One other thing is water storage, if the chamber on the right side is for top off from evaporation cool, if it’s for water change you will definitely need something much larger. I am currently doing 110 gal changes on my 400 gal system and am considering on increasing that. Looking forward to seeing your progress!

[magedsabri]

my Sump is 47"X19"X19"
I can keep 55 Gallon on my storage tank.

[magedsabri]

I like the scape you are going with, it leaves plenty of open space for them, yet gives escapes in case of any chasing that may occur. I do have a couple of concerns and suggestions. Having set up several large systems both fresh and saltwater, having easy access for maintenance is a huge key to success. From the picture you posted it looks like a very small space between the top of the sump and bottom of the display. Having space to work to clean without hitting your head will help make life easier down the road. Also is there enough room between the baffles in your sump to be able to clean? Getting a siphon to all areas to remove detritus is a must. One other thing is water storage, if the chamber on the right side is for top off from evaporation cool, if it’s for water change you will definitely need something much larger. I am currently doing 110 gal changes on my 400 gal system and am considering on increasing that. Looking forward to seeing your progress!

Unfortunately, I can't manage to have more space so i will have to manage this way, i can still fit a siphon and maintain the sump, of course it is tight but I have to live with it, as for the chamber on the right it 55 Gallon and it will be used for auto top off and water change as well, it is 55 gallon, this is the max size i can fit in this space and i'm planning to do daily or each other day 10% water change with that setup, not sure if this works for Discus or not, if not then I will have to keep another fish

[magedsabri]

Very nice project and goals you have going on! Please keep us updated as you proceed!!!

You might find this thread to be of interest. It's a similar project... http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showth...0-gallon-build

I'm sure Tobi would be happy to answer any questions you may have...
Brian

thanks

[magedsabri]

Very nice project and goals you have going on! Please keep us updated as you proceed!!!

You might find this thread to be of interest. It's a similar project... http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showth...0-gallon-build

I'm sure Tobi would be happy to answer any questions you may have...
Brian

Many thanks

[magedsabri]

So my main question, with such setup given the space I have below the tank with no room to add anything else, is it a good system to keep Discus or not, specially I have never kept them before, I kept African Cichlids and I know they will do well in such system, but my understanding is Discus are not as easy or hardy as Africans

[Filip]

HI Maged and welcome to the forum .
That's a on hell of a tank you are setting up there . The size is great and your planning seems nice too .
Is that your planned scape with the rocks on the photo ?

If you are willing to start with full grown discus and keep the bioload light (i.e. 15-20 full grown discus and a school of 100 diether fish ) than I would say sure , why not .
I would also try to find a way of keeping the bottom clean of debris , food and poop , and you'll have to figure it out how to do that with the stone structure you are planning to put .
I wish there was a bigger aging tank , at least doulble size , but if you don't have a big PH swing in your tap water , maybe you still would be able to perform 50 % WCs from time to time if you feel the need to do that .

Good luck Maged and please keep us updated with your progress on this excellent project .

[magedsabri]

HI Maged and welcome to the forum .
That's a on hell of a tank you are setting up there . The size is great and your planning seems nice too .
Is that your planned scape with the rocks on the photo ?

If you are willing to start with full grown discus and keep the bioload light (i.e. 15-20 full grown discus and a school of 100 diether fish ) than I would say sure , why not .
I would also try to find a way of keeping the bottom clean of debris , food and poop , and you'll have to figure it out how to do that with the stone structure you are planning to put .
I wish there was a bigger aging tank , at least doulble size , but if you don't have a big PH swing in your tap water , maybe you still would be able to perform 50 % WCs from time to time if you feel the need to do that .

Good luck Maged and please keep us updated with your progress on this excellent project .

Thanks a lot! the scape in the photo is just a sample, I used to explain that i will go with white sand substrate and decorate with rocks and driftwood only without any live plants, the actual planned scape will be simpler.

My plan was to always go for a light bio-load, I'm a fan of keeping population light as it looks much better for my taste , actually I was planning to go for a fully grown or semi fully grown and a max of 20 seems a good number I may even go for less, but I was not planning to have any diether schooling fish, is this a must? I'm was planning to keep just few service fish like Placos or Red Tail Sharks for exmple, so a total of max 25 fish or so in the tank between the Discus and service fish.

I wish I was able to have a larger aging tank, but space is limiting me, maybe I will find a way to put 2 large barrels in my laundry room and use it as aging storage for water changes and use a long hose with a water pump to push the water to the tank.

[klr-dude]

nice set up .
i would make an overflow to a waste on the left hand side of the sump where the return water enters .
that way you can do water changes by merely activating your top up pump , by means of a timer .
it works very good for me and it makes it safe .
i have the storage water one degree cooler than the aquarium itself and instead of a spray bar i have an pipe lower in the tank , that way the fresh water will take some time to mix and only the older water will go through the overflow and waste .
also i used pool filter sand for substrate and it works very well if you get the right kind , my corydoras love it .
hope to see an update when you're done .

[magedsabri]

i would make an overflow to a waste on the left hand side of the sump where the return water enters .
that way you can do water changes by merely activating your top up pump , by means of a timer .
.

Thanks , I didn't understand this part clearly.

[magedsabri]

Thanks a lot! the scape in the photo is just a sample, I used to explain that i will go with white sand substrate and decorate with rocks and driftwood only without any live plants, the actual planned scape will be simpler.

My plan was to always go for a light bio-load, I'm a fan of keeping population light as it looks much better for my taste , actually I was planning to go for a fully grown or semi fully grown and a max of 20 seems a good number I may even go for less, but I was not planning to have any diether schooling fish, is this a must? I'm was planning to keep just few service fish like Placos or Red Tail Sharks for exmple, so a total of max 25 fish or so in the tank between the Discus and service fish.

I wish I was able to have a larger aging tank, but space is limiting me, maybe I will find a way to put 2 large barrels in my laundry room and use it as aging storage for water changes and use a long hose with a water pump to push the water to the tank.

@Filip, What do you think about this?

[Filip]

@Filip, What do you think about this?

Sounds like a good plan to me Maged .
Diether schooling fish was just an example for a discus tankmates , you absolutely don't need them if you don't like them .
Red tail sharks are way to boisterous and agressive for peacefull discus fish and you should avoid them .
Plecos and Ancistrus are good for keeping the tank glass and decoration free of algae but there have been many reports by members here on this forum that they can develop a taste for discus slime coat and start bothering them.They are also nocturnal feeders so it can very well go unnoticed too.
Coridoras sterbai are very good bottom dwellers and they can help with dispensing the debris in water column where your filters will catch it .

For larger % WC . Measure your Tap watert parameters and PH in particular . Measure the PH on the 24 hour aged water too , and compare the gap between them
. If the swing is not too big , maybe you'll be able to do 50% WC once a week with unaged tap water with just a sponge prefilter to trap the tap microbubbles and dissolved gasses .