another question

[dax29]

I hope y'all don't shoot me for being so wishy-washy and repetitive about the questions I post. I just like to bounce stuff off of people to get as much input as possible. I'm a long ways from starting this tank. Now I may get a 75 gallon with and Emporer 400 and the Magnum 350 with the Pro 60 Bio-Wheels. That will give me close to the 10X turnover I generally shoot for (I know the advertised flow rate is that of an empty filter with no media). I assume that I could keep 8 discus in that tank and I'd have better gas exchange due to more surface area. I've got a 250 Watt Visitherm Stealth heater for the tank, should I get another heater? I've got a spare 29 gallon tank I can use to age water. That will allow for about a 35% water change each time. The tank will have a couple of filters on it to circulate the water and a heater to adjust the water temp to match that in the tank. When I fil the tank up I plan to put some Prime in it to dechlorinate. I think I'm gonna put a submersible pump in there to help with water changes as the tanks will be side by side. Are there any tricks or easy ways to do this that I may be overlooking?

[pcsb23]

Not overely familiar with the filters so will let others handle anything there. I normally aim for 4 watts per gallon, so you would need 300W for a 75 on thatformula. The 250 may do fine. I like to use 2 heaters on larger tanks, gives you an insurance against sticking/failure.

[DarkDiscus]

Using the pump to do the water change will make your life very easy. I'd have one pump to drain your 75 directly to the sink and another to refill the tank from the storage tank. You could go with one pump as well for both tasks. With that 35% change I would do daily changes on the 75 with 8 fish. You should be able to do a w/c and refill your storage tank via python in under 1/2 an hour daily, including basic tank maintenance.

I'd skip the magnum - I really am not fond of them except to polish the water. I also don't use the Emperors and I'm not familiar with their quality. I'd consider 2 of the biggest aquaclears instead. They are very, very reliable filters and can be packed with 2 sponges for lots of biological filtration. Many would also us a couple of sponge filters as well for additional firepower.

HTH,

John

PS. Definitely ask lots of questions! Figuring out what to do now is much better than making mistakes and paying the price later!

[DiscusinDaytona]

I agree w/John on the Magnum, had one on a tank yrs ago (not discus). Skip it. Doesn't an emperor use those plastic/carbon/media cartidges? Not good for filtration at all. Aqua clear is reliable and cost effective, fosters and smith online has very good prices.

[Dood Lee]

If you're dead set on getting a HOB/canister combo, get either a Rena Filstar XP3 or an Eheim canister (either the ProIIs or the Eheim 2217). Any HOB will do. If you get the Emperor, don't bother using their media cartridge. They stuff carbon inside, which isn't a bad thing if you change them out every week. I would just avoid the hassle and buy some pre cut filter pads to stuff the media compartment with.

[Carol_Roberts]

Aqua clear 110 works better for discus. Actually A couple of large airdriven sponge filters will supply plenty of bio for much less money. . . .