Setting up 125 for Discus, Advice needed

[aquadiva]

Hello!

I am new here and have a 125 gallon aquarium that is currently running and cycled. I have 12 neon's in it. I have a few questions for those that may be able to help.

First, this is a display tank, so I would like to put some live plants, driftwood and substrate in it. What kind of substrate will work well for plants and Discus? Does anyone recommend Eco-complete and being it is "black" would that also look nice with Discus? Or should I use regular gravel, sand?

I have a Rena XP-4 cannister filter on it with bio./mech/chem. media. Is this adequate? Should I add another Rena cannister and use it strictly for biological filteration? Or, an Emperor 400 bio wheel? I also use a HOT magnum to polish the water. Any input on filteration for this size tank would be greatly appreciated.

I like the ease of using the hang on the back type of filters but am willing to do another cannister if that would be best.

Thank you in advance!

Joanna

[digthemlows]

I have a 125 with pool sand...............you can put a layer of florite or something under the sand but it does tend to make it's way to the top..........you can "section" the sand to be visible while the subtrate gets hidden by plants........or you can just use sand and put fert tabs near your plants........

As for filtration, the XP4 will be ok, but if you want to add more an AC110 would be excellent... for an HOB it will add a lot of filtration. You shouldn't need seperate "polishing" and "bio" the XP4 does both and so would an AquaClear 110

[aquadiva]

Thank you for responding! So, it sounds like Pool Sand works well and I can use that all by itself for plants so long as I add fertilizer tabs? Do you have all live plants in your aquarium or some fake? I can only see a small picture of your Discus and sand and it looks beautiful!

[aquadiva]

[QUOTE=digthemlows;475600]I have a 125 with pool sand...............you can put a layer of florite or something under the sand but it does tend to make it's way to the top..........you can "section" the sand to be visible while the subtrate gets hidden by plants........or you can just use sand and put fert tabs near your plants........

As for filtration, the XP4 will be ok, but if you want to add more an AC110 would be excellent... for an HOB it will add a lot of filtration. You shouldn't need seperate "polishing" and "bio" the XP4 does both and so would an AquaClear 110[/QU

Okay, I just called a local pool store and they have 50lb bags of pool sand. He said the size of the sand is between .45-.55MM. Is this the correct size to use for my aquarium? Thank you and in the future, should I "quote" who I am responding to? I am new here so learning the forum still. Thanks so much!

Joanna

[digthemlows]

Check my tank here...... http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?t=62337 also look around the planted tanks section and do some searches, I'm not an expert, I've just read alot!

[aquadiva]

Wow! Your aquarium and Discus are beautiful! Thank you for the link to photos, very nice.

[dan3949]

If the discus you are adding are not full-grown, you could run your tank with no gravel or just a thin layer (looks better) and place some plants in pots while you grow-out in the tank. The tank will be much easier to maintain while you are growing out (i.e. heavy feeding) your discus. I am going this route and it is working well. I have a dozen plants in small clear plastic pots that I can move to allow thorough clean of the tank bottom. This allows the positive benefits of plants in the tank without the big problem of keeping the substrate clean.

After the discus are grown-out and feeding is reduced, you could fully plant your tank.

[aquadiva]

This is sounding more like the way I should go for starters, bb, or extremely thin layer of sand just to cover the glass on the bottom. I suppose I could also tape some dark paper on the bottom of the tank instead so it does not appear bottomless to freak out the Discus? Any ideas?

For the potted plants, do you use Peatmoss only in the pot? I've never done this before but am real interested in doing the "potted" plants while the young discus will be growing out. I may also be putting some driftwood in but nothing else. After reading much more on this forum, it seems that bb is the way to go and later on when my discus mature, maybe I will go ahead with planting in the aquarium.

Thanks for replying! I am really seeking advice on getting this right from the start and this forum has been very helpful in the short time that I have been here.