Back in the discus hobby

[Jandiscus]

Back in 2020 I finally was in discus heaven. I had it all. A 220gal tank with 13 beautiful adult healthy discus from Kenny, nestled away in my basement's boiler room. Four 44gal water holding tanks, 50:50 r/o to tap ratio. A couch in front of the tank and the home's sump pump close to the tank, making daily water changes very manageable.

Then I received that phone call from a head-hunter talking to me about a job in Saint Louis, Missouri, 9 hours away from my home in Michigan. Fast forward, I took the job but decided to not relocate my family and keep my house. Instead, I went by myself, ended up renting and later buying a loft apartment and going back and forth between the 2 places ever since. And then the inevitable had to happen. I had to sell my discus, as there was no way for me to relocate them. Especially since I did not really know how much business travel this role would eventually involve, plus my need to be with my family in Michigan as often as possible.

To make things worse, there isn't much of a market for discus fish in my area. I finally found 2 buyers who actually had discus and made halfway sense in what they were saying about discus. Except that I ended up giving them away for a fraction of the cost. Oh well. Water under the bridges.

For the last 3 years I stayed away from fish tanks. The occasional visit to my boiler room with a sad looking empty fish tank and all of the gear still being there. But it is hard to stay away from this hobby. And this wasn't my first time having to abandon the hobby due to relocations, some international.

So here I go again. A brand-new setup in my Saint Louis place that is currently cycling. A 125gal tank, Fluval FX4 canister filter, LED lights, heater with external thermostat, r/o water blended with aged tap. A light dusting of pool filter sand and some pothos rooting into the tank to help with Nitrate absorption. I might add the manzita wood I had in my old tank that gives it that tree roots look, without creating dead spots with waste accumulation.

The part that I am very happy with is the conversion of the guest bathroom into the water staging, aging and changing area. It works great, spill free water changes. And the cool thing is that I can disconnect the r/o feed line within seconds and move the whole setup into a storage area when the fam comes over.

No I am debating if I should wait with adding discus until after the holidays to avoid being away from them during that time?!

Your thoughts and recommendations are welcomed.

JC

[brewmaster15]

Welcome Back to the Hobby!

Personally I would start reacing out to sponsors about your interests now. Theres a good likelihood that some of them will bring in another shipment before the new year.. If you are looking for something specific and they know it they maybe able to get you those fish if available. Get them before the holidays and you can splurge as a Holiday gift...to yourself

[Sandip]

Welcome back to the hobby!
What is your secret of convincing family to use the spare bathroom for keeping the water drums?

[Second Hand Pat]

That is a start to a beautiful tank JC. Are you adding any other decor? Al has an excellent suggestion regarding sourcing your discus.
Pat

[Jandiscus]

Thanks AL! Much appreciated.

[Jandiscus]

That is a start to a beautiful tank JC. Are you adding any other decor? Al has an excellent suggestion regarding sourcing your discus.
Pat

Thank you Pat! I think I'll keep it simple and just add the manzanita wood from my previous setup. I will share a picture once it is in. I agree with both you and Al on adding fish. Twist my arm
My plan is to add 7 adult fish all at once and all from the same vendor. I have my eyes on super pantheras and similar snakeskin/leopard strains.

[Jandiscus]

Welcome back to the hobby!
What is your secret of convincing family to use the spare bathroom for keeping the water drums?

Haha - thank you Sandip. The secret is that the setup can be disconnected within minutes and moved into a closet if needed.

[Jandiscus]

Welcome Back to the Hobby!

Personally I would start reacing out to sponsors about your interests now. Theres a good likelihood that some of them will bring in another shipment before the new year.. If you are looking for something specific and they know it they maybe able to get you those fish if available. Get them before the holidays and you can splurge as a Holiday gift...to yourself

Thank you Al!

[LizStreithorst]

Sounds like your thinking of MIranda's Discus. Good choice. You will not be disappointed. Plus, Miranda is a joy to deal with.

[AquaticNerd]

Thank you Pat! I think I'll keep it simple and just add the manzanita wood from my previous setup. I will share a picture once it is in. I agree with both you and Al on adding fish. Twist my arm
My plan is to add 7 adult fish all at once and all from the same vendor. I have my eyes on super pantheras and similar snakeskin/leopard strains.

Welcome back to the hobby! Glad that you're back and looking forward to following your journal progress as things start taking shape.

You've eyed up some very nice discus I'm sure. Take a look at Chicago Discus - they've been getting some superb pantheras, snakeskins, and leopards.

[Jandiscus]

Sounds like you’re thinking of MIranda's Discus. Good choice. You will not be disappointed. Plus, Miranda is a joy to deal with.

Hi Liz, I did reach out to them 😀

[Tshethar]

Congrats on getting back into the game again! I would enjoy having my wet pets nearby if I had to do what you are doing for a while. And I totally sympathize with having to rehome your previous fish for something like this... did the same back in 2021 and just restarted less than two weeks ago!

I think your tank looks great. Nice color blue for the background. And it looks like you may have picked up a brass connector for the pump you are using either for your aging barrel or to drain the tank. The longer I'm at this the more I appreciate the little things that can make the day-to-day easier or more foolproof.

[Jandiscus]

Congrats on getting back into the game again! I would enjoy having my wet pets nearby if I had to do what you are doing for a while. And I totally sympathize with having to rehome your previous fish for something like this... did the same back in 2021 and just restarted less than two weeks ago!

I think your tank looks great. Nice color blue for the background. And it looks like you may have picked up a brass connector for the pump you are using either for your aging barrel or to drain the tank. The longer I'm at this the more I appreciate the little things that can make the day-to-day easier or more foolproof.

Hi Bill,

good eye :-) I use the usual python type gravity operated hoses to remove the water column from my tank. It goes right into the toilet to never be seen again. What you see there is a brass fitting on the water pump I use to refill my tank with fresh water. I simply drop it into the storage tanks and let it do its work. Beats schlepping 5 gal buckets any time (we all have done it). The pump I bought did not come with the right fitting to connect to the water hose. Just another fun trip to your hardware store of choice. I use a t-valve on my toilet water supply to feed into the r/o unit. Reject water goes into the shower drain. I'm sure the folks living below me think that I am taking endless showers. The other thing I do and found very helpful in my past is to operate all of the electrical equipment (filter, heaters, pumps, etc.) with wifi enabled plugs. Using alexa I can use voice commands to turn things off and on while doing water changes and other maintenance work. I know, it is a bit geeky but it really does make a lot of sense to me not having to flip electrical switches with wet hands. I am looking forward to seeing your setup.

[Jandiscus]

Thank you! I have already talked to Miranda. I am hearing and seeing great things about them. I am about 4.5 hours away from them and am thinking of doing a road trip over there to pick up my fish in person when the time is right. Can’t wait

[Jandiscus]

Not much going on here. Just having fun starring at an empty tank I added the DI resin to my r/o system which took care of the elevated ph I was experiencing. Thank you Al! Also added the manzanita wood which I had from my previous set up. And I added a 3rd storage tank. I set up my water storage tanks to be 2 x 44gal of r/o water and 1 x 44 gal of tap water. All of them have heaters and air bubbles. Enough water to replace the entire water column of my 125gal aquarium.

I also had the opportunity to meet up with Miranda of Chicago Discus on my recent trip from Saint Louis to Michigan. Very cool setup and Miranda is super nice and welcoming. I can't wait to place my special order.

I noticed that my pothos plants are losing some of their roots. The plants look healthy otherwise. Maybe this is due to the adjustment from being potted to emersed in water? Or is it because of the ammonia? I am not really worried about it at this point but want to avoid having to deal with rotting organic matters.
tank.jpgwater.jpgtestkit.jpg