Equipment that I'll need

[KatieS]

Im planning a tank 66 ins x 30 ins x24ins . I'm still at the research stage but keen to know what equipment I need or don't need. I'm planning a bare bottom tank but hopefully will add just a few plants attached to wood.
I was given a fluval fx6 filter for Christmas .. can anyone suggest the best filter medium to use. Apart from a heater and lights .. will I also need a uv filter and will I need a ro filter too. Any suggestions on the best lighting to buy?
Any info greatly appreciated.. tia

[Fish Tank Travis]

While I don't actually have discus yet, I have done a lot of research for them.

It sounds like you have about a 200 gallon tank. I would recommend adding a HOB filter, such as an AC 110, or a few sponge filters.

I would make sure you have a good method to change a lot of water for the fish. A tank that large will require a lot of work to do water changes.

[Keith Perkins]

RO units are only needed for breeding purposes, and not even all the time then. A few people use UV units, but the last majority do not. Personally I only use sponge filters, but nothing wrong with either fx6s or HOBs. I have a wide variety of lights and really have no great preference one over the other. If anything I dislike my most expensive the most, as I get more algae from it than I do my run of the mill cheap lights. Hope that helps some.

[KatieS]

Thank you fir your info .. could you tell me what a HOB filter is ? Maybe I'm just being thick .. lol !!

[KatieS]

Thanks for your info Keith .. it's much appreciated.

[Keith Perkins]

HOB...Hang On Back.

[Filip]

Im planning a tank 66 ins x 30 ins x24ins . I'm still at the research stage but keen to know what equipment I need or don't need. I'm planning a bare bottom tank but hopefully will add just a few plants attached to wood.
I was given a fluval fx6 filter for Christmas .. can anyone suggest the best filter medium to use. Apart from a heater and lights .. will I also need a uv filter and will I need a ro filter too. Any suggestions on the best lighting to buy?
Any info greatly appreciated.. tia

If i could go back to my tank start up i would definitely try to make waterchanges more automatic , or at least drill a hole at the bottom of the tank with a valve to make the draining faster and easier. This would be my first and most important thing to start with.

Second - Aging barrel and a strong +2000 GPH pond pump for fast fill up during WC.
Heaters - 3 pieces of 300-400 watt Jaggers or Hydors.
Sump filter or 2 canister filters instead of one . FX 6 + one more 500 gph maybe less expensive for a backup.
Lights - cheap commercial LED or a T5 fixtures - 200-300 wats would suffice your tankage .

And Everything else falls under Accesories section :) .

[Kyla]

i love my fx5, only draw back is how heavy it is to move when cleaning. if u get a short section of hose u can attach it to the filter to drain it before moving it.

i have an extra fx5 hose connector piece which i attached to a large drain hose that runs behind the tank and behind a wall to the floor drain in my laundry room - i connect this hose to the fx5 output and turn on the filter and it pumps the water down the drain (or out a window to water a garden if u prefer) and drains the tank FAST!

http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm182/kylasfish/Mobile%20Uploads/0E973E3F-8E8E-4DFD-B4FD-DD5E6918BB84_zpshagdjxuk.jpeg (http://s296.photobucket.com/user/kylasfish/media/Mobile%20Uploads/0E973E3F-8E8E-4DFD-B4FD-DD5E6918BB84_zpshagdjxuk.jpeg.html)

i just use the sponges it came with and a bunch of ceramic balls. it does a great job filtering the water.

another option is to put a sponge over the intake to reduce the frequency of filter cleanings. ive been using a little sheet of filter floss and changing it out every second day, it works great.

[KatieS]

HOB...Hang On Back.

Awww thanks for that Keith ... I'll get used to the jargon soon ( I hope )!!

[KatieS]

Thanks Kyla .. I have asked our plumber to install a floor drain right underneath the tank to make water changes easier and quicker ... I haven't actually opened the fluval fx6 yet .. im hoping to be able to use it to drain the water direct out the tank and down the drain. I'm installing a tank underneath to store aged water for water changes .. I'm hoping I can buy a pump to pump the water from the spare tank to the main tank ... so much to learn

[Keith Perkins]

Awww thanks for that Keith ... I'll get used to the jargon soon ( I hope )!!

This might come in handy for the jargon thing.

http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?88079-Discus-and-Aquarium-Abbreviations

[KatieS]

This might come in handy for the jargon thing.

http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?88079-Discus-and-Aquarium-Abbreviations

Thank you .. that's going to be a huge help

[DOJOLOACH23]

What about a heater controller? For all those heaters? That's a lot of opportunities for something to go wrong.

[BmoreBraap]

What about a heater controller? For all those heaters? That's a lot of opportunities for something to go wrong.

Buy the Eheim Jager heaters....they work the best out of the heaters I have used, have a built in thermostat for temp control and even a simple re calibration built into the temp control.

Katie, the Fx6 is great, but with a tank that large you will most likely want a secondary filter(I use a simple ATI sponge filter with air stone). An AC 110 HOB filter is another popular choice. As for the media used in the canister, that really comes down to preference. You will have a lot of room left even with all the included media added to the trays but not much chemical filtration so I added Seachem Purigen and Matrix to it. Good luck!