substrate ideas for planted discus tank...

[silvershark]

ok how about a decent sized layer of aquarium peat then a VERY fine layer of sand? i'm thinkin about 5mm-10mm MAX

my first question is, will this work or will it get destroyed by the fish i want to keep?!?!

i'll be keeping discus, german blue rams, maybe some cories and some black neons, but want it to be heavily laden with plant life...

second question is, is there an good online supplier of aquarium peat and plants??

also am i right in thinking that there are "root tabs available to just stick in the substrate to promote plant growth?"

 

[Dubby]

You'll need atleast an inch of sand over the peat to prevent fish from digging it up. And yourself too whilst doing the vacuuming

You can buy aquarium plants from Greenline Aquatics Dont know if they sell peat.

You are correct about the root tabs. These are available from companies such as JBL.

PS: Peat reduces PH. What is the PH of your tap water?

 

[silvershark]

PS: Peat reduces PH. What is the PH of your tap water?

well, that the thing, i want it set up and completely stable so i can adjust as neccessary, its gonna be for discus and current tapwater ph is 7.5

 

[Dubby]

I dont keep discus so cant help you with whats an ideal PH for them. From what I've read, they like PH between 6 and 7. So adding the peat could help reduce the PH to desired levels. But every time you do a water change it would fluctuate.

So in the long run you are probably better off using RO water and adding stabilisers.

I hope this helps.