sand and discus?

[benno24]

I was at my local shop and they recommended that i didnt put sand down, though i have seen setups with sand and discus, could someone please enlighten me and maybe show there setup with the sand! thanks for your time.

[billybob]

Absolutely no reason not to use sand. Preferably not too fine that it gets into filters etc.

Sometimes gas pockets will build up in the sand over time, but in my experience, just stirring the sand with your fingers while doing a water change deals with that issue.

[benno24]

thanks for your help, do plants have any troubles growing in the sand?

[m.ingram]

I use sand in my discus tank and i love it .All poo and food particles sit on top of the sand making it easy to clean . I havent had any luck with growing plants in the sand as they keep floating to the top . So i grow plants that can be tied to driftwood .

[Maria Ashton]

you can also pot plants but this does not always look so nice. There are a lot of threads in the planted tank section on this subject, I believe you need to use fertilizers initially to get the plants going. I am about to change from a planted tank to one with sand, and tied on plants for ease of cleaning

[retiredsailor]

while i don't have any discus in my tanks yet, sadly, i have two smaller tanks with sand and plants and various fish. i add liquid fertilizer and have only had one plant out of 7 come out and float to the top. i have two swords that are flourishing.

[discuspaul]

benno, you wanted to see a set-up with sand - here's mine:

http://s1105.photobucket.com/albums/h357/discuspaul/Sept2011

[hsiang2000]

any issues with discus eating the leftover food off from sand? thx.

[judy]

no, none.

[hsiang2000]

thx!


no, none.

[discuspaul]

no, none.

Should have chimed in to confirm that. No, none.

[Darrell Ward]

while i don't have any discus in my tanks yet, sadly, i have two smaller tanks with sand and plants and various fish. i add liquid fertilizer and have only had one plant out of 7 come out and float to the top. i have two swords that are flourishing.

That's what those soft lead strips are for. They are sold as "plant weights". Very cheap, and work well.

[fishcrazed]

well people recomends no sand for easy clean up but there is no problem if you put sand in just have to be more detail in your cleaning