filter @night

[discus27]

Hi,

I used the search function but i couldn't really find a similar question...

I bought five discus today. I have a 260l tank (about 65 gallon i think?) my filter is a tetratec ex 700.

I haven't got ab airstone yet, will buy one tomorrow.

My discus seem to stay all at the place where my filtration intake is. Do I have to turn my filtration off at night in order to prevent my fish to get "sucked up" by the filter?

discus 27

[Jeff O]

Turning your filter off will destroy your bacteria (if the tank is cycled) Im not sure on the size of your discus but its highly unlikely that they will get sucked up into it. So you should be fine.
-Jeff

[Eddie]

Turning your filter off will destroy your bacteria (if the tank is cycled) Im not sure on the size of your discus but its highly unlikely that they will get sucked up into it. So you should be fine.
-Jeff

+1, also, attach a prefilter sponge to the inlet of your filter to prevent food and debris from building up. It will ruin the water quality no matter how much water you change.

[Elliots]

It is also real easy to clean a prefilter sponge. I have plants and a large bioload so I clean the intake sponges twice daily. As the old joke goes there are only two times of day to have your filter on, daytime and nighttime.

[discus27]

Okay thanks for the fast answers! I'm going to buy a sponge today! For easy cleaning I chose to (start) with a bare bottom thank. My discus are 8cm (about 3inch) in size . I have a large piece of wood for my aquarium, could this serve as a cover for them at night or am I just to concerned about them sleeping at night and will the wood only make the tank maintainance harder?

[Elliots]

Put the wood in. You can move it to clean. give your fish a place to hide.

[Bill63SG]

Okay thanks for the fast answers! I'm going to buy a sponge today! For easy cleaning I chose to (start) with a bare bottom thank. My discus are 8cm (about 3inch) in size . I have a large piece of wood for my aquarium, could this serve as a cover for them at night or am I just to concerned about them sleeping at night and will the wood only make the tank maintainance harder?Dont over complicate it.Many of us keep it bb with no hiding spots.That being said,I re-read the op,and the tube hanging into the tank is probably the only form of "structure",and they are grouping around it.You dont say how many discus,or how new.They could just be settling in,or not enough for a school and dont feel comfortable coming out into the tank yet.Put the wood in,they'll hide by it,and you decide if its a pita to clean around.

[discus27]

Thank you for the help! i've put the wood in but they don't hide near it yet. Today was their first day in the tank, maybe theyrz just settling. I have five of them. I'll upload some pictures tomorrow but I didn't out how to do that with android.

I also discovered that theywere less stressed with the lights off/part covered. I know that discus dont need much much light but I. I'm running 12 x3w high power leds , might this be too much or should I better turn the light off the first days?
Temp is 28-29c,did 20% water changes.
My aquarium neither has a background, might it be better to paint the back or something?

thanks to all for the answers!

[Eddie]

You don't really need a background if the tank is against a wall. They will get used to bright lights if you keep them on when you want them on. Don't change for the fish, make them change for you.

[Bill63SG]

[QUOTE=Eddie;963964 Don't change for the fish, make them change for you.[/QUOTE]

+1.They're there for you to enjoy.Mess around with the lights if you want,but deffinatley dont cover them.They'll always be skittish them.5's an ok number.

[discus27]

Today was a good day!

Fish are getting used to their new home :)
They really like the wood and it was a good idea to force them to swim under the light, their colours are so beautiful!

[Elliots]

Try an extra fixture with Colormax bulbs to bring out the reds and blues. It does not have to be on all the time, just when you watch your fish.

[discus27]

I'm personally quite satisfied with the colours the leds give me... But maybe I'll follow Elliots advice since good is relative as it is my first light source and I haven't got much experience to compare with! Might add some 6500k leds since I only have 10000k now, which makes the turquoise beautiful bet the red less good.

As promised some pics:
http://s1343.beta.photobucket.com/user/discus27/media/fish/20130107_181408_zpsd6ae7a18.jpg.html

http://s1343.beta.photobucket.com/user/discus27/media/fish/20130107_154014-1_zps8cf60095.jpg.html

http://s1343.beta.photobucket.com/user/discus27/media/fish/20130107_181504_zps648a30d2.jpg.html

They're not to sharp sorry for that :p

I hope they are good quality fish, It are stendkers and they do seem healthy to me, what do you think?

Greets