New to discus, Confirm my understanding/plans

[chatfouz]

I have experience in the hobby. I paid off my student loans so I am setting up a discus tank that I always wanted.

So I have a new 140 gallon tank with predrilled holes. Tank is about 50" long, 24" tall and 26" deep. There is a faux background from when it was a saltwater tank so the effective swimmable depth is closer to 22".

Goal: 5-6 discus in a lightly planted tank.
Tank mates: Shrimp, snails, maybe some Cory cats and a small bristle nose or other pleco looking fish.
Overall I want a lightly stocked tank, I don't like it crammed full.

Filter: Planning on a Fluval 407 or something similar with ~300 gph. I am probably going to put an internal UV filter behind the backdrop to help.

Heater: Set it to 86, discus like it hot.



Assumptions:
1. My thinking is having the stocking at very low levels with a good cleanup crew and weekly water changes the water will be fine.
2. A 300 gph canister filter is a bit of an under filtration, but it is better to run something like that than a FX4 and create a small tsunami in the tank.
3. discus will probably try to eat cherry shrimp but in a planted tank they will likely outbreed the discus ability to catch them.
4. Weekly water changes is ok as long as stocking is kept low.
5. don't buy baby discus, much easier to get some at the 3.5" or higher. Small ones need to be fed constantly and thus constant water changes.
6. When it comes to water parameters the most important thing is to keep it constant.
7. Buy the discus at once from one reputable store that raises discus in local tap water so fish stay consistance.
8. RODI water is nice but not critical.

[mleibowi]

Sounds reasonable… what kind of substrate are you planning? I’d probably up the water changes. 3.5” are small discus. I’d go with larger discus especially as a newbie. It’s all about water quality. I’m for more filtration than less. Quarantine your fish and be sure to have metronidazole and a dewormer. Make sure your tank is cycled.

[Iminit]

Nice plan but do some more reading. That space in the tank is probably a wet/dry filter. Is it acrylic? Your dither fish are ok. Yes shrimp will be eaten and before they can start a colony. Unless you add them first and leave them for around 6 months to build a colony.

Your filter is too small 300gph. Really? For discus? It’s a 100+g tank and you plan for a turn over of 3 times an hour? Most would be looking at 6 to 10x an hour for a community tank.

Buy 4.5-6” discus and change the water at least twice a week at 50% or more each time. Read as much as you can from sites like this not utube . Ask lots of questions. If the tank is drilled it would be best to do a sump. Pictures would help.

[Hicgup]

I agree with the above, but want to point out that filter size and flow rate are not quite the same. Where I work I have three 500 liter tanks connected to a bio filter that is sixty cubic feet with a two cubic foot bead filter, and yet currently the flow rate to the tanks provide three turns an hour. I usually say it is hard to have too much filtration, but you can have too much (fast) a flow rate.

[chatfouz]

I can change that easily. I’ll probably just put a 30-50 gal sump under the tank with a return pump.

Easier to clean and 30 gal+ of bio media should help with keeping water quality.

[chatfouz]

My goal is young adults. I read some places that cutoff line between young who need feeding multiple times a day and adults who are fine with once or twice as either 3.5” to 4.5”.

If I need a slightly larger ok.

I’m probably going to do sand substrate.

[Iminit]

Being a beginner the biggest size you can afford is the best way to succeed. Even new fish should get 50% water changes daily for the first month. But large discus will be the strongest and give you some room for mistakes.

[LizStreithorst]

As Tom said, get the largest Discus can afford. Adults if you can swing it.

How much water were you planning on changing weekly? A weekly change would be OK if you were changing 50 gallons. Twice a week 30 gallon change would be better.

[chatfouz]

I am a school teacher with an hour commute each way. I can do 50 gallon a week. Twice a week just isn't probably physically possible.

I can do adults. So I stand corrected that adults are 4.5" or more?
I am also taking advice and adding a sump. I will add the largest sump I can find and still fit under the stand.
I will use a return pump shooting for 5x turn over.

[LizStreithorst]

Adults from a good sponsor are 5 to 6 inches if they come from a good supplier. Check out our sponsors.

[mleibowi]

Agree with Liz. Get the biggest fish you can afford. I would try to swing smaller water changes twice a week (30 gals) and be sure to siphon the debris. Even with sand, I would siphon above and in the sand. Try using a python to make filling the tank easier.

[captainandy]

The false back area - take a picture from the top.
You might have an all in one system so you don’t need a canister

[dspeers]

1. Really need pictures of false back to see what you have
2. 5" is a small adult, less is an adolescent or stunted
3. 5x pump turn over is about the minimum, the recommendation I have read is 5-10 with the understanding that pumps never work quite as well as they say on the box.
4. You spoke of adding a sump, if so skip the cannister. Do not need both.
5. If you can only change water on the weekend then for stability sake do I would do 1/2 on Sat and 1/2 on Sun. Somewhere between 50 gal and 50% total sounds about right but I follow nitrates to confirm, with the goal of < 20 just prior to a change as target. (that presumes your water source does not have significant nitrates, check it)
6. You said nothing about cycling your tank, you are clear on that, yes?

Tom you always give great advice but 6 discus in 140 gallons, "change 50% per day for a month", what am I missing?

[Iminit]

Don it’s not the 140. For me when I get new discus I change the water daily for the first month for discus 4.5 or bigger. Smaller I change the water daily till 4.5-5” than every other day. But Don I do it in a smaller tank. For above I’d to would do it in a smaller tank. But this is the only tank. My belief is to get the discus used to my water. Many never stop the 50% daily changes. I get 6 discus in a 140 doesn’t need that much water being changed once you’ve got them for awhile. But for me this has been the best results. Ps did you get your 911 back??

[dspeers]

Soon, new engine done, and resto almost complete. Frustrating that I cannot do at least some of the work any more. Will find that old thread and post updated pics.

Thanks for the explanation, get the point of a grow out tank.
So you change water 50% every other day on your adult tanks, regardless of nitrates? Also how do you address evaporative loss? Follow with TDS value or what?
So just to be unfair, if you could only change water on the weekend and really really wanted discus, what would you do?