Differences between Raising and Keeping

[nfinit1]

Hello All

I am an old discus guy from 1991, kept four red turquoise and two green turqoise in a 75 gal, uv sterilizer, and 2215 ehiem, planted tank
I only feed them beef hearts, bloodworms and brine shrimp

I am thinking of returniung to the hobby
a 150 gal with 2217 eheim, power compact lighting for live plants, eco complete for substrate

I have looked through the site and alot has changed or either I wasnt has knowledgeable back then

I will get the plants settled first, a constant ph 7.0/6.9
Since I am just going to keep discus and not breed, do I necessarily need R/O water???
Though I am using a substrate..I feel i can raise these guys from juvenile, I plan on having a a excellent team of cleanup guys botias(straitia), amano shrimp, candy striped plecos
I am thinking of adding another 2217 eheim just for keeping water quality to a premium


I feel I am moving in the right direction....any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appraciated

Thanks
Mike

[Carol_Roberts]

Hi Mike and welcome to SimplyDiscus :wave:
Yes, discus keeping has changed since 1991. Most domestic discus do just fine in tap water. Since you don't plan to breed you will not need RO water at all. If your water is fit to drink it is fit for discus. Domestic discus do fine in a wide range of pH - as long as the pH is stable. In other words they are happier in a constant 7.8 pH than swinging from 7.4 to 6.8 and back.

One thing hasn't changed - discus love clean water. Juveniles (and adults) do best with frequent water changes. I prefer sponge filters or hang on the back filters. Canister filters have a tendency to collect uneaten food and are problematic if you have a power outage as the bacteria quickly die from lack of oxygen.

If you are looking to grow out discus that look like those pictured on this site you will want to put juveniles in a bare bottom tank wtih 50% daily water changes and a meaty diet, Buy from a reputable seller and quarantine all new arrivals

[nfinit1]

Carol

Thanks for the prompt and informative response

Your suggestions brought two ideas to mind
1)cover the canister inlet with a fine mesh fabric the will prevent uneaten food etc in the filter
2) Power back up

Hmmmmmm the idea light is on

But I clearly see what u mean by having a bare bottom tank for juveniles and I can see the advantages ....thinking I may need to purchase a 55 gal just to raise the them

Thanks again Carol

[Carol_Roberts]

:thumbsup:

[heckelcrazy]

welcome back to the greatest hobby there is! All the best with the new tank.

aran

[FischAutoTechGarten]

Mike,

Your past Discus/Planted Tank keeping parallels mine. I returned about 18 months ago after about 10 years out. My results have been mixed. Planning to begin again with new juveniles to grow out in bare bottom and introduce to my 120 planted (which was my plan 18 months ago too. will I ever get there?).

Regardless of what I do, I will probably re-read what I see here regarding Discus keeping in a planted aquarium.
http://forum.simplydiscus.com//forumdisplay.php?f=37