new york city discus owners

[bushynose]

can any new yorkers comment on the local water quality for owning discus, i would like to dedicate a 90 gallon aquarium to discus keeping. Also i do not want to give up keeping sand as the substrate, bn plecos, corydoras and pencilfish. can this work out? Can you suggest a good filtration device cost is not a factor.

thanks
paul

[chotie]

i live in bklyn, ny. own a 70g discus only, 55g discus community tank, 30g angel tank. have gravel, plants, driftwood in the 55/30. although i do not know the specification of the tap water, i never had any problems. i know at least there is 0 ammonia/nitrite readings straight from my faucet. i do not add anything and my fish thrive.

as for the plecs, some have reported that plecs are "agressive" and could possibly pose a problem. i havea baby bn plec and it doesnt bother with my discus. i also have corys which also get along. i would check with the pencilfish though.

with a 90g tank, i would seriously consider a cannister filter and not a HOB. you could also try a wet/dry filter but you will be paying more. eheim filters are considered the best but most expensive cannisters. fluval or filstar are the most popular and rated well. gluck.

HIH.

[bushynose]

Thanks for your reply, I plan on keeping no more tha 5 discus and i never biologically overload my aquariums therefore the water quality does not diminish rapidly. I do change water often (weekly) and have read on this site where members change 20% of the water daily. It would not be fun for me to add and remove water daily. what is your maintenance program.

[chotie]

on my 30g/55g i change once a week. 70g i change twice a week. depending on how serious you take the hobby, you can go with monthly changes. it is not recommended and many will comment that you are abusing your fish or a terrible pet keeper, but to each their own.

depending on your final community count, you might have to do changes twice a week. many factors contribute to this, inc. type of filter, fish, how often you feed fish, etc. some choose to do daily changes which is admirable but not always feasible in anothers personal schedule. again, you can get away with less changes but you will risk possible diseases, unhealthy fish, or the wrath of poseidon.

if you dont have a python yet, get one. changes for me take 20 mins max and only minimal work.

[bushynose]

are you using aged water or straight from the tap. I already have a python and i can easily change water 2 times a week as i currently do but i use water straight form the tap and it is no problem, but i do not currently have discus