Pondering a 300 gallon Discus Display

[CWU Discus]

I've been recently hired by Central Washington University to set up and maintain the large display tanks in their lobby. The tanks are 300 gallon with two 75 gallons plummed into a common 100 gallon sump. I would like to set up the large 300 gallon as a stunning discus display. I have been primarily interested in reefkeeping and have set one of the tanks up as a soft coral reef. The other tank is currently holding some coldwater freshwater fish like trout. The trout will be removed this week and I want to begin planning for the next inhabitants. I think discus are beautiful fish, that are challenging enough to hold my interest.
I have distilled water available to fill the tanks and do waterchanges. I am thinking that a simple setup of about 15 adult discus with maybe a school of 100 tetras would look great. Im willing to do waterchanges as often as necessary, since I do them on the reef tank once a week.

Help me out, I need to know if this is a bad idea or not. I have to write a proposal and put it up for the people incharge of the budget. Let me know about what it would cost to set this up. Also, please send me pictures of your large discus tanks so that I can use them to convince the people in charge. Tell me what could go wrong, encourage me, let me know what you think I can do better.
Thanks So much
Rachel

[henryD]

Wow...lucky you...

I have seen this website lately and think their display tanks are gorgeous...

http://www.aquariumdesigngroup.com/

So something similar would be great.

I think you can get away with 15-20 adults and 100+ cardinals. It should not be a lot of work in terms of maintance. 2 times feeding a day, some trimming and w/c once a week.

I think you will have to start off with a planted tank. Make sure that it is stable and thriving and then add the discus.

As for the cost, well I am not too sure. My GUESSIMATE would be around 2500 for the plants, fish, subtrate.....

[JeffreyRichard]

Excellent!

One to two dozen discus would be no trouble in a 300, though you might want to start at the lower quantity. I would suggest Cardinals as the tetras ... I'd also add some Corydoras (Sterbai and Adolfi tolorate heat well) and some Ancistrus (bushy nose) ... they're interesting and will help clean up left over food.

If you want to try plants, you'll need to invest in some serious light for a 300 gallon ... Metal Halide more than likely. A decent light set up is going to cost you $500 - $1000 ... don't skimp.

A cheap and almost as nice approach would be a drftwood disply ... either on the bare bottom or on nice light colored FINE sand. I've seen some impressive displys using some large pieces of wood ... actually many of the rivers where Discus and Tetras come from have a lot less actual plant growth than many people realize ... lots of sunken logs and wood though. With this setup you don't have to worry about plants needs and lighting.

If you do decide to go with a planted tank, I suggest you establish the plants first (may take 3-6 months) before adding the bulk of your fish.

Best of luck.

[CWU Discus]

Thanks for the replies guys. I dont think that I'll be able to secure enough funds to do a planted tank. I only got $2000 for the reef tank and that included livestock, liverock, lighting, salt and test kits.

I think cardinals are prettier than neon tetras, but is there any other reason to get ccardinals instead of neons? I used to work at a fish store and could get neons for $.25 (that would save me a lot.)

Thanks for your help.

[tgomearajr]

...I think cardinals are prettier than neon tetras, but is there any other reason to get ccardinals instead of neons? I used to work at a fish store and could get neons for $.25 (that would save me a lot.)



You mean other than the fact the discus will snack on the neons? :D

You *might* have a chance if you add the neons WAY in advance of the discus and let them grow out as much as possible. All the large discus I have ever kept have had no compunctions whatsoever at eating neons (cardinals too if they are small) if given the chance.

Tom

[JeffreyRichard]

Cardinals live (or at least tolerate) the same temperatures as discus ... 82 - 88 degrees (84/85 is good). Neons need cooler temperatures (75-78).

They are about the same size ... though I've never had discus that aggresively chase/eat small fish. As a matter of fact, I've often tried to feed angelfish fry to discus ... they are uninterested. Adult angels, on the other hand, AGRESSIVELY chow on there own young.

[April]

rummy noses look great with discus.
id go with roots and sand. thats what they have in the amazon..so it would look more realisitic. you could go with wilds...
have a look in the biotope section here. or the amazon section..aquatchnices just came back from the amazon collecting discus and has some neat pics.
you will to do wcs. . the more the better. sand..the waste will stay on top..so easier to siphon off. discus need very clean water.
good luck with your venture..we'd love to see pics when its all done . hope they go for it.

[CWU Discus]

Well the tank is emptied and cleaned out. Im still trying to decide what to put in the tank. Its a toss up between african cichlids or Discus.
Either way I was thinking of adding a built in background. I like the ones at www.pangeashop.com, but they are really pricy. I was thinking of building my own sort of like this: http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/diy_aquarium_background.php

Has anyone else done something like this?

[Denny]

I can get you that background material made out of an expanded polyurethane material that looks like rock and is paintable. It is used in nature displays at Zoo's and also places like Cabela's. A 4x8 sheet costs in the neighborhood of 400 dollars. divide that by the size you need and you will have your cost minus shipping.

Go to the DIY section and look for a recent thread by GulfCoastDiscus and see how he set it up. That is an attractive and inexpensive way to get a discus tank.

As far as getting the fish, A good lead would be to call someone like Al (Brewmaster) and see if you can work out a deal where you are supplied the fish at a reduced rate with the fish being used as a marketing tool for him where his website or business is displayed so the people seeing the fish would have contact info on where to purchase them. That would be a winner on both sides.

[krandrus]

There is a 250 Gallon show tank that was recently set up in Calgary. It had a maze of driftwood and some hardy plants like Jungle Val.

The alternative to neons was about 25 congo tetras. They are larger and make a more impressive school. They then added about 15 adult discus. Very nice.

Kevin

[henryD]

Congo tetra is a great call.

Depending on your lighting set up. They have a shiny line at the outer ridge of the fish. Very very nice schooling fish.

Henry

[CWU Discus]

Yeah i like Congos. I like most tetras. They all look very impressive in large schools.

[Willie]

You need very large discus to look good in a 300 gallon tank. They should ideally come from a single source, otherwise you'll have to quarantine lots of large fish separately.

I wouldn't go with a planted tank or gravel for that matter. You won't be able to clean a 300-gallon tank very well, so you don't need the extra hassle. I would get some bushy nose plecos to clean the glass and rely on a very long syphon to get crap off the bottom.

You can find various importers that will bring in cardinal tetras by the box load (500 - 600/box) at very reasonable prices. Rummy nose tetras are gorgeous, but they will be much more expensive.

I would do a minimum and make sure the tank is well balanced before adding a lot of stuff to it. One big piece of driftwood would be okay. I keep lots of corys and rams in a barebottom tank and they do great.

When you get it set up, post some pix!

Willie