Gebhardt

Hi

In a discus tank with a sump how do one calculate water flow rate?
Tank 680lit and sump 95lit.

Thanks

peacemaker92

Hi Geb and Welcome To Fishlore!

Just wanna welcome you. Hope another member can help answer your question. Good luck!

aquarist48

Hello. 680 + 95 = 775L or 204g. As for your filtration a good guide is to have your gallons per hour (GPH) be 8 to 10 x your tank volume. So for a 204g tank I would suggest 1600 to 2000gph. Discus need pristine water conditions around the clock.

We have a member named Slug that raises Discus (he's over seas but still finds time to sign on) and hopefully he'll see this before too long.

Ken

DISCUS CARE SHEET

Gebhardt

hi all

Thanks for replys.
Aquarist48 i beg to dif a bit. I do believe that calculation is correct but i have read a lot of site and every one say that Discus like slow moving and fast moving is stressful.. so now i tam thinking of maybe 1.5 times. 1000lit at max.. but i am not exactly sure how fast.
in my normal tanks with angels and sharks I run my tanks at about 8 times.
And do sumps work best with faster flow or with slow water flow?

aquarist48

Hello Gebhardt. You may very well be correct. Slower filtration with more frequent water changes would probably be best and keep your water pristine as well. I'm going to send a private message to "Slug" with a link to this thread. He's in the military and deployed at the moment. the guy I mentioned above. Great discus keeper and here are a few of his threads/photos/:
Common Discus Strains & Abbreviations *UPDATED Added Albinos and Strain Photos*
Discus Updates
DISCUS CARE SHEET
I saw him on line early this morning and he may be headed back to the states and off line a few weeks. It's hard to say but I will try.
I hope you find the links above interesting. Keep us posted.
Ken

EDIT: I sent a Private message to Slug.

Slug

Hello Gebhardt, are you trying to figure out what pump to use or what equipment to use to achieve this?

To be honest with you, I like to keep things as simple as possible with my discus. And I honestly never calculate this, I just watch the fish. It is true they would rather not be blown around the tank or fight the current. I figure since you will be doing regular water changes anyway then you shouldn't need a lot of filtration, this is why you regularly see tanks running just sponge filters.

If you must calculate because you need to buy a pump, i'd look for something around the 2-4x volume in terms of gph. Assuming you're still doing your water changes and all. I think 3-4x is the average.

aquarist48

Thanks Slug. I appreciate it!
Ken

Gebhardt

Hi

Slug: Will a sump filter be as effective on a 4 X (will there be time for Nitrates to be reduced in fast moving water?) or is a 2X better for nitrates?

aquarist48

Hello Gebhardt. I've moved your thread to the Discus section of the forum. Slug is more likely to see it there I believe.
Ken