Going to give it a shot!

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Squirtle919

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Sep 5, 2011
1,563
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Within Earth
Hey all

When I started to get back into keeping fish, The first thing I ran out and did was get a tank built for my Bed room to fit right under my TV as a planned planted discus tank, I had no idea how much everything had changed over the years and how hard discus sound to keep, so I freaked out put my RD in there and cycled it with stability and hit the discus forums up for a whole year almost! I think I am ready to give it a shot now.

Anyways I have 57x18x30 (LXWXH) (133G) with 2 eheim 2217s running on it and a twin 54W T5HO light (hoping to grow a few swords and maybe some plant on a driftwood). When I got the tank made not knowing much the owner told me a black background would work best, reading into it seems discus will turn dull with that background! else they are white base, not sure how true this is?

So my plan is to stock with the following and do 30%-40% WC twice a week as it is a higher stock (hoping the plants and rummys will help) My PH sits at 7.6 aged or 7.2-7.4 aged with driftwood in the tank temps at 28C.

-8 albino discus (if this black background is true)
-50 rummys
-50 cardinals
-8-10 man clean up crew

I am not sure if it is wise to add them all at once also my RD is not full grown she is ruffly 7-9 inch, the tank is fully cycled, My back up plan is to steal one more filter of a larger fish tank or just add some media out of my sump to help!

** I will be upgrading to a 72x24x30 this year or late next year so most of the fish wont become to grown**

In regards to the black background, I have seen some tanks with tall vines and large driftwood blocking off some the background and the fish seem to show a deep red color but never setups with black and blue discus could it just effect the blue strains? I would love to change the background but its a vinyl one which would be a pain to remove and getting help lifting the tank is never easy seeing as I will be getting a new one in the coming year I dont mind waiting and buying some adult discus.

So what do you guys think of the plan? I am pretty sure I have covered every aspect :grinno:
 
Only noticed 2 things. 1st what size discus are you planning to get? And I dont know anything about lighting so...is this going to be a really bright tank? Albinos can be a bit light sensitive...normal lighting they are fine. Extreme lighting for a planted tank I'm not sure.
 
TNT77 said:
Only noticed 2 things. 1st what size discus are you planning to get? And I dont know anything about lighting so...is this going to be a really bright tank? Albinos can be a bit light sensitive...normal lighting they are fine. Extreme lighting for a planted tank I'm not sure.
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i was told by kenny his will adapt but then again his will adapt to anythin lol

but like said what size do you plan to get? to be honest with you i would wait on the new tank do a fishless cycle and then add all the fish at once. much safer. i notice that in my painted tank the pepper showered more and their color doesnt pop as much.whether it has to do with the background or not i would rather be safe than sorry. these are expensive fish and you wouldnt want to spend 2 grand and get black discus
 
I am hoping to get some 4-6 inch they will just be from the LFS so nothing special, I cant find any "breeders" here in aus most of them look healthy and are not stunted.

he lights not a real planted tank light its only low lighting going off WPG rule just fits under low lighting at that depth think only 40PAR, In order to do high lvl I need a MH which causes to many issues when taking into consideration the requirements discus require to be healthy.

I had them same idea with the new tank but I cant wait anymore! I will always have this tank and many more spares so if they do outgrow the tank theres always room to move them too and start a new one fresh if thats the best idea. as for fishless cycle I enjoy just taking cycled media adding it to w.e i am using stability and adding a stronger cichlid.
 
Squirtle919 said:
I am hoping to get some 4-6 inch they will just be from the LFS so nothing special, I cant find any "breeders" here in aus most of them look healthy and are not stunted.

he lights not a real planted tank light its only low lighting going off WPG rule just fits under low lighting at that depth think only 40PAR, In order to do high lvl I need a MH which causes to many issues when taking into consideration the requirements discus require to be healthy.

I had them same idea with the new tank but I cant wait anymore! I will always have this tank and many more spares so if they do outgrow the tank theres always room to move them too and start a new one fresh if thats the best idea. as for fishless cycle I enjoy just taking cycled media adding it to w.e i am using stability and adding a stronger cichlid.
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with adding the media and fish you risk adding disease. i do the same to start my tank but as far as discus goes i rather wait another month and do the fishless cycle just to be sure. but to each his own good luck on what u decide to do. 4-6 inch sounds like a good plan and lfs isnt the best option but if its your only option then theres nothing else u can do. i might try to contact some simplydiscus sponsors and see if they ship international
 
ahh cheers never been able to see the sponsor part for some reason I am banned from that site even though I never made an account ! theres a topic on there about getting discus in melbourne and they suggest the 2x LFS I was going to use, ones recommended the best in Melbourne so might just stick with them ive seen his fish before and they look great in my eyes most of the non discus fish I have off him are doing fine also so cant complain. Thanks though I might use it in the future if all goes well.
 
good luck man, from what im reading discus are easy to maintain after the intital start up. i think that the first few months are the hard part but once you have got it down then your good. im just wondering why you would get all plain white discus? why not adventure into some color and add a single white discus to offset the colors (thats what i plan on doing) and i think in a 133 you could get away with 10 discus. they would look far more spectacular in larger groups but it is your choice of course.
 
Well everyone tells me not to get anything colored with a black background :S I really want blue diamonds and red melons but if they background will off set them into a dull dark color Id rather wait, I might just give it a shot Worst comes to worst I have to some how peel off a vinyl and figure something out!

Not sure about 10, else I cut back on the tetra schools, going off the 10G rule that leaves 33G for 100 Tetras lol if it was with an "friendly" oscar sure but from what I get discus are fussy about water, maybe I could bump it to 3 changes per week, on simply discus they recommended a group of 6-8 can live in a 50G so I guess it might work I might start with 6 then add 2-4 later just encase better to lose a few eggs then your whole basket ;)
 
Squirtle919 said:
Well everyone tells me not to get anything colored with a black background :S I really want blue diamonds and red melons but if they background will off set them into a dull dark color Id rather wait, I might just give it a shot Worst comes to worst I have to some how peel off a vinyl and figure something out!

Not sure about 10, else I cut back on the tetra schools, going off the 10G rule that leaves 33G for 100 Tetras lol if it was with an "friendly" oscar sure but from what I get discus are fussy about water, maybe I could bump it to 3 changes per week, on simply discus they recommended a group of 6-8 can live in a 50G so I guess it might work I might start with 6 then add 2-4 later just encase better to lose a few eggs then your whole basket ;)
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why not just apply a 3d scape background as opposed to a plain black one? why should you have to sacrafice getting the fish you really want for something as small and changeable as a background. get the colorful fish you want and you will not have any regrets later. i honestly do think you should cut down on the schools of tetras because IMHO 100 tetras, although theyy are small they will amount to a huge fish in waste. but thats only my opinion of course and i do think it would look stunning. now the seond issue is that remember discus are cichlids and introducing more later on could cause trouble and its highly recommended that you introduce all discus at once. i am by no means an expert bit this is what i have read and heard on multiple sites.
 
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