Discus?

[GouramiCichlid]

I wanted to start a fifty five gallon discus tank or have a breeding pair I was going to start with four and after.I have my pair rehome the other two
But the only problem with this is my ph level is always eight how do I lower my ph?
I've always had African cichlids so this problem never really worried me until now

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[PNWaquarist]

Peat pellets in the filter will help. Driftwood will also help, but it'll be much slower.

If you're keeping African cichlids, your tank water is most likely on the hard side. Hard water is typically a bigger issue for SA fish than pH.

 

[GouramiCichlid]

But won't the.ph just rise again after a water change I think my tap water is hard

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[PNWaquarist]

Not really. If the tank is sufficiently buffered, the pH change will be negligible. My tap water is only about 2 dKH and my tank pH isn't measurably different after a 40% WC.

Get a GH testing kit and find out exactly how hard your water is. You may need to use RO water.

 

[Coyne]

As somebody with tap water that has a high pH and Hardness (pH 8.4, GH 15, KH 17), Ive tried various things to get the readings lower. The effects that driftwood and peat moss (combined) had for my tanks were both minor and temporary. The lowest my pH got was in the 8.0 - 8.2 range, and it was back up to the 8.4 -8.6 range after a couple of weekly 50% PWCs.

These methods will probably work better for people with much less pH buffering. I would suggest finding out what your water's KH is first and going from there. Then you'll have a better idea of what your options are.

For my situation, I ultimately decided that the best way was to set up an RO/DI system. This allows me to start out with pure, unbuffered H2O. Then I can add enough buffers to keep the pH stable, but not have so much that the pH is as high as it is straight from the tap. This adds expense and complexity to PWCs that some my not be interested in. All this said, Im still in the process of getting the whole thing set up and tested, so I really cant say one way or the other if it's all worth it.

 

[GouramiCichlid]

Alright guess I'll head to the store.this week and grab a test

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[GouramiCichlid]

Ro system seem pricy along with the price for discus maybe I should hold off for now on the discus and stick to African cichlids

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[Coyne]

African Cichlids are super cool fish. Probably the brightest colors you'll see in a freshwater tank.

 

[dalto]

As somebody with tap water that has a high pH and Hardness (pH 8.4, GH 15, KH 17), Ive tried various things to get the readings lower. The effects that driftwood and peat moss (combined) had for my tanks were both minor and temporary. The lowest my pH got was in the 8.0 - 8.2 range, and it was back up to the 8.4 -8.6 range after a couple of weekly 50% PWCs.

These methods will probably work better for people with much less pH buffering. I would suggest finding out what your water's KH is first and going from there. Then you'll have a better idea of what your options are.

For my situation, I ultimately decided that the best way was to set up an RO/DI system. This allows me to start out with pure, unbuffered H2O. Then I can add enough buffers to keep the pH stable, but not have so much that the pH is as high as it is straight from the tap.

Yep, I agree with all this. I have been using RODI water for quite a few years for my South American fish.

Ro system seem pricy along with the price for discus maybe I should hold off for now on the discus and stick to African cichlids.

Unless you are dead set on discus it will be a lot easier and less costly to simply keep fish that are appropriate for your water. There are lots of different kinds of African and Central American cichlids that will thrive in hard, alkaline water.

 

[GouramiCichlid]

Yeah ill just stick to Africans for now how could I not my red empress and Taiwan reef are the best!

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