Hello

[Ginger Mark]

Hello folks.
Not long joined the forum.

I have kept African cichlids for about 8 years but I have always had an interest in swapping to Discus. Ive been reading up and watching the usual videos for the last year or so to try and research discus as much as possible. A few weeks ago i got back to the house to be met with a puddle at the back door..... my tank had split.
So after a few days thinking about a new tank or quitting the hobby I have bought a new replacement tank (450L) and decided I'm going to enter the world of discus!

My plan is that i'm going to set up the tank and have a light coat of sand with a couple of pieces of driftwood with plants attached (I know the whole debate regarding BB or planted tanks) as I like the look. It will be minimal. Not thickly planted or wooded. Ill be painting the back of the tank with black paint (I understand the increased risk of peppering) and having probably 30 or 40 cardinal tetras and probably 8 discus (probably 3.5 - 4 inch). I am in absolutely no rush to stock the tank with discus but Ill put some tetras in to help with the tank cycling. Ill be using tap water as I did with cichlids although I understand discus require different parameters. Tap water PH is 6.6 so not planning on needing any buffers etc.
Basically I'm wanting peoples thoughts on my initial ideas and advice from anyone who has started discus keeping in similar methods to myself.
Many thanks to everyone for there input in this forum as its a fountain of knowledge.
Ginger

[Filip]

Welcome Mark and good luck on your new journey.
Your plan sounds reasonable to me and it seems that you have already done your homework on discus , so I think that you are headed to a successful start.
I would just suggest to keep your sandbed thin enough just to cover the glass and to start with only discus first 2-3 months and than add tetras or other fish , following the recommended QT procedure for introducing new stock.
You can cycle the tank fishless , using ammonia or buy some quick start bacteria culture for speeding up the cycling process .

[geo57]

Hi Mark, you sound a lot like me, started my tank with sand and driftwood. The sand will require more cleaning than say a bare bottom tank and I went with white sand and the filth does stand out a lot more lol. I am not using any plants, for one my tank being four foot deep makes it hard to handle anything at the bottom, and i wanted to keep it as simple as possible to ensure my discus don't get sick. I also recommend under stocking your tank until you are confident that your maintenance routine and equipment are good and your fish will be healthy and happy.

[Ginger Mark]

Hi Mark, you sound a lot like me, started my tank with sand and driftwood. The sand will require more cleaning than say a bare bottom tank and I went with white sand and the filth does stand out a lot more lol. I am not using any plants, for one my tank being four foot deep makes it hard to handle anything at the bottom, and i wanted to keep it as simple as possible to ensure my discus don't get sick. I also recommend under stocking your tank until you are confident that your maintenance routine and equipment are good and your fish will be healthy and happy.

Hi geo57 and thank you for your reply. I totally understand where you are coming from regarding the BB tank but its just not a favourite look of mine. How dirty are discus? As I said I kept African cichlids for around 8 years and to me they are dirty fish. I called then s**tlids. I used to do 3 water changes a week and vacuum the sand each time with them so Im hoping it will be similar with the new set up. I will only have a very thin layer of sand in the tank. My plan is only a couple of pieces of driftwood with a small plant or 2 attached so if needs be they will be easily removed for cleaning or taken away completely. Do you think this is a bad idea? Cheers again for getting back to me.

[Ginger Mark]

Welcome Mark and good luck on your new journey.
Your plan sounds reasonable to me and it seems that you have already done your homework on discus , so I think that you are headed to a successful start.
I would just suggest to keep your sandbed thin enough just to cover the glass and to start with only discus first 2-3 months and than add tetras or other fish , following the recommended QT procedure for introducing new stock.
You can cycle the tank fishless , using ammonia or buy some quick start bacteria culture for speeding up the cycling process .

Hi Filip and thanks for the reply. I am planning on keeping the sand as thin as possible. Unfortunately I just don't like the bare bottom look. Not saying there's anything wrong with it but its not just for me. I have used ATM colony before on tanks and I will probably use it again but as I said I'm in no rush to get stocked up so ill maybe just let it cycle for 8ish weeks the usual way. Thanks again for the reply.

[geo57]

My plan is only a couple of pieces of driftwood with a small plant or 2 attached so if needs be they will be easily removed for cleaning or taken away completely. Do you think this is a bad idea?

Not at all, if my tank wasn't so deep i would definitely use some driftwood plants because then I could maintain them. My sand bed is deep at 5inches or more in some areas and from what I see the fish enjoy the sand bed a lot lol. Discus can get messy without a doubt, but not as bad as pleco's. I clean my sand probably 5 to 6 days a week adding water at every clean and as I mentioned I have a deep, very deep tank at four feet deep, so you shouldn't have any problems cleaning your sand. Mark this is a great hobby but only when you keep your fish healthy, you don't want to see them get sick and die, that is no fun and very depressing, very sad times,so it is best to approach slowly and don't take any chances until you learn your system, tank, water, food, maintenace and water change schedule etc etc etc. It looks like you have the right attitude and mind set to accomplish this. Good luck my friend.

[Ginger Mark]

Thanks again Geo57. Great advice again. 2 other wee questions. With my Africans I used coral sand. I take it this is no use for discus as it slightly raises the PH?? And secondly I always used a wavemaker with them. Is it better without a wavemaker as discus prefer calmer water??

[Second Hand Pat]

Hi Mark and welcome to the forum. A few suggestions. Since you are starting with small discus keep the sand bed very thin as already suggested. Add a few pieces of driftwood but do the plants a little later just to keep things simple in the beginning. Use PFS as it is inert.

You will find discus way different then your prior fish keeping experiences. Read the stickies in the beginner section and checkout Al's video. It is well worth the time.
Pat

[Ginger Mark]

Use PFS as it is inert.
Sorry whats this mean??

You will find discus way different then your prior fish keeping experiences. Read the stickies in the beginner section and checkout Al's video. It is well worth the time.
Pat
Ive been reading them constantly and watched the video a few times. Great advice.
Thanks for your reply Pat

[Second Hand Pat]

Good to hear Mark, inert means the sand is chemically inactive..ie..does not affect ph.
Pat

[14Discus]

Hi Mark,

I'm new to Discus as well, but have done tropicals for fifty years. Yes....I'd suggest inert sand as well. Since you are aware of your PH water situation which is good, I'd also highly recommend you test your water for KH and GH now while in the planning/setup stages. Water Hardness is also important to know as KH is tied into PH and both are needed in proper ranges by fish. Just suggesting you know as much as possible prior to getting the actual fish. Making water plans or adjustments is much easier now than later. Good luck and enjoy.

[Ginger Mark]

Thanks Pat. So the coral sand I used in Africans tank is safe to use again with the discus or I need to buy inert sand??

[Ginger Mark]

Hi Mark,

I'm new to Discus as well, but have done tropicals for fifty years. Yes....I'd suggest inert sand as well. Since you are aware of your PH water situation which is good, I'd also highly recommend you test your water for KH and GH now while in the planning/setup stages. Water Hardness is also important to know as KH is tied into PH and both are needed in proper ranges by fish. Just suggesting you know as much as possible prior to getting the actual fish. Making water plans or adjustments is much easier now than later. Good luck and enjoy.

Ive never really worried about KH and Gh before but Ill take your advice on board and ill check it out. The better water quality the better the fish. Thanks 14Discus

[Second Hand Pat]

Thanks Pat. So the coral sand I used in Africans tank is safe to use again with the discus or I need to buy inert sand??

Hi Mark, I would suggest not using the coral sand as it will affect the ph. Look up PFS or pool filter sand. It is inert and fairly fine.
Pat

[Ginger Mark]

Hi Mark, I would suggest not using the coral sand as it will affect the ph. Look up PFS or pool filter sand. It is inert and fairly fine.
Pat

Thanks Pat. Ill do that and get rid of the coral sand

[geo57]

Thanks again Geo57. Great advice again. 2 other wee questions. With my Africans I used coral sand. I take it this is no use for discus as it slightly raises the PH?? And secondly I always used a wavemaker with them. Is it better without a wavemaker as discus prefer calmer water??

Hi Mark, sorry for my late response, I have three day weekends and usually don't get a chance to visit Simply as I'm busy with my tanks and family. Seems you've been answered tho lol. I would get the best sand you can afford, I went with the National Geographic sand from Pet Smart and white sand. You also won't need the wave maker as Discus prefer a calmer water, as long as you are circulating your entire tank you should have enough water movement for them.

[Ginger Mark]

Hi Mark, sorry for my late response, I have three day weekends and usually don't get a chance to visit Simply as I'm busy with my tanks and family. Seems you've been answered tho lol. I would get the best sand you can afford, I went with the National Geographic sand from Pet Smart and white sand. You also won't need the wave maker as Discus prefer a calmer water, as long as you are circulating your entire tank you should have enough water movement for them.

Thanks Geo57. No worries on taking a few days to reply. We all have lives to live!!
I got inert sand the other day in the shop and gave the coral sand to a fella I know who keeps cichlids. Ive also packed away the wave maker.
My new tank arrived 2 days ago so been busy getting it ready for bringing into the house. Its a Jewel Rio 450L tank. It has an internal filter and I was going to run it along with my 2 canister filters but can only fit the pipes from 1 into tank so Ill just run the internal and 1 external. Really looking forward to getting it up and running.

Just out of interest what sort of money are discus in the USA?? Here in the UK Ill be paying anything from £30 - £120 ($40-$165) for 3.5 inch fish.

[geo57]

Depending on what you are buying i would say pretty much the same as in you side of the world. Some of your more exotic types will cost more...I'm sure you could find 1000.00 dollar fish if you looked hard enough lol. As small as 3.5, I would think would come at a much lower cost. I recently took in 7 discus Mark but they were a gift, I know I've looked into some buys and was looking at 75.00 to 300.00 and the 300.00 were always like 5 inches. I live in sunny California and things get a little pricey out here lol. Your tank sounds like it will be a real nice setup, don't forget to post some pics.

[Ginger Mark]

Depending on what you are buying i would say pretty much the same as in you side of the world. Some of your more exotic types will cost more...I'm sure you could find 1000.00 dollar fish if you looked hard enough lol. As small as 3.5, I would think would come at a much lower cost. I recently took in 7 discus Mark but they were a gift, I know I've looked into some buys and was looking at 75.00 to 300.00 and the 300.00 were always like 5 inches. I live in sunny California and things get a little pricey out here lol. Your tank sounds like it will be a real nice setup, don't forget to post some pics.

Ill take a few photos as I get things set up and post them on here from start to getting stocked up. Cheers

[Ginger Mark]

Thats the tank up and cycling about 2 weeks now. Patience is a virtue 115156115157115158

[discuspaul]

Looks great - that will be a beautiful discus set-up.

[Filip]

I like your minimal approach and good looking tank Mark . Great job .

[Ginger Mark]

Thanks Paul. Cant wait to get it stocked up

[Ginger Mark]

Thanks Filip. Wanted to keep it minimal. Want the fish to steal the limelight instead of the scape

[Filip]

Thanks Filip. Wanted to keep it minimal. Want the fish to steal the limelight instead of the scape

Nice point Mark. I just wish I had your simplistic mindset , as I always tend to overpopulate the tank with plants and scape and that although neat looking it does steal the limelight from them :) .