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Planning on a new Discus Aquarium. Few questions and costing

W

W1368

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22 Sep 2010
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After getting frustrated with an old Juwel Rio 125 tank (only 1wpg lighting) I think its about time to go full out with a new aquarium.

Anyway, the plan is to place this in a living room (seems a shame to be spending so much time on the current tank and not being able to fully appriate it).

So far I've worked out the following (costs are rough):
Juwel Rio 300+Cabinet £625
External Fluvel 405 filter £92.00
Plants £150
Glass diffuser & bubble counter, non-return valve £45
Air pump £20
CO2 refillable cylinder £120
Plant substrate £20
Gravel/Sand £20
Couple of jerry cans for easier water changes £20
Total comes to around 1.1K

Monthly running cost about £30, for tap water condinitioner, ferts, food, CO2 etc.

4 Discus fish £140, asumming around £35 each.

I'd rather have a Fluvel profile tank although the tank will be placed into a corner, for some hidious reason the cabinet doors on the profile series open at the sides. I looked at other tanks but the lighting was poor.

The Rio 300 now comes with a new hood holding 4 T5s giving about 3wpg.

Sureley there must be a cheaper way????

For keeping the discus fish for display purposes only, my tap water has is 12GH and 5kh. Will they withstand this in the long term?

Would 3wpg be too high lighting for the discuss fish, I hear there natural habital is more murkey darkish water?

Would there be much advantage running the internal Juwel filter as well as the extermal? I'd prefer to remove the internal for more space.

Could the cycling time ber shorter by using some of the aqurium water in my existing aquarium? I wouldn't be too bothered about the risk of diseases as I would like to transfer over some of my current tetra's.

Is there anything else I should know?

Cheers for your time.
 
Re: Planning on a new Discus Aquarium. Few questions and cos

I would opt for a tank that is higher in depth as discus prefer a tall tank rather than a long tank.
Although there is nothing wrong with the rio 300. Have you thought about sourcing a second hand tank? I have seen lots of rio 240-300 tanks about on gumtree and ebay over the last 6 months.

You can remove the internal filter, but extra filter is always nice because it makes use that if you needed to clean one of the filters then the internal one can compensate for any problems. You can shorten the cycling by using mature filter pads for either the internal or the external, but its always good for the tank to be tested before putting in fish like discus. I have more than 10x the needed filtration rate in my 180l tank.

I found rios are easy to change lighting if you ever need to because you can simply get a T5 starter unit and then add clips. You will be able to do these very straight forward. Discus dont mind light, but if scared they prefer some vegetation to hide in, but a healthy discus can be ok in good lighting.

Are you buying new discus? Will it be from a breeder or a LFS? Its best to quarentine discus and also for them to be used to the water parameters before introducing to the other fishes.

Have you kept discus before? Best to do some good background reading on these. Also the purpose of keeping 4 discus as discus prefer to be kept in a bigger group to cull agression.

I have a 180l tank and had 1 lonley discus which I rehomed from a friend. It was being picked on and over time I introduced 5 juvenile discus into the tank.

I now have 2 discus left and they are about to moved into my bigger 350l tank.
 
Re: Planning on a new Discus Aquarium. Few questions and cos

Also check where the discus are from. If they are German ones, they usually are fine in the harder water. But if the discus are from asia then prefer softer water which means either using RO to cut the water or posibly a peat alternative to lower.

For tap conditioning, its worth while to invest in some pond conditioner as they are able to sell in bigger bottles and you need alot less to condition the water. I currently use Seachem Prime and it is fine for my discus.

Also to keep costs low you might want to look at Fire Extinguisher set up as it will be cheaper in the long run. Do a search on the forum.

Good luck!
 
Re: Planning on a new Discus Aquarium. Few questions and cos

mlgt said:
Are you buying new discus? Will it be from a breeder or a LFS? Its best to quarentine discus and also for them to be used to the water parameters before introducing to the other fishes.

Have you kept discus before? Best to do some good background reading on these. Also the purpose of keeping 4 discus as discus prefer to be kept in a bigger group to cull agression.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info and advice, much appriciated. This will be my first time keeping discus. I'm currently researching them. There is a LFS stocking some discus that I do trust due to their knowlage and quality of stock, I have seen an online supplier but they seem a bit pricey http://wormerplus.co.uk/retail_shop/index.php
 
Re: Planning on a new Discus Aquarium. Few questions and cos

If its your first time then do read up about it, but most of the information is relevant, but in some cases even if you neglect them in foul water they will survive. But of course its torture and not advised.

Be sure that you are aware during the growing stage regular water changes are needed. I performed 3 water changes a week in my 180l tank and fed the juveniles beefheart every day 3-5 times a day.

However if it is a planted tank and other fishes will clean up the mess it isnt so bad. But that is where the fitlration comes in.

More filtration is better for them, and as I said depending where the fish source is from the seller should advise you of their parameters. To ensure longevity then try to get the same parameters and keep the water clean for them. This will allow quick growth.

Growing discus emit some chemicals in the water which can "stunt" growth in the weaker ones. Plymouth discus have a great reputation so I am sure if you are buying from them you will get good quality discus.

Where are you based? Also another thing to think about is is your other fishes compatible with discus? Discus can demand high tempretures of 30c+

I currently keep mine at 27c and took a year to slowly get them to adapt, but monitor them closely. If there are any signs of problems I normally perform a big water change and up the temp to 30c and above. Therefore its important to see what other livestock and plants you intend to keep in the tank.
 
You might want to look at the new clearseal range of tanks
Nice cabinets and matching hoods in different wood finishes
My 5 - 2 - 2 footer only cost me £550 and I think a better finish than the jewels only downside is no equipment
so you have to get lights filter and heater
Matt
 
Re: Planning on a new Discus Aquarium. Few questions and cos

Hi mate,

Jump on facebook and talk to a guy called "Andrew Soh", he is the king of discus mate in the world, he has a book called "Discus The Naked Truth".. the best read for Discus on the market, I have had Discus for 15 years now, and breed them here in somerset.. I have some top fish if you are looking and can help if you have any questions, But I am still learning about this plant lark, Found it hard to keep a good planted tank with Discus in, needs a lot of cleaning cos there are very messie fish at feed time... Need to feed them at least four to five times a day, to get the best out of them and they need about 10 gal each, and do not keep less than six to seven fish... Have Fun.. :thumbup:
 
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