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Setting up my 240 gallon, step by step

30K views 212 replies 31 participants last post by  Super Turtleman 
#1 ·
Here is the story.
I got this beauty at a price I could not pass, the day I was to pick it up I hired movers, since the tank empty and by it self it's 400 pounds..... the movers came...6 hours late, it was raining cats and dogs...when they saw the tank they just said...no, we can't do it...turn around and left.
The gentleman that sold me the tank was perplexed to said the least, I was about to have a heart attack!!!!
Next day a guy at my church saved the day along with his two sons, he came with his truck and pick up the tank for me, delivered it to my house....
here is a picture of the tank finally at my husband's home office.


More to come
 
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#77 ·
WOW this is information you don't find any other place.....please continue...
What do I have to look into the discus to know that I am buying a good quality discus?
I guess that buying from Mr. Wattley all will be good, but is there something else I need to know?
 
#78 ·
shape of the body is a good start. if your buying from jack wattly i wouldnt worry but if youre buying from a local dealer ask him to feed the fish in front of you. if the discus attacks the food like its been starving thats a good sign. make sure its not skinny. check its color. if its too colorful for its ags then its a dead give away that its not right. if its too dark then it could be sick or really stressed. discus colors up at different age but if a 2 inch discus has the color of a 6 inch discus its either stunt or been fedd hormones. see how active the fish are. if they come up to you when you approach the tank thats a good sign. if theres one shying away from the group and stays hidden or in a corner avoid it.
 
#79 ·
This information is great, and for what you tell me I am able to see some trend in the local breeder:

- His blue diamond fish are dark grey or completely white, when I asked he said that it was the natural slime of the fish because the water was cold, 76ºF
- all his discus have color even the 2 inch ones (with the exception of some of the blue diamonds)
- I did not like that the tanks look filthy, lots of debris in the bottom, he keeps his fish in tanks with just a sponge filter and no substrate, but you can tell when the fish move around that the tank has not been cleaned in days, I really did not like that, I am to the extreme with keeping my tanks clean because that is the place where my little ones live and breathe and eat, so it is just fair for them and for what I know about discus I understood that discus are very particular about the quality (clean or dirty) of the water.
- He has lots of fish in each tank, I will said 20-25 in a 40 gallon breeder.
- He seems to be eager for me to buy his fish, last time he even try to push me to write a check and then pick up the fish when the tank was ready....for me this was a big red flag.....is not like he does not have enough fish...
In my book if I waited this long to have the perfect tank for the perfect discus, I can wait, one week, one month or what ever time it takes, but get exactly what I want,
I think to be in the safe side all the way around it is "cheaper" to pay the shipping fee on the Wattley discus than gambling some other place.
 
#80 ·
#81 ·
Thank you for the links, I will look into them, I appreciate all the help. I might come back with more questions if you don't mind?
 
#83 ·
:popcorn: +1 Have done quite a bit of research before purchase. My choice is Hans http://discusfishstore.com/ . We've spoken a couple of times & he has viewed my set up. I am confidant he is the right choice for me. Generally to end up w/ quality you gotta start out w/ quality. Yes quality cost a bit more but in the long run it will be worth it. My order of 8 or 9 will be on 03/30. Good luck with yours. "T"
 
#84 ·
+1 quality of the fish will be remember long after the price is forgotten =]. *** spent over 200 for a single discus and didnt blink about it cause i know im getting the best of the best. infact i wouldnt hesitate buying a 800 discus if i had the chance.
 
#86 ·
LOL...with all the money spent in this tank, it just wouldn't be right to buy low quality discus....I am aiming towards A+ !+ quality, what ever the price....now, just like moneygetter1 I am not there yet for an $800.00 discus...LOL
 
#88 ·
That is exactly my point, I want to see if they survive a year in my hands and then I can start thinking about those "others" with show quality....LOL
But I wouldn't like to get stock with a fish that is less than an acceptable quality fish just because.
 
#89 ·
Shahlvah said:
That is exactly my point, I want to see if they survive a year in my hands and then I can start thinking about those "others" with show quality....LOL
But I wouldn't like to get stock with a fish that is less than an acceptable quality fish just because.
kenny and hans both have good starter fish (cheap and great quality) and they both occssionally get in the show quality. (expensive and top of the line)
 
#90 ·
I was looking at their sites, I already saved them in my favorites and I will make contact with them, I want to make my list of what I can afford and from there exactly what I want.

Going back to the PH, this morning when I did my parameter in the tank the PH is showing at 7.0, I have done no more than the peat granules and the drift wood, so I think this is good. On regards to the tetras, I have not have an lost either, from what I have the cardinals are the most delicate and they are like a canary in a mine in regards to the water parameters, so that is a good sign.
Now I just have to wait for next Friday to place my order...(PD)
 
#91 ·
driftwood lowers ph but over time depending on the size of the discus youre getting they will require enough water change that the wood wont have a chance to lover the ph lol
 
#92 ·
I am heart broken, today I came from work to watch in horror how half of my cardinal school was dead as they got suck by the sump intake into the over hang, I don't know what happen if maybe while they were sleeping the current just drag them in, I have seen them swim with no problems around the area where the intake is, and it was one little one suck in that gave me the clue. when I took both sponge cylinders out to fish him out, I found another 3 alive swimming for their lives, and about 40 dead stuck in the sponges....I am out of words. :eek: :(
 
#93 ·
:( So sorry for the loss. I guess this went on for awhile cause that's almost half your cardinal stock no?? Is it only the 'cards'? Hope you can figure a way to prevent future casulties. "T"
 
#94 ·
Yes about half, I thought the lamp eye were snacking on them and I was looking to re-house the lamp eye....but they were not.
I put a piece of net like material around were the openings are so the little ones don't get sucked in any more, I don't know how permanent a solution this might be...I am just very sad that I could't prevent this....
 
#95 ·
I feel bad for you on this one. You have worked so hard and have done a **** of a job to get where your at!!!!!! I only have one suggestion for you. With a monster of a tank, I would do a good size school of Rummy nose tetra's and Cardinals. I have seen many of Discus tanks like that. Old wives tale; if the nose is not bright and deep red on the rummy nose, they are stressed and to check your tank.
 
#96 ·
Thank you shocker, I will look for the runny nose tetras, I believe that the breeder where I bought my cardinals have runny nose. I will pay him a visit to replace the lost cardinals and add the runny nose. What do you suggest? a good school is what...30? 50?
 
#98 ·
Do you have your PH and hardness listed on this thread? If not what is it?

Rummy nose are not a fish I would add to a tank with hard water, they are kind of fragile at first. I don't have time to read the thread at the moment, but I doubt that your cardinals were killed by being pulled into the overflow, are you sure something else is not going on and that is just where you found them? Did you test for ammonia and nitrite?

I would make sure I had all of my bases covered before spending more pennies! :thumb:
 
#99 ·
Rummy's are a very good indicator if your tank is ready for Discus! They like the lower PH as do discus..... but.......... I have never had a problem keeping them with slightly higher ph than normal
Keep an eye on their nose. If dull and not bright and deep red something is wrong.
 
#100 ·
shocker123 said:
Rummy's are a very good indicator if your tank is ready for Discus! They like the lower PH as do discus..... but.......... I have never had a problem keeping them with slightly higher ph than normal
Keep an eye on their nose. If dull and not bright and deep red something is wrong.
So is a KH, GH, and PH test kit and its far cheaper than a school of rummys!

IMO you have something going on for 40 cardinals to die, even if it is something as simple as an ammonia reading. Be sure to check, I had something funky go on with my tap, I was getting an ammonia reading from my tap water for about two months, I checked a few weeks ago and its gone? Always better to be safe and test versus wasting money on fish.
 
#101 ·
My numbers are:
Ammonia-0
Nitrites-0
Nitrates-20
PH-7
Temp-82.4

I have an API test kit
 
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