new tank ideas...need advice please!!!

[pieky22]

so. ive got two tanks already. one is a 55 gal african cichlid tank and the other is a thriving 10 gal planted tank with german rams. All of my fish are happy and im doing great on water quality...anyway...ive been reading everything related to discus to hope to have a great 55 gal show tank. Tell me if these ideas are ok...all advice is greatly apperciated. by the way...i dont have a big budget so im trying to keep things cheap.

i bought a 55 gallon setup fro $75. I thought it was a great bargain so i went for it.
It has:

whisper 200 watt heater
(2) whisper 30-60 power filters. I heard carbon isnt good for discus so i got different filter cartriges in place of the carbon ones.

two 15 watt lights. i am going to be upgrading to 6700k's

and a three way air pump which i will probably use for airstones.

For substrate i was thinking of seachem flourite.

i havent thought about the plants yet but i got an idea of the look i am going for. Do you guys think this setup will work for 4-5 discus with some ottos and some tetra...so sorry for the long thread but i hope you guys can help!

[GrillMaster]

Hi an welcome to SD pieky!

I see ya want to start a 55G with plants...I am hoping that you will be starting this tank with 4-5 Discus a lil larger than juvies.

It is hard to grow out juvies in a planted tank due to the fact that you have to feed them so much. The amount of feeding requires alot of WC's which would not benifit your plants!

The heater an the filters look good. Carbon filtration depends on what you want to do with your tank. Reading that carbon is not good for Discus probably boils down to growing out juvies in a BB tank. Read this.

http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?t=28937

If you want to start a planted tank with adults or close to adults then what you have will work ok.

For a lil more info on the subject read these.

http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?t=59346
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?t=55440

hth
Mark

[poconogal]

Hi and welcome to SD! If you decide to get juvies, an option would be to grow them out first, it will only take several months, then add your substrate and plants. A BB tank is much better and easier to maintain with juvies, especially due to the frequent feedings they require and the need for very clean water. If you really want to start out with a planted, I'd advise getting sub-adults to adults instead of juvies, as they are hardier and require less feeding. Clean water, though, is still a must whether juvie, sub-adult or adult.

Also, I'd get more than 4, a group of 5 or more is usually best due to bullying issues. With a 55, you can get a group of about 8 juvies, grow them out and then give away the 3 least desireable ones. With subs or adults, a group of 5 would be fine.

[GulfCoastDiscus]

IMO, Start out the planted tank without Discus in mind. Add a few tetras and some clean up crew.

Once you have the tank balanced and plants are established then you can decide what discus to add.

It's hard enough caring for discus. Planted tank IMO is even harder to balance.

Select heat tolerant plants. Are you planning on adding Co2?

daniel

[judy]

Planted tank is a challenge, I'll agree, since I have eight juvies in one, but the WCs (I do one 30% every second day) don't seem to be troubling the plants much. Enough light and added carbon and liquid fertilizer seems to be doing the trick there.
I may not be doing enough WCs to maximize the fish growth, but growing they are, and quite quickly...that may have something to do with having three large HOB filters and a sponge filter. Perhaps they help keep the water more pristine. I don't really know. The floating water sprite is growing so fast I've been throwing it out by handsfuls. Husband keeps asking if we couldn't use it in salads...

[Polar_Bear]

Hi an welcome to SD pieky!

I see ya want to start a 55G with plants...I am hoping that you will be starting this tank with 4-5 Discus a lil larger than juvies.

It is hard to grow out juvies in a planted tank due to the fact that you have to feed them so much. The amount of feeding requires alot of WC's which would not benifit your plants!

The heater an the filters look good. Carbon filtration depends on what you want to do with your tank. Reading that carbon is not good for Discus probably boils down to growing out juvies in a BB tank. Read this.

http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?t=28937

If you want to start a planted tank with adults or close to adults then what you have will work ok.

For a lil more info on the subject read these.

http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?t=59346
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?t=55440

hth
Mark

I agree with Mark about everything except water changes being detrimental to plants, my plants thrive in my discus tanks which get daily water changes. Do yourself a favor and listen to his excellent advice.

[GrillMaster]

Judy, that looks like a well maintained tank an the Discus definately look healthy!

Please keep us updated with your progression.

I would love to see a journal from someone growing juvies to their full potential in planted tank enviroment without algae an healthy plants. It would be interesting to see how the plants and discus matured in the course of a year.

Hey Polar Bear! I think I should retract that statement anyways about WC's being detrimental to plants since the water does have trace elements in it. If the right plants are used I can see how that would in fact work very well.

I still have the C02, EI dosing mentality sometimes!

tc
Mark

[pieky22]

ok thanks alot guys...yeah thats what i was thinking...maybe just get the tank going with alot of plants and 15-20 tetras, ottos, and rasboras...to get the tank cycled that is...also, i can get my rutine down so i will be ready for the discus...any ideas on good rutines? i cant do many water changes...i have school so i will only be able to do them on the weekends... is that ok or do i need to make time for one in the middle of the week also?...thanks so much everyone for your friendly replies...

[pieky22]

here is a pic of my 10 gall planted tank...im obviously gonna go way more dense in the discus tank then this one...i wanted it nice and simple as my first planted but now that i see what to do...i can go way more dense...

[pieky22]

sry about the bad pics