Changing Substrate

Discussion in 'General Discussions' started by Reedfish, Mar 19, 2012.

  1. Reedfish

    Reedfish Moderator

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    Hi All,

    A bit of advice on the following please.

    I am considering changing the sustrate on one of my display tanks.
    There is black gravel in there at the moment. I am possibly going to go the Discus route in that tank, so will possibly change over to fine white sand.

    My concern is the filter.
    I am running a Fluval 305 on the tank.
    I had a Malawi setup in this tank a few years ago with crushed coral sand (arragonite - spelling ? :blink:), to help buffer the ph/hardness. A bit of that ended up in the filter - there was some in the filter every time I cleaned it out.

    The sand I am planning on using now is finer than the Malawi sand and I am concerned even more of that will end up in the filter, and could even damage the impellor.

    Any advice?

    Thanks
    Reedfish
     
    Reedfish, Mar 19, 2012
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  3. Sean J

    Sean J

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    For a proper discus setup, I'd go bare bottom. No substrate at all. Maybe some rocks and wood, but leave the subs out. The tank would be easier to clean. Especially if you buy juvi discus. With the amounts you have to feed them, having a bare bottom tank would be better.
     
    Sean J, Mar 19, 2012
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  4. OP
    Reedfish

    Reedfish Moderator

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    @SeanJ, thanks for the suggestion.

    If I do go for juvi, I will probably grow them out in one of my other tanks which will be bare bottom. And then move them to this tank when they are older/bigger.

    Even if I don't go for Discus, I still fancy a change, and would like to swap the substates.
     
    Reedfish, Mar 20, 2012
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  5. jpvd007

    jpvd007 Retired Moderator

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    @Redfish You will prob find the the sand got in to the filter when the Malawis are making a nests in the sand I have seen some of them take a mouthful all the way to the surface of a tank and spit it out you prob had one that liked dumping above your filter intake you won’t have to worry about that with discus at all.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 2, 2016
    jpvd007, Mar 20, 2012
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  6. jedigenie

    jedigenie

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    Have you tried putting a sponge over the intake?
     
    jedigenie, Mar 20, 2012
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  7. OP
    Reedfish

    Reedfish Moderator

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    I thought of putting a sponge over the intake.
    But then thought that it would stop the other waste getting into the filter too?
     
    Reedfish, Mar 20, 2012
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  8. OP
    Reedfish

    Reedfish Moderator

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    Could be. But am not sure. The filter intake was behind the rocks, where there wasn't much activity. They used to do most of their digging in front of the rock piles. But it could be that I just couldn't see them doing it.
     
    Reedfish, Mar 20, 2012
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  9. jedigenie

    jedigenie

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    It would stop solid waste entering the canister but thats not a bad thing. The sponge would act as a large particulate mechanical filter which is easy to clean. Added benefit of keeping your canister cleaner for longer. I have taken to putting a bit of filter floss over the inlet of my large AquaClear HOB thats in my discus tank. I replace the floss every 2nd day and it does a great job of polishing the water and keeping my HOB clean.
     
    jedigenie, Mar 20, 2012
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  10. OP
    Reedfish

    Reedfish Moderator

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    Ok, thanks. Definately something for me to think about.
    Maybe I will experiment with the floss over the filter inlet first to see how that works.

    Btw, I have read that people use pillow stuffing (from a new pillow :amazed:) in their filters as a form of polishing. It is a lot cheaper than floss apparently.
     
    Reedfish, Mar 21, 2012
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  11. Vis

    Vis Gerhard

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    I have seen fine sand almost acting static and sticking to the tank sides.
     
    Vis, Mar 21, 2012
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