Discus compatable?

[Crusher]

Just setting up a 77g. Was at lfs today and sure like the Discus. We have put 2'' of white marine sand in bottom of tank,4 medium sizes pieces of lava rock, silk plants,a few river rocks, and have 2 pieces of driftwood soaking to get tanins out. PH from the tap in these parts are 7.6. I understand that ph for discus should be lower. The driftwood will help from what im told, and pete also. Is this tank set-up going to be suitable for Discus? Running a Fluval 404 filter(sorry Carol it came with the tank). And how many adult Discus can this tank hold comfortably? Thanks for any help. Crusher

[Carol_Roberts]

Hi Crusher and welcome to SimplyDiscus :wave:

With the sand, wood and rocks your tank probably holds closer to 65 gallons, so I'd say 6 or 7 adult discus

[Crusher]

Thanks Carol, looking forward to the Discus. Its just too bad its gunna be awhile until the tank cycles. We didnt know what we were going to stock in the tank until we seen the Discus. As you can tell we are fairly new to the fish scene. And I'm sure we will be picking everyone apart for information.

[Abercrombie6202]

Is marine sand safe for discus and you don't need to change your ph!! Just make sure your ph stays STABLE!! I'd say get some discus from a breeder in your area! You could probably fit 6-7 disucs in the tank. Are you planning on adding other disucs or are you keeping just a discus tank?

[Crusher]

We will see how things go with a few fish first. I dont want to over stock a tank. I was planning on about 4 fish total. What happened was I had an idea of how I wanted the tank to look. Well it looks great, but I have seen lots about bare bottom tanks(DOH). Am just hoping that the Discus will be happy in this enviroment. Thanks for the reply, Crusher

[SNap0283]

Crusher,
Adult discus will be fine in your tank with sand. Juveniles need BB tanks because they stay much cleaner. With all your decorations it will make keeping the tank clean much more difficult but as long as you are willing to take some extra time to clean up then it should work out fine with adult discus. I’d go with everyone else and get 5 or 6 adult discus. Also while the tank cycles you will have plenty of time to poke around and learn exactly what you are doing! If you haven’t put any fish in yet you might want to look around and find out about a fishless cycle. And as far as adding other fish with the discus there are posts around here about what fish others keep with their discus. :thumbsup:
Don’t be afraid to ask questions, that’s what Simply is here for ;)

Jef

[Crusher]

Thanks for the reply Snap. I looked at oh about a bazillion threads on the topic this morning. And to me it seemed exactly like you said. It’s a matter of how much time and effort you want to put into it. I think we are going to just stick to 4 adult Discus. I have read many threads on the fishless cycle, but really haven't heard what is better. But what we have learned since we started the 55g Cichlid tank is pretty much to each his own. And I believe that Discus with structure can't be anymore problem than those dang Cichlids rearranging the tank. It's almost like picking up after the kids everyday. If they don't like what they see........they move it.LOL. Better get going more stuff to buy, heater, and a few more silk plants. Thanks again for your reply.
Crusher

[Debbie]

I am not so sure marine sand will be ok with discus. Most types of marine sand contain aragonite or coral rubble which will dissolve in water with a pH lower than 8.0. The only type of freshwater tank marine sand is appropriate in are rift lake tanks where the marine sand serves to raise the KH of the water. What type of marine sand did you use? In a fresh water tank play sand or pool filter sand is better.
Also sand will be fine with juveniles unless they are smaller than 3 inches. Once my juvies are 3 inches or more I move then to a planted tank (or take them to one of my LFS).

[Crusher]

Well its Estes white marine sand. No other color would do. I went through all lengths to try and find white pool filter sand or play sand. It just isn’t possible in our part of the county. Everything is brown. Getting mixed answers from many people. What to do? What to do?

[Debbie]

Test your KH and GH from the tap, then from the tank after 2 weeks to see if it is hardening the water.

[Crusher]

Hi Debbie thanks for the help we have been looking for. Question. Does it make a difference to test the gh and kh on a tank we just put water in? Or wait until the cycle is over? Guess thats 2 questions in 1. We have our eyes on 4 adult Discus.

[jules]

Hi Crusher - I see you are from Canada - where abouts?

-a fellow canuck discus lover

[Crusher]

Medicine Hat, Alberta

[Debbie]

The cycling of the tank really isn't the issue, it is the stability and hardness of the water. Marine sand will buffer the water and raise the pH when it dissolves in the water and that takes time. If you test the KH (which is the main value that would be effected) tomorrow, it wouldn't be an indicator as to how stable the KH will be in a month or two.
Also discus can do fine with hard water but if your KH is low out of the tap and the sand raises it several degrees over a week or so, you will have pH fluctuations too. We can expect some minor fluctuations between water changes, but you could have fairly major fluctuations depending on your tap and the effects of the sand.
I hope this is making sense.

[bubabui]

If it's sand, then you should be fine, but if it's crushed coral, you will have higher levels of calcium carbonate in the water. And, your pH might become more alkaline. Neither of which are major issues with growing out young discus. Doesn't sound like you are trying to breed either. Give it a go and see how the fish react.


Joe

[SNap0283]

Estes marine sand is safe to use. It says on the bag that it's safe for fresh or salt water and if you look at it closely you can see its made from some sort of plastic so im sure it wont mess with the water at all.

hth
Jef

[drew22to375]

Just make sure it isn't agronite sane. I have that in my reef tank anf it buffers it to around 8.2. One other thing is if you can't find pool filter sand you can try sand blasting sand. It looks whiter than the pool filter sand. One thing I have found out is with sand you need some sort of nutrient export like water sprite. since it really traps soo much crud. I have noticed that without some water sprite the alage is about 10 times worse with sand than with gravel. And I still have to vacuum some of the sand out every month and run it thru a water bleach solution to kill off the excess alage. Make sure you let it completely dry before putting back in your tank to get rid of the chlorine in the water from the bleach or use a heavy dose of dechlorinator in a bucket for a couple of days.

[stygian7]

Just make sure it isn't agronite sane. I have that in my reef tank anf it buffers it to around 8.2. One other thing is if you can't find pool filter sand you can try sand blasting sand.

I'd be wary of sandblasting sand; that stuff is formed through fracturing larger material and has incredibly sharp edges. Just rub it between your fingers and you'll see. I'd hate to have it tear up the inside of a prized fish.
-Kevin