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Thread: 500 Gallon project, Dreaming of keeping Discus but afraid!

  1. #31
    Registered Member slicksta's Avatar
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    Default Re: 500 Gallon project, Dreaming of keeping Discus but afraid!

    Quote Originally Posted by klr-dude View Post
    i find it hard to say it differently .
    lets try .
    if you make an overflow pipe in your sump at the right level and hook it up to a waste line , you can just add water and what is to much , will just go into the sewer
    that way you don't have to remove water yourself , it goes automatically .
    hope this is clearer .
    I agree... But with some added features.
    Make the hole low in the sump and add a 90 elbow on the inside of the sump and some pipe to get the exact level you are looking for. And it's easy to fine tune by just turning the elbow a few degrees. You do not need to glue these, just put some Teflon tape on the male parts, push fit and it'll be water tight and easy to turn. You can then also easy disassemble the interior pipes if you want to drain the sump. You will need to make sure your drain has the correct pitch.
    Lastly I have the waste water going to a 55 gallon storage container and then it overflows to the sewer. This is the best fertilized water for your garden ;-)

  2. #32
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    Default Re: 500 Gallon project, Dreaming of keeping Discus but afraid!

    My main tank has a hole in the bottom which is plumped directly to the sewer, I will just open a valve and water will be drained directly from the tank to the sewer, I also have a water source under the main tank which will be plumped directly to the tank for filling it with new fresh water when I want to make water changes.

  3. #33
    Registered Member slicksta's Avatar
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    Default Re: 500 Gallon project, Dreaming of keeping Discus but afraid!

    That should work fine and we're not trying to get you to change your master plan as you know the logistics of your situation better than we do.
    What klr-dude and I suggested are just options for you to consider as we found them to be helpful in our situation. Especially for me that I am adding water 24/7, I needed a constant unmanaged way of draining off the excess water. And by locating it in the sump it is not visible in the aquarium. You'll just need to be involved a little more in the water change process.
    All good ;-)
    Last edited by slicksta; 05-10-2019 at 03:51 PM.

  4. #34
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    Default Re: 500 Gallon project, Dreaming of keeping Discus but afraid!

    Thanks for sharing experience

  5. #35
    Homesteader Filip's Avatar
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    Default Re: 500 Gallon project, Dreaming of keeping Discus but afraid!

    Quote Originally Posted by magedsabri View Post
    My main tank has a hole in the bottom which is plumped directly to the sewer, I will just open a valve and water will be drained directly from the tank to the sewer, I also have a water source under the main tank which will be plumped directly to the tank for filling it with new fresh water when I want to make water changes.
    It sounds to me like you are already set and prepared for some easy and serious discus keeping Maged .
    Just check your PH swings between straight tap and aged water and find a way to prefilter and outgass the tap water and you are ready to go .

  6. #36
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    Default Re: 500 Gallon project, Dreaming of keeping Discus but afraid!

    I'm very serious and many thanks for all the replies and advice from everyone here which is very encouraging.

    I will have my water source connected to 3 stages filter which should remove the chlorine and gases before it is added to the tank or the top off tank, I will check the PH swings and if it is wide range specially that I will have a lot of driftwood which may affect the PH l will keep the water source under the tank for the auto top off system only and age water in 2 large barrels in my laundry room and use a water pump with a hose to fill the tank for water changes.
    Last edited by magedsabri; 05-12-2019 at 04:14 AM.

  7. #37
    Registered Member slicksta's Avatar
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    Default Re: 500 Gallon project, Dreaming of keeping Discus but afraid!

    You may want to consider a constant drip if you are already installing a three stage filter for your tap.
    Now I'll warn you that this does not work for everyone and I'll repeat again that NY water seems to be well suited to keeping discus. But if it does work for you, it makes life so so much easier.
    My tap is a pH of 7 and I have it going through a two stage filter to remove chlorine. I drip approximately 20% of the tank capacity in a 24 hour period. This I adjust for bioload as needed and try to keep my nitrates around 20ppm. But once the tank is set I very rarely adjust it further. I drip directly in front of the pump intake that returns the water back from the sump to the aquarium so that it must make at least one pass through the tank before going down the drain.
    My tank is a pH of 5.5 because of the bioload and driftwood. But since the added water is at a constant rate, there are no fluctuations in pH.
    For me this provides the most stable water parameters because you are not introducing new water in large quantities.
    But it will mean that you also need the aforementioned drain. . .preferably in the sump as well.

    That said. . continue as you are and maybe allow for this adaptation in your plumbing in the future this way you can experiment with both methods of water change.

  8. #38
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    Default Re: 500 Gallon project, Dreaming of keeping Discus but afraid!

    Sounds like an interesting approach, once I finish my setup and try for few months and learn how everything works with Discus I will definitely analyze my water situation and give it a try.

  9. #39

    Default Re: 500 Gallon project, Dreaming of keeping Discus but afraid!

    Are you planning to keep any other fish or just Discus.

    A school of 500 cardinal or neon tetras would look great with the Discus.
    https://freshwatercentral.com/build-your-dream-discus-aquarium-an-expert-guide
    https://freshwatercentral.com/discus-fish

  10. #40
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    Default Re: 500 Gallon project, Dreaming of keeping Discus but afraid!

    So far the plan is to keep only Discus with some corydoras catfish.

  11. #41
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    Default Re: 500 Gallon project, Dreaming of keeping Discus but afraid!

    Here are few photos for the work in progress, first water test and drain pipe plumping to the sewer

    Fish_Tank_6.jpg

    Fish_Tank_7.jpeg

    Fish_Tank_8.jpeg

  12. #42
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    Default Re: 500 Gallon project, Dreaming of keeping Discus but afraid!

    So I calculated the max volume I can have for the aging tank in the space under the main tank, it will be 65 Gallons, that is around 15% of the water volume of the main tank, I was wondering can I use it to make a water change each 3 days, that will be 30% weekly with a bio load of 50% only of max tank capacity.

  13. #43
    Registered Member slicksta's Avatar
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    Default Re: 500 Gallon project, Dreaming of keeping Discus but afraid!

    Your best bet is to base your water change regime on Nitrate levels... keeping them at or below 20ppm is ideal.
    With the numbers you provided it may be ok, but you also need to consider how much you are feeding ..now that would be a guess, educated as it may be... lol

  14. #44
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    Default Re: 500 Gallon project, Dreaming of keeping Discus but afraid!

    Quote Originally Posted by slicksta View Post
    Your best bet is to base your water change regime on Nitrate levels... keeping them at or below 20ppm is ideal.
    With the numbers you provided it may be ok, but you also need to consider how much you are feeding ..now that would be a guess, educated as it may be... lol
    I like your educated guess because this is what I wish will be the case.. lol.

  15. #45
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    Default Re: 500 Gallon project, Dreaming of keeping Discus but afraid!

    I have the below old filter, I was thinking about filling it with a media like Seachem Matrix and use a low flow 40 or 50 GPH pump to build a DIY anaerobic bacteria reactor in my sump, I understand that this can help in controlling the nitrate levels, I'm not planning to do less water changes but I though this might increase the quality of the environment overall, and it won't cost much. what do you think?

    Old_Filter.jpg

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