Planning my first planted discus tank, need advice.

[Digsy]

Hi everyone,

As long as I've had aquariums, I've always desired to keep discus but never got around to it either because of the expense or lack of space. I just purchased a 105 gallon tank (48.5 x 18.5 x 29) and plan on tearing down my 58 gallon planted tank and transferring everything over to the new tank.

I would appreciate any advice as I'm starting from scratch and while I've gleaned a lot information on this site, I'd like to avoid most pitfalls as far as keeping discus is concerned. Thanks in advance for any suggestions or issues you may notice!

Planned equipment (open to suggestions):

• Filtration:
  Marineland C-360 canister filter from the 58g, adding a Rena XP3 I just bought.
  
  
• Heaters:
  I haven't decided whether or not to go inline with my heaters. I imagine having them inline makes maintenance (on the heaters and the filters) more difficult. If not, I'll probably get 3 Stealth heaters.
  
  
• CO2:
  Pressurized CO2, currently diffused through a Hagen Elite mini filter.
  
  
• Lighting:
  I'm probably going to add a Catalina fixture with either a 4x54w or 6x54w T5.
  
  
• Substrate:
  I was thinking of using Aquasoil Amazonia underneath my driftwood centerpiece and a medium colored silica sand everywhere else.

Fish:

• 12 rummy nose tetras
• 6 black neon tetras
• 5 zebra loaches
• 5 kuhli loaches
• 6 otocinclus
• I hope to add 6-8 adult discus once the tank is settled

Here is a picture of the 58 gallon which will be transferred. I'll be adding a few more pieces of manzanita driftwood to the arrangement to better fill the larger space.

[pcsb23]

Hi there and welcome to Simply

Starting with the tankmates first, although I love clown loaches, I am not a fan of them in with discus, nor am I a fan of ottos either.

You may find the 12 rummy's look a bit lost in a big tank, adding a whole load more would look great imo.

Will or does the tank have a background? Generally in planted tanks we tend to go with darker backgrounds, this, with the plants can cause the discus to go dark, as they try and "blend" in with their surroundings, a lot will depend on which starin you get though. Also some discus do not do well in CO2 injected tanks, so be prepared for that as well, when you introduce the fish, start with the CO2 at a low level and gradually increase it over a few weeks abnd this will give you and the discus the best chance! I had my CO2 on a solenoid so when the lights went out so did the CO2.

As for the top layer of substrate a lightish coloured sand is great ime.

As you are planning on using CO2 then I think you will need the 6x54w T5's.

As long as the cannister filters are working they will be fine, the Rena is not a fave of mine but many do like them.

The main advantage of using inline heaters is there is less clutter in the tank, other than that it is personal preference imo.

Love that 'scape btw

[Chad Hughes]

Welcome!

I'm completely on board with Paul!

The only other thing that I would recommend with a pressurized CO2 system is a Ph controller. This will be a life saver when it comes to properly dosing CO2 in to your tank. They are a bit pricey up front, but are well worth the investment!

Best wishes!

[Digsy]

Hi there and welcome to Simply

Starting with the tankmates first, although I love clown loaches, I am not a fan of them in with discus, nor am I a fan of ottos either.

You may find the 12 rummy's look a bit lost in a big tank, adding a whole load more would look great imo.

Will or does the tank have a background? Generally in planted tanks we tend to go with darker backgrounds, this, with the plants can cause the discus to go dark, as they try and "blend" in with their surroundings, a lot will depend on which starin you get though. Also some discus do not do well in CO2 injected tanks, so be prepared for that as well, when you introduce the fish, start with the CO2 at a low level and gradually increase it over a few weeks abnd this will give you and the discus the best chance! I had my CO2 on a solenoid so when the lights went out so did the CO2.

As for the top layer of substrate a lightish coloured sand is great ime.

As you are planning on using CO2 then I think you will need the 6x54w T5's.

As long as the cannister filters are working they will be fine, the Rena is not a fave of mine but many do like them.

The main advantage of using inline heaters is there is less clutter in the tank, other than that it is personal preference imo.

Love that 'scape btw

Thanks for the reply and the welcome! I was thinking of adding quite a few more rummies once I make the switch as I absolutely love these fish. The black neons have been with me for years so, I'll probably hang onto them until they pass. I don't love my zebra loaches but they're actually great at scavenging food so, they tend to be a big part of my clean up crew.

As far as the background, I was open to suggestions there. I currently have the black background but from what I've read, including your comment, it's not ideal. What colors does everyone go with? We have a brown, coffee house sort of color on the wall and I wonder if that might work although, it's not exactly light either.

Also, does 8 discus sound like a good number for my setup?

Welcome!

I'm completely on board with Paul!

The only other thing that I would recommend with a pressurized CO2 system is a Ph controller. This will be a life saver when it comes to properly dosing CO2 in to your tank. They are a bit pricey up front, but are well worth the investment!

Best wishes!

I've actually thought of purchasing a controller over the years but haven't made the jump yet. Maybe with discus this will be a good time! Thanks again for the reply!

I'm excited to finally be taking the plunge with discus. This site is incredibly informative and I'm glad to be here.

[pcsb23]

8 discus will be good. I had mis read your first post and could have sworn you had clown loaches. My bad

The prob with the black neons and the zebra loaches is the temperature tends to be a bit higher in a discus tank and this can impact on these fish (shortens their life span). Other than that they are compatible imo.

If you use a very light sand then a darker background will work ok. In one of my tanks I have it painted a very pale coffee colour, the other is pale blue.