So for what seems like ages I've been waiting to get my largest tank yet, a 55 gallon. I guess my friend that was giving it to me thought it'd be a good idea to "surprise" me by leaving it on my bed. Only problem is there's now a giant crack in one of the corners...she said that when it was being put In she does remember it "bumping" into the door frame but didn't see the 1 foot crack. Oh well, It was free anyways....now I've halted my plans on upgrading my shrimp tank, and am saving some money for a new 55...I've never owned anything bigger than a 30 gallon, and I think it's time I go acrylic. I had been planning on putting the tank on a counter top, but I've decided I'll be purchasing a stand for it as well...I still have the canister filter, heater, sand, and plants that she gave me with the tank, just no tank. The tentative plan so far has been discus. Since day 1 of fish keeping I've always wanted discus..I know 55 is really the absolute bare minimum, but I'll do whatever it takes just for a few discus.
Soooo this was my plan, thoughts on my maintenance routine, better ideas as far as numbers would be appreciated
x4-6 discus. I was thinking I'd be starting with 4" discus, if there's a discus expert could you please advise me what size I should purchase, because I know smaller discus are very fragile...however, I don't want to buy large expensive discus and have them live only a few years.
X4 German blue rams
X12 cardinal tetra
X8 sterbai corydora
I plan on getting some stone from a trader in San francisco, and having short plants such as baby tears, hair grass, and perhaps some glosso. I guess you could say I'm creating an iwagumi style tank. I was planning on using various seachem products for ferts, and I was wondereing if the discus would be fine with these..I normally don't use regular co2, I use liquid co2 as I've heard the ph can swing, but if that's a good idea I'll look into that too.
My water is on the alkaline side, so before I get this setup I plan on getting an RO system. Can someone advise me on how much tap/RO mix I should use? My tap is reading about 7.2 after a day of sitting. Also a good RO system if anyone has experience with one.
On to maintenance, I'm not sure how much water I should be changing. I was thinking 30% every other day, and topping off with RO or tap?
By the time I have the funds for this project it'll probably be well into September, as i just set aside about 2 years savings for a trip to Europe with my girlfriend come July.
Ok, this post has been much lengthier than I intended, and I'll be surprised if I get much feedback..I realize I'm a novice when it comes to discus, but I'm ready to learn first hand.
Soooo this was my plan, thoughts on my maintenance routine, better ideas as far as numbers would be appreciated
x4-6 discus. I was thinking I'd be starting with 4" discus, if there's a discus expert could you please advise me what size I should purchase, because I know smaller discus are very fragile...however, I don't want to buy large expensive discus and have them live only a few years.
X4 German blue rams
X12 cardinal tetra
X8 sterbai corydora
I plan on getting some stone from a trader in San francisco, and having short plants such as baby tears, hair grass, and perhaps some glosso. I guess you could say I'm creating an iwagumi style tank. I was planning on using various seachem products for ferts, and I was wondereing if the discus would be fine with these..I normally don't use regular co2, I use liquid co2 as I've heard the ph can swing, but if that's a good idea I'll look into that too.
My water is on the alkaline side, so before I get this setup I plan on getting an RO system. Can someone advise me on how much tap/RO mix I should use? My tap is reading about 7.2 after a day of sitting. Also a good RO system if anyone has experience with one.
On to maintenance, I'm not sure how much water I should be changing. I was thinking 30% every other day, and topping off with RO or tap?
By the time I have the funds for this project it'll probably be well into September, as i just set aside about 2 years savings for a trip to Europe with my girlfriend come July.
Ok, this post has been much lengthier than I intended, and I'll be surprised if I get much feedback..I realize I'm a novice when it comes to discus, but I'm ready to learn first hand.
