Bare bottom or ada soil?

[Cookie_discus]

Hi there I have a question about getting subsbrate for my discus tank. I know bare bottom is the best but I really wanna try add some soil for subsbrate as I think that will looks very nice. I am not sure if that works in the tank that with discus? I will be adding some moss ball and anubias on wood in the tank only.

[monching]

Just like mine it's still a BB but will convert it to a show tank by December. If your discus are already adults then by all means you can but if it's still young and growing, BB is the best. Same reason why I will wait till December, mine will be a year old by then.
Just my 2 cents:)

[Altum Nut]

Jimmy...once adults as Ramon mentioned you can go that route. Another option you can consider would be to plant your Anubias in pots or can also tie on your driftwood which would be my first choice because the rhizomes should not be submerged. Would make cleaning a breeze.

...Ralph

[April]

I sell ada soil . when you first add it..it produces ammonia for 30 days. your discus may not like it. when I used it I set up a tank..added plaNTS.. got them established and left it with no fish for 30 days. I then did a full wc and added new water. then added a test betta. all fine. then I added guppies. still fine.
id suggest grow your discus in a bb tank..while setting up another tank with ada and getting your plants going. once established then add your discus.

[MKD]

Agree with above. ADA is expensive, It breaks down after 2 yrs if i still remember. Then you'll have to replace it. how big is your tank? Discus needs to stay in the group of 6 is the idea.

[rickztahone]

I sell ada soil . when you first add it..it produces ammonia for 30 days. your discus may not like it. when I used it I set up a tank..added plaNTS.. got them established and left it with no fish for 30 days. I then did a full wc and added new water. then added a test betta. all fine. then I added guppies. still fine.
id suggest grow your discus in a bb tank..while setting up another tank with ada and getting your plants going. once established then add your discus.

great advice. That first wave of ammonia it leeches will definitely stress out your discus, to the point of possibly killing them.

[Cookie_discus]

Oh I gonna buy three captive breed adult discus and the tank is 65 gallon. What about Fluval shrimp and plant soil, do they produces ammonia for next 30 days? Also I am still thinking should I use RO water or tap water at all? My PH from my tap is 7.8 and then the gh is 7. If I use tap I will just let the water sit for 24 hours before each water change.

[Filip]

Oh I gonna buy three captive breed adult discus and the tank is 65 gallon. What about Fluval shrimp and plant soil, do they produces ammonia for next 30 days? Also I am still thinking should I use RO water or tap water at all? My PH from my tap is 7.8 and then the gh is 7. If I use tap I will just let the water sit for 24 hours before each water change.

Ada ,fluval and other expensive profi plant soils are used for planted dutch style tanks with all kinds of dellicate and collorfull plants.
Why would you want to spent that much money and go with anubias on driftwood?
BTW all nutrient rich plant soils need time -month or two to leach out excess nutrient in water.

[Cookie_discus]

Ada ,fluval and other expensive profi plant soils are used for planted dutch style tanks with all kinds of dellicate and collorfull plants.
Why would you want to spent that much money and go with anubias on driftwood?
BTW all nutrient rich plant soils need time -month or two to leach out excess nutrient in water.

Because I think they make the tank looks so nature and nice. I think BB looks so empty lol.

[navarro1950]

Fluval shrimp soil cost two arms and two legs. Don't use that in tank unless you're planning on have a shrimp tank. If you must have soil maybe you can use two or three bags of eco complete in your discus tank.

[Filip]

Fluval shrimp soil cost two arms and two legs. Don't use that in tank unless you're planning on have a shrimp tank. If you must have soil maybe you can use two or three bags of eco complete in your discus tank.

My point exactly.

If its only for appearance you can consider also JBL Manado , or Tesco cat litter, they are inorganic so wont leach nutrients in water column.
Then spend the extra bucks you saved to buy bigger and better quality Discus .
BTW i dont like BB also, ill be putting sand in mine as its considered next best thing after BB for hygiene and discus health.

[Cookie_discus]

The JBL manado and the eco complete seem a lot better than the fluval or the ada. I had seen my LFS carry the eco complete but I havent seen they have the JBL one. By the way which one of them is best?

[Filip]

Sand is best for discus.
Out of those two ill choose manado cause it has finer grain size 1-2 mm i think , it is lightwigeiht thus less anaerobic areas and easy for siphoning and its lighter in colour so it wont darken discus colours like eco complete.

[Cookie_discus]

Yes I gonna manado if my lfs can order it for me. By the way should I use RO or tap water? My PH is 7.6-7.8 and GH is around 6.

[rickztahone]

Yes I gonna manado if my lfs can order it for me. By the way should I use RO or tap water? My PH is 7.6-7.8 and GH is around 6.

does your pH have a swing after 24hrs?

[navarro1950]

I used the eco complete and I didn't have any ammonia spikes and it certainly didn't change the ph in my 125 but the Fluval shrimp substrate did lowered the ph in my 7 gal RCS shrimp tank.

[Cookie_discus]

Like swing it down under 6.5? I am not sure yet. I will let the water age for 24 hours then test the ph again.