[Canister filters]

OASE Filtosmart Thermo 200 should be 160€, that should be plenty big enough for a 17 gallon tank. But I agree, Oase seem a bit overpriced. 

[Canister filters]

In the US, the OASE Indoor Aquatics Filtosmart Thermo 100 is $110, the Fluval 107 is $124. No clue concerning a  performance comparison. 

Edit: With a canister filter, you have a long intake tube in the tank. Would putting a heater next to the tube be a big deal? 

[What options do I have for a 55 gallon?]

On 4/13/2024 at 11:00 PM, Sartor said:

I like an active tank with some color. 

How about Odessa Barbs? Nice color and mine are more hyper than the Tiger Barbs. The ones I got from Aqua Huna are coloring up much better than the PetCo ones I got a few years ago.

 

 

[My fish are swimming franticly]

I agree with the comments above, alot of these cute little fish we have evolved in the protected areas of waterways. In the open waters, they may quickly become lunch for a large predator. 

I understand the negative views on plastic/fake plants but your fish may prefer having them over open waters. I suggest buying some to create a protective area in one corner of the tank while you grow real plants in the other corner. I bought these plants, they created a nice jungle in the corner. 

[Best setup for FX6?]

On 4/14/2024 at 9:37 AM, Cjbear087 said:

So I’m planning on getting an FX6 for my discus tank,

So your original plan was an aquarium with a built in internal filter, change in plans?

Here is a link to Aquarium Science, nylon scrub pads are highly rated for bio-media. Seachem's Matrix is quite popular for canister filters but this web site has it rated low. In a brain dead moment, I fell prey to Seachem's marketing hype and was going to use Matix in my sump filter, I switched to K1 media. 

Personally I separate mechanical and bio filtering. My logic, I do not want to worry about killing off the bacteria in the mechanical filter media. I use filter socks and 100 micron felt pads which are cleaned in a washing machine. So if I own a canister filter, I want the ability to clean the foam pads with hot water if needed and would use care in handling the bio-media. 

I would use nylon scrub pads.

 

 

 

[Discus qt tank?]

That would depend on what filter you are using in your main tank. But the first option I would consider, just use the spare canister filter as a secondary filter on your big discus tank. When needed, just move it to your quarantine tank. 

If you are using a canister filter on the discus tank, add extra bio-media which can be transferred to the spare canister filter when needed. Nylon scrub pads would work.   

You could also bury a bag of bio-media (ceramic rings, matrix, etc) in the Discus tank substrate but I am not sure how effective this would be. 

 When buying fish, you do have some time to setup a quarantine tank. When I set mine up for new fish purchases, I add a small dose of ammonia to make sure the biomedia is ready for fish. 

[Discus qt tank?]

On 4/14/2024 at 7:54 AM, Cjbear087 said:

I’ll buy it a few months prior for when I get the discus so it’ll be cycled.

Typically a quarantine tank is setup only when needed and many just use a cycled sponge filter from another tank. I always keep a sponge filter ready to use in my sump. 

So if you need to quickly setup a quarantine tank with the canister filter, what are you going to use for the bio media?  Not complicated but you need a plan. 

[Discus qt tank?]

If using the canister filter from the ebay listing, how are you going to bio media cycled for when you set it up? 

A quarantine tank may have to be setup quickly. 

[Changing from fishless cycle to fish in]

On 4/13/2024 at 4:52 PM, Mon said:

As suggested above, i'm gonna do a 100% waterchange today & slowly add fish.

As someone else wisely pointed out, overfeeding the fish is the major source of ammonia for new tanks. 

[Ph shift]

On 4/13/2024 at 4:25 PM, Cjbear087 said:

So should I stop at 48 hours?? Or should I wait longer than that?

Test the water daily and wait until the pH stabilizes. This may be a problem if you need to age your water a couple days and you want to do daily water changes. You may need 2 garbage cans/barrels. 

[Fluval 107 vs Seachem Tidal 55]

On 4/13/2024 at 12:23 PM, Vítor said:

but i think the fluval will be a lot more efficient than the tidal 55.

I own a Tidal 75. The basic problem with these filter is water bypass. As the sponge filter collects crap, the less porous it becomes. On the Tidal, the water will bypass the filter and go around the basket. I think this is a common problem with all HOB filter, some filter are better dealing with this.  I even had this problem with a sump filters. Simple put, water will take the path of least resistance. 

Canisters filters use pressure to force the water thru the media. In a well designed canister, there is no possible bypass for the water. One issue I see for canister, people tend to clean them once a month or longer. This means organic material is broken down inside the filter and ends up as nitrates. With my sump filter, I have to replace the filter socks every week or two as the water will start to overflow. I am removing organic material before it is breaks down. But nitrates is not a big deal, just do water changes. 

I bought the Tidal 75 in an emergency, my 75 gallon tank had a slow leak and I needed another filter. My original plan was to use the Tidal on a 40 gallon tank but instead, I built a sump filter for it. I ended up connect to the Tidal 75 to an undergravel filter on a 29 gallon tank, I love it so far. The Tidal is mounted on the side. 

On 4/13/2024 at 1:27 PM, Vítor said:

The difference between the 107 and the 207 is 7€ do you think it would be too much flow for the tank?

For 7€, I would get the 207. 

 

[Bypass]

On 4/11/2024 at 12:29 PM, Cjbear087 said:

I’m living in my parents house and I don’t think they would be happy

LOL, parents can be so restrictive at times. 

So can you put a barrel on the second floor near the tank? Do you have an outside tap (faucet)? You could just take a hose, toss it out the window and connect to an outside tap. More work but still reasonable easy. An outside tap should be before the water softener. 

When I do a water change, I just toss and hose out the window and drain the water into the lawn. 

 

 

[Bypass]

On 4/11/2024 at 12:25 PM, Cjbear087 said:

Yeah it’s the first floor. No basements as I’m in UK lol

OK, understood. Where is the tap on the first floor? 

And where can you put the water barrel (garbage can)?

[Bypass]

On 4/11/2024 at 12:12 PM, Cjbear087 said:

It’s more of the problem that my tank will be upstairs and the only tap that isn’t connected to the softener is downstairs.

Is downstair the basement or the first floor of your house? 

Something to think about. When or if you break down the tank, the wall behind the tank will have to be re-painted and/or repaired. So cutting a hole in the drywall (lathe&plaster would be harder) to run a hose is not a big deal, just save the piece of drywall. More info on your house would be helpful.

[Bypass]

On 4/11/2024 at 12:04 PM, jwcarlson said:

I think you'll be MUCH happier setting up a barrel

Totally agree. I would put the effort in finding a permanent spot for the barrel and running a hose to it. For the hose, put some type of value on it so you can turn it off at the barrel then turn off at the source. Set up right and you can do a 30% water change on a 75 gallon tank in about 10 minutes. 

 

 

[Bypass]

On 4/11/2024 at 12:00 PM, Cjbear087 said:

The heater and aging plan sounds like a good idea.

After your Discus have grown out, you may only have to do a water change once a week. So fill up the garbage can right after a water change and let it adjust to room temperature. Turn on the electric heater the night before (or early morning) the next water change.

Easy and energy efficient. 

[Amazon river aquascape]

Put some of the blue gravel in a mesh bag(s) and bury it in the new substrate. After a month or so, remove the blue gravel.

 

[Plz help my research sponge filters]

On 4/9/2024 at 6:45 PM, TealStarlight said:

fine sponge filters if floating cause lack of oxygen

Possible mean, gas exchange occurs on the water surface. A large sponge filter floating will reduce the surface area thus reducing gas exchange. Gotta give them a D for that one, no explanation? 

[Will these be okay in a discus tank]

On 4/6/2024 at 6:17 AM, Cjbear087 said:

And it won’t crash my cycle in the main tank?

You don't really need a quarantine tank when setting up a new tank, just put your initial fish purchase in the new tank.I would first get the new tank with the FX6 fully cycled before adding the sponge filter.

After a few weeks in a fully cycled tank, I would move the sponge filter to the 15 gallon tank then dose it with ammonia. I would also take a sponge out of the FX6 and squeeze all the crap into the 15 gallon tank. I am a big fan of ammonia in a bottle, you can test to verify the establishment of bacteria. 

So a question to the experts here at CARE. I now have a sponge filter with fully established bacteria colonies. When I move it back to the main tank, do I have to run an airline to it? I don't need it for filtration, my main filter is working great. My understanding, the bacteria in the non-running sponge filter may go dormant but will not die off. Once  supplied with ammonia/nitrite,  they will spring back to life and start multiplying. 

I ask this for my sump filters. When I break down my grow out/quarantine tank, I will move the sponge filter into the sump without an airline. 

[Will these be okay in a discus tank]

In the USA, Discus are not cheap (~$50/fish). You may have a significant investment buying these guys.

So just adding to jwcarlson excellent post, keep the 15 gallon tank as a quarantine/hospital tank. I would not risk adding a new Discus directly into an established tank. What many do, keep a sponge filter going in your main tank and just use that when you need to setup the quarantine/hospital tank.

On 4/5/2024 at 8:04 AM, Cjbear087 said:

Because I can only have 1 tank,

That's what I told my wife, just one 75 gallon tank. When that tank started to leak, my solution was to buy a 40 gallon tank! And who can resist those PetCo aquarium sale, a 29 gallon tank is only $40 🙂

[My plan for an RO/DI filter]

On 4/4/2024 at 3:56 PM, jwcarlson said:

Normal tap water if you can.  Otherwise JUST an RO, without the DI

So if using a RO system, do you use 100% RO water and add minerals back or mix 'X' amount of RO water with 'X' amount of tap water? Just curious. 

[My plan for an RO/DI filter]

On 4/4/2024 at 1:57 PM, Cjbear087 said:

Yep. I’m aware you should do 50% wcs daily for discus

You might need 2 garbage cans 🙂 I think your Discus tank will be a success,  you are doing your homework and seeking advice. 

What filter are you going to use? No clue if this is any good but the Penn-Plax Cascade 1200  Canister Filter is on sale for $130. You could get 2 of those for the price of a Fluval FX filter. 

[My plan for an RO/DI filter]

On 4/4/2024 at 11:57 AM, Cjbear087 said:

So if you were looking for the most cost efficient way to get consistent water, what would you do?

Behind the garbage can, I would make an opening in the wall and drill a hole thru the floor to the basement. I would buy a 50' hose for portable water and run it thru the hole and connect it to a faucet before the water softener. If i needed a RODI system, I would put it in the basement and buy a float value to shut off the water when filled.

Hopefully I have enough hose left over, connect that to the pump for refilling the tanks.

On aging the water if needed, just fill up the garbage can right after you emptied it. I turn the heater on the day before I make water changes. 

 

[My plan for an RO/DI filter]

On 4/4/2024 at 9:33 AM, Cjbear087 said:

How easy / expensive is it to setup a bypass for one specific sink?

Hard to say, that could be complicated. Instead of a bypass setup, just run another  pipe/hose connected to your main water line before the water softener. So if your house has a basement and there is a faucet on the main line before the water softener, you could use a garden hose since this is not pressurized 24/7 ie: turn off the faucet after you filled the garbage can. 

Since you plan on using a garbage can, it might be easier to run a hose directly to it. I fill my garbage can with cold water then let a aquarium heater warm it up. 

 

[My plan for an RO/DI filter]

On 4/4/2024 at 5:50 AM, Cjbear087 said:

So I think if I use the bypass valve I will be able to use the water in my bathrooms

Yes, that would be correct. And my apologies, I may be confusing the issue. My suggestion was, see if you already have a value before the water softener.  Below is a picture on how a plumbing may build a bypass system using individual values. 

So with a 90 gallon tank, a 20% water change would be 18 gallons. What many do here including myself, find a place in your house for a 32 gallon garbage can. I use a Brute brand from Home depot. This would require a cheap water pump to refill the tanks. 

Second question, how are you going to drain the water out of the tank? Many here use the python system which could also be used to fill the garbage can/buckets.