How to Set Up a Discus Aquarium (Filtration, Water Chemistry, and More)
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- čas přidán 22. 03. 2016
- The discus in my aquarium are Stendker discus from Hans. You can purchase them from his online store here: (discusfishstore.com). The 6 in my tank include a Cobalt, Blue Pigeon Blood, Brilliant Turquoise, Checkerboard, Fire Red, and Leopard.
Water Chemistry:
Temp 84-85 degrees
pH 6.8-6.9
Total Hardness 25-50 ppm
Nitrate Level 5-10 ppm
Nitrite Level 0 ppm
Ammonia Level 0 ppm
Discus Aquarium Component Breakdown:
60 gallon aquarium - $200
Aquarium plumbing - $25
200 Watt Fluval "E" Series Heater - $50
50 lbs hth pool filter sand - $10
SUNSUN JVP series circulating fans (2) - $15
48" Finnex Planted+ 24/7 LED Light - $150
48" Finnex Monster Ray LED Light - $ 150 (optional)
Fluval 306 canister filter - $150 (optional)
Eshopps RS100 Sump - $230
10 lbs Miracle Mud 2 - $40
Aqua Top 2600 Pump - $45
Aqua UV 15 Watt Advantage+ - $130 (optional)
Pinpoint pH Monitor - $90 (optional)
AquaFX Barracuda - $170
TOTAL COST OF MY DISCUS AQUARIUM SETUP - $1455 ($935 without the optional equipment)
Thanks for watching! Let me know if you have any questions!
One of the best videos about discus I have seen. Very real, true and honest the 60 gallon is good.
Thanks
Thanks for the kind words!
They are beautiful, I'm in awe!
Thanks!
Great video mate. One of the best I’ve seen. Awesome looking fish too
Thanks!
Thx for the video. I really enjoyed your point of view.
+Codak Provision Thanks for the comment, glad you liked it!
Great info! I'm getting ready to set up my 85gal discus tank
Thanks! Congrats on the new tank! Take plenty of time with the setup to get it just the way you want and it will provide you years of enjoyment!
wow i'm over the moon can't wait to start mine
Very nice discus fish 👍🏻 , nice set up too
Thanks!
thanks for such a great video, use to be in to salt water tanks but got out of it long story. but your video
has me wanting to do a set up like your...thanks
Thanks for the comment! I had a saltwater setup in the distant past as well, but have since concentrated on discus and African cichlid tanks.
I am looking to get Discus , great video. I need to do some homework and watch your video a few more times. So much information 😁
Thanks for the comment! Let me know if you have any questions!
Great video! Beautiful and perfect tank!
Thanks for the comment!
Really good job on your tank. very nice!
Thanks for the comment!
get looking fish man awesome color,t thanks for all the info, see u on the next video👍
Thanks for the comment!
thank you for your reply.
Great looking fish
Thanks!
Great video. I subscribed and I am looking forward to seeing more videos!
Thanks! It's been quite a while since I posted a video. I need to do an update on this and maybe a video on pressurized CO2.
Absolutely beautiful!! 🥰
Thanks!
So glad I found this video. I have been researching Discus aquarium setups and this video truly gave me great ideas. I was wondering if you have any updates on you setup since this was done 3 years ago. Thank you
Thanks for the comment and I'm glad the video helped! The tank is still up and the same discus are in it. If I could go back and make a few changes to the video I would probably add/change the following:
1. I still like refugiums and would recommend them for tanks that are lightly planted or mostly hardscape. However, if the tank is heavily planted, I would go with a wet-dry filter instead (easier to maintain and no light required which may help with algae control). A refugium is probably overkill for a heavily planted aquarium as there are already a bunch of plants filtering the water in that way. I have since switched to a wet-dry filter (eshopps wd-125cs).
2. Stable pH can be a great indicator of water stability, but KH is probably better. Shortly after this video was made I added pressurized CO2 and feel it was the best addition to the tank. Not only do the plants thrive, but algae is essentially non-existent. When running CO2, pH levels temporarily change making KH a better measure of stability.
3. Skip the UV filter. Some people swear by them, but I ended up removing it. I can't remember how much I spoke of it in the video, but after a while I removed it and noticed no real change in the health of the fish.
Those are the things that come to mind. Let me know if you have any questions!
thanks for your help again. I just got my discus acclimated and they're in the tank. Looks like they're doing fine.
No problem! Glad to hear they're doing well!
Excellent info, thanks.
Thanks!
Such an amazing video thank you for that
Thanks for the comment!
beautiful tank man!
Thanks!
That’s a very pretty tank. Great fish selection too.
One thing I would say is overblown is the need for softer acidic water. My water is at 7.7 and my Discus are perfect. They are even breeding but since I’m not interested in rearing fry they never survive. Clean, stable water with very low nitrates is the key. Also keeping water warm at around 85 degrees.is very helpful.
Thanks for the comment! I would agree that in the video I was probably too focused on pH. It's more of a stability issue. I think if the average tank aims for a pH of 6-7 and keeps it stable that would be ideal for any discus they choose to keep. A warmer tank is ideal, but I've found that if I'm trying to keep a community setup the best temp for everything is more in the low 80's (82-83). While the discus like 85, a lot of the other fish I've kept with them don't haha. Thanks again for the comment!
Agree with everything you noted there. I keep my water extra warm because it raises their metabolism.and makes them hungrier to help them grow out quicker.
The rasborras, cardinals and cories in with them are fine with the increased temperatures.
Gonna use this for my 55 gallon.. thanks!
Thanks for the comment! Glad the video helped!
Awesome tank thank you so much for this
+Involved Spirit Thanks! I'm glad it was helpful.
Great info.
Very helpful info.. I am in a process of setting up the tank and always seeking good advise...
seems like a bit more work then my piranhas.. 🤔
Great content 👍🏻
Subbed 👊🏻
Thanks for the comment! Sorry it took so long to respond, I didn't see the comment until today.
What a beautiful setup and awesome video. Thank you.
Thanks!
Omaha??? Nice!!! I used to live in Omaha. I'm in Columbus now. Would love to start keeping a couple discuss. Thanks for the video!!!
No problem, thanks for the comment!
Excellent video. I currently keep African cichlids (mbuna) and do a weekly water change, but on a trip it has gone to 2 weeks. Mbuna are very hardy, fast moving fish (some would say aggresssive), so they do very well with a weekly water change. I always wanted to keep discus and Africans and I have had the mbuna for 3 years now. The very frequent water changes necessary to keep Discus is the only reason I am hesitant to try Discus.
Dean Morier Thanks for the comment! I've kept African cichlids off and on for years and have a 75 gallon setup right now that's been together for about 3 years. They are definitely hardy fish and fun to keep! Once a discus tank is well established and the fish are mature, you can back your water changes off some. I've been changing mine about once a week now for the past several months without issue. The tank is well-established and I have extra filtration which certainly helps.
Thank you! Great info.
No problem, glad it helped!
Awesome tank thank you so much for info :) :)
Thanks for the comment! Glad it helped!
Thank you sir! Liked and subbed!
Beautiful aquarium the discus look splendid iam getting back into this wonderful hobby after been away from it for some years, I had splendid results keeping discus and breeding them. Iam getting a 180L aquarium for my discus and going to start off with cardinal tetras aswell a really nice complinatry fish too discus IMHO. Thanks for sharing your video really and truly a beautiful setup.
Thanks for the comment and good luck with the new setup!
@@discus1018 Thank you, at the moment iam cycling a 54L aquarium
Thanks for all the good information!
+Kassie Parr Thanks!
tres belle aquarium
Thanks!
I worked at many fish stores, we use the same drill bits you would at home from Home Depot or Lowes.
One of the best presentation I've seen. How do you keep the same Ph level? How and what do you use to feed the Discus?
Thanks! My pH level fluctuates some, from about 6.7-7.1. Frequent water changes help keep it stable. The pH starts out around 7.1 after the water change and slowly drops to 6.7-6.8 before the next change. When I'm out of town, I leave a bucket of dechlorinated tap water by the tank and a neighbor feeds the fish and puts 2 glasses of the tap water in per day. My tap water is alkaline, so this adds a small amount of buffer each day to help keep the water stable while I'm gone. I feed them a combination of blood worms, beef heart and brine shrimp (mostly beef heart). They usually get fed twice/day and do well. I need to make a new batch of beef heart soon, so I'll try to make a video of the recipe and add it to my channel. Hope that helps!
Beautifull healthy discus
Thanks!
subscribed cause you said you were in omaha! thats cool i live in lincoln and you never really see people from nebraska.
I kept discus for years. I started in the late 70's when I could only buy wild caught discus. Nowadays I am hearing people give inaccurate advice. However, you are the first person, who explains clearly for people starting out, just what it takes to know their discus and the water parameters needed to keep them happy. Just look at your happy and healthy fish! Keep it up. I am sure you discus will grow and be healthy for years to come. BTW A couple of Chinese algae eaters will clear the algae growing on the plants. Well done.
Thanks for the comment!
Chinese algae eaters are about the worst thing you can put into a discus tank. The adults get massive and start to eat other fish, especially wide flat fish like discus.
I switched to EI dosing of ferts and run pressurized CO2 and have had no algae issues since.
That's quite beautiful
Thanks!
Thank you for sharing Discus101.
Beautiful fish and a great set up. And a very concise and helpful video. 👍🏻
I want to have a discus tank in my family room. One of my concerns is that I have two little ones who love running around. Is noise and too much activity a problem?
Omer Syed, Thanks! My tank is in our family room and we have an active dog that runs around it quite a bit. For the most part, it doesn't seem to bother the fish, but if the kids are likely to tap on the glass or bump into it much, then you may want to set it up somewhere else. I like mine in the family room because we spend so much time there. If I put it somewhere else, I wouldn't see the fish nearly as much.
nice tank bro...!!
Thanks!
awesome info thanks for everything. I made a custom made tank 240lt with inside sump and a canister filter eheim 2215 with uv light. In the tank do i need an air stone pump i am beginner with discus
I’m thinking about upgrading my 90 community tank. That would leave me with a 90 that I could keep discus. I have never had them but I’m seriously thinking about it. New sub😁
You should go for it! If you buy from a well-known breeder they are typically hardier than many people think.
Discus do much better if kept with other discus. Cardinal tetras in large schools are a beautiful addition to a planted discus tank. Make sure you do it right the first time.No other fish have given me as much satisfaction as have discus.
i only use sponge filter and water change once a week 40% sometimes only 20% no check this check that and cleaning once a month , my discus are alright and healthy, your maintenance seems so complicated lol
Is your tank fully planted with substrate?
great video. Real nice fish. Can you tell me how you acclimate your discus?
Thanks! My discus were shipped overnight from Baltimore. I placed the unopened bags in the aquarium for about 10 minutes. I then opened them and added a small amount aquarium water to each bag (about 1 cup) every 5 minutes. I believe I repeated this 5-6 times and then used a net to move the fish from the bag to the aquarium. Make sure not to dump the water from the transport bag directly into the aquarium!
I’m in Omaha area too. Wanting to set up new tank in next few months.
Sounds good! The new Fish Freaks store has good selection for supplies and tanks. They sell discus, but I would stick to some of the big name dealers out there instead (Stendker, Kenny's Discus, etc).
Very pretty and round discus. How big were they when you put them in this tank? Have they grown since this was filmed?
Thanks for the comment! They were 3-4" when put into the tank. The biggest ones are roughly 7" now.
Thank you for the video. Beautiful fish! One thing that I wondered about was, even though you do have one fish per gallon of water, plus some tets, the discus seem to be cramped into the tank and interacting with each other, not in a good way. Possibly there is too much going on in the tank as far as the number of plants, decor, etc., taking up space that the discus need???
Thanks for the comment! The tank is a little overstocked for its size and content, but the discus seem to interact ok to me. Even in a larger aquarium they will chase each other from time to time. In a smaller setup they may chase a little more often, but I've never seen it as too extreme. They're cichlids in the end and while they are more passive than many of their cousins, they can still be a little aggressive and territorial! That being said, a larger setup would be ideal in almost every way, but I was limited on the space where the tank had to be placed.
@@discus1018 Thank you!
You forgot to tell the right temperature please
Amazing video
Amazing tank
Awesome fish
👏🏽👏🏽
My tank is set at 84°F (29°C), but you will see ranges of 82-86°F (28-30°C) with most people keeping discus at 84-86°F (29-30°C).
Go Huskers, Creighton prep, and BT.
Omg soo pretty!
Thanks!
Great video! Just bought my first two discus from Hans! Also live in Omaha out west by the way. I have added my discus to a 120 gallon community tank. With all tap water, tank runs 7.8 (only because I am diligent about water changes or it might be much lower). I keep it pristine with nitrates well under 20. It's not planted, but decorated sand/blackwater style with tons of driftwood and tannins. At the moment, I use less RO than you mentioned at this point but would appreciate any feedback since you also use MUD water. Fish seem fine with just a touch of RO and mostly relying on tannins. Experienced with tanks, newer to discus.
Thanks for the comment! I've actually cut back on the RO water some and use about 30% RO with 70% tap. This gives me a KH of around 4 in my tank. I've also added pressurized CO2 since this video was made. Given the KH level and goal CO2 level, my pH sits around 6.7-6.8 (I use a pH monitor to help keep my pH and CO2 stable). The nice thing about discus from Hans is they are raised in a pH 7.0 and tolerate a fairly wide range of water parameters.
Holy crap, keeping discus in the US is expensive! I set up a 65 gallon tank with six discus here in china, and spent less than $100 including all the fish. Granted, I did DIY lighting, free substrate and just a simple sponge filter, but still. Anyway, great info here, and the fish look excellent. Thanks!
Thanks for the comment! There are many ways to set up a discus aquarium, some cheaper than others. The DIY project and sponge filter certainly save a bunch of money, but as the discus get older I think the refugium setup provides a more stable environment. In the US you would be hard pressed to find quality discus in the 4" size for less than $100 each. There are used aquariums out there that can be purchased cheap, but a new 60 gallon aquarium in the US will run you $150-200 (not including substrate, filters, etc.). Thanks again for the comment!
Sure, thanks for the response! I am planning on moving back to the US eventually. Setting up a new discus tank seem daunting because of the pricing. I got my tank second hand for like $15, the lighting cost me about $10. My discus range between 3.5 and 5.5 inches, not precisely sure as I haven't measured them. They were a half inch or so smaller when I bought them, and cost about $60 for the group of six, but one of them has bad genetics. It's stunted and has a twisted mouth so it can't eat very well. It's a San Merah I think (all reddish orange), so it looks like a football. Poor thing. The Chinese are not the best for animal welfare. the tank I bought them out of was way overstocked. It's getting a bit bigger, but I don't think it will ever achieve full potential since it only succeed on eating about 1/3 of the things it tries to bite. Okay...rambling now. Thanks again~
No problem! Good luck on the move and thanks again for the comment!
great discus you got in there. just want to ask are you using 60 gallon marineland tank which has a 12.5 x 48 x 25 in size? i have same one. currently running on one 406 for 9 discus. can i add another 406? just for added filtration.
Thanks for the comment! My tank is the same as yours. You have a few options for filtration: You could add a 406 and that would be plenty, but I prefer to have different types of filtration if I can. A few other choices would be a refugium with a HOB overflow box (assuming the tank is not drilled) or a simple HOB filter. These can help with oxygenation and provide some surface agitation to keep from getting a biofilm on the water.
Those are some awesome fish plz check out air discus and man that is one nice setup oh yeah are those real plants
Thanks! Yes, they are real plants.
Gorgeous fish. Where'd you get the purplish one? Wow.
Thanks for the comment! I bought all of my discus from Hans (www.discus-hans-usa.com). They are expensive, but you get what you pay for!
Love the fish at 4:16. It's so fluorescent. What do you use to keep the tank so clean? -Sophia
Thanks! I think the aquarium looks better today than it did when I made this video! I've dialed back the lighting some and have everything balanced so algae is minimal now. To keep the glass as clear as possible, I wipe it down with a rough cloth from the inside every time I clean it and then use a scraper to keep get rid of any stubborn algae. The lighting also helps give the fish a glow, but I've switched to a fluval 3.0 and dialed it back some. The fish still look great, but there's not quite as much red glow as I had with the color enhanced light of the finnex monster ray.
Sweet Looking Tank, My questions are 1- How many discus should one keep together? ; 2. How long was your tank up/running before you added your discus? ; 3. Did you add all 6 at the same time?
Thanks! I would keep no fewer than 5-6 together. Less than that and aggression may become an issue. Form there, it depends on tank size. For a rough estimate, you can typically keep 1 discus/10 gallons. If I remember correctly, my tank was up for about 4 months before adding discus. I had Corys and Neons in the tank for several months before adding the discus as well. Obviously, it's important to watch your water parameters very closely after adding fish to make sure the tank is not stressed. I actually added them in groups of 3 about 1-2 weeks apart. It was probably overly cautious, but I wanted to see how the tank would handle the additional fish. Stendker discus are not cheap and I wanted to make sure nothing would go wrong. Most people would probably say to put the 6 in at the same time. Hope that helps!
Hey man! Great video. Great info, great display, beautiful and healthy fish and all of that under 10 minutes. PERFECT. I really badly want a discus. I already have 2 freshwater aquariums and I think I'll be able to take on the challenge of looking after discus. The only thing that discourages me is the price. Are they really worth it? I found some cheap baby discuses in Melbourne (where I live) but they don't look as round and as nice as the expensive ones. What would you recommend?
I meant under 20 minutes. My bad. Good luck with your fish keeping
Thanks for the comment! I would encourage you to spend the extra money to obtain discus from a well-respected breeder. Although it is more money up front, you will know you are getting quality fish that, if kept in proper conditions, will provide years of enjoyment. I have an African cichlid aquarium and Southeast Asian aquarium as well and can tell you that my discus tank is hands down my favorite. So for me, it is worth the extra cost and time commitment to keep the fish. From what you described, my only caution to you would be that juvenile discus typically require more water changes and stricter control of water parameters than adults. Thus, they can be a little more "fragile." You may want to look to see if some of your local breeders offer fish in the 4" range as they will likely be hardier and easier to keep if it's your first time (although more expensive). Not something that's a must, just a suggestion.
juvenile discuss are not round, when they get bigger, thats when you will know they are round or football shape. You need to be careful with juvies too because you cant really tell yet if their growth is stunted, their are signs like eyes are too big, head is too thing,fish is not aggressive, fins are always kept. it took me months to decide to buy a discus, so I started with 4, and so far, im getting the hang on the maintenance and feeding them 3 full meals a day.
Dank Memovich
Good info for me as I am setting up a 150. Regarding Miracle Mud or Flourite substrate, would it be beneficial to layer it under sand? I am planning Amazon plants, Dwarf Hair Grass and Mangrove
Generally speaking, layering is not necessary. My aquarium has changed some since this video and is now dutch-ish in style with Anacharis, Ludwigia, Rotala, TIger Lotus and Amazon Swords. I still use only pool filter sand and the plants are doing great (maybe too well as they have started to take up too much room). I have added CO2 and provide ferts several times a week, though. For an aquarium, I would go with Fluorite if you want to layer though. I've used it in the past and it does not stir up nearly as easily as Miracle Mud. I like Miracle Mud in refugiums, but not in the main tank. Hope that helps!
I’m in nebraska to
Liked and subbed
Thanks!
Thanks for the information, one last thing...how big were the discus when you got them, 4+ inches?
No problem! I bought them at 4".
Where did you get the flexible tubing? Awesome tank!
Thanks! The tubing from the drain to the sump came with the Eshopps sump. You can purchase the same thing here: www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=18365&cmpid=03cseYY&ref=6194&subref=AA&cmpid=PLA_G_6194&gclid=CJ2uzrHHrtQCFUi1wAodDlgB7A. The tubing from the pump back to the tank was purchased at a local fish store.
Discus101 can it be cut to size needed or will that mess up end connection?
I believe it would mess up the connection. It comes in several lengths, so you can order the size that's closest to what you need and it should work out.
Gorgeous tank and fish... My only suggestion would be Cardinals rather than Neons... Cardinals tolerate hot water better.
Thanks for the comment and good suggestion! I should have gone with Cardinals, but the local store only had Neons. Next time I will probably order Cardinals online instead.
@@discus1018 I had to order mine too. LFS only rarely get them
Wow. You r amazing but u scared me off about raising discus 😫
But then again I’m learning at this point. I think I’ll just start with angels. Maybe down the road I’ll take on Discus
Thanks for the comment! Angels are a great fish to start with. If you buy discus from a reputable breeder they will often be hardier. You could also go with a setup that is less complicated than mine. This is what works for me, but doing a single wet/dry filter should work well if you have a planted tank. Also, I would start out with adult discus first as they are much easier to care for than juveniles.
Very nice video and thank you for your time. Ok if you put I think 60% of ro water and 40% of tap water to buffer it when you do a water change how do you make your water is it all tap water or all to water or is it 60% to 40% ratio?How do you hold your pH?
The amount of r/o water I need to achieve the stable pH I was looking for has changed since this video was made. Following water changes I like my pH to be 6.9-7.0 and this requires about 20% r/o water for my conditions. I keep a basin of pure r/o water ready in the laundry room and when I'm ready to make water changes, I use a 5 gallon bucket. I add roughly 20% r/o water first and then fill the rest up with tap water. I add the chlorine remover and then pour it into the tank. At this time, I usually change 25-30 gallons once a week, so that takes about 5-6 buckets.
To answer your second question, the pH will tend to hold fairly steady with the buffer provided by tap water. You can check the pH and kH of your tap water and if it's like mine, there are plenty of carbonates to help buffer your tank. Most municipal water supplies have more CaCO3 in them than you need and that's where the r/o water helps. If your water is already at a pH of 7 and has a reasonable amount of CaCO3 in it then you may not need r/o water. I don't talk about kH in the video, but it is worth watching your kH values from time to time to make sure they are stable as this is the driving factor for a stable pH. If your kH values are too low you may start to have issues with wild pH swings. Hope that helps!
hello again, what do you think of peppering, is it more a low quality genetic issue or a environment problem. It seems like you have a dark background and your pigeon is fine......I've seen some pigeon juveniles with peppering going on and the breeder says with a light background it will clear up somewhat..
Thanks for the comment! Peppering is usually more of an environmental issue in my opinion. My pigeon bloods have some small amounts of peppering, but not significant. If the background was changed to a lighter color the peppering would usually improve some, but I don't think I've ever seen it go completely away. If the juveniles you are looking at have quite a bit of peppering without dark substrate or a dark background in their current tank, I would probably be a little hesitant to buy them as I'm not sure it would improve after being placed in a different tank.
nice tank, when you added fish to the tank did you add all 6 discus at the same time? I have a 66 gallon tank, how should I stock the tank, all at once? or 2 at a time?
thks
Thanks! I added the discus in 2 groups of 3 fish. There had already been Corys and Neons in the tank for several months prior to adding the discus, but I decided to put 3 in to start and add the second group of 3 about 2-3 weeks later. This allowed me to watch my water quality for signs of trouble after adding the first 3 discus. Some people would tell you that only adding 3 discus at a time may lead to one of the discus being singled out and picked on (obviously, the more fish in the aquarium, the more the aggression is distributed and the less chance a single fish has of being harmed), but as long as you plan on reaching a total of 5-6 discus within 3-4 weeks, I don't believe the aggression problem will be that big of a deal. It certainly wasn't for me. However, I would start with 3 so there is at least a little dispersion of the aggression. Only adding 3 at a time may be overly cautious, but when spending the kind of money that Stendker discus cost, I'd rather watch my water quality closely and put less stress on the tank while it adjusts. Just my two cents... Hope that helps!
hello, what size discus did you purchase from Hans (how many inches were the fish?) $$$? aprox, thks!
nice
Thanks!
Can you set up a discus tank with a decent external filter? Or is a sump etc essential? Thanks
You can use a good external filter for a discus tank. A lot of good discus tanks use a refugium to provide the most natural filtration and stable environment, but a properly maintained external filter can work as well.
One day I'll have the space to set up a large tank for Discus, preferably a big 230 gallon or so. One day.....
A_Frame Pleasantries has that day come yet?
Can discus tolerate more than 30 degree celcius and in 90 gallons tank how many can be kept
Nice set up - I've watched a few of these Discus video's & most seem to recommend using RO water. I've been using rainwater for years with no problems giving a PH neutral result & adding tapwater as a buffer. Is this because US discus keepers are compensating for intermittent rainfall where they live ?
+113497339155026066862 Thanks for the comment! Using rainwater in place of RO water is a great idea. I think the primary reason people in the US use RO filters is the convenience. Part of it would certainly be intermittent rainfall and changing weather temps as well. Where I live we have summer temps that get up to 38° C and routinely have winter temps around -10° C. We can also go weeks sometimes without precipitation. In the end, it's just more convenient to use an RO filter and have a constant/predictable supply.
Yorky One look, when getting fish that are 5 times or more removed from the wild, you don't need ro water unless your ph is 8.0 or something like that. A lot of discus are raised in tap water and do just fine. I refuse to use a bunch of plumbing and use ro water for my discus. I do water changes once a month. Mine are 7.5 inches and that's fine with me.
Thanks for the reply! The water in Omaha has a pH over 8. As I say in the video (I think) the breeder is in Baltimore and uses tap water there because it has a pH of 6.9-7.0. I think in the end it boils down to water stability. It's been a long time since I watched my video, but I tried to stress stable pH/water conditions. If you are able to achieve it with minimal water changes and tap water, then that's ideal! Is your tank planted? What filtration do you use? I'm just curious as I've backed my water changes off to every 2 weeks in the past, but can tell a definite difference in the aquarium appearance with that (build up of fish waste and eventual algae). Thanks!
Discus101 my pleasure, I have 6 discus, 4 red cap geophagus, 6 guppies and 3 plecos in a 75 gallon. My ph is 7.3 in warmer months and 7.9- 8.2 in colder months. I feed Northfin pellets every morning save Sunday. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday &Saturday evenings, I feed bloodworms or brine shrimp. My filtration is an API Filstar 4, Filstar 3, and a fluval Csearies 70 hob. I only have jungle val planted in the back ground and 2 amazon swords. I used to do a 50% water change every week, then every 2 weeks, and now mostly once a month. The thing that made it easier is that I use poly filter in both filters, biohome media in one and marine pure media in the other. I put chemipure blue on top of the poly filter. I replace poly filter and chemipure every six months. These biological medias made a world of difference. I purchased my fish from Discus Han's. His water ph was around 7.4 if I remember correctly.
Awesome setup! Thanks for the info!
Omaha! North Platte here I'm breeding Angels and thinking about stepping up into Discus. :)
You should go for it! I think you'd really enjoy it if you like Angels.
Discus101 looking into it.
Beautiful discus! How did you acclimate your discus to your aquarium water parameters when you brought them home, pH in particular? Was your aquarium water already cut with a RO/DI and local tap water mix when you introduced your fish to your tank?
Forgot to ask if you plan to breed them.
Thanks! The parameters Stendker's are bred in is posted online. If you buy from someone else, you can email the breeder and ask before you buy. I slowly adjusted my aquarium to similar water parameters to what they were bred in a month or more before my discus arrived. Stendker's are raised in a pH of 7.0 so once my aquarium stabilized at this pH, I ordered them. I was blending ro/tap water from the beginning, well before introducing the discus. The primary reason for this is stability. I didn't want to make a major change like that after the discus arrived and risk a large pH swing.
All the red ones appear to be female. The Checkerboard has become one of the two dominant fish in the tank (the Leopard is the other) and all 3 of the red ones lay eggs on the driftwood and aquarium glass on a regular basis (weekly at minimum). Unfortunately, none of the other discus in the tank appear interested in fertilizing the eggs or becoming breeding pairs. Even if there appeared to be a breeding pair in the aquarium, I would probably not attempt to breed them at this time as I'm not set up for it and don't have enough time to properly care for fry. Maybe sometime in the future!
Thank you for the quick reply. You sir, are a very lucky man. Happy Discus keeping and may I put in a request for more videos please.
No problem! I've been meaning to put another video together and will try to do so soon.
Lovely tank there!
I plan to get a 99litre (approx 26gallon) tank(Boyu EA-60) that measures 24 inches by 15 inches and 26 inches high.
Which filter should I choose? Eheim Classic 250 (440L/hr) or Eheim classic 350(620L/HR)
I know its small, but that's the maximum space I have for the tank.
How you you recommend stocking Discus in the tank? I plan to have 3-4 Discus with around 15 neon tetras.
Whats your view?
A typical rule of thumb is to stock 1 discus per 10 gallons of water and most people would recommend no fewer than 5 discus in an aquarium, which would make a minimum tank size of 50 gallons. If you don't have enough room for an aquarium of that size, I would encourage you to choose fish that are smaller in size than discus. Adult discus can grow to upwards of 8" and would really struggle in a 20-30 gallon setup. That being said, if you really want to try discus in that aquarium, I would probably go with 4 to help disperse aggression. I would then stick to around 10 neons. If possible, as the fish mature and grow, you should really try to make room for a 50-60 gallon aquarium which will allow for proper development. As for the filter choices, I would go with the 350 only because the tank would be over-stocked and it's almost never wrong to go with more filtration. Hope that helps!
Discus101 Thanks for the tips. I went ahead and have booked a 40 gallon, 150L tank. It will arrive early next week.
Glad I could help! Enjoy the new tank!
Hi, I have a 180Litre tank 90cm x 45cm x 45cm, is this big enough to start with discus, I currently have it setup with 4 angels and some neon tetras but am contemplating swapping over the angels for 4 discus? Would this work?
Phil Morello That's right on the limits for keeping discus. Most people would probably tell you that 55 gallons (about 200 L) is the smallest size to start keeping discus, but you can probably get away with it at your size. With 4 discus, you may also run into problems with aggression. Discus can pick on each other, they are from the cichlid family after all ;) and fewer numbers doesn't allow for the bullying to be spread out. A general rule of thumb is to keep a minimum of 6 discus (but I would not do that in your size aquarium). That being said, as long as you go into knowing this may be a problem, you can decide whether you want to try or not. If you decide to try it, make sure your filtration and water parameters are compatible for discus. Hope that helps!
thanks for this video! helps a lot! what size are the Discus in this video? I am in the market for Stendker Discus as well and everywhere i look the "Brilliant Turquoise" looks very different in each video. yours looks real nice!
Thanks for the comment! They are about 5-6" (12.5-15 cm) in the video. Good lighting helps a lot in bringing out their colors and may be part of the reason Stendker's look different in other videos. My setup has a lot of red in it and helps to bring out the stripes in the brilliant turq as well make the fire red pop.
Hi how do I check the hardness or softness of the water and? Is coral sand ok for the discus which I have at the moment
You can use a GH and KH test kit sold at most fish stores or online (www.amazon.com/API-TEST-Freshwater-Aquarium-Water/dp/B003SNCHMA/ref=sr_1_2?crid=34MAOIT10LD2G&dchild=1&keywords=gh+test+kit+aquarium&qid=1588738885&sprefix=gh+test%2Caps%2C171&sr=8-2). I would not use coral sand as this would raise your pH. I tend to use inert substrates like pool filter sand.
i have a 67 gallon tank..is it ok to put two large sponge filters for 6 discus? or should i buy canister?
I prefer canister filters if you're planning on a planted aquarium, but if you're going with a bare bottom the sponge filters will likely work well. Watch the fish closely for signs of stress and monitor your water parameters to make sure the environment is stable.
How would you do the water changing for the tank without stressing the discus?
I still use a siphon method to help get debris and waste up from the gravel. The discus get used to it and usually just go to one side or the other while I clean. The process doesn't take long and shouldn't stress them too much. When I add water to the tank, I dump it in with a bucket and use my free hand to keep help keep it from stirring up the tank.
Would peat granules be a good option to soften water for discus? I live in Utah and our tap water is very hard.
Peat would help lower both KH and GH, but I believe the effect is mild (especially in very hard water). If your water is similar to mine in Omaha, you would probably benefit from using a mix with RO water which would allow you to lower these parameters much quicker and with more predictability. When peat is added to an aquarium or filter it can be difficult to know how much of an effect it will have. Also, depending on the amount you use, you may end up with a blackwater setup (which is ok if that's what you're going for). One option is to use peat to soften the water before it is added to the aquarium so that you know the parameters of what you're adding, but this often takes quite a bit of time making the RO option better in the long run. Hope that helps!
Noted. Thank you!
ive suscribed good vid, ive bought myself a 400liter tank and planning to get discus, my concern is the water change. when i do a water change of 25% and i fill up the water, is all that i need to do is dechlorinise it heat the water up to the right temprature and add it?
Thanks for the comment! It depends some on your tap water. If the pH is right around 7 and the kH is 4-8 or so then you should be able to just add it after dechlorinating. If your pH is 8+ with high kH values then you would be best to use some RO water. You can usually judge the water temp by hand as you fill up the bucket from the faucet, but if you're not used to doing that you can just use a digital thermometer as you fill the bucket instead. If you try to heat the water up to the proper temp with an aquarium heater it will take quite a while and become a hassle. Hope that helps! Let me know if you have any other questions.
Discus101 the thing with RO water i have no idea how it work . is it a special filter or what is it
RO filtration is a semi-permeable membrane that removes contaminants, salts, carbonates, etc from water when it is passed through under pressure. You essentially hook the RO filter up to your tap water supply and it slowly filters the water leaving you with close to pure water. If you take some RO water (KH 0 because the carbonates have been removed) and add it to tap water with high KH levels, you can lower the KH value to something more suitable for discus. That being said, if your tap water is already in a range that works for discus you don't need to worry about RO water. For example, Stendker discus raised in Germany (and in Baltimore in the US) are raised in tap water because the parameters don't need to adjusted. You can test your tap water to see what the KH value is with a cheap test kit you can pick up on Amazon or at any fish store.
Discus101 ive been to my local fishstore here in the UK peterborough and they guy said the water here is quite hard. so what should i do if the water is hard? then the thing with stendker discus(i am german and used to live in germany) in germany the water quality is one of the best in the world u can drink straight out the tap cant taste any chemicals or chlorine so think thats why its possible to raise then easier in tap water. my bro in law had discus i filled up his tank straight from the tao at the right temprature. so again if the water here us quite hard what should i do?
Discus101 so ive had a look at RO systems and how to install it, apparently the water comes out very slow, what size tank do you have?
Hi mate, I have a jewel rio 180. It's just under 50 us gallons. 101cm long x 41cm wide x 50cm deep. Do you think this is big enough to house say 4 discus and a few other community fish (tetras and rams)?
I would think that would probably work out ok. I would generally try for 6 discus to help with aggression, but in most cases you should be good with 4 and at 50 gal I would probably go with no more than 4.
@@discus1018 how often would you do water changes? And would 82F be OK or should I go warmer?
@@SpiritAquatics Water changes will depend on what you're feeding the discus, whether the tank is bare bottom, substrate-only, or planted and how many other fish are in the tank, but if you're using beef heart I would say you'll be changing water every 3 days or so. Beef heart is very messy and causes an increase in nitrate levels. You can judge how often to change by watching nitrates.
82° is on the lower end, but should probably be ok. If you're heater is in a sump, I would set it a little higher because the tank temp will be slightly less.
Hello ,you have a very nice tank that I love , I’m about to have the same tank and will stock it to 6 discus fish , I have a Fluval FX6 laying around , I would love to hear from you since you are a successful discus keeper. Will a Fluval FX6 too powerful or under power for a 60 gallon tank with 6 discus ?
Thanks for the comment! The FX6 would be plenty of filtration in my opinion. A lot of people would probably tell you that it's overkill, but overfiltration is not a bad thing and if you already have it I would say use it! The only concern I would have is the amount of flow coming back into the tank. I would set it up and make sure that it's not too much for the fish. As long as it doesn't push the fish all around the tank then it should work well. If there's too much flow you could make some adjustments to the return nozzle to deflect it and slow it down. The only other thing to watch would be nitrate levels. Nitrate is removed through water changes and not filtration so just make sure to keep a eye on that so it doesn't creep up on you. Nitrate is not nearly as toxic as ammonia, but can still cause issues if it builds up over time.
Thanks alot for your though, the flow is definitely a big concern on the tankfor discus ,I used to have a 300 gallon all african predator haps , this is my first time with discus ,your knowledge definitely helps alot for new people in the hobby . I appreciate you .
@@belam127 No problem, glad it helps!
Can you tell me what temperature you are running on your discus tank ,and what do you recommend on temperature?
@@belam127 I have it set at 84° and would say that's a pretty common number for a lot of discus setups. You could go as low as 82° if it's a community setup, but 84° is probably better for the discus.
How do you clean on the bottom of the tank?
I use a siphon and gently disturb the substrate. There's just enough substrate in the bottom to the keep the plants in place so I haven't had issues with releasing too much CO2 while siphoning.
hey can you please tell what kind of lighting you use ? am very confused between marlboro red and fire red.. do u which has more brighter red? and also l like the solid turquoise but from lot of videos some look so pale in colour.. i like the green reflection but i cant get a clear picture before i order. please help. Thanks a lot. You have a beautiful set up!
Thanks for the comment! I use a 48" Finnex Planted+ 24/7 LED Light and 48" Finnex Monster Ray LED Light. The Monster Ray is more of an optional light, but helps enhance the color of the plants, driftwood and fish. The Fire Red will likely have a brighter red color. They also tend to be more solid red. Marlboro's often have white markings on their face and fins. If you're looking for a stunning red discus, I would go with the Fire Red. If you use a Monster Ray in addition to other lighting, the red will really pop! As for a turquoise colored discus, it depends on preference. If you really want a greenish tint, I would go with a Flachen. If you prefer Blue, you'll have to choose between a Blue Diamond and Cobalt. Cobalt's will usually show a hint of vertical lines whereas Blue Diamonds should be solid in color. In the end it's all personal preference. Just keep in mind like each dog breed, some variance is to be expected. In other words, not all Cobalts will look the same. Some will have more markings, some less. Some deeper blue than others. If you're like me, the strain you think you'll like the most will change after you get them and allow the fish to mature. Hope that helps!
Can anyone tell me why a refugium is necessary with all the live plants in the main tank? Just thinking the live plants in the main tank and canister filter is enough. Please advise. Thanks
This is one of several topics I wish I had been more clear on in the video. The goal with any filtration system is water stability and a refugium is one option that provides a very stable environment. There are several ways you can set up a refugium. You can keep the light on for 24 hours/day or just for 12 hours and set it to come on when your aquarium lights turn off. This can help keep CO2/O2 levels, as well as nutrient levels, more stable. That being said, if you have a heavily planted tank and want to go a different route with filtration I would think you will be fine. In fact, I'm hoping to set up a much larger discus aquarium (heavily planted) later this year and will probably go with a wet/dry sump instead.
Ive seen a few videos and by far this is the best!!!! I currently have a 29 gal planted tank and a reef and i was told that if i mastered the reef tank this would be easy for me ? Not sure if this is true? Id like to start with 6 discus and as you suggested a 60 gal would work, on the pool sand does this stay more on the white side or does it get as bad as the regular white gravel out in pet stores ?
Thanks for the comment! If you have experience with reef tanks I would think you will be able to put together a great planted discus tank! The sand itself does not degrade, but the color will become more of an off-white with time as algae and waste discolor it.. Inert substrates will limit your plant options to some degree. There are certainly plenty of plants that will still do well with it, but if you want carpets or more challenging plants you may do better with a plant substrate like Amazonia.
@@discus1018 I appreciate the feed back if there's anything else you feel i should know or a specific website to further research id be glad to know as I am watching CZcams vids and im getting a lot of mixed information and gets confusing. I am going to get a 75 and get 6 discus i feel the extra gallons will be good for that amount of fish any further feedback or advice on items that are essential for the discus that might differ from the community tank i currently have please let me know.. Thanks again for your videos
@@angelgonzalez-ke5nl no problem. I think the thing to keep in mind is there are many ways to have a successful discus tank. What works for one person isn't always the best fit for someone else. In the end, the goal is a stable set up. A lot of people use good quality canister filters as the sole filtration. Some people use refugiums, and some use wet-dry sumps. I started with the refugium, but have switched to a wet-dry filter. Both work pretty well and can be great options. In the future I hope to set up a larger tank with dimensions more conducive to a good planted aquascape. In this aquarium I will probably opt for canister filters. Regardless of which way you go, I'd just aim for over-filtration.
The biggest difference is likely to be in the water. If your city water is close to a pH of 7 you can just use that instead of adding RO water and that would make things quite a bit simpler. If your water is very alkaline then you will probably be stuck using RO water like I have to.
My biggest recommendation is to plan ahead and take your time. Allow the tank to properly cycle before adding discus. Once you add them, watch closely for the first week or two for any ammonia in the tank. If you start to see ammonia you will need to do at least daily changes until the tank has finished cycling and the ammonia is gone.
Hope that helps and good luck!
@@discus1018 Agreed what works for one doesn't work for the next. I started with weekly water changes in my reef tank and that caused problems so now i maybe do a water change every 3-5 months and all is stable.
On your recommendations with over filtering i am going to get the Oase canister filter that does upto 90 gallons and add the intank sponge filter this should be good filtration for a 75?
on the water changes i keep seeing are they really needed every day or every week or does this depend on filtration?
Again thanks for your feed back i think based on what you have said im on the rite path and will definitely take my take my time with the cycle. Thank you
@@angelgonzalez-ke5nl Ya, I would think that setup would work well. I like Oase filters, too. In regards to water changes, it depends on the filtration to some degree, but really on the amount of fish in the tank and what they're fed. Discus are often fed beef heart which is very messy and causes waste to build up in the water column. I adjust my water change schedule to the amount of nitrates in the water. I currently do water changes every 3-4 days and am actually changing about 80% of the water with each change. This keeps my nitrates between 5-20 ppm. If I fed them black worms or something different I'm sure I could stretch the water changes to weekly or more.
Hello I hope you nice fishes doing fine . I Contacted you 2 years ago about information and i was happy from your reply.
I have a question how many discus I can keep in 125 L aquarium with a big eheim filter. And plants .
Thanks à lot
Sorry, I just saw the comment and question. 125 L is probably too small for discus in the long run. You could keep 3 inch (7.5 cm) or smaller in an aquarium like that for the short term, but as they grow, they will probably need a larger setup. I typically feel like 55-60 gallons (210-260 L) is the smaller end for an aquarium for discus. If you really wanted to keep discus in a 125 L aquarium I would go no more than 3 if they are bigger than 3-4 inches (7.5-10 cm) and you’ll really have to watch for issues with aggression.
@@discus1018 thanks a lot I agree . Here énergie prices increased madly that the reason the hobby became difficult.
My 125 L is planted aquarium with some fishes .
Yes 3 discus max. Thanks
Great setup, my two discus fish are not eating others are eating but they are doing well can you suggest what to do? I have canister filter for my 55 gl, should filter run 24 hours or turn off at night time?
Thanks for the comment! A canister filter should run 24/7. What are you feeding the discus? Were they eating prior to this and then stopped or are they new to the aquarium and haven't started eating yet?
Thanks for the reply, they have been with me 2+ weeks now and found they have been going to the corner of the tank when I start feeding from day one, One started eating granules from yesterday, (red melon 2+ inches only still staying near filter inlet), others are 3 and 3+ plus inches and always looking for food when I pass near by. I feed discus grain d-50 plus two times a day and blood worms and beef hearts two times a week. I have one more question that I have 3 pearl gouramies , 2 gold gouramies and 2 red dwarf gouramies in my tank, they are eating those food and looks their belly looks big, what will happen to them if it goes like this or I should get rid off them?
@@nizarbreathus2440 It sounds like you are feeding a really nice variety of foods. I'll start by saying there are a lot of opinions and preferences when it comes to discus and you would likely get a different recommendation from someone else. With that being said, I would probably remove the gouramis for the time being. If you are able to put them in a different tank, that would probably be best, but if that's not an option you could give them away or to a local fish store. Sometimes it's best to allow younger discus a chance to come into their own and gouramis can occasionally be aggressive. In addition, if the gouramis are aggressively eating the food, there's less time for the small discus to become interested and try the food.
New discus can sometimes be pretty slow to start eating and it can even take up to 4 weeks before they eat! Keep offering the foods and I think they will all be eating soon. If you want try flavoring the food to encourage them to eat you can buy some garlic guard by seachem, but I bet they will start eating if you continue to offer food. I would also recommend feeding beef heart more often than twice a week, but if the other discus are eating and happy you can keep with what's working. Hope that helps!
Discus101 thanks for the information, you are right, after seeing the yellow one started eating I strongly feel the other will start eating soon.
@@nizarbreathus2440 I'm curious to know when the other one finally starts eating. Keep me posted!
Just a question about keeping the top lid, do we need to keep open all the time? My situation is the back side is open all the time but top is fully covered and I slide to feed them. The question is water evaporates and drop into the tank as I cover all time, do you keep a gap and leave it evaporate the water and top up or cover it? I can think if I wanted to use auto feeder, I should keep open one side.
Sorry for the delay, I was out of town this weekend. I used to cover the aquarium with a standard aquarium lid, but I've had no cover on it for the past year or two. I personally prefer no cover for more predictable lighting, but I'm not sure there's a right answer. I think it's more of a preference. I add water to the tank once every few days to top it off.
Discus101 thanks for the reply.
@@nizarbreathus2440 No problem!
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Woody's Discus (FB)
Very nice ! I just went from a 60 to a 150 gallon aquarium . Cannot wait to have ALL my sand in so I can plant. Are you not concerned about gas pockets ? I love Carib Sea live sand . Be Careful, you shoukd be able to "stir up" your sand . Maybe the roots are helping you out ?
That's awesome! I'm hoping to get larger aquarium in the basement later this year. The layer of substrate I have is pretty thin so that helps some of the gas pockets from forming. I think you're right that the roots are also helping as well. The tank has changed since this video was made and is now a dutch-ish style with some rummy nose tetras in addition to the discus. The plants look great now, but are taking up a little more space than I would like. I just found your FB group and sent a request!
"Bruno's Discus" (FB) Also uses pool filter sand. Great looking tank and Discus !
Thanks for the vid.
I think the only thing that scares me about overflow is the possibility of it failing. Can you explain a worst case scenario? Or is this essentially fail proof? In the event of a power outage the return pump would fail and the siphon would simply break and all water would just remain still right? I've been studying these setups for a while and that's the only part of it that confuses me.
Can you help? Lol
Thanks for the comment! To answer your question, it depends on the setup. The way I have my overflow and return, there's no issue during power outages or pump failures. There is enough room in the refugium to allow the tank to drain until the plumbing is out of the water. The key is to make sure your refugium is tall/large enough to hold the extra water. Also, you need to have your plumbing high enough in the tank to minimize the amount of water that will drain to the refugium if power is lost.
Even if something was to block my drain in the tank, the baffles in the refugium prevent too much water from entering the tank and causing overflow. While certain setups can lead to problems during power outages or blockages, a good one prevents them. When I get a chance I'll make a video on my overflow setup and show what happens in each of the above cases.
Hi Stephen - I don't want to dis this setup, as this video and its information is spot on. But when it comes to the drain, I do think that there is a substantial risk of flooding, not because of a power outage (for the reasons Discus101 states above) but because there is only a single drain line. If that drain line getting plugged by something, then the tank itself will overflow (as the pump in the sump keeps going but there is no longer a drain). I initially drilled my tank (it's set up in my office) for a single drain line, and then found it difficult to sleep at night for fear that I was going to flood my office in the event of a mis-hap.
I eventually decided to redrill and install a bean-animal style drain using the Eshopps Large Overflow box. This is not only a completely silent drain, but it also has TWO alternate lines (one main drain, one overflow, and one emergency, so three total) so it is basically fool-proof. I would highly recommend going that route - the Eshopps box is about $100 and comes with a drilling template and bit, so you can install it easily. Then it is just a matter of getting your lines plumbed down to the sump. You can see some pics of my setup (which is based primarily on Discus101's guidance in this video) here: forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?129795-Fishless-Cycle-Almost-Complete-Last-Questions-Before-Ordering-From-Hans
I hope that helps.
Thanks for the comment! I guess it depends on the setup. My setup has no risk of overflow even if the single drain is plugged. I have a separate video that shows what happens in the worst case scenarios (including a plugged drain). If you are using a refugium with baffles, there is a guard against flooding even if the single drain is plugged. Here's the video: czcams.com/video/4oOgJfxfB_o/video.html
It looks to me like your setup (from what I can see in the pics) would be fine with a single drain as well. The baffle that separates the final compartment where the pump is from the plant compartment acts to limit the amount of water that can return to the aquarium. While the aquarium will fill with more water than normal, it will not overflow. There's not enough water in the pump compartment to overflow the tank. That being said, there's obviously nothing wrong with a second drain!
redwinger59, Awesome setup by the way!
Can i use hanging filter for the discus tank?
You can use it, but a refugium setup would be preferred. The goal is to create as stable an environment as possible for the fish and a refugium helps this the best. That being said, a HOB filter would be fine. I would just use a larger filter than recommended for your aquarium size.
You think a marine land 360 is too little for 8 discus and 20 cardinals in a 75? I got around 50% planted tank too
From a gph standpoint you will probably be ok. It's really more about your maintenance and water quality in the end. If you make frequent water changes and keep the nitrate levels in check you will be fine.