So the journey begins...

[Kimosobey]

( i hope this is the right place to post this:confused:)

I am new here but not new too the hobby. I know the best way to learn and prepare for this fish is by being apart of this forum. So here's my situation, about 7 months ago i lost my favorite fish that I've sought after so many years, a silver arowana. Since then I haven't done any fish keeping and now i'm ready to set up another tank this time with discus.

Recently purchased a 120 gallon to start. I hope to get this tank ready for fish by the end of next month or sooner.

I have a ton of questions to ask and hope to get a lot of feedback!

1. My tank and stand do no match, would love to get them painted flat black. But i'm not a 100% sure how to do the rim of the tank and what kind of paint to use on that type of wood. The stand should be easy enough, just wondering how easy or how hard it would be to paint the rim of the tank.

2. Opinions on filtration! I plan to do a basic tank. Some pool filter sand and piece of driftwood. Maybe down the line some plants when i learn more about plants and discus.

What do you guys think about a large sponge filter (or two) and a large canister filter rated for 150+ gallon tanks? I have HOB 350gph but they are so noisy and hope i can avoid using one. The goal is to have a nice sump set up down the line.

Thanks, hope to get some opinions!

heres my new tank and here's what i'm shooting for!
http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee98/ilysammi88/image.jpeg (http://s235.photobucket.com/user/ilysammi88/media/image.jpeg.html)
http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee98/ilysammi88/Discus21.jpg (http://s235.photobucket.com/user/ilysammi88/media/Discus21.jpg.html)

[pcsb23]

Not really sure what advice to offer re the paint, depends on the material, if it's wood then any hard lacquer would work, if it's plastic then I'm not sure, maybe car spray paint?

Sponge filters are great and for simple tanks are really easy to use and manage as well as being efficient. Not sure you would need a cannister filter tbh, but if you do, then buy quality as they will last - my personal preference are the eheim classic range (used to be called eheim classic 2213, 2215 and 2217's). Simple, inexpensive, bullet proof and extremely efficient.

Sand and drift wood looks really good, only use a thin layer of sand though (cheap and easy to replace as and when needed).

As for plants, I'm pleased to see you say when you learn more ... they take a bit of learning :)

[Kimosobey]

Thank you pcsb23 for the reply! I will defiantly look into ehiem because i believe somewhere i saw a deal where they came with a heather and a siphon! I'm not sure if two large sponge filters would do the job on a 120 gallon with 6-8 discus:confused: I will most likely start out with a barebottom tank with a large piece of driftwood. When i'm more comfortable with with my water chemistry and get to know the fish better then ill consider a substrate.

Also since im considering a canister filter, i would defiantly get a hydor in-line heater. Trying to keep as much equipment out of the aquarium as possible

[pcsb23]

2 large sponge filters will easily cope with 8 adult discus.

[rickztahone]

On my 125g tank I use to run 2 Rena XP3's (http://www.wag.com/fish/p/rena-filstar-xp3-canister-filter-up-to-175-gal-349577?site=CA&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=cpc_W&utm_term=SRA-039&utm_campaign=GooglePLA&CAWELAID=1527650892&utm_content=pla&ca_sku=SRA-039&ca_gpa=pla&ca_kw={keyword}). I did have 12 discus at the time however, and I would do about 3 to 4 100% WC's weekly if I remember correctly.

As far as painting goes, I don't see why you couldn't spray paint them. I'd scuff them up real nice with sandpaper, and I would make ABSOLUTELY sure to mask off the inside of the tank so only the trim gets paint. Shouldn't be a problem.

Pool filter sand is great but do you plan on buying adults or growing out? If you plan on growing out in this tank I'd scratch that and would do bare bottom with the bottom painted until they get to a good size.

This is how I would do it, but of course everyone is different.