Unexpected Gift, need Help

[street675]

Ok, where do I start, two weeks ago a friend of mine in the military gets nailed with a 12 month remote, he's leaving for a year, so him knowing that I use to have a reef tank setup, he decide's to give me his setup,

Setup

90g All Glass tank
a nice stand
7 juvies Discus
a variety of plants
a Fluval 305/skimmer attachment.

So I went to LFS to get as much information as I can. Here's what I got,

Raise juvies in BB tank, just ease of everything in this setup.
Needed more filtration than just the 305, got a 405 to help out
Plants needed more light
CO2 is not necessary but will help greatly
Water Quality is Key, advised on getting an RO/DI system
Lot more but to much to remember.

Saturday, tank is brought to the house and setup, 3 bags of ECO Complete as substrate, aquascaped a few times to get just right. Had a 30g bow tank I used as a quarantine tank for saltwater fish, painted it and put juvies in, sponge filter was given by LFS owner from one of his own breeding tanks. Co2 for right now is the DIY setup.

Read as much as I can read these past two days, but it's just so much to take in. So what I need right now are just real answers to help out.

Looking at BulkReef 75GPD RO/DI 5 Stage *PLUS* System--$199.99
http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/RO/DI-Filters-&-Systems-RO/DI-System
Does anyone have info on these company?
Which pH conditioner/buffer do I need for the ro/di water, Kent Marine Pro-Plant, Seachem Equilibrium, Kent Discus Essential Water Conditioner


For lights got 48 inch BLACK SOLAR T5 HO - 4 X 54W
http://www.catalinaaquarium.com
Is the wattage high enough to grow plants, sorry don't have any of the plant names.

Any info on a CO2 system, please take into consideration that this was not a plan aquarium so price is an issue.

Any help is much appreciated and needed.

Got this site from friend, using his log in so if he's posted before asking for advise please remember I'm not him.

[tcyiu]

Welcome. Nice set up.

First thing is to register and set up your own account. It's free.

Secondly, without knowing your water parameters, I can't say that you need RO/DI for sure. If you're drawing water from a municipal water source (which is generally regulated) AND unless you plan on breeding, I would not go the RO/DI route. In typical cases, it is NOT necessary.

Juveniles generally require a lot of food to grow out to full potential. This means more poo removal and water changes. You can feed less, and do less maintenance. Your choice. But having substrate complicates things which is why bare bottom is recommended.

And if you're doing frequent water changes, your friend's filter is more than adequate.

So the summary is, there is no need to spend more money. That is unless you want to.

Good luck.

Tim

[rickztahone]

keep in mind that you can get pots and use that eco complete as substrate in the pots. this way you do not sacrifice aesthetics of a planted tank and still have a partial BB

[frenchie100]

Welcome to SD!! There are plenty of great people here to help with your transition into the discus world!!:D

I think when you first start out, it is important to try to keep things as simple as possible, otherwise it can get overwhelming quick. You can then fine tune your set up as time goes by, when you have the basics down.

Number one is figuring out what kind of water you have coming out of the tap and if it is stable after 24 hrs.

If you could give us the parameters straight out of the tap that would be great ( pH, KH, GH, TDS, nitrite, nitrate). Is it city water or well water? All this can help us figure out if you really need an RO/DI system or not.

Next is figuring out if you are gong to need to age your tap water because even you do go the RO/DI route, a portion of it is still going to be tap water because juvies need the minerals from tap to grow properly. You can use a commercial form of remineralization in your RO, but it is much more cost efective to use your tap.

To test for stability of your pH: put tap water in a bucket with an airstone and a heater and test the pH. Let it sit for 24hrs. Check the pH again.

Ideally, you are going to want to grow out those juvies on a bare bottom because of the amount of food they will need.

As far as the lights question, you might want to post that question in the planted tank section where people with more experience in that domain can answer it.

You seem pretty knowledgable already and I like what you have done with the tank already!

Good luck!
Julie :)

[mmorris]

In addition, I would forget about CO2 for quite some time. You don't need to complicate things at this point. Secondly, you are taking a big risk using a sponge from the lfs because it might introduce pathogens your fish are not accustomed to. If the filter has been running with the discus and the filter media came with the fish and the bacteria wasn't destroyed somehow, then I recommend you let that lfs sponge nowhere near your tank.

[Larry Bugg]

If I read your post correct, you are planning on using the 30 bow as a bare bottom for grow out and going ahead and setting up the 90 as a planted for when you have adults? Was that correct? I am new to discus but have a lot of experience with planted tanks. From what I have read here you plan sounds like a good one except the juvies may outgrow the 30 before they are at the age you would want to put them in the planted tank. Others with more experience here will answer that for you.

The 4x54 will be a excellent light for the 90. A list of the plants would be helpful to determine if you really need that much light at this time. I would suggest starting out running just 2 of the lights for now till you get your feet on the ground. Maybe run the other 2 lights for a few hour burst. DIY is going to be very difficult on a 90. Anything more than a 29 and it is hard to get enough Co2 into the tank and it is even more difficult to keep it consistent which is equally important. Without Co2 you will become a algae farm with all four lights running. There are a lot of plants available that will survive with just the 2 lights and no Co2. When you do get Co2 running you will also have to start using ferts. You have to maintain a balance of light, Co2 and ferts.

[street675]

Thanks everyone for the quick reply's. So I went to the LFS and PetSmart/Co to get test kits and just my luck everyone's out. Order Test Kit/TDS meter from Dr. Fosters, everything should be later on in the week.

PH is 7.8, is that to high for the Planted Tank, not worried about the juvies, read a lot of folks raising there discus with the same PH.

Doing 50% water changes half in the morning/half at night time, feeding heavily, they eat any and everything I feed. As of now just tap water ran through a 5 Micron MATRIKX + CTO/2 Carbon Filter, dechorinator, airstone, heater, aged 24hrs

Lights
running just two lights now per the recomendations of BUGMAN, once I get the water quality right then I'll start with working on adding a CO2 system.

Grow Out Tank
Currently 30g Bow, Yesterday another friend gave me his 55g tank/stand 30x18X24, and light, Orbit 24" dual 65w PC. I'm beginning to think christmas came early this year.

Once again thanks for quick response, when everything comes in I'll post the water parameters
l

[Jstuver]

Wow nice friends:) I would move the juvies to the 55g for grow out as the 30 will be too small for that many juvies real quik.
Good luck. I never grew juvies out I bought adults so can't give you much help with that. Your plants look like a lot of sword plants so you shouldn't have too much trouble growing them.

[frenchie100]

Thanks everyone for the quick reply's. So I went to the LFS and PetSmart/Co to get test kits and just my luck everyone's out. Order Test Kit/TDS meter from Dr. Fosters, everything should be later on in the week.

PH is 7.8, is that to high for the Planted Tank, not worried about the juvies, read a lot of folks raising there discus with the same PH.

Doing 50% water changes half in the morning/half at night time, feeding heavily, they eat any and everything I feed. As of now just tap water ran through a 5 Micron MATRIKX + CTO/2 Carbon Filter, dechorinator, airstone, heater, aged 24hrs

Lights
running just two lights now per the recomendations of BUGMAN, once I get the water quality right then I'll start with working on adding a CO2 system.

Grow Out Tank
Currently 30g Bow, Yesterday another friend gave me his 55g tank/stand 30x18X24, and light, Orbit 24" dual 65w PC. I'm beginning to think christmas came early this year.

Once again thanks for quick response, when everything comes in I'll post the water parameters
l

Sounds like you are ready for success! Let us know if you need anything else!

Good luck,
Julie :)

[shoggoth43]

The pH should be fine. If you get into the planted side of things and CO2 in a big way you'll find far too much is made about pH swings from CO2 usage and too much hardness. Plants WANT to thrive and will generally work towards that goal and can bounce back from some pretty brutal conditions. Much harder for fish to do that so work from that angle. Keep the fish healthy and then move things towards getting the plants happy.

Lower light will keep things at a nice even speed. Crank up the light and you'll get massive growth, and probably massive amounts of algae as well. I'll third the 2 bulbs as a solid recommendation for now. If possible go for an even spread across the tank vs. two right in the center. Say bulbs 1 and 4 vs 2 and 3 as viewed from the end.

You've got a generous friend. May he stay safe.

-
S


...

PH is 7.8, is that to high for the Planted Tank, not worried about the juvies, read a lot of folks raising there discus with the same PH.
...

...

Lights
running just two lights now per the recomendations of BUGMAN, once I get the water quality right then I'll start with working on adding a CO2 system.
...

[street675]

FedEx guy just came,

Tested water

API TEST KIT
KH 6
GH 7
PH 7.8 - 8
N03 0
N02 0
AMMONIA 0
TDS 196 TESTED IT FOUR TIMES JUST TO BE SURE

Water is tap ran through a 5 Micron MATRIKX + CTO/2 Carbon Filter, Prime, airstone, heater, aged 24hrs

So with this do I need a RO unit or is it a safe bet to say I can continue to use Tap water to raise the Juvies and the planted tank

Going to move the Juvies to the 55g tomorrow.

Again thanks for all help

[fishyj]

Welcome to SD, The water should be fine for raising juvies. My tds out of the tap ranges from 175 to 200 and the fish are fine with that. The plants I have also do fine in this water.

[Eddie]

Thats fine, just watch and see what your PH is doing after 24 hours. I don't think I would be having PH above 8 but thats just me. Seen some stunning discus grown out in 7.8, like Carol Roberts discus.


Take care and all the best!

Eddie