New to the Discus planted tank

[masYPSI]

New to site. So I'm getting into Discus and plants, and have a few questions. What type of substrate to use, and if peat is a good idea or not. Will two full spectrum fluorescent lights be too much for the Discus. I've seen the watts/gallon should 1 to 2 per gallon.

I've been doing some research and have seen temps for Discus from 80 deg. to 92 deg. with most saying 84 deg. The pH between 5.0 and 6.8, with the dH between 2 and 8 general hardness.

Should I wait up to 2 months after planting to introduce the Discus? If Discus don't like hard water how can you supplement the plants with iron? I also not have CO2 injection, so I've read not to water change that often, but this conflicts with the water cleanliness that Discus need.

well thanks in advance for the help, and please feel free to add anything I may be leaving out.

[aks]

Welcome man well i can answer a few of your questions and some senior member can answer the rest....

First discus need soft acidic water so try keepin it that way as for plants and CO2 here is my post which can help http://www.discusforums.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8504

lighting i know little about so i cant give information and hope it turns true :P

as for water changing depends alot on your tank size, filtration and number of specimens you are gonna keep, can you provide that information...still you can do daily water changes for around 15%-20%
and i dont bilieve plants can get too much bothered.

Peat is not at all a bad idea but you need to check your tap water and see if it is needed?

If your gravel doesnot buffer the pH then its just fine you can check for it by leaving it in water for 24 hours and then testing it.

***You need to elaborate on type of filtration***

[masYPSI]

OK! I'm setting up a 75g tank. I've been reading about needing only biological filtration, due to the amount of WC needed. So I'm planing on having a couple of foam (air pump) and a bio-wheel or equivalent.

I plan to keep 7 discus, 15-20 cardinal Tetras, 5 loaches,10 or so silver tips, not sure on the algae eaters, and plants.

First I will get the plants going. So any help there would be appreciated. So far I gathered that I will need a good substrate, don't know what type yet. fertilizer (tetra hylena crypto and florapride) and iron supplements are a must until algae starts then cut back some. I've also been reading that keeping phosphate levels as low as possible ,with phosphate resin?, helps keep algae down.

What i really need is a good starting point to grow plants in an acidic, soft, low light condition. My local tap water has a pH of 7.0-7.2 and the hardness of 150-300 ppm. I don't have a gH or kH test yet. "Is it that bad."

[masYPSI]

I don't know yet how planted I want the tank.

[Mulisha]

Best way to keep algae down when first starting up is to pack the tank with as many plants as possible with in reason but mainly fast growing plants a good plant to suck excess nutrients in Wisteria it's cheap and sucks up alot of nutrients that would cause algae.

Good luck i would look at a canister filter and whats plants you choose will determine how much light you will need and ferts etc.

Rick.