New to forum and discus

[CaliforniaBear]

Need some advice on starting a planted discus tank I already have three discus in my 55g. I know a bigger tank would ideal and I will have more room to upgrade in six months so I'm hoping to have some established plants before then. I have a couple of questions and would to thank everyone for any help I can get. Here is my set up as of today

3 discus 2-3in(will be adding 1 a week till I have six)
2 angels 4-5in
3 rainbows
6 spotted danios
1 cobalt blue dwarf gourami

Ph steady 6.5
84 degrees



Questions
1. if I vacuum out all of the substrate can I just carefully dump Eco complete during a water change
2. Is buying used eco complete bad the guy at my lfs said he will sell me some he's had in a tank for about a year for a dollar a lb. has it lost any essential nutrients.
3. I can only buy one thing at a time ( lights, substrate. Co2 etc) what would be the best order

Thanks again for Any Advice I know I'll have more questions

[damba]

Are you adding juvies or adults?"i would add six at once and thin out later ~ kepp up wcs and you will be fine. I think the rainbows will be too manic for the discus and the gourami could get grumpy. They are also notorious for carrying disease. Also the danis will suffer from the temp. Id be tempted to remove these and add some lemon tetras or bleeding hearts ~ about ten or so. Will be a great set up. Dont forget big regular waterchanges.
Tom

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[judy]

Putting discus in a tank and then making major renovations and turning it into a planted, especially if you are new to discus, is putting the cart before the horse in a potentially fatal way for the fish, I think...
You may find reading this thread to be useful:
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?93300-55-gallons-OK-for-Discus


(http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?93300-55-gallons-OK-for-Discus)