Discus planted tank

[cichlidman2]

So I'm starting a 125 gallon planted tank. My substrate is miracle grow organic garden soil. Should I leave that as is, or cover it in a black sand or pebbles?


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[treemanone2003]

Dark substrate and backgrounds are not ideal for Discus. It will make them appear darker, may cause peppering in some strains, and may prevent you from recognizing common symptoms of some diseases.


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[Sk3lly]

Defo cap the soil, otherwise your water will be very murky.

Will you be doing a build thread? I'd be interested in following


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[Sk3lly]

Dark substrate and backgrounds are not ideal for Discus. It will make them appear darker, may cause peppering in some strains, and may prevent you from recognizing common symptoms of some diseases.


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Would normal sand be ok to cap?


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[cichlidman2]

Dark substrate and backgrounds are not ideal for Discus. It will make them appear darker, may cause peppering in some strains, and may prevent you from recognizing common symptoms of some diseases.


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What should I cap it with then?


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[treemanone2003]

Would normal sand be ok to cap?


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Normal sand (silicate free) would be perfectly acceptable. I keep mine as a bb just to keep things easier. You can still do a "planted" tank, just using pots. I also do 50% WC's every 3 days and 100% on Saturday/Sunday depending on my work schedule. Tank size, fish size and # of fish will also determine what is a better course to take. Anything less than adult (both experience and opinion) require much more feeding and WC's to help stimulate superb growth.


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[treemanone2003]

What should I cap it with then?


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My best answer would be: what is your experience with plants/lighting and what experience do you have with Discus ? Both are not something to jump right into if you don't have a lot of time or experience. Also, have you researched any suppliers of Discus ? There are a few in the US (one in particular) that I would NEVER deal with and steer clear of the LFS too !!!


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[emilygupps]

Following this


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[cichlidman2]

This will be my first discus tank but I have experience with planted tanks


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[treemanone2003]

Then IMHO, I would start with much smaller of a tank for first time Discus. 55 with 5-6. If you're getting all adults from a REPUTABLE breeder/importer, you're looking around $450-750 just for quality adult fish. They're the easiest to start (learn) with. Although juvies are less expensive, they are a lot of time and commitment. Even 5-6 LFS juvies can run $250-400 and there's no guarantee that they aren't sick or stunted and more costly in the end. This is all experience talking. I'm not trying to discourage you from them. Just trying to save you a lot of time, headaches, and $$$$$.


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[treemanone2003]

It's 1am here and I've been 7 hours on the road, 4 hours at NASCAR and wake up is only 5 hours away. Bring on all the questions you can think of tonight and I'll be back with all the answers tomorrow. ??


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