ok help me out please

[Dogvet06]

i posted in general discussion ... i have 7 juvenile discus in a 80 gal bow front heavily planted and have pristella tetras, golden rams and some loaches. i have an empty 120 gal tank with a wet/dry filter..... so if im reading correctly i should keep my 120 gal bare bottom and run it through its cycle and then transfer just the discus over to grow them out, feed them 4-5 times daily and 50% daily water changes.

my question....how do u make a bare bottom tank pretty if nothing is in it? and am i missing and vital things? and then i have to figure out what to do with my 80 gal and all the fish in it :(

[Trier20]

I read your other thread and you mentioned a 120? With a BB tank you will paint the bottom and back usually some sort or light pastel color white or blue. If you have pigeon bloods are dark background will cause them to pepper. Choose a color that will compliment your discus.
My tanks have a heater and a couple sponge filters. Larger tanks will have a HOB or canister filter as well.
The Fish is what makes the tank beautiful IMO. As your fish grow to their mature adult sizes then you can start adding thugs into the tank. HTH

[Dogvet06]

thank u Brandon! Is there any specific type of paint? This explains the peppering that has appeared on some of the discus....the 80 bow has black painted back which was done before i bought it. So are you saying to have the wet dry and add the canister filters to it? i have 2 fluval 204 filters...do i use one or both on the 120 gal ?

[Wjmulder]

IMO there is no such thing as a "pretty" bare bottom tank, sorry...nobody will convince me otherwise. Here's what I would do, set up the 120 to be the "pretty" tank and move all the fish but the discus to that. Keep the discus in the BB 80 for growout and transfer them later. An 80 gallon is plenty big for growing out 7 juvies, and a 120 is plenty big for the adults with some other schooling mates. If you think you can live with a BB tank permanently, then just move em now and get it over with. Oh, and I would lose the loaches and get corys instead. And while I'm upsetting the faithful, a green painted back makes the tank look like it's in desperate need of a waterchange and a good josie style wipe down.

JUST MY OPINIONS! I'M NO EXPERT!.....I just know what I like :)

[Dogvet06]

would it be acceptable to have a large piece of driftwood with plants attached to it or would that still cause problems?

[Dogvet06]

pbase.com/ladymontava/inbox here are some cell phone pics..... be honest...do they look in poor health? i know im not feeding them per the forum's recommendations but im going to start. add www to begining of link oh forgot to mention there r some random pics of my reef tank in there sorry!

[bogia99]

3D background + some sand + wood = great tank (saw it from 1 of the hobbyist on this site in the planted section)

[Eddie]

Thats easy....the fish make the tank pretty. LOL

[Dogvet06]

if i add sand wouldnt that not be a bottomless tank then? also i read the backgrounds are more of a pain in the long run

[Eddie]

if i add sand wouldnt that not be a bottomless tank then? also i read the backgrounds are more of a pain in the long run

In my opinion, sand in a juvenile tank doesn't mix. Thats just me. Can you do it, sure but I prefer to keep things SUPER clean while raising juvenile fish.

[bogia99]

I am sure he will suck out the sand during the water change and will not put it back after a couple weeks --> BB :)

[bogia99]

if i add sand wouldnt that not be a bottomless tank then? also i read the backgrounds are more of a pain in the long run

I think our look preference will be override by our desire for simplicity over time :)

[Trier20]

alot of people like a latex paint. it's easy to strip off if you want to change the color on it.

[Dogvet06]

Thank you everyone! I think i have it planned out. Can i put a large piece of DW in there or should i wait?

[Eddie]

Thank you everyone! I think i have it planned out. Can i put a large piece of DW in there or should i wait?

If you really want something in the tank as they grow, its fine.