tank for discus

[pinkjello]

Hi everyone,
Im dismanteling my Salt water tank this weekend and going to set it up for more discus. I saw a comment from a site (not sure which one now)..which make me concerned about the switch over of a tank from SW to FW - that it maybe shouldnt be done?

Are there any concerns I should be aware of with this kind of change? I am quite certain that i can give it a very good clean - but now im wondering if that isnt good enough and if I need to get a new tank?

thx for your help.

[Jhhnn]

Hi everyone,
Im dismanteling my Salt water tank this weekend and going to set it up for more discus. I saw a comment from a site (not sure which one now)..which make me concerned about the switch over of a tank from SW to FW - that it maybe shouldnt be done?

Are there any concerns I should be aware of with this kind of change? I am quite certain that i can give it a very good clean - but now im wondering if that isnt good enough and if I need to get a new tank?

thx for your help.

What was the comment that set off your concerns?

If anything, aquarists generally have fewer concerns when switching from salt to fresh or vice-versa than with used tanks of the same genera- few pathogens can survive the transition...

I'm looking across the room at my blue scorps happily waggling to be fed in their formerly saltwater home...

[pinkjello]

i cant exactly remember the comment unfortunately..the impression that was left was that he should have bought a new tank for his discus rather then using an old SW tank.

I had this panic attack though - because the last thing i want to do is to put new discus into a harmful situation..and not realizing it.

Can you tell me how you cleaned the SW tank? I was figuring on washing it a few times, once with vinegar, and then with soap and then rinsing repeatedly until i got tired :o

how did you do it?

[traco]

Dear Pinkjello, you are doing the same thing I am. We must be getting ready for a shipment of discus coming to April's, right?;) Any idea on what ones you're thinking of getting?

Oh and I will be using my saltwater tank after emptying, rinsing well and setting up. Never had a problem before when I switched from salt to fresh. Maybe they are thinking about diseases going across?

[rickztahone]

my 125 was also formally a SW tank. i just cleaned it extra well and i got a new canister filter. after reading here i found out that i could have ran the old filter with a bleach blend to make it FW usable. all in all the only bad thing about switching over for me was the fact that when it was a SW tank (not me, i bought it used) it acquried a lot of scratches from sand i suppose. just make sure you properly sterilize the tank and your fine

[Jhhnn]

No soap! White vinegar, then a 4:1 solution of bleach, if you're really paranoid, rinse thoroughly. With mine, I then filled it to the very brim, double dose of prime, strong aeration for a day, drained and refilled w/ standard prime dosing, went from there...

[pinkjello]

Dear Pinkjello, you are doing the same thing I am. We must be getting ready for a shipment of discus coming to April's, right?;) Any idea on what ones you're thinking of getting?

Oh and I will be using my saltwater tank after emptying, rinsing well and setting up. Never had a problem before when I switched from salt to fresh. Maybe they are thinking about diseases going across?

Hi,
Yes, i am actually waiting for some discus from April, I just put in an order LOL..

I was concerned more about the cleaning of the tank - making sure when i was ready for the discus to go in that there is no residue of salt, etc etc..

i had to send pics to april, as the pics were available but they didnt have names to them, but 4 different types, really pretty ones. Hopefully they are available at the small sizes as I like to have the discus grow up with me. What are you getting?

[pinkjello]

Okay, thankyou.
I have to ask about Prime. I dont use Prime and once when i did my numbers spiked and i had to do an immediate water change because my discus started acting funny immediately. I havent used it since..and threw the bottle away. It was 28 dollars when i bought it years ago, which was a horrendous amount for a small bottle, i know its not that expensive now, but i switched to aqua plus...what are your thoughts on that. I have never had any problems with it, and i have three tanks and have been using it for years.




No soap! White vinegar, then a 4:1 solution of bleach, if you're really paranoid, rinse thoroughly. With mine, I then filled it to the very brim, double dose of prime, strong aeration for a day, drained and refilled w/ standard prime dosing, went from there...

[krazykat]

There is usually more of a concern when switching from FW to SW. The main issue is whether the tank had been treated with medication containing copper, which I believe is usually done for ich. Minute traces of copper remain in the tank and is very difficult, if not impossible, to remove. SW invertebrates (corals, snails, etc.) are very sensitive to copper and will perish in such a tank. There does not seem to be any issue of the same magnitude of concern when switching from SW to FW, however, so I wouldn't be worried at all if I were you :). HTH.

[pinkjello]

Ive heard about that actually..but its SW going to FW and i havent treated the tank/fish for anything so now im pretty confident that things will be okay. Just a really good cleaning i think and ill be ready to go.
thx everyone!

Who loves discus..?? I DO..I DO! :p


There is usually more of a concern when switching from FW to SW. The main issue is whether the tank had been treated with medication containing copper, which I believe is usually done for ich. Minute traces of copper remain in the tank and is very difficult, if not impossible, to remove. SW invertebrates (corals, snails, etc.) are very sensitive to copper and will perish in such a tank. There does not seem to be any issue of the same magnitude of concern when switching from SW to FW, however, so I wouldn't be worried at all if I were you :). HTH.

[Jhhnn]

I don't understand why you had a problem with Prime, but if Aqua plus is what works for you, stick with it.

I've been using the pond Prime in 2 liter jugs- it's the same product as the Prime from the lfs, but a lot cheaper, following the higher dosing instructions for aquariums rather than ponds. Others use Amquel and ChlorAm-X with apparently equal success. I'll probably go to ChlorAm-X myself when the pond Prime runs low...

Krazykat's explanation, above, makes sense wrt switching from fresh to salt... I've never kept salt, so copper has never been a concern...

[seanyuki]

Since you're using Aqua Plus....should get the 67 ounce from Kenfish(Simply Discus Sponsor).


HAGEN AQUA PLUS TAP WATER CONDITIONER:

Removes chlorine and chloramine, neutralizes heavy metals, and coats to protect and promote healing. Safe for fresh and salt water aquariums. 16 oz. treats 945 gallons of water.
FOR PHOTO:
16 oz. Bottle: $7.29 EACH
67.5 oz. Bottle: $20.99 EACH



http://www.kensfish.com/waterconditioners.html


Cheers
Francis:)


Okay, thankyou.
I have to ask about Prime. I dont use Prime and once when i did my numbers spiked and i had to do an immediate water change because my discus started acting funny immediately. I havent used it since..and threw the bottle away. It was 28 dollars when i bought it years ago, which was a horrendous amount for a small bottle, i know its not that expensive now, but i switched to aqua plus...what are your thoughts on that. I have never had any problems with it, and i have three tanks and have been using it for years.

[rickztahone]

OP, since you have already placed an order for your discus what will you do to cycle this tank?

[pinkjello]

not sure what OP is..but the discus wont be here for a few weeks i think..or longer, not entirely sure because the order has to be placed first, after everyone has put their order in..and paid as well, ..so i have time to cycle..

[Jhhnn]

OP= original poster- in this case, you, the person who started the thread...

Get your tank cycling, your water changing system ready to go, have ammonia and nitrite test kits at the ready, plus lots of water conditioner and aquarium salt, should you experience a nitrite spike w/ the new fish.

It's also smart to know the pH of the shipping water, adjust your tank water to be close when the fish arrive... let water changes bring the value to what comes out of the tap as you do them...

[traco]

Hi,
Yes, i am actually waiting for some discus from April, I just put in an order LOL..

I was concerned more about the cleaning of the tank - making sure when i was ready for the discus to go in that there is no residue of salt, etc etc..

i had to send pics to april, as the pics were available but they didnt have names to them, but 4 different types, really pretty ones. Hopefully they are available at the small sizes as I like to have the discus grow up with me. What are you getting?
I'm waiting for my salt to sell hopefully and then I can shop. There are some pretty nice ones, hard to pick just one or two or three or .....

[Bripie]

I was hoping you where going in on shipping with me :)

[pinkjello]

Ive just sold all of my salt water stuff except for the tank which i will be converting over to a discus tank. I have ordered 5 discus now, just the 2 inches, cant wait for them to get here :D I enjoy watching them grow..and have another bigger tank they will go into later. Where are you located?? Did you put in an order with April yet?

I posted my salt water tank on bc aquaria just last weekend and everything sold within a week..not sure if your a member there but it has a salt water area. Unfortunately i took a loss, but its better to take a loss then be stuck with everything. Good luck with selling yours. What do you have as far as fish, size of tank etc?





I'm waiting for my salt to sell hopefully and then I can shop. There are some pretty nice ones, hard to pick just one or two or three or .....

[traco]

Yay, good for you!!! I'll get on it and post over there too. Tried our local Island ones but just sold a mushroom so far, not the fish or live rock. Which ones did you get, all the same strain or a mix?

[pinkjello]

Hi!

just saw your post on BCaquaria! :D Good luck with that! I am getting 5 different ones - and i still dont know the names - just have pics of them. If you send me your email i can send you the pics if you want to see them. Its funny about your pictures because i had two black and white nemo fish on hold and thats what i was going to put into my SW tank as well..but decided last minute to go with the orange and white. (cheaper)..
:D




Yay, good for you!!! I'll get on it and post over there too. Tried our local Island ones but just sold a mushroom so far, not the fish or live rock. Which ones did you get, all the same strain or a mix?