Setting up a 180

[bubba8]

Hello I have a 180 with a wet/dry with about a 2000 gph turnover.I have driftwood and want to make the tank a discus only.I have about 10 yrs exp. with ca/sa cichlids.Ph about 6.2 hardness about 80ppm out of my faucet.Should I turn my return spouts to spray bars?Any other help would be appreciated.
Thanks

[Kagan]

I think your setup looks nice (though the turnover rate seems a bit low). But the parameters may not be "perfect" for "growing" discus. Spray bar is better than a diffusor so I recommend it.

Try to get some high quality fish from a respected breeder by the way. Dont go for cheap fish.

[MiamiDan]

I've also got a 180 and the size is excellent for adult discus. Check your water out of the faucet for chlorines, etc. You might have to age it or use and additive. Regardless of size, water changes are very important for discus. How many do you expect to keep? How often do you plan on making water changes?

[bennyblanco]

Regardless of size, water changes are very important for discus.


from what i understand the bigger the tank the less w/c's you have to do if im wrong let me know.:D :D

[Cosmo]

The bigger the tank, the more stable the environment. There's a lot of factors that determine how long you can go w/o WCs.. tank size is one parameter relevant to the equation.

Spraybars

:)

Jim

[White Worm]

wc's depend on stock level. You would have to do more if you had 18 discus as compared to less if you had 7 discus in that tank. Plus it depends on if you have adults or if you are raising juvies. Juvies require more wc's for optimum development and health. Larger tanks hold stable parameters better than smaller tanks....maybe thats what you were thinking? You will determine amount of water changes from experience and seeing how clean your tank is. Start with 30-50% daily or every other day and then determine on your own if that is too much or not enough. The discus will tell you by their behavior. Sorry to repeat Jim, guess we were typing at the same time, lol.

[bubba8]

I thought my turnover of 11 times an hour is good.Do I need more than that?I was thinking of about 10 juvie discus,some rams,and a couple of bushynose.I was going to add the rams and bushynose plecos,then wait about 4 weeks and add the discus.Has anyone got any good online sellers?Thanks for the help.I plan on doing about 40-50% wc 3 times.

[pcsb23]

I thought my turnover of 11 times an hour is good.Do I need more than that?

May even be a little high, not sure why the other poster thought it was low, it probably is for a reef tank, and whilst discus don't mind some water movement, they prefer it slightly slower! Can you throttle this? of bleed some off straight back into the sump by using a bypass? Spray bars may do the trick.



I was thinking of about 10 juvie discus,some rams,and a couple of bushynose.I was going to add the rams and bushynose plecos,then wait about 4 weeks and add the discus.Has anyone got any good online sellers?Thanks for the help.I plan on doing about 40-50% wc 3 times.
How are you planning on cycling this? using the rams and BN's won't do it. I'd recommend fishless if poss uising clear ammonia.

Stocking levels look fine otherwise, just make sure you qt them thouroughly.

W/c routine is good to start, use it as a base point and adjust from there. If you've got tap water at ph 6.2 and 80 ppm tds I'm jealous, don't need to do anything to it other than make sure there are no chloramines/chlorine in there.

BTW, welcome to Simply!!

[Cosmo]

Bubba.. my sincere apologies... Welcome to Simply (thanks Paul)

11 times per hour is considerably more than I have on my 180, and I thought I was being extreme :o If you can't bleed some of it off, give some serious thought to spraybars.. they make quite a difference on the water turbulence and they're good for gas exchange..

General rule of thumb is 1 fish per 10 gal, so all else being equal you've got plenty of room. Filtration, substrate, WCs, yada yada yada effect stocking levels too of course. Cycling of the tank before the fish arrive is of major import... give yourself 6 to 8 weeks of a fishless cycle w/ ammonia as Paul suggested and you'll be glad you did :)

Some awesome fish available through our sponsors... read through the threads and check the i-trader ratings :)

Mikscus ... don't you hate it when that happens :p Seems to happen to me all the time :o Besides.. you weren't repeating... you were clarifying :)

Jim

[bubba8]

Should the spray bars go underwater or create movement across the top?

[Cosmo]

You want them to create surface turbulance... if they're underwater, turn them so they point upwards and cause a ripple on the surface. For me, it's too loud to have them above water, so that's the way I do it :)

Just don't forget that when you do WCs, the spray will continue upwards and create a real mess so watch your angle :D
Jim

[bubba8]

alright that sounds good but I disconnect my pumps for wc.I see that i have to use some sort of airstone,can I use a bubblewand?I just have to send air bubbles up to break at the surface is this correct?One other thing to my water parameters seem ok out of the faucet.Ph 6.2 hardness 80ppm.No chlorine or chloramines.Thanks for all the info

[bennyblanco]

If you've got tap water at ph 6.2 and 80 ppm tds I'm jealous, don't need to do anything to it other than make sure there are no chloramines/chlorine in there.

BTW, welcome to Simply!!



like paul said we are jealous,good luck and welcome to S.D!!!!:D

[bubba8]

My tank has been running for a year.I was thinking of doing a 90% wc and then adding some other fish.Do I still nedd to cycle?The only thing I am changing is the type of fish.

[White Worm]

Mikscus ... don't you hate it when that happens :p Seems to happen to me all the time :o Besides.. you weren't repeating... you were clarifying :)

Jim

Yeah, Paul and I seem to post at similar times also:p . We were definately on the same page though:D .

[White Worm]

alright that sounds good but I disconnect my pumps for wc.I see that i have to use some sort of airstone,can I use a bubblewand?I just have to send air bubbles up to break at the surface is this correct?One other thing to my water parameters seem ok out of the faucet.Ph 6.2 hardness 80ppm.No chlorine or chloramines.Thanks for all the info

Yes, anything that breaks the surface of the water will work. I used a bubble wall that was the length of my tank attached to the back wall and it served 2 purposes......1. aeration.......2. discus body surfing, they loved swimming through all the bubbles, lol. If you do find that you have any trouble with tap water, use prime. Great parameters straight from the tap! Specially with Ph!