A few questions before I start.

[Dieselfool]

Good day. Man! This is a great site. This is my 1st. post here, so please bare with me. I found this site a few months ago and have been crusing around checking things out. Lots of info and insperation for me to start my own Discus tank. I'm going to be setting up my 180 as a planted Discus tank in a couple/few months. I may be buying a new house soon, and I don't want to have to set up twice, so I'm going to wait. This is okay, since I still have a 125 filled with Africans that I still need to sell. I have a sump and a FX5 on the 125, however I don't want to have the sump on the 180. So I picked up another FX5 and I'll be using both.
Question No#1. Is this going to be too much current for Discus? I'm probibly going to start out with maybe 6 or 7 4"+ size (haven't decided what kind yet) and was thinking that I would set it up with a circular flow current.
I think I'm going to go with a sand bottom and low tech lighting system, with plants such as Amazons, crypts/ect.
No#2. (I did say bare with me) LOL. Will these plants do well if I use fert tabs? I dont want to put in any kind of soil under the sand, as I may very well end up with a few Geos in there as well.
I spoke with a local breeder, and he suggested I don't try to put my Clown Loaches in, as he thinks they will bother the Discus at night. I really like these little guys, and I'd like to keep them, however I want only one tank in the house.
No#3. Any opinions on this? I've seen many pics/vids with them together.
Anyway, thanks for listening to me ramble on.
Al.

[TURQ64]

Welcome. Current is fine, and never too much filtration..Other than that, I'll leave comments to the 'plant people'..(I'm a BB, especially for non adults)..Someone will answer every question you did or didn't ask!..regards, Gary

[moon_knight1971]

Read alot of threads about people struggling to ever get their discus passed 5 inches in planted community tanks. If you're not going to do very frequent water changes it might be better for you to buy adults (6 inch) instead....

[Eddie]

Great to meet you Al, also recommend not having the loaches. They can be a bit too boisterous and can eat a lot of the food for the discus. Its up to you, lots of folks on here have them and will swear by them. I just don't like their tempo for my discus. Plus you have to really make sure they are clean inside and out or they'll bring your discus down like our government is about to be.

[Dieselfool]

Thanks guys. I'm a firm believer in over-filtration as well. Was thinking of setting the 2 FXs at either end with a spraybar up top and an intake down low, then the opposite on the other end to get a nice circular current going. I also have a couple of powerheads I can add in if nessesary.
I currently do a 30% water change every eight days on my 125 African tank, and 30% every 4 days on my 55 grow-out tank. So water changes won't be a problem. As far as getting 4" plus fish, if I can find bigger at a decent price I will. I'm in Barrie, and Upper Canada Discus seems to be a very well respected here. I've spoke to the owner (Bob I think), but as yet, haven't gone to view his stock. Also, I'm less than an hour from Toronto, and there seems to be a few respected importers/breeders there as well.
Now the Loaches....I've had these guys for about a year now and there still pretty small, but very healthy. I've yet to have any problems with them at all. I think I might just give it a try. I can always take them out if it doesn't work.
Another question.... I'm going to keep the 55 as a QT tank. How do you guys keep it up and running between quarantines? Or do you just set it up with water from the main tank when you know your getting new fish or you noticed one is getting sick? I can always take some bio-media out of one of the FXs and set it up on short notice. Like I said in my 1st. post, I really don't want to have 2 tanks up and running all the time.
Oh, hey Eddie, I'm predicting a P.C. majority this term. LOL.

[Northwoods Discus]

I have 2 clown loaches in my 150 gallon in my office. They are very active but that is a good thing for the office aquarium. I have 8 of my own discus and they are active and do not have any issues getting their fair share or more of the food. If you have shy discus or have trouble getting them to eat the loaches can be a problem. I think they are good in a planted tank cleaning between all the plants. I also heard they were supposed to eat snails but I still have some snails.

[Eddie]

Keep the quarantine running using a fishless cycle method. Adding ammonia to keep the bacteria bed alive.




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[russren]

laterite in the bottom 1" of substrate, 2 - 3" plain gravel on top of that. THis will stay out of the water column better than root tabs if disturbed. The loaches will break some stem plants when they get larger... and they will get much larger. They are a little too boisterous and bothersome for discus IMO. Give the loaches a shot though since you already have them. Don't be surprised if your stem plants are floating in the mornings. As you will learn from many planted tank forums - you wil need a LOT of plants to get things started to avoid algae.

It should be fun though. Just be patient and get lots of info on the net about planted setups.

[Dieselfool]

Thanks guys. Been looking at alot of the pics in the planted/bio section. Hmmmmmm, maybe I might just go in the natural direction. Ya know, lots of wood and a few plants with some wilds. Went on a driftwood hunt and came back with a few really nice pieces. Got some pics, just can't find the cord for the cam.
Al.

[Dieselfool]

Got another question. Looks like most of the driftwood I've collected is Cedar. Will this be okay in my tank, or will it leach or slowly rot?