A few Questions

[AquatiCreations]

Hi guys,

First I'd like to thank you for viewing, and answering my questions. I know you guys must see the same ones hundreds of times.

I'm going to be setting up my first bare bottom discus tank, and had a few questions as follows.

1. I'm going to be using a magnum 350(I know canisters aren't recommended but I keep up with maintenance) on a 55 gallon tank as main filtration, this filter is established from another tank that had no health issues or anything in the past. This filter has carbon/charcoal in it, and thus is where my nitrfiying bacteria are. I just planned on rinsing out the carbon and transferring it over for an insta-cycle on the new tank. Would this be ok?

2. Would using a fast growing floating plant such as hornwort be ok to use? My tap water is kind of rich in phosphate and at the moment an RO unit is cost prohibitive, so I thought that might be a quick solution for nutrient absorption, and cut back on the algae some.

[Keith Perkins]

Am I understanding correctly that you are wanting to set up a new tank with new fish and your old filter media? If so, it wouldn't be the route I'd suggest. Tanks of fish that look perfectly healthy sometimes harbor things they've built up immunities too that can be deadly to new fish. The better way to go would be to get all your new discus from a reputable breeder and also buy some mature filter media from them at the same time to put in your thoroughly cleaned magnum 350. Most here don't routinely use carbon, so you could lose that. I've used a magnum 350 in the past and as long as you direct your outflow properly I don't think you'll have any problem using it.

Sorry, I've got no input on question #2.

[AquatiCreations]

Ah I see Keith thanks, Would you go as far as bleaching the canister,hoses, and media basket? I certainly don't want any pathogens coming over into the new tank, that's why I was concerned about adding plants, I've had hydra, and various snails come that way before. Also getting new media isn't out of the question, I see people mainly use sponges, would Filling the media basket with filter floss be adequate?

[Keith Perkins]

That would be the safest, though if you cross contaminate by using common siphoning equipment etc. no matter what you do to the magnum it will be for not and you'll still risk getting pathogens from the old tank to the new. I suggested getting mature media from the same breeder as you get fish from because you'll have instant bio filter and you'll also know the media doesn't contain anything the fish aren't use too. This would get you going quicker, but the other alternative is to do a fishless cycle with new media. It takes longer, but the net affect is the same. I personally don't use floss and prefer using sponge material that I can just rinse in aquarium water and basically use forever, but others do use floss.

[zchauvin]

Stick with fishless cycle and make it easy and assure yourself its right, no second guesses

[Keith Perkins]

IMO there is nothing easier and faster than getting a cycled sponge from your discus supplier if you're starting up a new tank.

[zchauvin]

IMO there is nothing easier and faster than getting a cycled sponge from your discus supplier if you're starting up a new tank.

Yeah +1 on that but if not possible and unsure just do regular ole cycle. My lfs would never give me there bio media cozykeith :/ lol

[Keith Perkins]

Yeah +1 on that but if not possible and unsure just do regular ole cycle. My lfs would never give me there bio media cozykeith :/ lol

I take it this is tongue in cheek and you'd never want it, and with that I would COMPLETELY agree. :) A fishless cycle is my second choice, but given the patience of the average discus newbie I always try to remember to suggest buying a mature sponge from their breeder/sponsor of choice.

[AquatiCreations]

Yea, nothing against fishless cycle, was just coming up with some alternative media in the event that I couldn't get media from my breeder. I know alot of people use AC's with an additional sponge(I've never seen an AC sponge) So I'm not real sure what type of sponges you guys like to use. I would imagine something with open pores for maximum surface area. Would pot scrubbers like the kind used in sumps work maybe? I have some old aqua-tech HOB filters, but the filter cartridges that you get for them all include carbon. This will be the first time I've run a filter without carbon lol, so it's a whole new world for me.

Keith I do not plan on sharing any siphoning,cleaning,nets or any other equipment. All new maintenance gear will be bought for this tank, and used only on this tank I assure you.

This brings me to another question, does nitrifying bacteria ship well? My breeder is cross-state and if he does by chance sell me some media, how long will it survive?

[Keith Perkins]

It must be getting late, the term AC sponge just isn't clicking in my mind at the moment. As long as the pot scrubbers don't have any chemicals in them they'd probably work. I do know one guy and heard of plenty of others who bought cheap fabric store sponge only to discover it had flame retardant in it. They discovered that with dead and dying fish of course. I've run HOB in the past, in fact I still have one running for no particular reason. Most of my cartridges had carbon in them too, until I cut a little of the plastic screening out of the back and dumped it all.

Didn't think you were necessarily going to cross use equipment, just would have felt bad had I not mentioned it and you did and ran into problems.

I don't know exactly how long nitrifying bacteria will live, but I'd say at least a day. Just going across Florida should be no problem.

[Second Hand Pat]

Hey Mark,
I have some extra pot scrubbers that I'm not using and I might be fairly close to you.
Pat

[AquatiCreations]

It must be getting late, the term AC sponge just isn't clicking in my mind at the moment.


Keith AC is an acronym for the Aqua-clear series of HOB filters.
Actually a search did pull up pot the pot scrubbers that I was thinking of. http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?62944-PVC-piping-for-Bio-media

Hey pat I appreciate the offer, are they already loaded biologically?

[Keith Perkins]

Dah, I was thinking of filter types rather than brands. I'm primarily using just air driven sponge filters these days, a lot of breeders use them. If who you're getting fish from uses them you could just buy the sponge from them and cut it into a few pieces and put it in you magnum. Just a possibility.

[Second Hand Pat]

I have a bunch in my sump which are live but that I would hate to see you introduce something into your tank from mine via the bacteria bed. You could use the pot scrubbies and seed with the bottled bacteria.

[TURQ64]

Nitrifying bacteria will live a long time in a sealed baggie...store bought bacteria live in bottles for a really long time...There are 50gpd R/O units for around 80 bucks nowdays, and not to fault plant suppliers, but that won't buy a lot of plants....not sure of the R/o-plant equation anyway...