100G tank

[oscar83]

Hi there! Im new here, from Sweden. Just wanted to say hi and ask a few questions.
I have a 100G tank with a small school of cardinals and a few khuli eels. I have right now 8 smaller discus. The first ones I bought are difinately stunted to some degree, but they are eating well and I don't think I want to let them go. :o The newer ones Ive bought are much nicer, one a little larger than the others, and a few that are not stunted. Im assuming that the stunted ones which I keep will not reach adult size, but the newer ones will.
I have a Fluval 404 canister plus a Fluval 403 canister. Then I have a fluval 4+ internal filter. All with spraybars. I do a 10-15% vaccum water change everyday. (if nothing unexpected happens) and about a 30% weekend water change. My tank is planted but a lot of the plants are moveable so the poop and other debris produced is easily accessible to vacuum up.
I really love this kind of fish, a larger school is just beautiful, as long as I stick to the cleaning it seems they are all fine. So, how many discus will this tank hold? Thanks ahead of time for any advice!
IDA

[lhforbes12]

Ida,
Welcome to SD!
Since your tank is planted and your fish are still young, I would not put any more than you already have in that tank. Actually, 8 discus, a school of cardinals, and some loaches sounds to be just about right for your tank IMO. I would keep it at that level.

Larry

[oscar83]

Hi! Thanks for the quick reply. No I won't put any more in there. I do want the ones that are there to be able to be as healthy as possible. I noticed now that one of the "nicer" ones that I bought, a larger one than the rest, has strange gill flaps. Can't believe I didn't see it before! :mad: He is round, small eyed, fat, and real curious etc. So all that is good. But his gill flaps are kind of sunken in in the middle, making a tiny bit, maybe a mm tops, of gill show on the outside. I can't do much about it now, but is there anything I should watch out for when it comes to him? Thanks again!
IDA

[lhforbes12]

Ida,
Unfortunately you are correct, nothing much you can do about it at this point. Many people think this is a sign of too low Calcium when they are young. It is not dibilitating though, and your fish should live a healthy normal life.

[oscar83]

Help help help!!! I just read the last of a few thousand people who advise BARE BOTTOM TANK... Well, I thought I could do planted anyway, but I am so fond of my discus, that even if I haven't had any major problems...I decided to do something.
I had a semi planted tank with lots of wood and "loose" plants, plus one huge anubias that Ive had for years. Love it. ;)
Now afterwards I think its that one plant that has made me hesitate most into going bare all the way.
Today, after hours of wet clothes, wet wood floors, lots of cursing, and hoping that husband wouldnt come home early...:argue: ,my tank has taken on quite a change.
Definately one I could get used to though.
I left about 2-3 mm of fine gravel on the bottom...much of it is bare, but not the WHOLE thing yet..... much so my husband doesnt have a heart attack when he gets home. Plus, I wanted to see if that would work. Will it work? Or is it better with lots of gravel than almost none?
Alot of gunk came out of the 2 inches of sand. I can tell ya it was a lot of it that I took out. More space for water!
Was it beneficial bacteria that I just flushed down the drain?....along with a good amount of sand...:o ... Or was it just lots of dirt and beneficial bacteria not doing much good anyway?
I took out all the rooted plants save one in a corner. The anubia had been set in a rock long ago so its going to have to get used to more water round its roots, I heard that it was possible to have them that way. I took out most of the wood and attached lots of the java ferns on the big peice I have left.
Lots of java moss had to go. I first had a huge cloud of it...but it was just so dirty "inside" so now I only have the bigginings of moss of wood left.
Another ?: If I ever get another cloud of the moss, is that dirt that gathers inside dirt or bacteria colonizing? It kinda smells like bacteria but I dont think that the moss in the middle will ever be able to grow.

Thanks to anyone willing to read through all this mess and give some answers.
Ps. I shut the lights out since my normally mellow brave discus got quite the fright. Id say most of mine are juveniles even though most are around 2.5 inches. Was it best to do this anyway?

ALREADY AFTER 10 MINUTES THEY ARE ALL OUT BEGGING FOR FOOD!!

[pcsb23]

The gunk you removed will be just that, gunk. You may have removed a little of the beneficial bacteria, but not enough to cause a problem. There is a risk if you stirred up the bottom that the fish may get sick, so up the w/c for a little while, just in case. Having a very thin layer of gravel works well for some people, particularly those that don't like BBB (Boring Bare Bottom) tanks :)

The annubia will be fine as will the moss, it was probably gunk in the middle of the moss too.

[Alight]

Keep in mind that one of the reasons for a bare bottom tank is that it is easier to do water changes. Really, 10% each day, and 30% on weekends is not enough. I'd go to at least 50% changes every other day. You can get away with this (not considered enough by many) because you only have 8 Discus in a 100 gallon tank.

I'd probably suck up the rest of the gravel with a garden hose used as a siphon. You have so little left that it serves no useful purpose and can still prevent the discus from "grazing" adequately for their food.

You could put the gravel in pots, and put your plants in those. They're easy to move around for cleaning and grow plants quite nicely, and can be very attractive.

I'd check you water for ammonia and nitrates for a week or so at this point, just on the outside chance that you did remove a substantial amount of the nitrifying bacteria (not likely, however).