New guy on the block

[fishy_jim]

Looking forward to learning all I can from this wealth of knowledge. Currently have a small reef tank, a freshwater planted, and Im about to dive into the world of Discus. Tank has been ordered so I am in the planning stages now and super excited. Hello all !!

[Second Hand Pat]

Welcome Jim to SimplyDiscus :D Tell us a little about your discus tank?
Pat

[fishy_jim]

Hi Pat - I ordered an 80 gallon tank from Waterbox. For filtration I'm going to run 2 Sicce Eko 300 canister filters. I haven't decided on what media I will run yet and looking for recommendations. For the lighting I also am getting the AI Blade Freshwater. I will also be doing live plants to help with nitrates. It will be pretty much a dedicated discus tank with some shoaling fish (yet to be determined). I plan to have 6, possibly even 8 discus. Thats the basic plan so far. My biggest thing I am trying to decide on is water. Condition from the tap only adjusting PH or use RODI and have to adjust for PH and also have to remineralize. TDS out of the faucet is mid 40's but the PH is a tad high side (7.5) I'm hoping to use the knowledgebase her to help me get that all sorted out.

[Second Hand Pat]

Hi Jim, with domestic discus you should not need to adjust your PH. With a TDS of 40 I do not think you would need to mess with RO water. I would suggest aging your water for 24 hours with aeration and check the ph before and after the 24 hours. I know you have experience with planted tanks but please consider starting without plants with discus. Once you are comfortable with discus then consider plants :D
Pat

[fishy_jim]

Oh WOW !!! Being able to pull straight from the tap will be awesome and make things tons easier. I actually just read a thread on here saying the same. Would you also say no other fish (tetras or cory's) or add those last?

[Second Hand Pat]

Oh WOW !!! Being able to pull straight from the tap will be awesome and make things tons easier. I actually just read a thread on here saying the same. Would you also say no other fish (tetras or cory's) or add those last?

Hi Jim, you might need to add minerals to your tap. With wild discus my target TDS was 80 which was mostly RO water with a dash of tap lol. I would suggest keeping discus by themselves for a while and research discus basic needs. Go thru the stickies in the beginner section of the forum. Here's a good starting point https://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?122038-Are-you-new-to-discus-WATCH-THIS-VIDEO!.

Be sure to watch the video in the first post, it's well worth your time. That is Al in the video who owns this place. I am sure he will get around to introducing himself :D
Pat

[AquaticNerd]

Welcome to the forum fishy_jim! Pat's spot on with all the suggestions and advice so far, so I won't repeat what's been said.

Looking forward to seeing your vision come to life. Any idea on which strain(s) of discus you're thinking of getting?

[nodder]

Welcome Jim :)

[Discus Fever]

I agree with what has been said so far, good luck with your tank keep us posted.

[Spinning Blue]

Welcome, I just joined today.

[Iminit]

Welcome! Yes plants are great but for a new discus keeper they will only make it harder.

[fishy_jim]

Hi Iminit - yeah, my original idea of having a planted tank for the discus has been altered after my research I have been doing. Im going to go now with a very thin substrate layer (sand) no more than 1/2" deep. Im going to put a large piece of branching driftwood in with some scattered rock and mount java and moss and anubias to the wood and rock. The idea is that I can pull the wood from time to time to give it a good rinse and also be able to easily clean the thin layer of sand. I plan to stock it with 6 to 8 - 4" to 5" discus. It wont be bare bottom but close to it. I may even do bare bottom everywhere but where the drift wood is. The drift wood I have will actually sit above the bottom only touching in 4 points where thin branches are.