16 replies to this topic

[abc123]

I want to know the steps that people do in order to complete a water change in a discus tank.

If it's keeping a drum to age water, heat and buff it to match your tanks settings and then adding it into the tank?

Or straight from the tap into the tank and dechlorinate it?

Is it fine to use the tap water pH level as the setting because mine is fairly high (Hillarys 7.6-7.8)? Or better to customise it and lower it to maybe high 6's?

Cheers

[tunagirll]

We are on rainwater tankwater which is pretty much perfect for discus, so I just run it straight into the tank and then add some water hardener.

[Michaeal-959]

I have a t piece connected between my cannister and inlet it tank which T's off to a one way valve to my RO system. I then have a hole near the top which allows water to overflow to. So I just turn on the RO system for a few hours every second day and allow the water to flow.

[sydad]

We are on rainwater tankwater which is pretty much perfect for discus, so I just run it straight into the tank and then add some water hardener.

 

Umm, would you please give some details of the water hardner, and how you calculate the amount deemed desirable.

 

Syd.

[deliriouz]

I keep my discus on Perth tap water. Unless you keep wilds or breed them, they will do just fine without soft water. Having said that, Ive got a pair with fry free swimming on parents on 100% pure hard Perth tapwater.

[MrLeifBeaver]

I keep Discus.

 

I do weekly 50% WC using Langford Tap Water, then I add in water conditioner (with stress coat). Done.

I do not have any wilds. My largest Discus I have kept for 4 years doing this same thing.

 

My PH is usaully 7.2 (when I check it). I think that is why I have no breeding or any pairing.

[abc123]

I keep my discus on Perth tap water. Unless you keep wilds or breed them, they will do just fine without soft water. Having said that, Ive got a pair with fry free swimming on parents on 100% pure hard Perth tapwater.

do you age the water or keep it in drums? or straight from tap to tank? 

 

I keep Discus.

 

I do weekly 50% WC using Langford Tap Water, then I add in water conditioner (with stress coat). Done.

I do not have any wilds. My largest Discus I have kept for 4 years doing this same thing.

 

My PH is usaully 7.2 (when I check it). I think that is why I have no breeding or any pairing.

that's what i was hoping to do to keep discus! sounds good, do you age your water or just straight to the tank? Will they be fine with the pH going up or down a bit during each water change if you haven't aged the water?

[deliriouz]

Tap straight to tank..pH 7.4 tds 300-500. 30-50% water change every 1-2 weeks. Add a bit of conditioner (supachlor from techden) when I can remember. They breed every 2 weeks on that but hatch rates are low (<20%) ..probably because of pH and hardness.

Edited by deliriouz, 14 October 2014 - 12:39 PM.

[deliriouz]

Ive wasted a heap of money on discus buffers, ion exchangers, peat blah blah blah for discus over the last five years but in the end found they are happy with stable water parameters, warm temp and high quality food.

I just got home to find more eggs on the cone less than 2 weeks after the last clutch. A bit of a problem as female will tend to eat the fry after laying a new clutch.

Below: photo I took just now of male with free swimming fry..and eggs on the cone.

Attached Files

•  uploadfromtaptalk1413283120947.jpg   923.19KB   4 downloads

[Michael the fish fanatic]

Nice!!!! Do you think discus would be fine living in a ph of 8 and hard water??

[tunagirll]

 

Umm, would you please give some details of the water hardner, and how you calculate the amount deemed desirable.

 

Syd.

 

I test the gh and kh of the water and then calculate the amount of carbonate to add to get the kh up to 3 or 4, just enough to stabilise the water and reduce swings. I generally add about 5g of hardener for my tank.

[abc123]

what's everyone's feeding routine to keep your discus happy? and could you list the items/brands?

i really appreciate everyone's input... definitely more interested in keeping discus after reading these comments

cheers

[deliriouz]

I use sera discus granules and sera viformo as staple diet. Occasionally augment with live black worms from vebas to get them to breeding condition. The worms are also great for juveniles to grow them out fast. Tried beef heart but was messy and the fish didnt seem to like em as much. Early on I was using frozen blood worms but they are nowhere as good as black worms.

 

 

Nice!!!! Do you think discus would be fine living in a ph of 8 and hard water??

 

I've not gone that high but pH 8 should be fine if you slowly acclimitize any newly acquired discus to it. Mine are usually maintained at pH 7-7.4.  Hard water and pH are not an issue if you are not fussed on breeding them.

[Michaeal-959]

Personally don't know from experience but I have heard you can bread discus successfully in any water but breeders use soft water with a low pH because that's what it would be in the neutral habitat or discus. Supposably after a few generations on hard water with high pH discus can form deformations. You shouldn't have problems unless you start getting really serious.

[abc123]

Thanks everyone for the great amount of information

[Angelo]

i've been keeping discus for a few years now. perth tap water. ph ranges from 6.8 to 7.2, i've even breed and got fry. (check  my previous topics). i feed my discus beef heart, blood worm and what they love the most is freeze dried black worm. I've not had a single loss so far. my wc schedule is 30% wc twice a week. 

[MrLeifBeaver]

I feed my Discus once daily (5pm), I must admit my Discus definitely grow slowly because of it.

 

Oh and to reply to a previous question, yes tap water straight out the hose.

I do make sure to run it a bit so that the water that sits in the hose is not used (from the previous weeks filling).

 

If i was to do anything differently I would love to setup an automatic waterchanger on my tank so that I can do it more than once a week nice and easily.

Angelo 30% twice a week is great, I would try to do what he does. I imagine that is about 30% for him though is about 1000L.