How do I set up my first discus tank?

[Anna Piranha]

I am curious about filters powered by air pumps. What is this? Did I misunderstand?

[Carol_Roberts]

Hi Anna:
Are you talking about an air driven sponge filter that sits inside the tank? That's all I can think of .

[bobcat]

???I have
30 gal bare bottom,
emperor 400 bio wheel filter with bio max as media, fluidirizebed sb300.
daily change water 30%

How many discus juveniles can I keep and
Is it the Uv sterilizer is necessery
They all coverted from the gold fish tank so should I do any disinfectious metods and how?

bobcat

[Carol_Roberts]

Hi Bob:
An Emperor 400 is pretty big for a 30 gallon tank.

UV is not necessary

I'd clean the tank really good then feed filter with pure ammonia for a couple of weeks prior to introducing new discus (modified fishless cycle). Many fish dependant parasites should die in that amount of time without fish hosts.

How many juvenile discus can you keep in a 30 gallon tank? Six or eight or twelve if they are small. How many adults can you keep in that size tank? Two. So you either have to get rid of a discus every month or two or buy a 55 gallon in a couple of months to finish growing them out. (your Emperor is just the right size for a 55 gallon)

[bobcat]

Thank you very much. The info are very helpful.
Bob cat

[kevmo]

Hey yall.
I'm new to discuz and i have an existing 55 g. I was wondering if it would be best to drain and refill the tank with rain water or some other type of treated water? The tank has and existing out the back powerfilter at 250ghp, and a 200w heater. I'm in no big rush after all i have kept fish befor for about 4 years, and know that you cannot rush yourself into things with this hobby.

[Carol_Roberts]

Hi Kevmo and welcome to SimplyDiscus

It's best to use the same water everyday. I bet you don't have access to 20 gallons of rainwater everyday, so I would suggest tap water that has been dechlorinated and agitated to stabilize pH. Most of us use plastic barrels to "age" our water.

You want a heater that can easily maintain 84 degrees and raise the tank to 92+

[ybnormal]

Have I just been lucky? I change about 25% daily right from the tap. I just add a little dechlor. If my fish are growing and doing well, should I start againg the water anyway?

[Carol_Roberts]

Test the pH of your water from the tap. Test the pH of your tank water 24 hours after a water change. Are they the same or very close?

My tap water is pH 6.8. My tanks are pH 7.8+. The difference is because I have a well and there is lots of disolved CO2 in my water. The CO2 is released (offgassed) as the water moves in the tank. A 50% water change would lower the pH to 7.3 in minutes. Too big of a drop for discus.

As I said, if your tap pH is either higher or close to the pH of your tank water you will not have to worry about pH shock.

There are other reasons to store water besides pH swing. Some times cities add extra chlorine or flush the pipes. Every once in a while we read here that someone has lost lots of discus due to unexplained water problems . . . . If you have stored water you can quickly do a water change.

[jpborralho]

Hi

I'm about to create a tank with a friend just for discus,(we never had discus before, just some knowledge about these fishes) we are considering to use a Reverse Osmosis filtering sistem (wich i have to order from US).
I would like to know wich impact that have on the water quality and how often the water changes are needed.

Thanks

???

[Carol_Roberts]

RO removes minerals. Juveniles actually grow better with minerals. Adults will lay eggs in mineral rich water, but the eggs will NOT hatch if the water is too hard (too much minerals), then you would need an RO to removed minerals for the eggs to hatch.

You may need an RO later, but probably not right now. Post the pH and hardness of your water after it has set in a cup on the counter overnight and we can better advise you.

[jpborralho]

Thanks Carol

It's just because i've been worryed about keeeping the water a bit acid (Ph between
6 to 6,5) and i thought that kind of filter would help since the normal water which we get in our house generally tends to be hard (more than 8) and in my experience i found that the water ph naturally rises (maybe because the gravel, rockwork or so) , later on i found some post saying that there is no need to change the ph and the fishes are live and well and breed with a ph of more than 8, to be honest i'm a little confused and i don't know which filter to use.

can you help me out ? ???

Joao Pedro

[Carol_Roberts]

You don't have to keep babies in acid water. my pH is 7.8, GH 12. What is the pH of your water from the tap and from a cup of water that has set on the counter overnight?

What is the pH of the water the discus were raised in?

[jpborralho]

Hi

Well, the water from tap is something around ph 8, which i think i high, i always thougth that discus prefer acid water but looks like isn't 100% wright, anyway you made a good question about the ph of the water where they were grow.
But my question is:
What tipe of filter should i use ?, What filtering media should i use ?, In wich order should i put it ?

Thanks

[Carol_Roberts]

I like a hang on the back filter like an aqua clear 500 for a 55 gallon tank. Here is a link http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Produc...amp;in_merch=1
I put two sponges inside and a prefilter sponge on the outside intake tube as pictured below