MsP -

You can adjust your pH & hardness...it's just higher maintenence.

Kana...if you know one thing about me it's that content, chit-chat, and the like are never in short supply. Speaking of that - I could use some of that content/activity stuff at my forum if you have time. As you know it's brand new & could use some banter.

As far as the discus go...I could not be any happier. I just love em to death. (Well not that much - I can't afford to replace them like a tetra!)

I would recommend them to anyone interested. I love all tropicals but there's something about these guys that's different for me. (Also love angels too - but only have 2 at the moment)

My next project is I'm going to take a stab at spawning bristlenose plecos I think. My wife has no idea. Ha.

The real issue is: where I can get more tanks, how to afford them, and where to put them!

It sounds like we're coming back to those African Cichlids again !

Have you thought about Coldwater Natives at all?

How Cold? Corys actually don't mind that at all. In fact...cold water changes (sometimes down into the 50's depending on who you listen to) are a great spawning trigger. I'm not sure about loaches, though.

corys & most loaches are tropical fish & as such need to be kept at the right temprature changing the temprature to trigger a spawning is just that a TRIGGER
corydoras are found throughout south america the prefered tempratures are 72 F - 79 F /22 C -26 C

Yeah, I think it's best that I stick with tropicals because even in the winter my tank's water is at least 72, and my heater is mainly to keep the temp from fluctuating too much just in case of a major temp change in the house.

In any case, no-one says you have to keep them in the same tank !

think a lot could depend on where in the world you are as some countrys are a lot warmer than others also you would have to take into consideration the temperature of the room that the tank is in & any lights that are on the tank as they can all affect the temprature
my father in law has a air conditioning unit blowing on his 8 foot marine tank due to the amount of hardware connected to the tank to keep the temprature down

From my own experiance, I've recently come to the conclusion that the Heater on my small tank has definitely expired.

We're now coming into the middle of winter. I know it's been cycling in the 19-23'c range room temp, possibly quite lower at night, when the heaters are off.

I've often wondered at what the outdoor water temp in South America drops to at night.

Official room temperature is 20'c. That's the temperature that Steel Rules at calibrated at, and many Laboratories are set at. A little tit-bit of info there.

Yes, I know, Clunkster, Fish don't measure either!