After months of saving & planning am I finally ready to get some discus?

[MarkyMark]

Below is a picture of the tank I've had set up for three months. It's a 500 litre bare-bottom tank filtered by an FX6, two sponge filters and a UV steriliser. It now has 25 rummy nose and 6 sterbai. I plan on getting 6x 14cm Stendkers followed by another 3 then another 3 (I have a quarantine tank set up in another room). A temperature controller maintains the tank at 29.5-30'C and ammonia/nitrites have been zero for over a month.

My first question is does this setup and stocking level sound ok?

Before getting any discus I've been getting a feel for my water chemistry and how water changes affect it.

My tap water has a GH 12, KH 8, TDS 210, and nitrates 5, and contains chlorine. Straight out of the tap the pH 7.4 but rises to 8 once aged.

I've read so many different things about water parameters but generally the advice seems to be to aim for consistency especially with adult domestics in a display tank. Therefore my second question is am I taking a huge risk to try with my tap water?

If I do a 30% water change straight from the tap the pH in the tank drops from 8 to 7.6. There are no microbubbles and I've been using seachem prime. My third question is this too much of a pH swing and should I therefore age my water?

I'm not entirely sure on the water change schedule I will use. I guess a lot will depend on the fish themselves, how quickly my pH drops, and the method I chose to do the water changes i.e. if I need to age the water or produce RO.

So before I take the plunge and order my first discus, any additional advice would be very much appreciated.

Good afternoon,

Please see attached for the requested folio.

Thank you.

https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/417/31774690974_427be323e9_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/QpPABy)IMG_9353 (https://flic.kr/p/QpPABy) ,

[MarkyMark]

First off I need to turn the tank the right way round so the water doesn't fall out lol. Oops

[Second Hand Pat]

Hi Mark, I think you should age your water. I have a similar ph swing. I also think your plan is a good one (starting with six) and allows you to get a handle on the six before getting more. I would suggest doing a daily 50% WC when you get your discus. You will find the tank will go thru a mini-cycle once you add the discus. The daily WC will help the fish deal with the extra ammonia/nitrite while allowing the BB to catch up. You could try a 50% every other day and see how the fish do.
Pat

[Fish Tank Travis]

I am not experienced with discus keeping yet, but don't you typically try to shoot for under 5ppm nitrates? If so, and the OP's water contains 5ppm straight from the tap, won't it be hard to keep the discus healthy and growing well, since the water will always be above the 5ppm mark?

Again, I have no first-hand experience yet, but it seems to me that getting an RO unit and using a mixture of half RO water and half dechlorinated, aged tap water would greatly benefit the growth and health of the fish.

[rickztahone]

I turned your picture right side up. I hope you don't mind.

[Zeiner]

Beautiful setup! I like the simplicity of it. Where did you get those pots from? I like the look of those.

[MarkyMark]

Thanks for the advice so far!

Using the API test the nitrate level is difficult to tell but definitely below 5. I've just checked using a salifert test I have for my reef tank and says 5. Checked water board and just gives a maximum of 10.

In my head I was aiming to keep it <20 for adults but I'm not sure if I totally made this figure up lol. What do you reckon?

PS The pebble shaped pots were from eBay...search 'bonsai ceramic pot'

[Filip]

Hi Mark and good luck with your new planned Stendkers .
I love your simplistic and discus friendly look of your setup .
I think that your stocking level is good , just be sure to get all the discus from the same source .
Your water parameters are also moderate and tolerable but try to find a way to age at least 200 liters of water for your waterchanges since your ph drops with WCs and sudden PH drops are not well tolerated by all the fish .

Pat advice on Wcs is great . We all ussually started with less and then learn the hard way that we have to do more WCs along the way .
Why not starting the other way around and adjust your routines accordingly as you gain some experience with your discus needs . Its a good approach .

Good luck and keep us updated with this beauty .

[Jack L]

Thanks for the advice so far!

Using the API test the nitrate level is difficult to tell but definitely below 5. I've just checked using a salifert test I have for my reef tank and says 5. Checked water board and just gives a maximum of 10.

In my head I was aiming to keep it <20 for adults but I'm not sure if I totally made this figure up lol. What do you reckon?

PS The pebble shaped pots were from eBay...search 'bonsai ceramic pot'

you might want to buy test strips, they are easier to read and MUCH MUCH faster to use. i found them to be as accurate as liguid kits. and i've found api and tetra strips to read the same too.

if it were me, i'd test it on the little fish. IME discus don't drop like flies, they get annoyed. if little fish don't die, then i'd chance it with the discus(but i really don't like WC or aging hassle). but if you want to be safe, age and heat the aged water.

i've recently had to start heating the aged water as the 5 to 10 degree temp drop that the Discus didn't care about stressed Neons and some then died from something else couple days later.

[HappyFace]

Beautiful tank

[MarkyMark]

Really appreciate your advice and words of encouragement.

Sounds like hopefully I'm on track with the set up and stocking levels. Also seems like it's not unreasonable to attempt using tap water. Definitely sounds like I should age (heat and aerate) enough water to do a 50% water change daily and then gradually drop down to a frequency that keeps the fish happy.

Thanks everyone for taking the time to help me out :)

[Filip]

Really appreciate your advice and words of encouragement.

Sounds like hopefully I'm on track with the set up and stocking levels. Also seems like it's not unreasonable to attempt using tap water. Definitely sounds like I should age (heat and aerate) enough water to do a 50% water change daily and then gradually drop down to a frequency that keeps the fish happy.

Thanks everyone for taking the time to help me out :)

That sounds like a great plan to statr with Mark.
We hope for succes and eagerly waiting for your update pics once your Stendkers arrive.

[Willie]

A common mistake is to put small discus into very large tanks. These fish are typically raised in crowded conditions, albeit with good water quality. Put them into a large tank and they'll stress out, lose their appetite and go into decline You might want to use your quarantine tank initially to get the fish more acclimated to your conditions.

Small discus tend to get lost in a huge tank. If you're buying 5" (13 cm) or larger fish, then it's not a problem, but 5 cm fish are going to have a tough time acclimating.

In most situations, I suggest people dropping the water level on their big tank. But yours is so nicely done, I doubt that's an option.

Good luck, Willie

[MarkyMark]

That's something else I hadn't thought about so thanks for the heads up. I've spoken to a guy that imports stendkers here in the U.K. and he can get 14cm fish so hopefully that will help a bit. I'll also try to make sure I have a plan in place to buy my next batch from the same source without unnecessary delay (just enough time for bio filter to catch up and to quarantine). I'll also have a think about how I could make some sort of divider, or reposition the equipment and drop the water level, in the event the fish stress out. Eeks!

[Filip]

Small discus tend to get lost in a huge tank. If you're buying 5" (13 cm) or larger fish, then it's not a problem, but 5 cm fish are going to have a tough time acclimating.
Good luck, Willie

Just in case you've missed this part Mark .
Don't worry .Your plan is good since you are already set to buy semi adults -13-14cm discus .
You don't have to drop water level for them to feel comfortable .