rellik
04-18-2017, 03:03 PM
So long time lurker here, recently registered and decided I would put up a post about where I am and where I hope to take this tank.
First I should mention this will be my first time keeping discus, but not fish in general. I have had salt and fresh water fish most of my life and almost always have at least 1 tank going in the house some where :) I have kept planted as well as bare tanks and everything in between.
So here is my plan.
Bare bottom 55 Gallon tank, possibly with a little driftwood, but I want to keep this bare bottom for my first discus tank. I built the stand with room for a sump, but found a very nice deal on a couple HOB filters and went that route. I had been "preparing" 2 sponge filters in one of my other tanks for a while and just put them into the new tank to jump start the cycling process. It has been running for over a week now, fishless and everything has stabilized nicely.
Stealing this from the questionnaire in the other part of this forum I will add it here :
Temp - 84.5 +/- .5
Tank PH - 7.2 - 7.4
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - <.5 ppm
Nitrate <10 ppm
The water is city supplied, de-chlorinated and aerated, brought to temp then used. I don't do anything with the PH and from testing over the past year it has been very stable between 7 and 7.4.
Now the stocking questions. I have a local fish store that has been awesome to me over the past year they have been opened and recently started bringing in some discus. I would like to stock the 55 gal in the range of 4-6 adults, maybe more, but starting light :)
Here are some pics of a few of the fish they have, I wanted to get your opinions on them. I have spent a few weeks looking at them and they all seem healthy, active and well, but there are many more experienced folks here.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/LX-zkeTmpLXCekz_c0WgzawRYh-TGGFO7O2RCZ79E8BYN4kw1NE7SOCdr3LcHaa4UyJKWvwZj7tI_ pNy98sRCjiXh7OwHUsgFPHQrpb6uzxTKsnDUqYmFkz_57HW4CL iGp25nndRZu1UoYI2bN0dMLN6PB5bwr6_yJKtYbU3uIz1brN5Q P0tBnDT1OIKKaNHI2RXf_Z3_VletmxNeUzjtgLvGpGlkxc_mcf wDJw64aEEtWUhKLx-lJ1K5lUDI-6fjnVCQfYCHB9OKnyaAILToG57LZjDSRCwd6G31DRIbRlAubRe VGzhLdB1SKodHCKSmhzmFQJoh_qfpjgG0cAn01BtNerJ_PvUi0 JG0z_2hUw0O8tDiKI_EYH8pK7n0wka9eeHbEbtKavn0ZM4w-bv3hWpksns-eZEW1wux6VEj6VzE7LLEiZUNS5pzK0oz8Dd4t8MSJxyMSfmutN 6Ug7GQtYqvi1YOiHUiq61ISWjVLwjuks4iMqZ6j420jIkTtPpF mVFL4WHZvxJYdoGwnDo40HmOIPsk2jTysUd93-Ds5y-vgRVPdvesUIy7E2rFzaEL4-solzFmrv0lfl7rLUHW2ePuiyz0Kat5saU7Dsm99OWzZxhVMPwr LNgupkg-YkpKkUGh3bUoaTHnfcmYzLE2Zna4E_bgGTwFmlf74dOLlE=w52 6-h935-no
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/TcUYn1Bq3BSllLUTDAtCYw8O_t1UT2Pn2aieWPLRgsWE84hlyL jISZNVzBIQvW-nhOUPpJM_-0mP7Nn2NHs8zHPPOp8yXtTuRzrcKwVU4tUyggvT540IAUt5SDo vdYLGHQqkFx26KAejCXV8j8S6n8YY9Pg8WKVPpzUiUM4Dj1RVG hf6iW-f65UTo_9L-gVzp2m74r8hDmdpfZZq_x_VfnefQx95NGwQUggm1CFXmKpT6eO qKyVcEmWq604AsV4sc9q_lAmFxeDWFnJ0I0XoYYI78pcqKHJBR x9UHhgfv0lro8u6vvxf-7q7EE-gzwPHhiqfhX90ilb0GoaHQ9RPDRiQNEmvTr-GI0X8bi2qTvXvdRJpn-EpyNg-b2CKo1RVd4n1goryIEK9laPgyhz9rxwfMxbP6smyqSWMo7bStC H3SqGhP7Quw4yWmDYr7WFTb7cwZAri62Tit489Bn3AvMa98QzA m80AbrKxdYrxEu_0qURxUkS6XTDfgZVDBwk-W1R_Yi33njirt8mC3nMuww_NlpVYdm1Mxobhe6C5mQyhtDquey QxPelhQHcEqg0APVpwkCvHevKBt3qYRvlAtKUK0YC7Etfr4qua nLLSxh1tIDRB7g=w526-h935-no
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/7MQdfA3cDZYySV3KA-P9JGoFtr-96dBMhy3kBhgQ8wABCqoRVdWOeoiMW2a-CzzCp-3HEiUKgf1NbmXsdiPwrZuJRDOcCu-NxPZcDaFQqwtsjHXamOOvRsvpioL8qStZ9SCdPCIKzYdzD4oss Tvc3fO21p247JjZvFediTBzQ8CIe8x4OVzsHuRtc7twafi1Rj-EDN8uPp2VJPdZBBFWqbiSTayKWPMmac_x6nnyPdND_HXVf099I BHRt28NObMvDYwSIIYS-gg9Q0UjH8lBUlL6uv_4WCEveoHmsfI7YQtheiw8qLUvp8u18my UfSxdUEqHYheGoGMWr1Qpxk8c4RBdFoVbC0Tm4m5VJYhpSZvGn 2Dg7jSrxBDW_20UAr_4y1vw_h3koGlutKUsTXFSKtIuonUJoCS vg1SwruJHOjuMhFEtzVHNZY0w_fMcnn8jZ8o3e6rF0zJLiYVnn OFQtpulmIRoEi2XSkQVjUEjNBJeSbIqCq7Irua7o6SdvJPz7wf DGmnd4lwmngA7ubrXoLWAEhJB2AGv-TMiI4uMMzpPHFLE5VQIRcRi6tZZnJmhvos92D3OrQOBS1kDtjq LQC2beFvZ8sVIA8B6R6b7c0WdbtS7MA=w526-h935-no
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/nlnDIJSQpnj5fmvpOBuz3KOpQiG6nExw7lJQqiSrvUSFDeXgJ1 t6hgRIxp6Kpzj-nEcHoXbuay9G4UaWIuGqedwNvgLpt_IxPWCecJjTumu9wQQUX5 EDKfX2oUtAOO4N34CibAYoHNPIU58VxWYmIryWCFYsumk9gF9b N2vUhTLkj-WosEB8sbdbYLecuUu_4oxNPYYGRJBHDUvuoV36rZO4jSONabJu icD7kr0-rrXE7JfEipbDDLySbZ3fVGO_VZd0CgEvCE5gXlaaOktabXm6rQ YpE8fVTfNzZ9rVGgDQIbLuoms65pexlL_EAzfSWp1eWfBJ_qpS BT7oozos7IX1j7Rw20kLL87NhAZJd9PF1Zc5CuzlQAvJgzHUm2 NTPltkamU2qz-FolVcQ4x1ElFO0qcqVrWlGaBXwAC-3J4xcELreRK1tBUxO41nMAREG3hqGXqgbKCIFk1vD4gTRvn6TZ W1LgvzQcKE-1aFs-_170zgNjh6zbYYity5qwuyp_Frkw6YEFMXLEl_mOixEmcEY8m2 JrBFKRiLqe7gaxlpaUpVP6nh23f_TsL92Do8zfUdZw07N1drd0 LWyy1C-I58ID2IfVl7wwrIesoxRtvk8NoCvQ=w526-h935-no
Let me know what I am missing on the setup, and what you all think of the fish. Thanks all and glad I finally decided to stop being a lurker!
First I should mention this will be my first time keeping discus, but not fish in general. I have had salt and fresh water fish most of my life and almost always have at least 1 tank going in the house some where :) I have kept planted as well as bare tanks and everything in between.
So here is my plan.
Bare bottom 55 Gallon tank, possibly with a little driftwood, but I want to keep this bare bottom for my first discus tank. I built the stand with room for a sump, but found a very nice deal on a couple HOB filters and went that route. I had been "preparing" 2 sponge filters in one of my other tanks for a while and just put them into the new tank to jump start the cycling process. It has been running for over a week now, fishless and everything has stabilized nicely.
Stealing this from the questionnaire in the other part of this forum I will add it here :
Temp - 84.5 +/- .5
Tank PH - 7.2 - 7.4
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - <.5 ppm
Nitrate <10 ppm
The water is city supplied, de-chlorinated and aerated, brought to temp then used. I don't do anything with the PH and from testing over the past year it has been very stable between 7 and 7.4.
Now the stocking questions. I have a local fish store that has been awesome to me over the past year they have been opened and recently started bringing in some discus. I would like to stock the 55 gal in the range of 4-6 adults, maybe more, but starting light :)
Here are some pics of a few of the fish they have, I wanted to get your opinions on them. I have spent a few weeks looking at them and they all seem healthy, active and well, but there are many more experienced folks here.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/LX-zkeTmpLXCekz_c0WgzawRYh-TGGFO7O2RCZ79E8BYN4kw1NE7SOCdr3LcHaa4UyJKWvwZj7tI_ pNy98sRCjiXh7OwHUsgFPHQrpb6uzxTKsnDUqYmFkz_57HW4CL iGp25nndRZu1UoYI2bN0dMLN6PB5bwr6_yJKtYbU3uIz1brN5Q P0tBnDT1OIKKaNHI2RXf_Z3_VletmxNeUzjtgLvGpGlkxc_mcf wDJw64aEEtWUhKLx-lJ1K5lUDI-6fjnVCQfYCHB9OKnyaAILToG57LZjDSRCwd6G31DRIbRlAubRe VGzhLdB1SKodHCKSmhzmFQJoh_qfpjgG0cAn01BtNerJ_PvUi0 JG0z_2hUw0O8tDiKI_EYH8pK7n0wka9eeHbEbtKavn0ZM4w-bv3hWpksns-eZEW1wux6VEj6VzE7LLEiZUNS5pzK0oz8Dd4t8MSJxyMSfmutN 6Ug7GQtYqvi1YOiHUiq61ISWjVLwjuks4iMqZ6j420jIkTtPpF mVFL4WHZvxJYdoGwnDo40HmOIPsk2jTysUd93-Ds5y-vgRVPdvesUIy7E2rFzaEL4-solzFmrv0lfl7rLUHW2ePuiyz0Kat5saU7Dsm99OWzZxhVMPwr LNgupkg-YkpKkUGh3bUoaTHnfcmYzLE2Zna4E_bgGTwFmlf74dOLlE=w52 6-h935-no
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/TcUYn1Bq3BSllLUTDAtCYw8O_t1UT2Pn2aieWPLRgsWE84hlyL jISZNVzBIQvW-nhOUPpJM_-0mP7Nn2NHs8zHPPOp8yXtTuRzrcKwVU4tUyggvT540IAUt5SDo vdYLGHQqkFx26KAejCXV8j8S6n8YY9Pg8WKVPpzUiUM4Dj1RVG hf6iW-f65UTo_9L-gVzp2m74r8hDmdpfZZq_x_VfnefQx95NGwQUggm1CFXmKpT6eO qKyVcEmWq604AsV4sc9q_lAmFxeDWFnJ0I0XoYYI78pcqKHJBR x9UHhgfv0lro8u6vvxf-7q7EE-gzwPHhiqfhX90ilb0GoaHQ9RPDRiQNEmvTr-GI0X8bi2qTvXvdRJpn-EpyNg-b2CKo1RVd4n1goryIEK9laPgyhz9rxwfMxbP6smyqSWMo7bStC H3SqGhP7Quw4yWmDYr7WFTb7cwZAri62Tit489Bn3AvMa98QzA m80AbrKxdYrxEu_0qURxUkS6XTDfgZVDBwk-W1R_Yi33njirt8mC3nMuww_NlpVYdm1Mxobhe6C5mQyhtDquey QxPelhQHcEqg0APVpwkCvHevKBt3qYRvlAtKUK0YC7Etfr4qua nLLSxh1tIDRB7g=w526-h935-no
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/7MQdfA3cDZYySV3KA-P9JGoFtr-96dBMhy3kBhgQ8wABCqoRVdWOeoiMW2a-CzzCp-3HEiUKgf1NbmXsdiPwrZuJRDOcCu-NxPZcDaFQqwtsjHXamOOvRsvpioL8qStZ9SCdPCIKzYdzD4oss Tvc3fO21p247JjZvFediTBzQ8CIe8x4OVzsHuRtc7twafi1Rj-EDN8uPp2VJPdZBBFWqbiSTayKWPMmac_x6nnyPdND_HXVf099I BHRt28NObMvDYwSIIYS-gg9Q0UjH8lBUlL6uv_4WCEveoHmsfI7YQtheiw8qLUvp8u18my UfSxdUEqHYheGoGMWr1Qpxk8c4RBdFoVbC0Tm4m5VJYhpSZvGn 2Dg7jSrxBDW_20UAr_4y1vw_h3koGlutKUsTXFSKtIuonUJoCS vg1SwruJHOjuMhFEtzVHNZY0w_fMcnn8jZ8o3e6rF0zJLiYVnn OFQtpulmIRoEi2XSkQVjUEjNBJeSbIqCq7Irua7o6SdvJPz7wf DGmnd4lwmngA7ubrXoLWAEhJB2AGv-TMiI4uMMzpPHFLE5VQIRcRi6tZZnJmhvos92D3OrQOBS1kDtjq LQC2beFvZ8sVIA8B6R6b7c0WdbtS7MA=w526-h935-no
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/nlnDIJSQpnj5fmvpOBuz3KOpQiG6nExw7lJQqiSrvUSFDeXgJ1 t6hgRIxp6Kpzj-nEcHoXbuay9G4UaWIuGqedwNvgLpt_IxPWCecJjTumu9wQQUX5 EDKfX2oUtAOO4N34CibAYoHNPIU58VxWYmIryWCFYsumk9gF9b N2vUhTLkj-WosEB8sbdbYLecuUu_4oxNPYYGRJBHDUvuoV36rZO4jSONabJu icD7kr0-rrXE7JfEipbDDLySbZ3fVGO_VZd0CgEvCE5gXlaaOktabXm6rQ YpE8fVTfNzZ9rVGgDQIbLuoms65pexlL_EAzfSWp1eWfBJ_qpS BT7oozos7IX1j7Rw20kLL87NhAZJd9PF1Zc5CuzlQAvJgzHUm2 NTPltkamU2qz-FolVcQ4x1ElFO0qcqVrWlGaBXwAC-3J4xcELreRK1tBUxO41nMAREG3hqGXqgbKCIFk1vD4gTRvn6TZ W1LgvzQcKE-1aFs-_170zgNjh6zbYYity5qwuyp_Frkw6YEFMXLEl_mOixEmcEY8m2 JrBFKRiLqe7gaxlpaUpVP6nh23f_TsL92Do8zfUdZw07N1drd0 LWyy1C-I58ID2IfVl7wwrIesoxRtvk8NoCvQ=w526-h935-no
Let me know what I am missing on the setup, and what you all think of the fish. Thanks all and glad I finally decided to stop being a lurker!