gravel or river sand

[Jonesy]

hi all i have just got a new 5,2,2 ft fish tank .. my 3rd tank now !!! i have a 3ft tank witch has gravel with 3 discus in 2 red turks and 1 wight swan .... my 3ft has gravel in it .. but this is going to be my breeding tank (with some luck ) i want to set up my 5,2,2 with lots of plants and i have herd that plants do well with river sand ... but how do discus do with river sand ??? thanks nathan

[Escher]

I think is rather a personal preference, but you will find a discussion in the aquascapes section.

[kevkoi]

Gravel....

Try to gravel siphon sand and you will see why we prefer GRAVEL.

[nicholas76]

i agree kev


but i think sand looks HOT in a discus tank

[flukes]

Id also go gravel for that same reason, try to plan ahead making maintaince easier for yourself.

Another good look is river stones, if you can get some about the size of a 50cent piece it shouldn't cost you much and will still look good.

You might want too put a layer of 3mm gravel underneath and then lay the stones ontop. Just another option.

[sunshinediscus]

Sand looks extremely good ina discus tank and your right the plants love it, as others have said it is more difficult to gravel clean but that is a minor problem. When you gravel syphon do so into a bucket and collect any sand that you accidently suck out. It can be added back in later. Put a flow control valve on the syphon and regulate when cleaning to reduce the amount of sand removed or just do it by hand by crimping and releasing the pipes suction pressure. Once you've done it a few times you will be a pro and won't suck much out.