dbrodeur
02-23-2013, 11:36 PM
Before I get started, I would like to say thank you to Second Hand Pat along with everybody that contributed to this questionaire. I think this is a great starting point for any beginner, like myself, who is interesting in caring/keeping discus.
This questionnaire may be used to either help you to describe your new tank setup for discus or
be a “food for thought” checklist while you consider what your goals are with your new discus tank setup.
1) Please Introduce your self and tell us what your experience is with fishkeeping, give us as much information as possible as to how long in the hobby, what you have kept in the past and what you currently are working with.
A: Hello everybody, my name is Danny. Yes, I am a beginner when it come to this hobby. Taking care of Betas (4 small 3g tanks, 3 at the house and one at work) for the last 2 yrs is the extend of my fish keeping experience. Back in Nov 12, I finally decided to go big and got me a 55g long. Initially, I was going to use it for the betas but PetSmart rep talked me out of it. Instead, he turned my interest into tropical community fish tank. It wasn't long before I transformed the 55g into thriving tropical oasis. While researching for my main attraction fish I came across discus and that's how everything got started. Perhaps it was the pure beauty of this amazing fish or may be the challenges. Whatever it was I decided to go for it. I guess my fascination with the hobby rubbed off with two of my friends b/c Rob decided to retrieve his 55g from his attic while John gestured that he would like to purchase my 55g whenever I decided to let it go. Shortly after the holidays, I helped John setup his newly acquired tank and the following week we got Rob's African cichlids tank up and running. Both are very happy with their tanks; however, I think John is struggling a bit with his. Not long after I sold my fish tank to John, I placed an order for an AG 300g (96x24x31). I got my new tank on 19 Jan 13; however, it has a flaw. Started out as a sm chipped (bigger now) on one of the corners. I notified the company and they are sending me a replacement on 2 Mar 13. In the mean time, I've researched and read up on the dos and don'ts of keeping/caring for discus. In the end, I've decided to listen to the PROs and start it off with a growing tank and work my way toward a display tank. I decided to go this route b/c the $$$ for each adult discus. At the same token, I wanted to raise and nurture these youngsters myself as well. I'm pretty sure that I can do it. As of today, I'm currently on D-1 of cycling my BB 40g (36x18x17). I got one cup of gravel from John's tank, and I just added 4 ts of ammonia. Tomorrow I'll take the Ammonia reading and take appropriate actions.
2) If you have no previous experience with keeping discus, have you done any research to properly prepare yourself, e.g. have you read any Stickies in this section of SimplyDiscus, or other material?
A: Zero prior experience with keeping discus. Yes, I read and absorbed a lot of useful info, especially from Discuspaul and other experts. I actually requested assistance and input from Paul not too long ago. He is definitely very knowledgeable and helpful--thank you Paul. If it wasn't for them, I'll definitely be struggling with the juvies in my 300 planted tank.
3) Describe your tank, its size and dimensions, breeding or display. Include how long it has been setup or if it is still being cycled.
A: I'll be p/u my new 300g (96x24x31) on 2 Mar 13. Like the first one tank, the company recommend a 3-4 wks cured time before adding any water. I brought my tank from glasscages.com. They are very professional-top notch customer service.
4) Describe the décor for the tank; type of substrate or bare bottom (BB), whether the tank will be planted or a biotope.
A: For my 300g, it will not be heavily planted tank. It will have about 3-4 pcs of driftwood (roots, trunk and branches) and PFS substrate. I wanted to designed pcs of these driftwood into a fallen tree. With the uprooted portion sticking up on the left, part of it decayed and moss covered trunk somewhat in the middle, and some branches reaching up into the water toward the right side of the tank. Both L/R sides will have some swords along with other temp hardy greeneries. L side will sit higher while R side will have more plants. The tree trunk (middle portion) will be mostly Java moss and some dwarf swords. As for my 40g, it's going to be BB.
5) Describe your water changes planned or practiced, percentage and how often. Include if you age your water and use of tap/RO or mix.
A: I'm hoping that I'll get by with only 25% wc every wk on 300g. Here's why I'm hoping, I'll only have 10 mature discus, 30 cardinals, 8 cats and 8 SAEs. I'm planning on using 2 TMC Bio Fluidized Sand Bed Filters (FB1000) powered by Rio 1100 pumps with Pre-Filter Max3. I'll also be running 2-4 Hydro Sponges with lift tubes to help clean up their mess. As for chemical part, I'm thinking about Filstar XPL, packed w/ other chemical enhancers (also w/Max3) hooked to a Vecton 6 UV canister. I would love to use aged water when wc; however, my wife already complaining for having one 32g rubber trash can in the house that I'm using for the BB. She's definitely not into it, especially with everything scattered all over the house. I'm sure once I get the replacement tank and finished clear coating my stand things will be out of sight and into its rightful place. I'm not planning on using RO or anything b/c my well water is ok (pH 7.4-7.5) from the tap. I'm still scratching my head with gH (120-180) and kH is about the same. As for my BB tank b/c of the feeding requirement, I'm plan doing 50% wc daily w/ aged, preheated and aerated water. My only concerning about this is ability to feed the juvies 4-6 times per day. Both the Mrs. and I work full time, M-F and on weekdays I'm unable to feed them 4-6 times. They might get 4 if I continued to feed them from the time I get off work until bed time. Do you think an automatic feeder will come in handy, unfortunately they'll be getting only flakes or pellets. Beside the feeding, everything else about the BB tank is relatively manageable.
6) Describe the type of filtration planned/used for the tank; sponge, HOB and/or sump. Also include the other equipment you are, or will be, using in your tank, e.g. heater, lighting, etc.
A: As I've mentioned earlier, I'm planning on using 2 TMC Bio Fluidized Sand Bed Filters (FB1000) powered by Rio 1100 pumps with Pre-Filter Max3. I'll also be running 2-4 Hydro Sponges with lift tubes to help with bio-loads. As for chemical part, I'm thinking about Filstar XPL (also w/Max3) hooked to a Vecton 6 UV canister. Hopefully three Max3s (one each to Rio 1100s and 1 on the Filstar) will be enough for the mechanical part to handle all potential waste. I'll be running 3 Via Aqua Titanium 350w heaters. As for lights, I would like to start out w/ 4 Aqua Ray GroBeam 1500 LED lights, may be 2 more later on. For the BB, I'm using Emperor 400 w/ Max3 pre-filter and 2 Hydro Sponges. The tank came w/ a T8 so it should be ok for discus, and I'm using Top-Fin 200w heater.
7) If the tank is already setup and running, include the water parameters; (BB tank currently cycling on D-1)
- temp: 84
- tank ph: 7.5
- Ph of the water straight out of your tap: 7.4-7.5
- ammonia reading: 5ppm (just started cycling w/ 4 ts ammonia)
- nitrite reading: n/a
- nitrate reading: n/a
- well water: yes (little high on pH, will retest after all the rain)
- municipal water: no
8) Describe your current or planned stocking levels; number/size of discus and number/type of dither fish. Where did you get your discus from or do you have a proposed source for getting your discus?
A: My main attraction would be 10 mature Red Pigeon Blood from Hans. The dither are 30 cardinals to help give it a flash to the scenery, 8 cats for the bottom and 8 SAEs for the algae.
9) Describe your planned or existing feeding regimen. Include what and how often you are feeding on a daily basis.
A: As I've mentioned above, my only concern is feeding the juvies. Both the Mrs. and I work full time, M-F. On weekdays, I'm unable to feed them 4-6 times. They might get 4 if I continued to feed them from the time I get off work until bed time. They will be properly fed on weekends. Do you think an automatic feeder will come in handy. Unfortunately, they'll be getting only flakes or pellets from the automatic feeder, at least they are getting something to eat. I will provide the juvies with frozen bloodworm, brine shrimp, flakes, pellets and beef heart (got to know where to get it or how to make it).
10) What are your goals in this hobby? For example are you looking to keep discus in a planted community tank, or do you hope to become a hobby breeder of Discus? Do you want to raise Discus with the hopes of competing in shows?
A: My goal is to have a nice and enjoyable planted discus tank, something to keep me busy (I can only do so much yard work, especially during winter months). I'm not shooting for shows or competition or anything like that. If I'm lucky and the discus starting to pair, then I'll try to give them that opportunity in the BB tank, by then it should be vacant.
Well, that's pretty much sum it all up my initial journey into the discus world. I just wanted to say thank you for taking the time to read my post and thank you in advance for your assistance and advice.
This questionnaire may be used to either help you to describe your new tank setup for discus or
be a “food for thought” checklist while you consider what your goals are with your new discus tank setup.
1) Please Introduce your self and tell us what your experience is with fishkeeping, give us as much information as possible as to how long in the hobby, what you have kept in the past and what you currently are working with.
A: Hello everybody, my name is Danny. Yes, I am a beginner when it come to this hobby. Taking care of Betas (4 small 3g tanks, 3 at the house and one at work) for the last 2 yrs is the extend of my fish keeping experience. Back in Nov 12, I finally decided to go big and got me a 55g long. Initially, I was going to use it for the betas but PetSmart rep talked me out of it. Instead, he turned my interest into tropical community fish tank. It wasn't long before I transformed the 55g into thriving tropical oasis. While researching for my main attraction fish I came across discus and that's how everything got started. Perhaps it was the pure beauty of this amazing fish or may be the challenges. Whatever it was I decided to go for it. I guess my fascination with the hobby rubbed off with two of my friends b/c Rob decided to retrieve his 55g from his attic while John gestured that he would like to purchase my 55g whenever I decided to let it go. Shortly after the holidays, I helped John setup his newly acquired tank and the following week we got Rob's African cichlids tank up and running. Both are very happy with their tanks; however, I think John is struggling a bit with his. Not long after I sold my fish tank to John, I placed an order for an AG 300g (96x24x31). I got my new tank on 19 Jan 13; however, it has a flaw. Started out as a sm chipped (bigger now) on one of the corners. I notified the company and they are sending me a replacement on 2 Mar 13. In the mean time, I've researched and read up on the dos and don'ts of keeping/caring for discus. In the end, I've decided to listen to the PROs and start it off with a growing tank and work my way toward a display tank. I decided to go this route b/c the $$$ for each adult discus. At the same token, I wanted to raise and nurture these youngsters myself as well. I'm pretty sure that I can do it. As of today, I'm currently on D-1 of cycling my BB 40g (36x18x17). I got one cup of gravel from John's tank, and I just added 4 ts of ammonia. Tomorrow I'll take the Ammonia reading and take appropriate actions.
2) If you have no previous experience with keeping discus, have you done any research to properly prepare yourself, e.g. have you read any Stickies in this section of SimplyDiscus, or other material?
A: Zero prior experience with keeping discus. Yes, I read and absorbed a lot of useful info, especially from Discuspaul and other experts. I actually requested assistance and input from Paul not too long ago. He is definitely very knowledgeable and helpful--thank you Paul. If it wasn't for them, I'll definitely be struggling with the juvies in my 300 planted tank.
3) Describe your tank, its size and dimensions, breeding or display. Include how long it has been setup or if it is still being cycled.
A: I'll be p/u my new 300g (96x24x31) on 2 Mar 13. Like the first one tank, the company recommend a 3-4 wks cured time before adding any water. I brought my tank from glasscages.com. They are very professional-top notch customer service.
4) Describe the décor for the tank; type of substrate or bare bottom (BB), whether the tank will be planted or a biotope.
A: For my 300g, it will not be heavily planted tank. It will have about 3-4 pcs of driftwood (roots, trunk and branches) and PFS substrate. I wanted to designed pcs of these driftwood into a fallen tree. With the uprooted portion sticking up on the left, part of it decayed and moss covered trunk somewhat in the middle, and some branches reaching up into the water toward the right side of the tank. Both L/R sides will have some swords along with other temp hardy greeneries. L side will sit higher while R side will have more plants. The tree trunk (middle portion) will be mostly Java moss and some dwarf swords. As for my 40g, it's going to be BB.
5) Describe your water changes planned or practiced, percentage and how often. Include if you age your water and use of tap/RO or mix.
A: I'm hoping that I'll get by with only 25% wc every wk on 300g. Here's why I'm hoping, I'll only have 10 mature discus, 30 cardinals, 8 cats and 8 SAEs. I'm planning on using 2 TMC Bio Fluidized Sand Bed Filters (FB1000) powered by Rio 1100 pumps with Pre-Filter Max3. I'll also be running 2-4 Hydro Sponges with lift tubes to help clean up their mess. As for chemical part, I'm thinking about Filstar XPL, packed w/ other chemical enhancers (also w/Max3) hooked to a Vecton 6 UV canister. I would love to use aged water when wc; however, my wife already complaining for having one 32g rubber trash can in the house that I'm using for the BB. She's definitely not into it, especially with everything scattered all over the house. I'm sure once I get the replacement tank and finished clear coating my stand things will be out of sight and into its rightful place. I'm not planning on using RO or anything b/c my well water is ok (pH 7.4-7.5) from the tap. I'm still scratching my head with gH (120-180) and kH is about the same. As for my BB tank b/c of the feeding requirement, I'm plan doing 50% wc daily w/ aged, preheated and aerated water. My only concerning about this is ability to feed the juvies 4-6 times per day. Both the Mrs. and I work full time, M-F and on weekdays I'm unable to feed them 4-6 times. They might get 4 if I continued to feed them from the time I get off work until bed time. Do you think an automatic feeder will come in handy, unfortunately they'll be getting only flakes or pellets. Beside the feeding, everything else about the BB tank is relatively manageable.
6) Describe the type of filtration planned/used for the tank; sponge, HOB and/or sump. Also include the other equipment you are, or will be, using in your tank, e.g. heater, lighting, etc.
A: As I've mentioned earlier, I'm planning on using 2 TMC Bio Fluidized Sand Bed Filters (FB1000) powered by Rio 1100 pumps with Pre-Filter Max3. I'll also be running 2-4 Hydro Sponges with lift tubes to help with bio-loads. As for chemical part, I'm thinking about Filstar XPL (also w/Max3) hooked to a Vecton 6 UV canister. Hopefully three Max3s (one each to Rio 1100s and 1 on the Filstar) will be enough for the mechanical part to handle all potential waste. I'll be running 3 Via Aqua Titanium 350w heaters. As for lights, I would like to start out w/ 4 Aqua Ray GroBeam 1500 LED lights, may be 2 more later on. For the BB, I'm using Emperor 400 w/ Max3 pre-filter and 2 Hydro Sponges. The tank came w/ a T8 so it should be ok for discus, and I'm using Top-Fin 200w heater.
7) If the tank is already setup and running, include the water parameters; (BB tank currently cycling on D-1)
- temp: 84
- tank ph: 7.5
- Ph of the water straight out of your tap: 7.4-7.5
- ammonia reading: 5ppm (just started cycling w/ 4 ts ammonia)
- nitrite reading: n/a
- nitrate reading: n/a
- well water: yes (little high on pH, will retest after all the rain)
- municipal water: no
8) Describe your current or planned stocking levels; number/size of discus and number/type of dither fish. Where did you get your discus from or do you have a proposed source for getting your discus?
A: My main attraction would be 10 mature Red Pigeon Blood from Hans. The dither are 30 cardinals to help give it a flash to the scenery, 8 cats for the bottom and 8 SAEs for the algae.
9) Describe your planned or existing feeding regimen. Include what and how often you are feeding on a daily basis.
A: As I've mentioned above, my only concern is feeding the juvies. Both the Mrs. and I work full time, M-F. On weekdays, I'm unable to feed them 4-6 times. They might get 4 if I continued to feed them from the time I get off work until bed time. They will be properly fed on weekends. Do you think an automatic feeder will come in handy. Unfortunately, they'll be getting only flakes or pellets from the automatic feeder, at least they are getting something to eat. I will provide the juvies with frozen bloodworm, brine shrimp, flakes, pellets and beef heart (got to know where to get it or how to make it).
10) What are your goals in this hobby? For example are you looking to keep discus in a planted community tank, or do you hope to become a hobby breeder of Discus? Do you want to raise Discus with the hopes of competing in shows?
A: My goal is to have a nice and enjoyable planted discus tank, something to keep me busy (I can only do so much yard work, especially during winter months). I'm not shooting for shows or competition or anything like that. If I'm lucky and the discus starting to pair, then I'll try to give them that opportunity in the BB tank, by then it should be vacant.
Well, that's pretty much sum it all up my initial journey into the discus world. I just wanted to say thank you for taking the time to read my post and thank you in advance for your assistance and advice.