I'm hooked on bare bottom!

[ExReefer]

I like the way the fish waste collects at one side of my tank now. The bottom is so slick without sand that there’s nothing for the fish waste to catch on so it slides across the bottom to one corner. This change has made this hobby easier for me and my fish are thriving. Instead of constantly vacuuming the sand, I just suck out the poop from the corner between WC’s and I’m done. It takes about 60 seconds to do with some rigid airline tubing and I don’t even have to stick my hand in the tank. Removing this waste on a daily basis has dramatically improved the water quality. I run an AC 110 and an Eheim 2227 wet/dry, but I could easily eliminate one of my filters now, but I like the overkill of biological filtration. I run sponges on the intakes of both filters. There is very little solid waste entering these filters which also makes my life easier. I’ve been wiping down the tank and rinse the sponges at each WC, but I might start performing those tasks just once a week.

Since the change, I’ve noticed my fish eating more aggressively. I used to think they ate pretty well before, but now they seriously attack their food. It’s like a competition to see who can eat the fastest and the most and all the fish participate. There’s a still a pecking order, but when the food hits the water, the pecking order gets ignored. A few them are even starting to take flake food. There’s no question the improvement in water quality has changed their behavior.

[Skip]

AHEM! i was fan..the SECOND i pulled out the gravel.. thanks to advice from my friend DEEPFLYBALL!

[PAR23]

I agree. Can't go wrong with BB.

[ExReefer]

It took me a year to come around. I really wanted grow out some juvies in a planted discus aquarium, but I finally realized it’s just too much work. It seemed like I could never get both the plants and discus to thrive together. About six months ago I set up a 40G breeder dedicated plant tank to feed my need for live plants. It’s CO2 injected and I change 50% of the water per week. It’s housed with a pair of Pelvicachromis taeniatus, a school of Julie cories, and some various tetra species. Someday, I’ll likely keep a larger planted discus tank with adult discus. For now, I enjoy the grow out aspect of the hobby too much.

[Justice]

I like bare bottoms too ! :D

[dean9922]

I to have gone from gravel, back to bare bottom.....then to sand and again back to bare bottom and in my experience now I will never add a substrate again....to much hassle and to much risk for keeping these beauties of ours......and BB is so easy to keep clean. IMO!!

However a nicely done show tank is definitely a thing of beauty.

[Jhhnn]

I think that only the most expert and dedicated aquarists are successful long term with discus in show tanks, and only at low population densities. Like this amazing display-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CJiKGCryFw&feature=player_embedded#!

5 truly beautiful (if not particularly large) adults in what has to be an enormous tank. I'll probably never be that good.

Most of us have to make a choice between the discus and the dreamy aquascape, purely as a practical matter, particularly with growing discus at any age. For me, it's all about the fish, so I deal with it accordingly- BB tanks.

[scottthomas]

Jhhnn, That is an awsome tank. Notice how the discus never seem to want swim over the planted area and seem to prefer the sandy bottom part of the tank? Interesting.

[ExReefer]

That is a beautiful tank, but those discus are not very active. It could be all the current that's needed in a planted tank to disperse the nutrients for the plants. My discus are constantly swimming all over my tank and up and down the front glass. Could also be that my discus we're likely spawned and raised in a BB tank and those discus are true wilds.