Tank Setup Questionaire

[Joeske369]

Re: Tank Setup Questionaire

Thank you Al and Pat for the replies. I figured a may have been on the low end for the water change volume/frequency. I actually have city water at the moment but I plan on getting a 100-150 gallon reservoir to keep water on hand and heated, do you think aeration would be good to do also? I do have a 40G tank that I have used in the past with some sponge filters that could set up and be used for quarantine/hospital. The fish store/breeder I mentioned in Myrtle Beach says they "QT their fish for at least 3 weeks and treat them for all types of parasites and make sure they are dewormed". With this being basically what seems like already QT'ed fish do I still need to take precautions? I understand that it's never fool proof and things happen of course. I'll definitely do the PH test and see what I find. I like the "potted" plant idea as I've seen some tanks with such, even saw one the other day that looked like it had small sacks filled with dirt at the base of plants (not sure exactly what it was).

Once again, I appreciate the replies and help

[jeep]

Re: Tank Setup Questionaire

Aeration is the best way to age your water and stabilize ph. You can do this with an air stone or submersible pump (I do). A 40g is a good choice for a hospital tank. Any larger and you're wasting meds. I use a 29g unless I'm treating a group of discus. I'm not knocking MB in the least bit, but do you know what they use to "deworm"? Many importers only use metro. They may do a complete QT procedure, which is rare, but would be a great first step! I prefer to perform QT under my control and standards and I follow Al's QT procedure on all new arrivals. If you read it, it makes perfect sense! I don't know what size your discus are, but I would study up if you want pots and plants and raise them to 4-5" in a bare bottom so they can build and develop their immune system.

Here's a couple of threads you may find interesting if you haven't seen them already. Good luck!! -

https://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?120956-What-Are-Bioload-and-Biomass-and-Why-They-Are-Important

https://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?135809-Al-s-Quarantine-Procedure

[7_5]

Hello fellow fish lovers! My name is T. I live on an island in the mediterranean called Cyprus and I hope this is my first of many posts on this awesome forum.

1) Please Introduce your self and tell us what your experience is with fishkeeping, give us as much information as possible as to how long in the hobby, what you have kept in the past and what you currently are working with.

My experience is limited to keeping a small low tech planted tank with hang on filter with 12 tetras, shrimps and some snails for a bit more than year now.
I am currently working on setting up a discus display tank in the middle of my house and I need it to look pristine to get the spouse's approval.

2) If you have no previous experience with keeping discus, have you done any research to properly prepare yourself, e.g. have you read any Stickies in this section of SimplyDiscus, or other material?

I have done ''extensive'' research for the past couple of years while my house was being built. youtube mostly, and surfed this forum a few times when googled redirected me here to get my answer.

3) Describe your tank, its size and dimensions, breeding or display. Include how long it has been setup or if it is still being cycled.

My tank is 125x80x80 cm (49x31x31 inches), around 600 liters (158 gallons) with a 300 liters (80 gallon) sump. Total system volume is almost 1000 liters (264 gallons). Its peninsula type of tank between my kitchen and my living room in the 'heart' of the house. It's a display tank no plan on breeding. It's still an empty box of glass.

4) Describe the décor for the tank; type of substrate or bare bottom (BB), whether the tank will be planted or a biotope.

Substrate will be about 5cm (2 inches) silica sand. I will add a big piece of wood with some anubias glued in it. No plants on the substrate to allow for vacuuming. I might also add a few stones around the wood.

5) Describe your water changes planned or practiced, percentage and how often. Include if you age your water and use of tap/RO or mix.

I have provisions for a drain and RO water supply in place to automate water changes. The water comes from the house drinking water RO system. The installer said he did not set the filtration on max to strip everything otherwise the taste of water would be bad. If I recall correctly he set it as the tds is around 80-100.
Since water changes are important for discus I plan on doing it daily. I drilled an overflow on the sump and I will add 50 liters (13,2 gallons) in the tank and 50 liters will overflow from sump (hopefully). I never seen that done by anyone and it works only in my theory for now. It's more like water dilution than water change. It corresponds to 1/20 of the total system volume. If you add it up it's 35% weekly. The process is automated by a solenoid valve so I can do even more often like 2-3 times daily if you suggest it's necessary but water isn't cheap here so I dont want to waste it if you advise it is enough.
I am afraid it is not since I will have many young fish that from what I've read need a lot of water changes to grow well. I just dont want to do more than needed.
I will not be adding any minerals for the fish since as mentioned above the water TDS is well above zero, please let me know if that's a mistake.

6) Describe the type of filtration planned/used for the tank; sponge, HOB and/or sump. Also include the other equipment you are, or will be, using in your tank, e.g. heater, lighting, etc.

-two 1000 liters pumps for the sump planning to run them on the lowest setting 30% so that means 600L/hour which is 60% of the total system volume and 100% of the tank volume. Please let me know if I should run them on higher setting.
-8kg of Nano Tech Bio spheres, 4 pieces of Nano Tech Bio Blocks
- a bunch of sponges from TEMU for mechanical filtration
- 2 D-D Titanium heaters (650W)
- 2 AI Blade fresh water 100w led
-4 liters AF bio media filtration material and 4 liters of AF life essence with nitrifying bacteria to kick start the cycle
- Sicce airlight air pump (200L/h) planning to keep the air stones inside the sump below the ceramic spheres to oxygenate the bacteria. Is it necessary/beneficial to run an air pump? It's in the middle of my living room and I dont want the noise if it's not needed.

7) If the tank is already setup and running, include the water parameters;

It is not but that's what I am planning on running:

- temp _____29 C (84,5F)

- tank ph _____whatever my RO unit produces

I could do 30 C if you believe it's better for the fish.

8) Describe your current or planned stocking levels; number/size of discus and number/type of dither fish. Where did you get your discus from or do you have a proposed source for getting your discus?

This is the part I am very much unsure how I should do it so please let me know if the plan is right:
Cycle without lights for 1 month or until my test kit says it's fully cycled.
Add 20-30 rummy nose tetras
2-4 weeks later
Add 15-20 corydoras sterbai
1 month later(?)
Add 20-25 small discus from a local fish store that imports them from asia. I know bigger is better but it will be prohibitively expensive and hopefully with sufficient water changes when they are young and the filtration I describe above I will be able to grow them fine.

I think my filtration is good but is it still overstocked? I dont want to add discus later on to avoid introducing diseases and pecking order drama and I would rather buy them all together to get a better price and same color. Also by the time they grow large I might lose some fish to diseases.

How I acclimate 20 discus all at once is giving me anxiety. I agreed with the LFS that they will go straight from the airport to my tank to avoid the fish store tanks diseases and unnecessary acclimation stress. I will open a box with 20 bags of stressed fish that just traveled around the globe. Can I just float the bags in my tank for like 30 minutes to get the temp equalized then add them to the tank? Do I have to somehow prepare 20 drip systems and 20 air stones and do it that way? Do I add any preventative medications or stress relief medicines in advance?

9) Describe your planned or existing feeding regimen. Include what and how often you are feeding on a daily basis.

This is also a part I need experienced advice as I am not sure if the plan is right:
Since I work long hours and I will be getting small discus I plan on feeding them only pellets with automatic feeders. I want to avoid frozen because it's messy, expensive and I read they can get parasites from them.
I am worried they might refuse the pellets if the breeder feeds them beef heart and then I am screwed. Please advise what to do if that happens.
Since they will be young I will need to feed 4 times a day? Feeding quantity enough that gets eaten within a certain amount of time? Any brand of pellets available in europe you suggest is good for a complete diet? I dont mind if the pellets are more expensive than others if they are worth it as a complete diet.

10) What are your goals in this hobby? For example are you looking to keep discus in a planted community tank, or do you hope to become a hobby breeder of Discus? Do you want to raise Discus with the hopes of competing in shows?

Since it's in the middle of the house it's very important to look pristine and be easy to maintain because it will be something I will have to take care for the next 40 years (if I make it to 75). That's why I chose automated water changes and feeding. I want to just rinse filters and vacuum on weekends and refill the feeders when needed.

My number 1 worry is discus disease. I know they are sensitive and sooner or later they will catch something. I also have little trust to the asian breeder. I plan on keeping a stock of all discus medicines to quickly fight any disease from the first signs. Please advice what products I should buy keeping in mind I live in Europe.

I really appreciate you taking the time to read this post and help me make the right choices for a healthy long living discus tank.

[brewmaster15]

HI T! Welcome to SimplyDiscus! You have come to the right place for information so please spent alot of time reading threads and searching here.

This is the part I am very much unsure how I should do it so please let me know if the plan is right:
Cycle without lights for 1 month or until my test kit says it's fully cycled.
Add 20-30 rummy nose tetras
2-4 weeks later
Add 15-20 corydoras sterbai
1 month later(?)
Add 20-25 small discus from a local fish store that imports them from asia. I know bigger is better but it will be prohibitively expensive and hopefully with sufficient water changes when they are young and the filtration I describe above I will be able to grow them fine.

This is really not ideal. What you want to do is get your discus and grow them alone... not other fish. When the discus have grown then you can add other fish. Growing out small discus in community tanks rarely goes well and those tetras and sterbai will be a source of disease potentially.

This is also a part I need experienced advice as I am not sure if the plan is right:
Since I work long hours and I will be getting small discus I plan on feeding them only pellets with automatic feeders. I want to avoid frozen because it's messy, expensive and I read they can get parasites from them.
I am worried they might refuse the pellets if the breeder feeds them beef heart and then I am screwed. Please advise what to do if that happens.
Since they will be young I will need to feed 4 times a day? Feeding quantity enough that gets eaten within a certain amount of time? Any brand of pellets available in europe you suggest is good for a complete diet? I dont mind if the pellets are more expensive than others if they are worth it as a complete diet.

Getting them small will work to your advantage, a large group of smaller fish will aggressively eat many kinds of food.. Just pick one at a time and feed it exclusively. You may need to transition them slowly but its doable. 4 Times a day is good.. If you can use a pellet while at work, feed other foods before and after work.

al

[7_5]

HI T! Welcome to SimplyDiscus! You have come to the right place for information so please spent alot of time reading threads and searching here.

This is really not ideal. What you want to do is get your discus and grow them alone... not other fish. When the discus have grown then you can add other fish. Growing out small discus in community tanks rarely goes well and those tetras and sterbai will be a source of disease potentially.


Getting them small will work to your advantage, a large group of smaller fish will aggressively eat many kinds of food.. Just pick one at a time and feed it exclusively. You may need to transition them slowly but its doable. 4 Times a day is good.. If you can use a pellet while at work, feed other foods before and after work.

al

Interesting, I had no idea rummy nose tetras and corys are potential sources of disease, they are typically found in most discus tanks. Can I add 25 discus all at once in a new tank as long as it's cycled for a few weeks?

Also about feeding, what other foods are considered totally safe for discus? I read beef hard can mess their liver and bloodworms carry infections.

I know I asked way too many questions to have them all answered but I am willing to pay for consultation if someone experienced here has the time to walk me thought the procedure and answer my questions. I hate when animals die under my care I feel quilt. Thank you

[brewmaster15]

All fish are a potential source for disease and really need to be quarantined before being added to a discus tank. Tetras and plecos are probably two of the biggest problems... the reason is because they are sensitive to alot of medications they are often not treated or treated for problems at half strength. That too me is a huge red flag...

Yes you can add all the discus at once you just need to scale up your filtration and fishless cycle enough to compensate. I would suggest using alot of air driven sponges initially as well as your other filtration.They will help with the waste and can be cleaned regularly while the fish are growing.

Safe foods..any good quality pellets and flakes. Frozen mysis shrimp. Freeze dried blackworms and brine shrimp. Frozen brine shrmp.
If you can get hikari bloodworms they are probably safe..but not a choice for me.

Beefheart isnt a bad food and its used everywhere. You can also make homemade seafood mixes. Theres so many options today. I would stay clear of tubifex in any form.

hth,
al

[rlcharters]

I have just purchased a 125 gallon aquarium because of my interest in discus. I have not set up the aquarium because I want to hear from experienced aquarists on how to do this right the first time. Right now I want to know what substrate is best for discus. I would like to have live plants instead of artificial. I’m in no hurry to introduce fish until after I have established a healthy environment. Anyone willing to help me?

[thesheff]

1) Please Introduce your self and tell us what your experience is with fishkeeping, give us as much information as possible as to how long in the hobby, what you have kept in the past and what you currently are working with.

- Hello, I'm Kevin, I have been a fish keeper for 4+ years. The majority of my knowledge/experience is in saltwater reef tanks, so freshwater is somewhat new to me. I have kept reef tanks of all sizes with almost every type of coral. I've had tanks with very difficult corals/fish, so I am very well versed on water parameters and what they mean/how to react when one is off.

2) If you have no previous experience with keeping discus, have you done any research to properly prepare yourself, e.g. have you read any Stickies in this section of SimplyDiscus, or other material?

- I have some friends in pet stores that are assisting me with the process of plant placement, substrate, tank mates, etc. in addition to YouTube videos and some articles. I am very interested in Discus, so I have done a butt ton of research.

3) Describe your tank, its size and dimensions, breeding or display. Include how long it has been setup or if it is still being cycled.

- My tank is an Innovative Marine Nuvo SR 80 AIO tank. I originally bought this as a saltwater tank, but changed my mind. It will just be a display. I filled the tank halfway with water today (2.13.25) and will start filling with plants and some easy fish very soon!

4) Describe the décor for the tank; type of substrate or bare bottom (BB), whether the tank will be planted or a biotope.

- I'm making a sloping design with mopani wood, with eco complete as a base layer for my substrate, capped with sand. I plan to LOAD THIS TANK UP with plants. I want it very dense.

5) Describe your water changes planned or practiced, percentage and how often. Include if you age your water and use of tap/RO or mix.

- I exclusively use RO water for fish tanks (definitely a saltwater thing). I've considered aging my water, but haven't put much thought into it. I would love to do water changes every week, but I know that won't happen, so I've set a once monthly goal for myself lol.

6) Describe the type of filtration planned/used for the tank; sponge, HOB and/or sump. Also include the other equipment you are, or will be, using in your tank, e.g. heater, lighting, etc.

- The filtration for this tank will be the AIO section on the back side of the tank. All I've got right now is two Helios heaters and my ATO equipment wise (besides my return pumps) in the back chamber. I will likely end up dosing something or adding a media reactor or something similar eventually.

[hbarreiros]

Hi everyone!

New here on the forum. I'm from Portugal and 42 years old. Back when I was a teenager, I had two planted tanks with red cherry shrimp. Last month, I got back into the hobby and replanted one of my old 36L tanks.

I've always dreamed of having a Discus tank, and I think now is the right time to finally go for it. I recently moved to a new house and have a big basement where I'm planning to set up a 180 x 42 x 50 (height) cm tank.

Do you think this is a good size? I’d really appreciate your help with the setup — filter, lighting, and any other advice you might have.

BIG thanks in advance!