rightwinger59
03-31-2017, 05:42 PM
Greetings! Pretty much every forum I've looked at referred me here for advice on keeping discus, and I've watched the video posted by the DIY King on YouTube (which was excellent, btw).
This post will follow the "Tank Setup Questionnaire" outline posted here (http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?94348-Tank-Setup-Questionaire), so here goes:
1) I currently reside in Salt Lake City, Utah. My prior experience with fish include a 30 gallon setup where I kept angelfish and dwarf gouramis. The tank was not planted, had external sponge filter with bio-wheel, and undergravel filtration. I would say that my angels did pretty well - in fact, I eventually stumbled upon a pair that tried to breed (laid and fertilized eggs multiple times, but I did not remove them and they ended up in the filter or being eaten). We started moving fairly regularly so I was forced to take down my setup and eventually sold it at a garage sale. But when I parted with that tank my resolution was that if I ever took up the hobby again, I wanted to try my hand with discus.
2) I am new to discus, but have read a number of books and watched many videos (including the 1 hour 30 minute video from this forum) on the fish. The inspiration for the setup I am proposing actually comes from this video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EW86VRTBje8&list=PLYVoCOhNA-xlLwCC7CHOj8gNz3u6qmjDj&index=1&t=403s).
3) I am looking at purchasing an 80 gallon tank, with stand. The tank's dimensions are 48" W X 18" D X 21" H (so it may be closer to 75-78 gallons, but the guy is advertising it as 80). I tried to find one that was 24" high, but this one has a handsome stand and from what I can tell 21" should be adequate (but not ideal - but beggars can't be choosers). The tank is currently stocked with a variety of fish which I plan on attempting to trade in at my LFS for store credit. I then plan on following the suggestions in the video linked above to convert to a show tank for some adult discus. This will include the following modifications:
Drilling the back in order to install refugium lines
Installation of plumbing lines
Installation of refugium below
I do plan on using a canister filter prior to refugium (as in video)
I will also use the UV filter (as in video)
4) The tank will have substrate (pool filter sand) and will be planted.
5) Once the tank is set up, I do not plan on introducing discus for a few months while I monitor water quality. I had the tap water of our building tested at Petco, where I discovered that it is already fairly neutral (7.0 to 7.2 pH) but a bit hard (150 ppm, according to their kit). Utah water is relatively hard, so that was expected. Once the tank and refugium have been running for a while I think I'll add some tetras continue to monitor my levels. Ideally I'd like to keep water changes to a minimum, since this is going to be in my office in a commercial building, and so water changes are not going to be the easiest thing in the world.
6) Filtration will include a canister filter, refugium setup, and UV filter. Heater will be either in the tank or in the refugium.
7) Using municipal water: pH was 7 to 7.2, no ammonia, 150 GH.
8) Plan on putting 6 adult discus with tetras and a few bottom feeders.
9) My understanding is that the more mature fish will only need one feeding per day.
10) My goal is to have a beautiful show tank in my office, which includes keeping the fish alive and happy. :)
Any and all input would be appreciated here. My main concerns are these: I'm setting this up in an office, so frequent water changes are going to be difficult. I've seen videos of people claiming that a tank with this kind of filtration and adult fish will not require water to be changed as frequently as, say, a tank containing juvenile discus. It's doable, but a 40% change in an 80 gallon tank will be quite a bit of water. So I'm considering doing the "trash can" method and using a pump to put the new water back in.
I'm also concerned about Utah's relatively hard water. I've contacted the president of our local aquarist group, who apparently specializes in discus in Utah (I'm hoping to get my fish from him, actually, as he apparently also breeds them), but have not yet had the opportunity to pick his brain. So I thought I'd start here and ask for your collective wisdom/input.
Thanks!
This post will follow the "Tank Setup Questionnaire" outline posted here (http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?94348-Tank-Setup-Questionaire), so here goes:
1) I currently reside in Salt Lake City, Utah. My prior experience with fish include a 30 gallon setup where I kept angelfish and dwarf gouramis. The tank was not planted, had external sponge filter with bio-wheel, and undergravel filtration. I would say that my angels did pretty well - in fact, I eventually stumbled upon a pair that tried to breed (laid and fertilized eggs multiple times, but I did not remove them and they ended up in the filter or being eaten). We started moving fairly regularly so I was forced to take down my setup and eventually sold it at a garage sale. But when I parted with that tank my resolution was that if I ever took up the hobby again, I wanted to try my hand with discus.
2) I am new to discus, but have read a number of books and watched many videos (including the 1 hour 30 minute video from this forum) on the fish. The inspiration for the setup I am proposing actually comes from this video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EW86VRTBje8&list=PLYVoCOhNA-xlLwCC7CHOj8gNz3u6qmjDj&index=1&t=403s).
3) I am looking at purchasing an 80 gallon tank, with stand. The tank's dimensions are 48" W X 18" D X 21" H (so it may be closer to 75-78 gallons, but the guy is advertising it as 80). I tried to find one that was 24" high, but this one has a handsome stand and from what I can tell 21" should be adequate (but not ideal - but beggars can't be choosers). The tank is currently stocked with a variety of fish which I plan on attempting to trade in at my LFS for store credit. I then plan on following the suggestions in the video linked above to convert to a show tank for some adult discus. This will include the following modifications:
Drilling the back in order to install refugium lines
Installation of plumbing lines
Installation of refugium below
I do plan on using a canister filter prior to refugium (as in video)
I will also use the UV filter (as in video)
4) The tank will have substrate (pool filter sand) and will be planted.
5) Once the tank is set up, I do not plan on introducing discus for a few months while I monitor water quality. I had the tap water of our building tested at Petco, where I discovered that it is already fairly neutral (7.0 to 7.2 pH) but a bit hard (150 ppm, according to their kit). Utah water is relatively hard, so that was expected. Once the tank and refugium have been running for a while I think I'll add some tetras continue to monitor my levels. Ideally I'd like to keep water changes to a minimum, since this is going to be in my office in a commercial building, and so water changes are not going to be the easiest thing in the world.
6) Filtration will include a canister filter, refugium setup, and UV filter. Heater will be either in the tank or in the refugium.
7) Using municipal water: pH was 7 to 7.2, no ammonia, 150 GH.
8) Plan on putting 6 adult discus with tetras and a few bottom feeders.
9) My understanding is that the more mature fish will only need one feeding per day.
10) My goal is to have a beautiful show tank in my office, which includes keeping the fish alive and happy. :)
Any and all input would be appreciated here. My main concerns are these: I'm setting this up in an office, so frequent water changes are going to be difficult. I've seen videos of people claiming that a tank with this kind of filtration and adult fish will not require water to be changed as frequently as, say, a tank containing juvenile discus. It's doable, but a 40% change in an 80 gallon tank will be quite a bit of water. So I'm considering doing the "trash can" method and using a pump to put the new water back in.
I'm also concerned about Utah's relatively hard water. I've contacted the president of our local aquarist group, who apparently specializes in discus in Utah (I'm hoping to get my fish from him, actually, as he apparently also breeds them), but have not yet had the opportunity to pick his brain. So I thought I'd start here and ask for your collective wisdom/input.
Thanks!