You want a Heater in your tank?
The uses and it's benefits

In tropical climates like Singapore, there is definitely no need for a heater to be placed in a Discus tank all the time. As the water temperature would vary between 28-30°C, a temperature suitable for all the Discus strains. Except for the unique Heckel Discus which prefers temperature to be around 32°C.

Selecting a good heater.

The first step is to head down to a local aquarium store and buy a heater. Heaters vary considerably in price, performance and features. Buy the best heaters (about $30-35)! They generally have more accurate, longer-lasting thermostats, and often include extra features like submersibility and easy-set temperature markings. Low quality heaters may continue heating and boil your Diskies alive! Arghh! That's no good. It's also important that you get a suitable heater for your tank size.

Heater Placement

Currents in the tank would distributes heat equally. So I suggest that the heater be placed near a internal power filter, water pump, or an air stone. The life of the heater may be increased by reducing the number of times the heater thermostat switching on and off.

Check temperature regularly

I have digital thermometers for my tanks and I monitor them everytime I look at my Discus. Although they may be costly, it may save the life of an entire tank of beloved Discus. If you notice that the temperature level is always fluctuating and it's not stable. I guess it's time's up for the heater and a new one has to be replace it.

The Benefits

When my Diskies fall seriously ill, I would normally increase the water temperature to 32°C and add medication. It increases the effectiveness of the medication. By doing so, the dissolved O2 content will decrease with higher temperatures, and I would place an airstone in prevent any problems from arising.

A few skin and gill protozoan (e.g. Ich, Oodinium or velvet, Costia) do not tolerate high temperatures. Therefore, in order to eliminate them, set the temperature to 33-34°C and maintain it for for a week.

Most aquarium plants will survive this temperature increase. When using oxygen depleting medications like formalin, place in many airstones, or else don't even try it as there would not be any O2 to support the Discus. Discus are special in the sense that they can tolerate such high temperatures and not die. Please remove any other fishes when increases the temperature.

I'll stop here, I hope that you learnt something! Head back to Discus'O'Zest Equipment Section for more on other topics.