Discus Tank Opinion

Morning Folks, as the title says I need some opinions on a discus tank I am currently building.

I have had cichlid's for over a year and this past winter did a number on the counties power lines and sadly I lost them due to no power....
So I decided I am going to start from scratch and build a Discus tank.I have a 75 tall with a couple of amazon swords and a couple more hardy plants. The tank is currently going through its cycle.
So I was thinking on getting about 5 Shrimp for algae control( if and when I see algae growth). A school of about 10 Cardinal Tetras, 5-10 Dwarf Cichlids( Most like German rams) and 3-4 Discus.....

Does any one see any complications with this build? The discus are my main fish so water parameters will be focused on them of course.

Thanks in advance for your wisdom.

 

Hey there

So first of all, do you know what filter you're planning on using? Filtration would be especially important with both the dwarf cichlids and discus. As for the shrimp, as algae cleaners in a 75 tall, they would not do a good job. I would recommend 1 or 2 bristle nose plecos for algae control.

 

4 discus is better than 3 in case they pair off. Dont want one oddball out to be bullied.

Provide several low ground covering plants if you want to put GBRs in as well as several smaller smooth rocks so they have places to center their territories around and lay their eggs. Also 5-10 may be too many in a 75 tall. The footprint is important for that many rams as they will want their own territories but I donr think you'll have the needed floor space for that many. Perhaps simple try four ( two m/f pairs) instead?

 

I was looking for a similar switch to stocking on my 75 gallon in near future once I am able to rehome my current stock of fishes. What would you folks suggest as the substrate? I have been reading about keeping discuss and mostly folks suggest bare bottom tank which I am not a big fan of also with stocking similar to the OP - what would be the recommended water change frequency on the tank? TIA

 

What is the gallon size of the tank your getting? Can you post a pic?

 

4 discus is better than 3 in case they pair off. Dont want one oddball out to be bullied.

Provide several low ground covering plants if you want to put GBRs in as well as several smaller smooth rocks so they have places to center their territories around and lay their eggs. Also 5-10 may be too many in a 75 tall. The footprint is important for that many rams as they will want their own territories but I donr think you'll have the needed floor space for that many. Perhaps simple try four ( two m/f pairs) instead?

Thank you for the advice, keeping 4 does sound like a better option when it comes to floor space. I do have some lava rocks and driftwood I can integrate into the tank. Would baby tears suffice as low ground covering plants? or is that too low.

What is the gallon size of the tank your getting? Can you post a pic?

75g tall, approximate measurements are 48"x 15 x

Hey there

So first of all, do you know what filter you're planning on using? Filtration would be especially important with both the dwarf cichlids and discus. As for the shrimp, as algae cleaners in a 75 tall, they would not do a good job. I would recommend 1 or 2 bristle nose plecos for algae control.

I have a cascade 700 for filtration, worked fine when I had about 20 cichlids in this tank.

 

What is your plan if you lose power again?

 

What is your plan if you lose power again?

If he goes without a power for a few days, it is not gonna' kill the fish....

 

If he goes without a power for a few days, it is not gonna' kill the fish....

it will if they have no heat which in my case, they didn't.

What is your plan if you lose power again?

Getting a generator this summer which should solve the problem

 

Ok good that should help a lot ecnalzaho

If he goes without a power for a few days, it is not gonna' kill the fish....

How will the fish survive without heat?

 

Ok good that should help a lot ecnalzaho

How will the fish survive without heat?

I lost power in NJ over the storm recently - my hot water is gas and was continued to work so I added warm water to the tank along with prime few times a day slowly not letting the tank go too cold. I got the power back in about a day so was fine. Big water tanks like 75 take time to cool down (and heat up ) Anyways OP said he would get a backup generator so should be fine

 

I was looking for a similar switch to stocking on my 75 gallon in near future once I am able to rehome my current stock of fishes. What would you folks suggest as the substrate? I have been reading about keeping discuss and mostly folks suggest bare bottom tank which I am not a big fan of also with stocking similar to the OP - what would be the recommended water change frequency on the tank? TIA

Sorry to crash on this thread but what about substrate for such a tank setup?

 

If you don't want to go barebaootom then sand is the way to go. A decent sand will keep the detritus from settling through it like gravel would. It can either then be easily vacced up off the surface of the sand (I kind of just hover the hose tip just above the surface and move slowly and it sucks it all up) or, if you have a power head and a skimmer or the like you can have enough flow along the bottom of the tank that it pushes most of the detritus towards one side/corner. And that is where you should have your skimmer intake or a filter intake.

 

I lost power in NJ over the storm recently - my hot water is gas and was continued to work so I added warm water to the tank along with prime few times a day slowly not letting the tank go too cold. I got the power back in about a day so was fine. Big water tanks like 75 take time to cool down (and heat up ) Anyways OP said he would get a backup generator so should be fine

O yes I have done this before

 

Sorry to crash on this thread but what about substrate for such a tank setup?

I got grow pro from .

Too early to tell how good it is, but the reviews are good.

 

Ok good that should help a lot ecnalzaho

How will the fish survive without heat?

Well......it can "acclimate" to the water until you put a heater in, then when you put the heater in it will get used t the warm water.