bare bottom

[jdruff8]

hi guys, i've been debating bare bottom and i really don't want to have to. WOuld it help if i removed several decorations like pots and spread the gravel real thin, removing alot of it? I vacuum my tank weekly

[jules]

It will be easier to clean without the decorations/pots.
You will not get the same growth with gravel though, regardless of the amount.

[Carol_Roberts]

This is exactly why gravel does not work I vacuum my tank weekly

You need to vacuum the bottom of your tank everyday. when you finally go bare bottom you will be saying to your self "my goodness I had no idea all this food and feces was in my gravel"

[Willie]

Real pain trying to clean a tank with gravel. Everytime you wipe down, you end up scratching the glass.

Willie

P.S. Yes, you have to wipe down weekly!

[jdruff8]

hi guys
I made the switch to bare bottom! lol i lef 2 plants in though and a pice of wood. what do you mean "wipe down" Also, if i add discus larger than the others, will it be bad?

[Willie]

All the surfaces should be wiped down weekly because the slime coating falls off. Otherwise, the glass is covered with a film of bacteria. I wipe down the glass sides and bottom, the heater, the filter surfaces and anything else I can get my hands on once a week. Some people do more.

Also, you must quarantine discus from different sources before putting them together.

Good luck, Willie

[jdruff8]

hey ok, i can use those magnet things that you push around from the outside with the other on the inside? and also, in a bare bottom, the clown loaches seem bored and are jetting all over since the tank is more empty, won't this scare the discus?

[Carol_Roberts]

yes, they will. That's why we keep discus by themselves. ;D