diff --git a/tutor/templates/build/forum/Dockerfile b/tutor/templates/build/forum/Dockerfile
index 91b612a..b6a6bd0 100644
--- a/tutor/templates/build/forum/Dockerfile
+++ b/tutor/templates/build/forum/Dockerfile
@@ -7,8 +7,14 @@ RUN apt update && \
   apt upgrade -y && \
   apt install -y git wget autoconf bison build-essential libssl-dev libyaml-dev libreadline6-dev zlib1g-dev libncurses5-dev libffi-dev libgdbm-dev
 
+# Install dockerize to wait for mongodb/elasticsearch availability
+ARG DOCKERIZE_VERSION=v0.6.1
+RUN wget -O /tmp/dockerize.tar.gz https://github.com/jwilder/dockerize/releases/download/$DOCKERIZE_VERSION/dockerize-linux-amd64-$DOCKERIZE_VERSION.tar.gz \
+    && tar -C /usr/local/bin -xzvf /tmp/dockerize.tar.gz \
+    && rm /tmp/dockerize.tar.gz
+
 # Install ruby-build for building specific version of ruby
-RUN git clone https://github.com/sstephenson/ruby-build.git /openedx/ruby-build
+RUN git clone https://github.com/rbenv/ruby-build.git /openedx/ruby-build
 WORKDIR /openedx/ruby-build
 RUN PREFIX=/usr/local ./install.sh
 
@@ -28,10 +34,17 @@ RUN git clone https://github.com/edx/cs_comments_service.git --branch open-relea
 WORKDIR /openedx/cs_comments_service
 RUN bundle install --deployment
 
+COPY ./bin /openedx/bin
+ENV PATH /openedx/bin:${PATH}
+ENTRYPOINT ["docker-entrypoint.sh"]
+
 ENV RACK_ENV staging
 ENV NEW_RELIC_ENABLE false
 ENV API_KEY forumapikey
 ENV SEARCH_SERVER "http://elasticsearch:9200"
-ENV MONGOHQ_URL "mongodb://mongodb/cs_comments_service"
+ENV MONGODB_AUTH ""
+ENV MONGODB_HOST "mongodb"
+ENV MONGODB_PORT "27017"
+ENV MONGOHQ_URL "mongodb://$MONGODB_AUTH$MONGODB_HOST:$MONGODB_PORT/cs_comments_service"
 EXPOSE 4567
 CMD ./bin/unicorn -c config/unicorn_tcp.rb -I '.'
diff --git a/tutor/templates/build/forum/bin/docker-entrypoint.sh b/tutor/templates/build/forum/bin/docker-entrypoint.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..de18574
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tutor/templates/build/forum/bin/docker-entrypoint.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+#!/bin/sh -e
+
+echo "Waiting for mongodb/elasticsearch..."
+dockerize -wait tcp://$MONGODB_HOST:$MONGODB_PORT -wait $SEARCH_SERVER/content -wait-retry-interval 5s -timeout 600s
+
+exec "$@"
diff --git a/tutor/templates/k8s/deployments.yml b/tutor/templates/k8s/deployments.yml
index 03e27af..64fb4ce 100644
--- a/tutor/templates/k8s/deployments.yml
+++ b/tutor/templates/k8s/deployments.yml
@@ -69,8 +69,12 @@ spec:
           env:
             - name: SEARCH_SERVER
               value: "http://{{ ELASTICSEARCH_HOST }}:{{ ELASTICSEARCH_PORT }}"
-            - name: MONGOHQ_URL
-              value: "mongodb://{% if MONGODB_USERNAME and MONGODB_PASSWORD %}{{ MONGODB_USERNAME}}:{{ MONGODB_PASSWORD }}@{% endif %}{{ MONGODB_HOST }}:{{ MONGODB_PORT }}/cs_comments_service"
+            - name: MONGODB_AUTH
+              value: "{% if MONGODB_USERNAME and MONGODB_PASSWORD %}{{ MONGODB_USERNAME}}:{{ MONGODB_PASSWORD }}@{% endif %}"
+            - name: MONGODB_HOST
+              value: "{{ MONGODB_HOST }}"
+            - name: MONGODB_PORT
+              value: "{{ MONGODB_PORT }}"
 {% endif %}
 ---
 apiVersion: apps/v1
diff --git a/tutor/templates/local/docker-compose.yml b/tutor/templates/local/docker-compose.yml
index 1186376..817a491 100644
--- a/tutor/templates/local/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/tutor/templates/local/docker-compose.yml
@@ -95,7 +95,9 @@ services:
     image: {{ DOCKER_REGISTRY }}{{ DOCKER_IMAGE_FORUM }}
     environment:
       SEARCH_SERVER: "http://{{ ELASTICSEARCH_HOST }}:{{ ELASTICSEARCH_PORT }}"
-      MONGOHQ_URL: "mongodb://{% if MONGODB_USERNAME and MONGODB_PASSWORD %}{{ MONGODB_USERNAME}}:{{ MONGODB_PASSWORD }}@{% endif %}{{ MONGODB_HOST }}:{{ MONGODB_PORT }}/cs_comments_service"
+      MONGODB_AUTH: "{% if MONGODB_USERNAME and MONGODB_PASSWORD %}{{ MONGODB_USERNAME}}:{{ MONGODB_PASSWORD }}@{% endif %}"
+      MONGODB_HOST: "{{ MONGODB_HOST }}"
+      MONGODB_PORT: "{{ MONGODB_PORT }}"
     restart: unless-stopped
     depends_on:
       {% if ACTIVATE_ELASTICSEARCH %}- elasticsearch{% endif %}