is this a good set up for my first discus tank?

[Coralife205]

150 gallon
3 sunpod DE metal halides 150 watt each, 6700K...for the discus i may put some T5 lighting to bring out theire color better, a differnt K temp.
5lb presurised co2 ( i may or may not upgrade to a 10 lb )
factory bottom drilled overflow
Berlin sump
Fluvl E-heater
Ph Controller
Flourite Black
2 fluval U1 filters

I will probably be adding some powerheads depending on how the flow in the tank is. I decided not to go with substrate heating cables. ( you all convinced me).

I have not decided if i want to make this a discus only tank or not. i probably wont cause that will get boreing fast. i will probably add some cardinals and corrys and some sort of algea eater(suggestions please?)

im puting a number down on how many discus i will get. i will have no more then 6 discus. i dont want to overcrowed the tank, or overstock the tank. so i will be asking for stocking suggestions from all of you experts ...if you dont mind.

my plan for this tank is this: get all of the equitment necisary to run the tank. star the tank up, plant it, scape it do all of that.. let it sit for 2 months. yes, two months. it will be hard to wait, but i promise to my self i will wait because i want everything to start to fill in and i want the tank to cycle completely. (should i do this with seachem stability, or will the plants on theire own just make the tank cycle?) i Want to use RO-Water.i have the 4 stage spectra pure RO/DI system. I want to do everything the right way this time around. where i made my biggest mistakes in my old 29 gallon was cycleing the tank, and i dident know what i want or how to do it.

with my personal experience, shared knowledge between us, hopefuly this tank will turn out very well and be enjoyable by everyone who sees it, wether by miapg, anywhere else on the web, or who ever wants to come over.

in a month, more or less, i will be ready to start the tank the sooner Preuss gets my order in, the sooner we can start!

here is a list of plants i want to use. any thoughts? i want to narrow down the list.

Anubias
Anubias Nana
Anubias Gracilis

Aponogeton
Aponogetons Ulvaceus
Aponogetons Boivinianus

Lillys
Red Tiger Lotus
Barclaya Longifolia

Ferns/Moss
Java Moss
Bolbitis Heudelotil

Cabomba
Cabomba Caroliniana

Crypts
Cryptocoryne Beckettii
Cryptocoryne Walkeri
Cryptocoryne Wendentit ‘Brown’

Swords
Echinodorus Major ( Ruffled Amazon Swordplant)
Melon Swordplant

Miscellaneous
Hygrophillia Corymbosa
Crinum Thaianum
Ludwigia Glandulosa
Monosolenium Tenerum
Drawf hairgrass
Limnophilia Aromatica
Rotala Macrandra
Cardinal Plant Lobelia cardinalis

miapg.com

here is a photobucket link to what i have so far.
http://s387.photobucket.com/albums/o...view=slideshow

[Mr Wild]

Good Lord! What can I say. Beats a BB with a flouro light strung over head! LOL This is past my expertise I will wait for others to chime in. But I do know if you are planning to buy adults your plans should be fine. Juvies on the other hand need BB and lots of wc's and that tank is way to big for juvies they get lost and stress and get sick. HTH

[Armandi_Fishcarer]

Man a greatness of things to soak in, although once its there & in the tank it will look awsome. You are on the right track for the time frame before putting fish in, & some may even prefer an extra month or two so plants & levels are adequate. Fish wise I would go adults & 6 is a good number, with rummy's, cory's, if you plan on good hiding space(logs etc...) Bristle nose. Whiptails are great I found with Discus & tend to keep to their own. Another thing to think about would be CO2 injection.

Regards
Ahmed

[Coralife205]

im planning on useing melysian driftwood and i do have a 5lb pressursed co2 tank. im planning on like 30 cardinals, give or take. not sure on the type of corrys or algea eaters. im hesitant with plecos cause of what ive read on how they suck on the side of the discus. i the discus i was planning on gettng were going to be about half-dollar size. some people tell me that the lighting i have is goign to be too bright for them and ohers tell me that the lighting thing is a myth. its 150 watt fixtures. 6700k bubls. though im thinking about makeing one of the lights on there a 10,000k bulb, to help make the discus "pop". probably the middle fixture will be 10k. or.i could leave the halides 6700k and get T5HO reto kits

[Eddie]

im planning on useing melysian driftwood and i do have a 5lb pressursed co2 tank. im planning on like 30 cardinals, give or take. not sure on the type of corrys or algea eaters. im hesitant with plecos cause of what ive read on how they suck on the side of the discus. i the discus i was planning on gettng were going to be about half-dollar size. some people tell me that the lighting i have is goign to be too bright for them and ohers tell me that the lighting thing is a myth. its 150 watt fixtures. 6700k bubls. though im thinking about makeing one of the lights on there a 10,000k bulb, to help make the discus "pop". probably the middle fixture will be 10k. or.i could leave the halides 6700k and get T5HO reto kits

Hey there, I have very little experience with planted tanks but one thing I do know, they are not ideal for growing out young fish. I personally would recommend that you get adults. They are more forgiving in some ways and having them large already will be a better experience for you.

HTH
Eddie

[Coralife205]

but how big is the smallest size adult? ive alredy spent 3,500$$$. and adults are like 600$ per fish....thats why i was hopeing for like, half dollar size, 25$ per fish

[Eddie]

but how big is the smallest size adult? ive alredy spent 35,000$$$. and adults are like 600$ per fish....thats why i was hopeing for like, half dollar size, 25$ per fish

No no no, there are some seriously amazing quality sub adults for sale in the sponsor section running less than $200 per fish. I'm talking superb fish at 5" and you will not be disappointed.

Eddie

[Coralife205]

oh i see. and corection... not 35 thousand... 3,500 lol big difernce.....can you show me a pic of the size discus your talking about?

[Eddie]

Run through this post to view actual shots of fish, sizes and prices.

http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?t=72162


Eddie

[Peachtree Discus]

sounds like you have pretty big plans. i can't wait to see pictures after you get it established.

[Coralife205]

thank you

[mmorris]

I think definately adults in such a huge, planted tank. It sounds like your substrate will be black. What strains of discus were you considering? Some become quite dark or peppered in a tank with a dark substrate.

[Coralife205]

i havent fully decided yet. i like a lot of the verity of colors. i do like the natural discus, and i could have them cause i have an RO/DI.....however...they are more difficult to take care of. and this will be my first discus tank. also, i just do not really like them as much as the non-natural kind. it wont be till november or later before ill add the discus though. i want to go through this set up process very slowly. ive been working on geting this tank set up since april. im almost ready to start it up. i was goign to plant the tank. let it sit for a month or two. then slowly add fish... i want cardinals and corrys. but as far as algea eaters go...im not sure what to get. i love plecos. but...i also love otos too cause of how they are about eating off of the leaves. when it comes to picking an algea eater, ill take the suggestinsfrom you guys on this site. cause i realy dont care in the end, as long as it does the job. what would you do?

[Scribbles]

Adults or sub-adults would be better suited to your large tank. Also, I would decide on the strain of discus before putting in a black substrate. As mmorris stated, many discus strains will darken or pepper with a dark substrate or background. You might go with a lighter substrate so as not to limit your options.

Awesome set-up by the way.

Chris

[Elite Aquaria]

That is going to be an awesome display tank...I can't wait to see it in its full glory...