any choices for substrate that's a little darker or has a touch of color?

[Dave-H]

Hi all -

I am restarting a 54g tank and I'd like it to become a small discus tank in the future. I have this great 3D background which I love, but it's quite lightly colored and if I use pool sand I worry that it will be a bit stark in the tank.

I plan to add some driftwood with Anubias to give the tank some color and contrast. I know that PFS is tried and true, but I wonder if there is an option that would be a bit darker to make the tank more attractive.

I hear that very dark substrate isn't great for the coloration of the fish, but is there some middle ground? I saw a discus tank today (planted) that used that reddish Flourite substrate and it was amazing. That might be darker than I need to go, but am I stuck with these white or near white substrates?

It's been years, literally, since I kept discus and back then black gravel was used because it made the fish coloration really show. We never had a problem with darkening/peppering but the whole hobby was very crude back then :)

Anyways, any input appreciated. I get that a bare bottom is best but I have been very successful in keeping all sorts of fish healthy and breeding, even with a small tank like this one. So, some substrate and a few plants seems worthwhile.

Thank you!

[Kyla]

i know some ppl paint the outside bottom of the tank with textured paint to make it look like sand. im sure there are many colours to choose from. just an idea, to blend both BB and a sandy look. if u went this route and didnt like it u could always add sand later and it would hide the textured paint.

[Dave-H]

I painted the back glass years ago, with a textured appearance made my mixing multiple colors and layers of paint. It looked great! But, I really want to make this tank beautiful so some substrate is on my mind :)

[SNap0283]

Substrate can be used and it seems you are aware of the difficulty in doing so. If you chose to go that path then the substrate color will only matter if you keep pigeon blood discus. If you do keep it on the lighter side, if you do not then do whatever youd like for color. If you are unsure what pigeon blood discus are just read a bit and look at some pictures, once you know what to look for its simple to distinguish.

[Dave-H]

That contradicts a lot of advice I've read, which is basically 'dark substrate will make the discus darken, or stress, etc'. i never heard that it was limited to particular species (although just today someone else said it!). I am not that concerned with any particular species so this is good news!

It's always hard to get a straight story on the internet, but is it correct that only certain species are so susceptible to this? If so, I might consider something in the middle, color wise.

[Filip]

That contradicts a lot of advice I've read, which is basically 'dark substrate will make the discus darken, or stress, etc'. i never heard that it was limited to particular species (although just today someone else said it!). I am not that concerned with any particular species so this is good news!

It's always hard to get a straight story on the internet, but is it correct that only certain species are so susceptible to this? If so, I might consider something in the middle, color wise.

It s not like it's going to make them sick or something. Discus camouflage them self with the surroundings like many other animal spicies,so the darker the surrounding the darker the discus colours will get.
This is more pronounced with pigeon bloods strains of discus, but it affects also others strains but not that obvious.

Try Jbl Manado if your in to a bit reddish and natural substrate.

[Dave-H]

Hi Thanks for your thoughts.

The JBL Manando looks nice although it's even darker than what I need. I was thinking to get something very intert that won't affect the water at all, since I am not planting much and have great results with treated tap water in this part of Colorado. Will that substrate affect the water parameters at all or is it just plant friendly??

thanks! Dave

[discuspaul]

Hi again Dave, welcome to the simplydiscus forum.

We've chatted on TPT regarding your substrate question, and hopefully you'll get sufficient views here to help you decide what direction you'll want to move in.
Best of luck to you.

[rickztahone]

The PB phenomenon is simply "peppering". Nothing more, nothing less. The PB's tend to show more peppering in darker settings. Keep in mind that almost all PB's have this "peppering" instead of regular discus stress bars. A discus can still be dark and be healthy in a darker setting tank, however, you play a very risky game of making it more difficult for yourself to tell when the discus might actually be dark to display stress, pb or no.

My advice is to go with sand. It is light, but you can usually find some tan options as well. If you have not seen this substrate dealer, check them out:

http://www.substratesource.com/?p=products&c=s

They are sponsors on another forum I frequent and they are vouched for. Have them send you samples if you'd like.

[MattArmstrong]

Your profile doesn't state your location, so I'm not sure these apply to you. These are available in the western U.S.

I'd take a look at Carib Sea "Sunset Gold" sand. It looks a bit ho-hum and monotone in pictures on internet, but my LFS has a tank with it and it is surprisingly attractive in person. It isn't dark.

If you're on the west coast U.S. you may have access to "Lapis Lustre", which is mined near Monterey CA and frequently sold as sand blasting sand, sand for landscaping, laying patio brick, etc. Because it is mined near the coast it has in the past, at times, contained shells, which raises KH and PH, but the last my "local scene" observed that was years ago. They sift the mined sand and sell it in different sizes from a fine dust all the way up to coarse gravel. Several fish stores in the area buy this stuff in bulk and sell it in 5-20 lb bags to people.

Here are accurate glimpses of what it looks like:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ph2-uNKg7Kc

But it might not be the most environmentally conscious choice:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hlWse5rqTI

(in fairness, this environmental concern is probably relevant for almost all aquarium substrates, to one degree or another, because they all come from somewhere)

[Filip]

Hi Thanks for your thoughts.

The JBL Manando looks nice although it's even darker than what I need. I was thinking to get something very intert that won't affect the water at all, since I am not planting much and have great results with treated tap water in this part of Colorado. Will that substrate affect the water parameters at all or is it just plant friendly??

thanks! Dave

It is completly inert and it has finer grain size than other substrates , so thats a plus in keeping discus. I think it is red scoria -Lava stone based.
But sand as said above is the most user friendly for discus .