Help with 75 gallon set-up plans

[TinkeringRick]

Need some help with my plan. I currently have a 75 gallon with:
2 - Eheim professional 4+ 350's
1 - Inkbird heater controller with 150W heater
1 - Jeabo wavemaker (Small)
1- Finnex Planted+ 24/7
Aragonite gravel
And landscape bolders

This tank has been running for 3 years with cichlids. Current ones to be rehomed. I am removing the gravel slowly to get to bare bottom. I would like to keep the bacteria in the filter alive to utilize in the Discus setup. Is this possible or will the ph drop kill the bacteria anyways? With removing the Aragonite and doing water changes I'm assuming the ph will lower.

My plan is to keep the filters running on a bare 40 breeder with some tetras and fully clean the 75 Gal and paint the bottom. Then fill with water and a few pieces of driftwood and transfer the tetras and filters to the 75.

I am also setting up a 27 gallon polypropylene water storage bin with auto fill city water filtered thru a 5 Micron sediment filter than 5 Micron carbon block. This will have a heater and air stone (or small powerhead) to hold the water for a AutoAqua Smart AWC Duo. I plan to set this up to change 25 gallons every day. This will let the water sit for 24 hours to be heated and dissipate any chlorine left from the filter.

Is this a solid plan? Should there be added weekly water changes as well, or is the 25 gal a day enough? Could the wavemaker be on low blowing the debris from the bottom up to be picked up by the filter or is that too much flow for the discus? Is the sediment/chlorine filter good for my city water of do I need RO (Which I have)?

Hopeful the stocking would be 6 discus with 12 tetras with the temp at 83 deg F.

If you read my long-winded plan I thank you. Any and every response is much appreciated.

May your fish be healthy and fat,
-Rick

[bossanova]

Need some help with my plan. I currently have a 75 gallon with:
2 - Eheim professional 4+ 350's
1 - Inkbird heater controller with 150W heater
1 - Jeabo wavemaker (Small)
1- Finnex Planted+ 24/7
Aragonite gravel
And landscape bolders

This tank has been running for 3 years with cichlids. Current ones to be rehomed. I am removing the gravel slowly to get to bare bottom. I would like to keep the bacteria in the filter alive to utilize in the Discus setup. Is this possible or will the ph drop kill the bacteria anyways? With removing the Aragonite and doing water changes I'm assuming the ph will lower.

My plan is to keep the filters running on a bare 40 breeder with some tetras and fully clean the 75 Gal and paint the bottom. Then fill with water and a few pieces of driftwood and transfer the tetras and filters to the 75.

I am also setting up a 27 gallon polypropylene water storage bin with auto fill city water filtered thru a 5 Micron sediment filter than 5 Micron carbon block. This will have a heater and air stone (or small powerhead) to hold the water for a AutoAqua Smart AWC Duo. I plan to set this up to change 25 gallons every day. This will let the water sit for 24 hours to be heated and dissipate any chlorine left from the filter.

Is this a solid plan? Should there be added weekly water changes as well, or is the 25 gal a day enough? Could the wavemaker be on low blowing the debris from the bottom up to be picked up by the filter or is that too much flow for the discus? Is the sediment/chlorine filter good for my city water of do I need RO (Which I have)?

Hopeful the stocking would be 6 discus with 12 tetras with the temp at 83 deg F.

If you read my long-winded plan I thank you. Any and every response is much appreciated.

May your fish be healthy and fat,
-Rick
Hi Rick, sounds like a good plan overall. I’d add a heater to your inkbird, don’t think 150w is enough on a 75. In an emergency, you may need to get the temps up to, say, 88 even though you plan on running it at 83 regularly.

As far as bacteria, keeping your filter going with a couple of tetras is ok but don’t think that you can dump a bunch of discus in there all at once. I’d get a bottle of either the fritz bacteria or seachem stability and use that as well.

6 is perfect. Enough to disperse aggression but not too many as to create a cramped toilet environment for your fish. Changing 25 gallons a day should be perfectly fine for that.