New wiht a few questions

[Mondo]

hey everyone, its my first post here, and i dont want all the discus i plan to get to die on me, so i have a few questions

i have a 29 gallon tank and ive had a few freshwater fish in there and i recently gave them to my girlfriend to make room for discus, i want to make sure i have everythign set up right before i purchase the discus,

my ph level is about a 7.1 and i have the heater set to 82 f.
is that about right for discus?

also i bought a sponge filter for my tank and the bubbles coming from it are very very noisey, what are my other options other than a sponge filter?

i have rocks in my tank, which from reading on this site is not good to have, and i plan on taking them out, what other things can i put in the tank?

i have a air stone along the whole back of my tank, is that ok to have? and
i have a regular bio filter that came with my tank, is that ok to have with discus?


and as far as water changes go, i only really have time to do about a 50% water change everyweek



any other chemicals or tests i should do would be appreciated!

thanks in advance!


oh and how many duscus should i get for a 29 gallon tank, i plan on getting them as babys,

[Merrilyn]

Hi Mondo, welcome to the wonderful world of discus. :P

Your pH is fine. Add a few nice pieces of driftwood to your tank. That will help to lower the pH to under 7, which will keep your discus very happy.

At 82 degrees, your temp is a bit low for juvenile discus. They prefer the water warm, so bring it up to 86 degrees.

Sponge filters are great, but they can be noisy if you have the air going through them too fast. Slow the air down, and your filter will be a lot quieter.

Air bubble curtains are good too. Discus like lots of oxygen in the water, but they don't like a lot of current, so have the air gently blowing through that too, so you get good circulation, but not a lot of current.

Discus love waterchanges, and I'd recommend at least two water changes a week, but if you can only manage one, then make sure you do a thorough clean of the tank at the same time.

A 29 gallon is ideal for three adult discus. You could certainly have more juveniles than that in there, but as they grow, be prepared to sell some of them off. General rule is 10 gallons per adult fish.

Good luck with your new venture.

[Merrilyn]

Sorry, forgot to add - test kits. You really need to have kits for pH, hardness, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. If your nitrates start to get over 10 before your weekly water change, then you really need to find time to do two water changes a week.

High nitrates will inhibit the growth of your juvenile fish.