Advise

[Lou.M]

Hi Guys,
Hoping someone may be able to help
i have a 1200 litre setup with tank plumbed with a direct pipe to sewer from bottom and a tap above,
it was originally setup as saltwater tank but in the last 5 or so months i have been converted it to a freshwater planted tank cycled and aquascaped with plants for three months then added 50 Neon tetra's plants and fish have been doing great have C02 injection and running a sump
PH: 6.5
temp:28 deg
amonia :0
Nitrite:0
Nitrate :<10
KH: 3
GH:4
i have only yesterday added 3 large 6-7 inch discus that seem to be doing okay but look a ,little stressed and are hanging out near the top of the tank not gasping for at the surface nor are they breathing fast, im guessing it will take a little bit to get used to new enviroment.
Question:
i know i can...... but is it advisable to drain water at the same type have tap running from above refilling
i dose Prime then let the water exchange over 1 hr period ( and i do it slowly so i dont have huge change in temp and PH )i estimate that to be 25% thoughts????

[Adam S]

Drain and fill is better if you can. 25% really isn't that much, so I wouldn't worry about pH/temp.

[Paul Sabucchi]

Welcome to Simply Discus, your setup sounds potentially awesome, maybe to benefit more from this forum you could introduce yourself on the welcome section and give us more detail about the setup (photos are always welcome)

[Lou.M]

Thanks for taking the time out to reply Adam !
would you care to eleborate to why you think to drain and fill ??
i'm getting 4 degree tempreture drops ! you dont think that would be an issue ?

[Lou.M]

Thanks Paul will do !!

[Second Hand Pat]

Hi Lou and welcome to the forum :) I think what Adam is suggesting is to drain and then fill. If you do it at the same time you are not getting the full benefit of the clean water as you may be sending some of the clean water out with the old. Would love to see pics of your tank :D
Pat

[Lou.M]

Hi Pat yes thats what i was thinking.....what about long term drip system ??

sorry for thre upside down pic lol

119158119159119160119161119162119163

[Adam S]

Pat explained drain and fill perfectly. Maybe drain then fill would be a better way to put it!

I assume 4C, as in 28C to 24C? A drop like that won't bother your discus, but no comment on the plants. My "planted tanks" go through temp drops like that often, but I only have anubias, java fern, susswassertang, crypts, etc. Hardy plants.

[LizStreithorst]

Back when I first started with Discus I had an automatic drip system. The Discus told me after a few weeks that they weren't entirely comfortable. I started doing one 80% water change a week and they were fine with that. These days all my tanks are BB except my community tank in the office. That tank contains no Discus so one large WC weekly is fine for them. All my tanks in the fish room get daily WC.

I really like the look of your tank. My only planted tank is the one in my office. My only plants are 1 17 year old Amazon Sword 2 huge anubias. What is that grassy looking plant you have on your substrate? I'd like to try to get that started.

[Pices]

Your tank is absolutely gorgeous! Discus like to be in groups. I think a few more would ease the stress, but be sure to buy from the same source. Otherwise you could infect your new fish or current stock with pathogens they’ve never been exposed to and have no immunity to. You can use a different source, but doing it correctly is a pain. It looks like you have a good source now. Your discus are beautiful and healthy looking, you just need more of them. Is that your plan? I have the opposite problem in that I don’t have space for all the varieties I want! Ha ha
Welcome to simply discus Lou. Always great to see another discus addiction get started. You’ll find many experienced enablers here.
Patty

[slicksta]

Welcome Lou!

On your water change method it will really depend on your water source.
I've been doing a drip and drain system for 15 years here in lower NY state and I am extremely pleased with its performance. I have it connected to both hot and cold water so I can regulate temperature and pass it through a 5 micron sediment filter and then a carbon block to remove chlorine. In my particular case it makes keeping a 150g community and 120g discus tank a maintenance delight.

[Lou.M]

Hi Adam,
Thanks for the response yes Sorry i should have stated im from Melbourne Australia so yes we deal with C's rather then F's.
My main concern the drop in such a short time, dont want to stress the discus.
Before the discuss i had no issue with other stock or plants.
I was only concerned about the Discus, as there only new and i tippy toe around them.
my wife says i made more noise when my kids were born. LOL

[Lou.M]

Hi Liz,
Thanks for the response.
I trying to get three different themes happenening so i have different types in each section the starting from left to right the forst grass covering is
*Micranthemum monte carlo
*Glossostigma elatinoides
*Third is a hair grass that i dont know the technical name for.

Easy enough for me to do water change every odd day.

Do you use conditioner for your water and when is it best to dose befor the new water goes in or after ?

[Lou.M]

Hi Patty,
Thank you for the compliment, yes the plan is to get more, they are just so expensive here in Australia talking about $300 to $400 for good quality Fish.
these have only just started to feed after two days and only eat out of my hand wont touch food the place in tank and leave SPOILT !! i think. My wife in tears she cant believe im doing this to fish LOL my kids didnt get the same attention.

[Lou.M]

Hi Slicksta,
My source is town water and its pretty good i also have a RO/DI unit but was told not to use beacuse it strips everything out of water then i have to replace all nutrients again, so it was recommended tha i use normal tap water with conditioner.
Just not sure wether to dose conditioner prior to new water or after new water has been added ?
ands if i choose to set up the drip then i'm guessing i'll need to filter and get rid of Chlorine and chloromines with some sort of pre filter.

[Adam S]

Doesn't really matter, but most of us put conditioner in before/as the new water is going in.

For inline chlorine treatment, you need something like this (https://www.amazon.com/iSpring-WGB21B-2-Stage-Filtration-Sediment/dp/B01F9A4UVU). The one I linked is ridiculously overpriced, but it's the only picture I could find. You may have to buy the parts and put it together yourself.

[Lou.M]

@Adam i have a RO/DI unit that i could possibly bypass the DI !!
Would that work ?

[Adam S]

Definitely, but bypass the RO filter too. You just want the sediment filter and carbon block.

The only advantage to buying or building a separate one is getting to use 1/2" tubing and fittings instead of 1/4". In your case, it's not really an advantage if you're setting it up for drip.

[Lou.M]

Happy with that ......now thinking
1/ remove RO Media from the cannister
2/ remove DI media.
so water will still pass through the cannister without media, assuming the pressure will increase dramitically ?
thinking TDS meter will now show higher numbers ?

drain water to desired level
turn tap on walk away ! (have tap working on float for auto stop)
NO conditioner required ??

is my thinking out of wack ?

[slicksta]

Hi Lou
When I did water changes I would add the chlorine water conditioner first, then add the tap water. If you get a python it's easy to add a thermometer to the hose and get the temp just right as you add water to the tank. I've done 80% changes with no issue using that method.
That said I haven't done a water change in years since converting to a drip. And yes my drip passes thru a pre-filter, the previously mentioned sediment and carbon block. The kind used in a kitchen application for ice and drinking water.

[LizStreithorst]

Hi Liz,
Thanks for the response.
I trying to get three different themes happenening so i have different types in each section the starting from left to right the forst grass covering is
*Micranthemum monte carlo
*Glossostigma elatinoides
*Third is a hair grass that i dont know the technical name for.

Easy enough for me to do water change every odd day.

Do you use conditioner for your water and when is it best to dose befor the new water goes in or after ?

I only use a declorinator. You can add it either just before refilling or as the tank is filling.

I'll google around and see if I can find any of those plants. Do they require a lot of light? Are they easy to grow? If you decide you want to sell some shoot me a PM.

[gunnerschh2]

Lou, make sure you have a trap on the drain line.

[Lou.M]

Hi Harry,
Yes already done !!
Brother inlaw is a plumber so that helped lol