How do I get my tank ready?

[Eddie C]

Hi All,
I'm new to this site. I have a 55gl set up with
1 angel fish, 2 neons, 2 clown loaches, 1 cory, and
1 algae eater. I stopped stocking my tank for a while
because I want to set up with Discus of course. Besides
moving all the fish out of the tank to another, what other steps should I take to make sure the tank is ready for the
discus? How many should I get if it's going to be bare tank
with no gravel and a couple of potted plants.

Thanks,
Eddie 8)

[korbi_doc]

:bounce2: Hi Eddie, Welcome to Simply! I'm by no means an expert, but you've had no answers yet so here goes! I've also just set up a 55g for new babies. The water needs to have minerals for young stock, heater, lights are an option. My filter is an AC500, an airstone, & 2 sponge filters. One is probably enough. Temp between 84-86*, water ppms, (softness) around 3-400; for breeding much lower, 80 ppms or so, ph ranges are large if you read the forum, but it must be stable, ie. constant!!! We need to know what your water is like, well, municipal, R/O, & what are the parameters of the water you will be using? Do you have a receptacle to store heat & age the water??? How often can you do w/cs?? The BB is best with potted plants ok, they should be adaptable to the warm temps the fish like.
Have you decided what age/size fish you are getting? Feeding & w/cs will/may be different.
Now the tank must be cycled, which yours should be already if these fish you cite have been in there. Be sure you test for ammonia, nitrite, nitrates when you begin..Did I mention W/Cs, W/Cs & more W/Cs????? Now maybe the experts will add to or correct this, lol, Dottie 8) 8)

[Eddie C]

Thank you Dottie,
I've been reading about discus for a while and I think I'm ready. I'll be using municipal water with ph around 7.0 -7.2. I have a fluval 404 running with an air stone and I just bought a sponge to add. I'm thinking 6-8 discus between 3-4 inches. My main concern is after I remove the fish and gravel, how long should I wait before putting in the new discus? If I just leave the tank running with no fish for a few weeks , do I still quarantine in a different tank?
The fish I have now have been in there for months and
show no signs of sickness, but you never know. I'm planning on getting the discus next month. Thanks again.

Eddie

[Carol_Roberts]

AFter yu remove the gravel and water and wipe down the tank you will replace the water and filter. Add enough pure ammonia (no suds, no lemon scent) to register 3-5 ppm on your ammonia test kit. Add a half capful of ammonia every other day or so until almost time to add your discus. Do a 90% water change 24 hours before adding discus and you should be set to go.

Have you read this link on setting up a discus tank?
http://forum.simplydiscus.com//index.php?board=21;action=display;threadid=9911

[Eddie C]

Thanks Carol,
That's exactly what I was looking for. I would've never of thought to clean out my tank this way. Thanks for the link.

Eddie 8)

[dmacch]

I have been cycling a 55 gal tank for about 3 weeks following the instructions for fishless cycling on this forum. After adding about 30 drops of amonia every day my amonia level got up to 3 ppm. On Sat morning I checked the amonia level and it was 0. I then checked nitrates and nitrites and they were through the roof. Is this the natural progression to cycling a tank? Should I keep adding amonia even though the reading is 0 ppm?Should I wait until nitrites are 0 before doing a water change to get rid of the nitrates? Now that the amonia is gone how long should it take to get the nitrites to 0. Thanks

Dom

[mattrox]

Different bacteria eat the nitrites, so keep adding ammonia or the bacteria that eat ammonia will starve. Keep going until the nitirites reading is 0 ppm then your tank is cycled.

[ronrca]

:thumbsup: Nitrites are the longest stage actually! They will take around 2-3x longer than the ammonia stage. Keep adding the ammonia and measuring the nitrites. If your nitrates get too high (60ppm+ or so), do a water change to bring the nitrates back down! Patience is the key! ;)