My 48" Tank

new to the site just thought i'd post a pic of my tank, just exchanged a fluval 4 internal filter for an eheim 2324 external thermo filter from ebay bought for about £75 which was a bargin, (which means i can get my heater out there too as the external heats the water too) wanting t5 lighting next so just saving up to get an arcadia 54w double controller would like some advice on bulbs but am thinking on having a blue one for night time.

currently the tank is a very happy tank and have had no deaths in a year, got 6 buenos aires tetras of which theres a pair that breed, 10 rummy nose tetras that shoal beuatifully, 8 neaons, 2 bronzed corys with fan tails, 2 other corys cant remember there names, 1 golden sucking loach - want to get him out and get a zebra plec, 2 clown loach and 3 v small getto loach. alot of fish but i think the filter can take it and i do 1/3 water change a week.

once i get the lighting i will fill the tank out with live plants, the substrate is (1) a bottom muddy substrate i was advised from the pfk magazine when they did a substrate column and (2) a top coating of very fine,black gravel type stuff which pfk also advised!

im unsure what type of cory's these two cool dudes are, but I have two bronze in there and wouldn't mind getting another more unusual couple in there in the near future.

nice tank.

i thought you said it had fine black gravel.

also what would complete that tank would be if you had a back round. personally i would paint it blue or black.

great lloking tank though

Looks good but with gravel and only a 1/3 water change weekly I'd only recommend keeping full grown Discus! How many gallons is the tank?

superman1 said:

nice tank.

i thought you said it had fine black gravel.

also what would complete that tank would be if you had a back round. personally i would paint it blue or black.

great lloking tank though

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Hiya, yes there is a mixed substrate in there with the fine black gravel underneath the other stuff as I liked this 'look' better. I have bought a planted background and a blue one and am deciding which one looks best at the moment. Also I have just orderd 36" discus plant collection and some mixed crypts from plants alive so am looking forward to taking out the plastics soon, once they arrive.

Thanks for your comments!

DiscusLova said:

Looks good but with gravel and only a 1/3 water change weekly I'd only recommend keeping full grown Discus! How many gallons is the tank?

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Hi! The tank is only a 29 gallon I think, 48"x15"x12" and I actually thought the filter would cope well with cleaning the water to keep young discus. Perhaps if I choose young ones I should do 1/2 tank water change weekly? I have just bought a hagen 54w double light unit which am looking forward to using when the bulbs arrive from lampspecs. I have only been using a single t8 unit.

Thanks for commenting!

I really hate to break it to ya but the tank is not suitable for Discus, big or small. Discus require a minimum tank size of 50 or 55 gallons.

You might be able to get away with growing juvy Discus out in that tank, for a short period but gravel and a 1/2 or 1/3 w/c weekly isn't suitable the fish will probably become stunted.

Maybe a pair of Angelfish would be better suited?

Just double checked, tanks about 37 or 38 gallons, are you sure you have the measurements right? 48 X 18 X 13 is a 50 gallon tank. If it is 37 gallons still not suitable though .

DiscusLova said:

I really hate to break it to ya but the tank is not suitable for Discus, big or small. Discus require a minimum tank size of 50 or 55 gallons.

You might be able to get away with growing juvy Discus out in that tank, for a short period but gravel and a 1/2 or 1/3 w/c weekly isn't suitable the fish will probably become stunted.

Maybe a pair of Angelfish would be better suited?

Just double checked, tanks about 37 or 38 gallons, are you sure you have the measurements right? 48 X 18 X 13 is a 50 gallon tank. If it is 37 gallons still not suitable though .

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Hey thanks for the reply! Yes you are right, the tank holds more water than I thought, it is quite a long tank but not particularly high or wide, I wish I could fit a bigger tank as most would. I once had 4 discus (about 3.5") in a 3 foot tank and two of them paired off and had young to the stage where they started free swimming then the parents ate them, which happend quite frequently, so the parents must of been happy enough to breed in a 3 foot tank. But I went to uni and had to give it up, which was about 7 years ago and now Im back into keeping fish. I also worked in a tropical fish shop when I was 16 for a year so got to see some stuff and thats what got me to believe a 4 foot tank would be ok to keep some discus. I do have a slight background with discus and keep the water quality very good. Angles become too aggressive in my eyes and definately would not be suited to this tank as they would take over and bully. I have had 10 rummy nose in this tank for a heck of a long time and they would give me a visual indicator to bad water or cramped surroundings im sure but they are doing very well. Any comments are much appreciated.

UPDATE the tank is now fully live plants and a blue background, thanks for the advice and with a few new fish 2 blue spotted corys, a redtail black shark and a german ram.

RTBS and ram, nice new additions, the shark is growing so fast, as did those geto botias

rtbs

Hi, there,

heres just a few problems i can see with your current setup/plans

- As said above the tank is a little on the small side for Discus, especially given that it is well stocked already

- Certain fish will struggle t survive in the temperatures that is required for Discus

- Certain fish are totally uncompatible with Discus, Buenos Airies are too boistrous and fin nippy, the Shark will be too aggressive when mature and may latch onto the Discus, The botias are also too boistrous and will stress out the Discus

- The eheim 2324 runs at 130gph which in a 37G means you have an average turnover of 3.5 x per hour, On your average setup you should be aiming for 5, whilst on a planted setup or a discus setup you should be aiming for 8 or more,

- In tanks with high temperatures that Discus require, circulation is extra important as oxygen levels will be lowered.

- one 50% water change per week is simply not enough with juvi Discus, They will more often than not become stunted

Hi there davo86, thankyou for your reply and helpful comments! Unfortunately I am begining to realise that yes this set-up will not be good enough for keeping the discus I want. I realised the buenos aries tetras were becoming nippy so I got rid of them but have perhaps been led into false pretenses as I have seen pictures of discus being kept in the same tank as a red tailed shark, loaches and so forth. How is this so?

When I bought the filter I actually thought it was more than powerful enough for the size of tank but as you say, it isnt so I will look at getting something bigger when I hopefully get a bigger tank, a 6x2x2 foot fingers crossed. This would be big enough for the discus correct? lol I would keep this tank in the outhouse and have the new tank in its place, time to convince the wife haha...

do you like the tank though