new tank proposition

[chili is hot]

hey
i am thinking of getting a new aquarium. I think about a 100G one for my office and TV room i think .Well were doing a renoation and we thought it would be realy nice to have a nice big tank inbetween the two rooms like in the wall but i havent realy seen many peple with a tank like this . well I'v been reserching it for a while and we definitly want it to be planted, we are looking into having discus because they are so calm and sothing, right now we have a 35G that has a few plants so were sorta new to a planted tank. ok now to the questions

1. i have the impresion that with a big tank you must get a canister is this true? and if soo what would you sugest

2. I know we will need CO2 but its pritty exspencive is there any way to cut this cost

3. What fish go good with discus, we have some rummy nose tetras that we realy like, would thease be to fast for them? and rams i like them alot.

4. do discus realy need alot more kare taking(I already clean our tank and do 25% water changes every week)is there anything that we must do ontop of this?

5. Is this a good idea?
thanks alot

 

[Toirtis]

1. i have the impresion that with a big tank you must get a canister is this true? and if soo what would you sugest

No, it is not a must, but probably the best choice for what you have in mind. I am fond of the Rena XP3 and Eheim classic canister filters.

2. I know we will need CO2 but its pritty exspencive is there any way to cut this cost

Buy used...local paper, aquarium society, eBay.

3. What fish go good with discus, we have some rummy nose tetras that we realy like, would thease be to fast for them? and rams i like them alot.

Rams are not a bad choice....Corydoras sterbai for the bottom, perhaps some cardinal tetras.

4. do discus realy need alot more kare taking(I already clean our tank and do 25% water changes every week)is there anything that we must do ontop of this?

Not a lot more, but you do need to be more concious of water parameters, as discus tend to be sensitive to poor water and changing conditions.

5. Is this a good idea?
thanks alot

I certainly think so...just do your research (I am sure that there are plenty of local discus keepers in the Ottawa area to talk to about local water conditions, suppliers, etc) and go slow....rushing will only end up in disaster.

 

[chili is hot]

Thanks alot for replying.
well I still have a couple of months to study because were probobly going to do this in October.

 

[hashbaz]

You have a semi planted tank now - with no CO2 I assume. You can fully plant a low-light, no-CO2 tank; it is just a little harder to find plants that will grow in lower light.

Combining the maintenance of both Discus and high-light plants seems like a whole lot of work to me - if something goes wrong with the plants, you might lose your discus.

I really like the idea of having a tank in the wall. Can you put plumbing straight to the tank?

 

[chili is hot]

Yah you assumed well, right now i don't have any Co2 and very low wattage. I went to Big al's today and looked at the light setups, man are they pricy, so i think i'm gunna build my own since it doesn't really matter what its gunna look like anyways.

Also i have a big pice of drift wood that i got from a lake in BC and i really want to put it in my new tank is there any think i should do to destaralize it? right now its in a huge bucket trying to get it a little water loged to make it easyer to put in the tank.

i'm not sure what you mean by straight into the tank? like drill wholes in the side and stick the pipes in? i'm planning to put it in the wall on ether side and then stick the tubes in the tank on ether side, then their will be better circulation of the watter because i will have to go the whole tank to get back in the filter, but will this cause too much current for the discus?

And how much wattage is small 2 wats a gallon? because right now i have like 1 watt in my tank and like io have the hardest time getting plants to grow big, they grow really slow.
thanks for the replys

 

[jcarlilesiu]

"Well were doing a renoation and we thought it would be realy nice to have a nice big tank inbetween the two rooms like in the wall but i havent realy seen many peple with a tank like this"

if you want some suggestions with how to design this, let me know

 

[jcarlilesiu]

stupid formating never works for me

 

[chili is hot]

yah i would love some suggestions.

right now we think were gunna have it flush with the wall on one sideand come out about a foot from the wall on the other side (there is this harvys hear that has a 6'' wide tank and i hate it it has no depth and bad for the fish because they have a hard time turning around)and have the stand like the wall so its sorta like a realy long half pillar and we will put some doors and stuff in it. if that makes any sence.

 

[Toirtis]

Just so long as the 1' that juts out from the wall is well-supported.

 

[tiptoptank]

You will need to do your research on the discus first. If you don't you will buy young small discus that will either immeadily die or become stunted. Unless you want to setup a bare bottom tank (spongefilters,heater, W/C once every day or 2 at 50%) than I would not say start with young fish (1-3.5inch). They may be cheaper, but in the long run buying adult fish is the way to go. Buy about 5+ disucs when you buy them too. They are a schooling fish and besides for that they will not have as bad dominence problems in larger groups. What I mean is they wont bully each other. Buy fish from a REAL discus fish seller or breeder. I never buy fish from LPS simply because I haven't met any store that has any clue about discus. They alway end up asking me why there fish keep dieing, and when I tell them first that they should have the discus on an independent tank and be doing 2+ 50% W/C a week, they usaully stop caring discus all together. So please for your sake buy your fish from a real dealer You might have to drive to the airport to get them but trust me in the end you will save money buying heathly fish.

Learn about Medicating your fish. Learn about Praziquental, and metro power. These are your main weapons in the battle of disease.


Actually you know what! Just go here and ask them anything thats on your mind they will tell you whats up... www.simplydiscus.com/forum

 

[Apocalypse_Gold]

Definitely get an RO filter. That is probably the best investment for a discus tank, and it aint bad for any tank.

 

[greenmaji]

I would consider getting a 120gallon rather then the 100.. I like its footprint better and it would be easier to get light down to the bottom... more with for bulbs.. if your going to DIY CF the only site Ive found the parts on is http://www.hellolights.com/index.html
and the bigger Fulham Workhorse ballasts the cheapest way to power them that ive seen..
http://www.prolighting.com/wo5elba12loc.html
http://www.prolighting.com/wo7elba12loc.html

 

[greenmaji]

Unless your planning on spawning discus there really shouldnt be a need for a RO filter.. unless of course your talking about liquid rock..

 

[chili is hot]

Thanks tiptop, yah i was planing to go to one of the ottawa aquarium meetings and try and find some breeders, because i'v read that its good to know where the fish come from and stuff like that. And the big fish auction i think is in november wich is probably around when i'm gunna get my discus so i'll look there too.

I have no idea what a RO filter is? I guess i should do some more reasearch.

What is liquid rock? I'v never heard of it before.

i'll look into the 120gal, seems awfully big to me though

and thanks for the web sites they should prove quite useful

 

[tiptoptank]

A 120 tall is the same width as a 55 gallon. It's a great tank for a planted tank.

RO filters are reverse osmosis (SP?) they take everything out of the water, and I mean everything. There sould be no need for a RO filter unless you are gunna breed your fish.

Canada has some good fish. Ask around on Simplydiscus. There are a bunch of hobby breeders from Canada on there and they would give you good fish for a good price.

 

[chili is hot]

thanks i'll post something there too.

i was looking at putting taller plants on eather side something like V. americana orEchinodorus osiris and then shorter plants in the middle with some rica. because then it would flow into the wall better i think.
well i would rather have a longer tank than a taller one because and i like the look of schools of little fish swimming with out having to stop and turn around. and the look of so much swimming space. plus i will be allot more wait one a much smaller foot print wich will make it hard to support.

thanks allot for all the replies

 

[tiptoptank]

both 120's are good the wide 120 is 18 deep which is still workable. It really comes down to the aquascaper not, the aquarium. I make my 55 gallon look awesome and still look much deeper then it really is.

 

[chili is hot]

yes i agree

i like the longer less wide ones i just like thier look and also i have another factor to deal with, with my tank how much i want it to stick out of the wall on the one side. i dont realy want it to be much more than a foot wich is how much it is with 18'