which way!!

[bigfish]

:-\ hi,
As i have said in my last post,i am ready to start back with discus
at the moment my tank holds malawis,i have noticed that most of you
keep bare bottom tanks....it seems a good way to go...but i was thinking
on just a thin layer of sand,and use some nice pieces of rock which i have in the tank of malawi.....after cleaning and sorting out my tank can i use
the mature filters,from my tank to give me a good start!!for my discus.
I will be using my HMA filter(heavey metal axe)for my water changes.
just want to go the best way this time round...had great success last time
3 years keeping these guys,but lost all my stock last year.Any advice
would be appreciated.
thankyou
regards ben. :)

[Cosmo]

Hey Big, welcome back !! it was a foregone conclusion you know :)

Dan of GulfCoast Discus keeps a tank with sand, somewhere on the forum is a pic of it (beautiful tank), but I'm sure if you IM him he'd be glad to tell you how he manages it...

Jim

[henryD]

Ben,

If your starting over I would start from scratch. I would go barebottom til you get some more experience under your belt.

If you really think it is too bare you could put some plants in a pot.

Henry.

Being the paranoid person I am. I might even clean the old filter and restart the cycle.

[Carol_Roberts]

I've tried sand. Got rid of it - even in the african tank. All my tanks are bare bottom now.

[Moon]

Just curious Carol. Why did you remove sand from your African tanks? I keep Tropheus and Frontosa in seperate species tanks and they seem to enjoy picking up the gravel and spitting it out. My discus tanks are bare.

[Carol_Roberts]

I got tired of cleaning it. The sand particles cling to the feces and a line of algea (or something) would develop on the glass close to the sand

[Don_Lee]

To clear all of your conscience and to get started, go bare bottom IMO. It is easiest in so many ways, and if you gain some success you can try other methods. The bottom line gets to be that you have nothing else to blame if you have no substrate etc..........lol.
I may soon be your neighbor.........ever heard of the dudley area in the UK? I do like alot of good English rock................UFO etc..........

Don ;D

[bigfish]

hi don,
ok its going to be (BARE BOTTOM TANK).......sure makes a lot of sense..
seems to me that substrate can harbour the nasties....
dudley ....yea some where in england,bring some nice discus with you!!!!
when you visit scotland (ha ha....
regards ben. :thumbsup:

[GulfCoastDiscus]

Hi Ben,
I do have one tank with a thin layer of sand. It's more hassle to clean but that's what you pay for to see a planted tank.
If you're starting out with juveniles. I would go barebottom tank. It's a lot easier to clean.
I would also recommend adult discus if you plan to add sand. They require less feeding and thus less waterchange.

Dan

[GulfCoastDiscus]

I only have 4 adults discus and 200 Cardinals in a 120gal. With a low bioload I change 40% every other day.

Dan

[Toronto]

I'm also recently get back to discus after years of Africans. I will not contaminate my discus tank with Cichlid filter. I started everything fresh. The fellow I purchase my fish from adviced any used tanks (even left dry for years)should be exterminate and rid of any dommant worm eggs completely. They will hatch within 2 weeks under a favorable environment and start haunting you for the rest of your discus life.
I have seen bare bottomed decorated show tank with driftwoods and plastic plants glued on a piece of slate. The exposed area of the slate is covered with a layer of gravel and sand. Everything is siliconed and holes which can trap dirts are also covered with sand or gravel. The slates are movable when siphoning or cleaning. They are very beautiful and absolutely not dull. The fish swim between plants and also has many route of escape when being chased by other fish. My wife normally dislike me spending any more money on fish simply just said " I want this tank and the fish". Bingo!! I love her. So we got 20 fish immediately. HTH.

[mikeos]

Don,

are you moving to the Dudley area then?

not exactly a million miles away ;) bout 60 in fact

[Don_Lee]

Hi Mike,

As of now, I am waiting for a written offer from Dudley........ ;D

[mikeos]

nice one ;D

[billy s]

hi ben how you do'n? BB is the way to go it grows on you. i'd start from scrach with regards to your filters, why not buy a seasoned sponge filter off who ever you by your fish off that way the risk of desease is grearly reduced, better still no waiting for filters to mature. ;D

regards billy

[bigfish]

Hi,billy
Good advice,its going to be bare bottom tank......not ready to start for a
few weeks yet.....the mature (malawi filter did concern me)...best to be safe this time...anyway its great to be back hope to meet you some time
soon.......thanks for the welcome back.
ben. :thumbsup: