Newb few questions

[EYEShurt]

ok information about my tank its a planted 50gal tank with an aquaone 48" double lighting has a aquaclear 70 on it

i got this tank and set it up not all that sure of what fish i wanted to keep in it i have kept fish before and am familiar and competent with water paramaters

i have decided to get discus after reading through this forum for a a few days i have come with a few questions firstly with my filtering should i get another aquaclear 70 and set it up along side my current one what are some recomendations with this (i am on a relatively small budget). question number 2 am i right to add one discus at a time in say 3-4 week intervals (again on a "student" budget). q3 i understand that discus need low ph i have a ph of about 7 should i be alright or will i have to somehow lower is more so and again suggestions on safe ways to lower it. q4 am i right to keep them (eventually 3-4 discus) with about 10 neon tetras and otos

any help will be much apprieciated

[Benny]

Hey buddy.

3-4 discus neons and ottos should be fine in 50gals.

Firstly theres something that i ought to point out. I reared discus (and infact they grow better) in a slightly BASIC (pH 7.2) water. It never affected them, they've all grown well :)

The key to discus keeping is stability. a pH of seven is perfect to raise discus. You only need worry about lowering the pH come breeding time.

ways to lower the pH all the same are either injecting CO2 (carbon dioxide, which helps the plants out alot)

Or by putting peat in your filter.

before you start messing with pH however, you MUST make sure you have a degree of carbonate hardness (kH) to ensure stability of the pH over the long run, as it can crash easily otherwise.

Also discus are a social sort of fish, and really do well in groups of 3 - 4+.

I need to ask first, is your tank cycled properly? Because discus aren't exactly the ideal fish to be subjected to ammonia levels and nitrite.

I would reccoment saving your pennies and buying four of the discus from the same tank at the same time.

At least you reduce the risk of your fish getting foreign diseases everytime you add something new to the tank , you save yourself quarantining hassles, and promote happy fishies!!

Regards, hope to have answered your questions.

[EYEShurt]

thanks for the reply the tank is not fully cycled yet so i think i may after a few more weeks put my curren fishload for my smaller tank into my larger tank for a few weeks after i finish cycling it so i can save up for 3 or 4 discus. the kh is around 4 atm and am currently diy co2'ing the tank

should i get another filter to sit along my current one?

atleast the few weeks should give my plants some time to grow :D