AndyW
05-23-2021, 05:24 PM
Hi, I’m Andy and this is my first post to introduce myself and my discus. After a multiple decade absence from the hobby, I have decided to wade back in. I have spent months compulsively reading current and past posts to refresh my knowledge and gain from the collective experience of all of the members here. I have chosen to pursue a path which I believe to be well thought out but is different from the 75-gallon, bare bottom, sponge filter, large daily water change approach often espoused, with good reason, here.
THE TANK
My tank is 225 gallons, has a thin ½” sand substrate, and driftwood with attached anubias. Nothing is planted in the substrate. Dual overflows feed a 75-gallon sump. Mechanical filtration is limited to filter socks, chemical filtration is via a purigen reactor, and biological filtration is provided via fluidized reactors with K-1 type media. The dual return lines each have UV lights plumbed inline. I know this is overkill but that is who I am. The substrate gets thoroughly vacuumed and interior surfaces get thoroughly cleaned twice per week. Also a gyre pump runs for 30 minutes every four hours, which concentrates the detritus into one corner of the tank and is vacuumed up daily. Water changes are accomplished through a continuous water change system that feeds 300 gallons per day of a pre-heated mix of 2/3 RO/DI water and 1/3 filtered well water. The wastewater is added to a pre-existing rainwater cistern system that is used to water our gardens.
Water parameters have remained rock solid with PH of 7.0, 0 ppm ammonia, 0 ppm nitrites, 3-4 ppm nitrates, 2.3 dKH and TDS of about 120. My untreated well water has TDS of about 360, but is otherwise stable and pretty good, which is the reason for the blend of RO/DI water and filtered well water.
I cycled the tank about five months ago and the cycle went smoothly and was processing 4ppm ammonia through nitrites to nitrates after about three weeks. I had a more difficult time, ironically, with my two 29-gallon bare-bottom quarantine tanks, which took two months to cycle and then I lost the cycle (the day before the first fish arrived) when I squeezed out the sponge filters – similar to what was chronicled here by Shan. I quarantined in black plastic totes with 100% daily water changes until the cycles re-established. It was quite a PITA.
THE FISH
My goals for the hobby are modest. I have no desire to breed discuss or even necessarily grow them out. I simply enjoy observing them as I sit at my desk working. Starting with adult discus in a lightly planted community tank is perfect for me. I introduced the community inhabitants to the display tank almost five months ago, consisting of a handful of BN plecos, two dozen Corys and a large school of Rummy Nose tetras. All have adapted well, and the BN plecos laid eggs for the second time last night.
Based on the extremely positive comments by Al, Willie and Amanda, among others, I contacted Ceyhun of Winnie’s Discus to inquire about obtaining some of his discus. Ceyhun was in the process of relocating his breeding facility to his new home in Coram, NY at the time and kindly advised me that he wouldn’t be open for business until the move was complete and his discus had adapted to their new home. In hindsight, this was fortuitous for me as it allowed my tank to stabilize for four months with the other community fish in the tank.
A few weeks ago, I reached out to Ceyhun again after seeing his “test” post on Simply Discus and he invited me to visit his facility as he was preparing to re-open. I eagerly accepted and drove the 75 miles to his home a few days later. I was extremely fortunate to be among the first visitors to his new facility. For those of you whom have not had the pleasure of meeting Ceyhun, I would encourage you to do so. He is a wonderful person, a true class act, and his discus are beautiful, as you can see below…
I prefer the look of single strain tanks and was fortunate that Ceyhun had a nice selection of adult Turqs that he was willing to part with (and a few of his adult Golden Turquoise Intermediates as well). All in all, I left with 17 adult discus of various sizes loaded up in buckets including a dedicated “hero” fish bucket consisting of a few fish that suffered minor injuries during the move to the Ceyhun’s new facility, which are otherwise beautiful and healthy and in need of a good home. Over the next week, Ceyhun was in constant contact with me to ensure a successful transition of the discus to my tank. The hero discus were plopped and dropped into the main tank and the other 14 discus went into rather crowded quarantine tanks. Fortunately, everything proved compatible and within a week all the discus were together in the main tank active and eating.
While my fingers remained crossed, everything has progressed well over the past two weeks. The discus’ colors have really developed, and they seem to like their new home. Over these few weeks, I certainly can see the wisdom of a bare bottom tank, as the increased waste load has required frequent filter sock changes and there is a noticeable increase in detritus.
I look forward to our future conversations and hope you enjoy the photos below.
131320
Andy
THE TANK
My tank is 225 gallons, has a thin ½” sand substrate, and driftwood with attached anubias. Nothing is planted in the substrate. Dual overflows feed a 75-gallon sump. Mechanical filtration is limited to filter socks, chemical filtration is via a purigen reactor, and biological filtration is provided via fluidized reactors with K-1 type media. The dual return lines each have UV lights plumbed inline. I know this is overkill but that is who I am. The substrate gets thoroughly vacuumed and interior surfaces get thoroughly cleaned twice per week. Also a gyre pump runs for 30 minutes every four hours, which concentrates the detritus into one corner of the tank and is vacuumed up daily. Water changes are accomplished through a continuous water change system that feeds 300 gallons per day of a pre-heated mix of 2/3 RO/DI water and 1/3 filtered well water. The wastewater is added to a pre-existing rainwater cistern system that is used to water our gardens.
Water parameters have remained rock solid with PH of 7.0, 0 ppm ammonia, 0 ppm nitrites, 3-4 ppm nitrates, 2.3 dKH and TDS of about 120. My untreated well water has TDS of about 360, but is otherwise stable and pretty good, which is the reason for the blend of RO/DI water and filtered well water.
I cycled the tank about five months ago and the cycle went smoothly and was processing 4ppm ammonia through nitrites to nitrates after about three weeks. I had a more difficult time, ironically, with my two 29-gallon bare-bottom quarantine tanks, which took two months to cycle and then I lost the cycle (the day before the first fish arrived) when I squeezed out the sponge filters – similar to what was chronicled here by Shan. I quarantined in black plastic totes with 100% daily water changes until the cycles re-established. It was quite a PITA.
THE FISH
My goals for the hobby are modest. I have no desire to breed discuss or even necessarily grow them out. I simply enjoy observing them as I sit at my desk working. Starting with adult discus in a lightly planted community tank is perfect for me. I introduced the community inhabitants to the display tank almost five months ago, consisting of a handful of BN plecos, two dozen Corys and a large school of Rummy Nose tetras. All have adapted well, and the BN plecos laid eggs for the second time last night.
Based on the extremely positive comments by Al, Willie and Amanda, among others, I contacted Ceyhun of Winnie’s Discus to inquire about obtaining some of his discus. Ceyhun was in the process of relocating his breeding facility to his new home in Coram, NY at the time and kindly advised me that he wouldn’t be open for business until the move was complete and his discus had adapted to their new home. In hindsight, this was fortuitous for me as it allowed my tank to stabilize for four months with the other community fish in the tank.
A few weeks ago, I reached out to Ceyhun again after seeing his “test” post on Simply Discus and he invited me to visit his facility as he was preparing to re-open. I eagerly accepted and drove the 75 miles to his home a few days later. I was extremely fortunate to be among the first visitors to his new facility. For those of you whom have not had the pleasure of meeting Ceyhun, I would encourage you to do so. He is a wonderful person, a true class act, and his discus are beautiful, as you can see below…
I prefer the look of single strain tanks and was fortunate that Ceyhun had a nice selection of adult Turqs that he was willing to part with (and a few of his adult Golden Turquoise Intermediates as well). All in all, I left with 17 adult discus of various sizes loaded up in buckets including a dedicated “hero” fish bucket consisting of a few fish that suffered minor injuries during the move to the Ceyhun’s new facility, which are otherwise beautiful and healthy and in need of a good home. Over the next week, Ceyhun was in constant contact with me to ensure a successful transition of the discus to my tank. The hero discus were plopped and dropped into the main tank and the other 14 discus went into rather crowded quarantine tanks. Fortunately, everything proved compatible and within a week all the discus were together in the main tank active and eating.
While my fingers remained crossed, everything has progressed well over the past two weeks. The discus’ colors have really developed, and they seem to like their new home. Over these few weeks, I certainly can see the wisdom of a bare bottom tank, as the increased waste load has required frequent filter sock changes and there is a noticeable increase in detritus.
I look forward to our future conversations and hope you enjoy the photos below.
131320
Andy