Which way is better and why?

[Sandip]

I have a 150 gallon tank. Tank spec: 5*2*2
I have kept 10 super melon 2"(SL) in size in that tank. Filtration is good, with 2 eheim 2217 attached at two ends of the tank. And also two Hydro sponge filters in the middle. Fish has good appetite. They are fed Goat Heart Mix 6 times a day and Hikari Discus Bio Gold twice a day. That is a total of 8 feedings per day. I siphon out the poo and dirt daily. And change 53 gallons of water every alternate day. This is the maximum water storage space I have and it cannot go any higher.

My question is about water volume and water changing. According to the suggestion of a well known breeder in my city, I have reduced the water volume in the tank to about 75 gallons(US) from a possible 150 gallons. He suggested this because according to him, the fishes will get lost in a very large volume of water and wont be able to find the food. Another reason for his suggestion of reducing water volume is that, he said that changing of 53 gallons from 75 gallons present in the tank means a higher persentage of water change. Where as, he said, changing of 53 gallons from 150 gallons will mean less change in percentage terms.

I would like to ask the members here, am i doing the right thing in keeping low volume of water in the tank. Or shall i fill the tank to its fullest capacity and keep changing 53 gallons on every alternate day?

[rickztahone]

I have a 150 gallon tank. Tank spec: 5*2*2
I have kept 10 super melon 2"(SL) in size in that tank. Filtration is good, with 2 eheim 2217 attached at two ends of the tank. And also two Hydro sponge filters in the middle. Fish has good appetite. They are fed Goat Heart Mix 6 times a day and Hikari Discus Bio Gold twice a day. That is a total of 8 feedings per day. I siphon out the poo and dirt daily. And change 53 gallons of water every alternate day. This is the maximum water storage space I have and it cannot go any higher.

My question is about water volume and water changing. According to the suggestion of a well known breeder in my city, I have reduced the water volume in the tank to about 75 gallons(US) from a possible 150 gallons. He suggested this because according to him, the fishes will get lost in a very large volume of water and wont be able to find the food. Another reason for his suggestion of reducing water volume is that, he said that changing of 53 gallons from 75 gallons present in the tank means a higher persentage of water change. Where as, he said, changing of 53 gallons from 150 gallons will mean less change in percentage terms.

I would like to ask the members here, am i doing the right thing in keeping low volume of water in the tank. Or shall i fill the tank to its fullest capacity and keep changing 53 gallons on every alternate day?

while the theory makes sense you must keep in mind that with 8 feedings a day your fish will foul up 75 more easily than in a 150. the good thing is that they are not that large as is but as they grow they will create more ammonia and the water quality might get pretty bad with 10 sub-adults in just 75g of water. just play it by ear and fill more water up as you go along. also, a test kit would be a very valuable tool to have to monitor water parameters. make sure you check the parameters right before a WC

[Sandip]

while the theory makes sense you must keep in mind that with 8 feedings a day your fish will foul up 75 more easily than in a 150. the good thing is that they are not that large as is but as they grow they will create more ammonia and the water quality might get pretty bad with 10 sub-adults in just 75g of water. just play it by ear and fill more water up as you go along. also, a test kit would be a very valuable tool to have to monitor water parameters. make sure you check the parameters right before a WC

I do check the water parameters, once every 5 days. Its ok. Ammonia and Nitrite is zero. Traces of nitrate present.
My tank water pH is 7.2
I use tap water after aging for around 24 to 30 hours adding only tetra aquasafe(which is a dechlor).

[kaceyo]

IME, Even a 75 is a bit too large for 10 small discus. Young discus feed better and feel more secure when they are in a close group. The compitition for food is stimulated more than when they are grazing over a large area in twos and threes.
Water quality is still key so you need to do at least daily, or better yet, twice daily 50% or larger wc's.

Kacey

[Tito]

Water quality is still key so you need to do at least daily, or better yet, twice daily 50% or larger wc's.

Kacey

Kacey thias confuses me and I am starting a new thread on it. Can you please chime in?

[fishyj]

Hi all, I can go by my experience in this. I had 14 2" fish in a 125 and I can tell you the water quality is better but some of them have a harder time getting their fair share of food. I can tell you some grow much faster this way but the disadvantage is they do have size discrepancy in this size tank. If I had to do it over, I would use a 55 for several months with 90 % daily water changes and when they got to 3 plus or 4" I would put them in your 150 filling half way. As they get bigger than you can start filling the tank up more. The water parms may be ok in your tank but what about tds readings. In my 45 with 6 3.5 to 4" fish my water parms are perfect but my tds will go from 150 to 200 on a day when I am home on the weekend from morning to night.

[Peachtree Discus]

IMO, 75gal is not so big that they fish get lost or have issues finding the food. The 75 is large enough that 10-2' fish are not overcrowded, and the 75 it is not as much effort/reach in cleaning. but, my main driver - I am one that believes the more fresh water - the better. So with your two options i vote for the 75.

53 gal/ 150 = 35%
53 gal/ 75 = 70%

[Peachtree Discus]

one more note.....i believe overkill with water changes help growth. realistically, i would go with the following....


....I would use a 55 for several months with 90 % daily water changes and when they got to 3 plus or 4" I would put them in your 150 ...

[kaceyo]

Tito,
I will look for your new thread. As for what's being said here, it really has nothing to do with them being able to find the food. It's the way they behave when in close proximity to each other. It's more of a feeding frenzy based on compitition for food, which encourages all the to fish jump in and eat as much as they can, as fast as they can. IME, fish fed this way will grow faster and be more evenly sized. You don't get the same results if they are spread out over a large area grazing.
Feeding this way also means you'll have to do more wc's to keep the water as clean as it needs to be, which also encourages good growth.

Kacey

[Eddie]

I agree with Kacey, both will be too big for a month or so. I'd pump them out in a 40 until 3" at least and then move them to the 75. I would keep all 10 in the 75 indefinitely until pairs form and then removing 2 fish will keep you close to the 10 gallons per fish.

Eddie

[ShinShin]

Discus that small ought to be crowded in a tank smaller than 75 gal. They waste too much energy swimming around searching for food. Better to keep them "fin to fin" early on in smaller tanks with the food in front of them. Daily water changes, or two, are also recommended. If you only have the two choices mentioned, go with the smaller tank, sectioned in half with egg crate material from Lowe's with a few scavengers on the opposite side to eat the food that may drift.

Mat

[Discus-Hans]

Was just ready to post kind of Mat's answer.

Keep the tank full = full water volume = more stable but put a divider on 1/3 or 1/4 of the tank. I would take a piece of foam from front to back = divider and extra filter in one,

And keep your Discus in the small part of course.

Hans

[Sandip]

Thank you all for your kind replies.
I really liked the idea that MAT and HANS gave. Will try to go by it.

[Apistomaster]

Hans sells that Hamburg mattenfiltre stuff that makes both a divider and biofilter don't you Hans?
That method would preserve both the benefits of the full 150 gallons and enable you to confine the 10 Discus in a 36 inch long area of the aquarium and move it as the fish grow.
Best of both worlds.

[Discus-Hans]

I do Larry, but the point is I want to give advice and not pushing my business to much (oepsss now I do it again :angel:)

And Sandipan is in India, I don't ship to India,

Hans

[Apistomaster]

I apologize. I did not notice this was Discus keeping in India.
I know you don't push your product but render good advice. You are only one of 2 businesses I am aware of in the USA selling the divider sponge filters and the other guy did not post and I thought it might be helpful to OP but my Opps, too, India is not really in your usual distribution zone. It still may be practical for OP to order from Germany. And others in the USA face similar options that now they may be aware of but weren't before so it may be useful to others.

Probably easier to use a smaller tank and stage the discus up to larger tanks as they grow for our OP.

[Sandip]

Thank you Larry for your suggestion. Unfortunately, i am in a part of the world where Hans does not deliver his products.
I am sure i will be able to get hold of a decent divider here in India itself.
Thank you all for your valuable suggestions...:)

[blue acara]

I agree with the others. If I had a 75 g and was filling with 2 inch juvie discus I'd do as others have said and divide it or you could fill it with 30 young fish and grow them out keeping the best of the bunch and selling off the rest, still not worth the hassle tho most likely