Fanie Jordaan
05-06-2009, 20:49
Allow me to start by expressing my delight when I came across this forum as most tropical fish and planted aquarium forums tend to cater for North American and European hobbyist where aquarium resources seems to be limitless with breeders and equipment suppliers in abundance.
I started keeping tropical’s in the mid 70’s and eventually migrated to marine aquariums when protein skimmers and other fancy equipment were only dreamt of by most hobbyist. I must however confess that my conscious no longer allowed me to keep marines and I sadly gave up my beloved hobby with the intent to take up a tropical species tank when time allows.
I recently walled into a local pet shop and was swept of my feet by the absolute beauty of a pair of adult Discus. I am thus intending to return to the hobby which with a species planted Discus tank and have more questions than initially anticipated.
Firstly, where in the Pretoria / Johannesburg area do I find a Discus breeder? I tend to lean towards the original wild species. Do breeders still bother with the original Heckel’s, Royal Blue’s , Browns and Red Spotted Green’s?
The primary setup which I intend to start with would consist of a Jewel Vision 260 liter tank – I like the esthetics of the curved front glass.
EHEIM professional 3e 450 as the primary biological filter later adding a second running as a backup.
EHEIM JÄGER 300W heater also with a second as a backup.
EHEIM professional pH-co2ntrol which I deem essential in a planted tank - I still however need to find a local supplier for this product as it would appear that there is no longer a sole EHEIM supplier in South Africa?
As for substrate and plants in a Discus species tank – I will need to do quite a bit of shopping around and advice.
The above setup – according to my calculations would support about 4 adult Discus.
Your advice on the above proposed setup would really be appreciated.
Also – where do I find a decent supplier of equipment and plans in the Pretoria / Johannesburg area?
PS: Keep up your good inputs on this forum – to newbie’s it is a goldmine of valuable info.
Regards,
Fanie Jordaan
I started keeping tropical’s in the mid 70’s and eventually migrated to marine aquariums when protein skimmers and other fancy equipment were only dreamt of by most hobbyist. I must however confess that my conscious no longer allowed me to keep marines and I sadly gave up my beloved hobby with the intent to take up a tropical species tank when time allows.
I recently walled into a local pet shop and was swept of my feet by the absolute beauty of a pair of adult Discus. I am thus intending to return to the hobby which with a species planted Discus tank and have more questions than initially anticipated.
Firstly, where in the Pretoria / Johannesburg area do I find a Discus breeder? I tend to lean towards the original wild species. Do breeders still bother with the original Heckel’s, Royal Blue’s , Browns and Red Spotted Green’s?
The primary setup which I intend to start with would consist of a Jewel Vision 260 liter tank – I like the esthetics of the curved front glass.
EHEIM professional 3e 450 as the primary biological filter later adding a second running as a backup.
EHEIM JÄGER 300W heater also with a second as a backup.
EHEIM professional pH-co2ntrol which I deem essential in a planted tank - I still however need to find a local supplier for this product as it would appear that there is no longer a sole EHEIM supplier in South Africa?
As for substrate and plants in a Discus species tank – I will need to do quite a bit of shopping around and advice.
The above setup – according to my calculations would support about 4 adult Discus.
Your advice on the above proposed setup would really be appreciated.
Also – where do I find a decent supplier of equipment and plans in the Pretoria / Johannesburg area?
PS: Keep up your good inputs on this forum – to newbie’s it is a goldmine of valuable info.
Regards,
Fanie Jordaan