New discus setup suggestions

[Chartreux03]

I wanted to say hi as this is my first post here. I been into freshwater aquariums for about 15 years on and off. I have decent knowledge of cycleing a tank and maintaining it. I finally decided to take a big step and buy a larger tank and try to take on Discus. I want to play it safe and purchase 8 discus when everything is ready. Im excited as I ordered a 150 X high tank 48". I have been starting to buy some of the equipment to set it up and was hoping to get some suggestions. I have already purchased a filter as I got an extreamly good deal on a Fluval FX5. My next two purchases are the heaters and the lighting. I was thinking 2 300 watt Hydor Theo heaters should do the job? As for the lighting Im plan to do a non planted tank and was thinking about t-5 fixtures maybe the nova extreme? Any suggestions is greatly aprishiated.

[judy]

If you're going non-planted there are absolutely no point in T-5s. Way too much light. WAy too much likelihood of algae. Discus MAY not like that much light. An old-fashioned set of a couple of T-8s would do it, and stick to 5500 k or less.

[curleyk2.0]

I have a few of the Hydor heaters and mine run hot, really hot, I find the dials are hard to get exactly right. BUT, I like them and find them very duarble. But considering that they are difficult to dial in right I think if you try to use 2 in one tank you might stuggle to get them sinked up together on the right temp. You might want to look into one of those temp controllers from Jehmco, its worth the investment IMO http://www.jehmco.com/html/temperature_controller.html

[Organic Farmer]

Agreed , I just set up a 1000 watt titanum with a controller from jehmco last week.It replaces 3 visi therms I had running on a 125 gal. Easy to set and no worries that the heater would stick on. John is very knowledgable. Tom

[Chartreux03]

Thanks for the info. Would I be safe with just 1 500 watt titanium heater with a controller? The local aquarium shop recomended I use 2 200 watt tronic heaters. I would prefer to use only one heater if I can. Any suggestions on a specific light fixture that will work well?