New 150 Gal. pH Questions

[Adzatious]

Hi Guys, my name's Adam and I'm a science student from Australia.
I've just bought myself a new 150 Gal tank and believe it or not I'm still not exactly sure what I am going to be putting in it.
I had been liking the idea of setting up a really nice planted discus tank with maybe some larger tetras or some rams.... but most of the fish I was hoping to keep require acidic pH... and when I test the water straight out of my tap it comes out at about 7.8 or so.
Should I not even hope to keep discus with tap water like this? Or is there a reliable way I can always control my pH. I figure with a fairly large tank, any changes should occur slowly enough that I can detect them...
What do you guys think? Work out how to lower pH, or change my fish choice?
Is my test showing the true pH if I take it straight out of the tap? (Because I heard most city water is soft and acidic)
Anyway thanks in advance for any advice you can give me... I'm completely open to any great suggestions you guys have for a tank theme or type of setup or the type of fish I Have.... seeing as my "Amazonian rainforest masterpiece" doesn't seem as viable after testing the tap water.
Cheers,
Adam

 

[krap101]

hmm i always thought city water was soft and well water was soft. i got a ph of 7.2 living in countryish area. most people say "a constant 7.6 is better then a unstable 7.2" but ive never had discus. you can lower your ph by c02. for that sized it would probally have to be pressureized. or you can use peat. which will turn your water yellow.

 

[Adzatious]

So C02 reduces pH aswell?
so if I used CO2 I could lower pH and grow healthy plants. Sounds like a win-win to me.... only I don't know very much about CO2 injection?
I always see bits and pieces about it in articles but never a complete explanation for a total CO2 newbie. Can anyone link me to some good info?
Cheers,
Adam

 

[Adzatious]

Hmmmmmm...
I've just been looking at some articles on planted tank light requirements so my ideas are changing again. At the moment I have 2 x 40W flouros.
I think my parents would die if I told them I need at least 2 watts per gallon (not to mention my bank account). What is the best lighting option? Can I change the 2 x 40 to compacts? Is that difficult/expensive?
Gee when you look at the size of my lights and the brightness they produce you would never think that the lighting was insufficient, oh well.

 

[TankGirl]

Don't know about shipping, but check out AHSupply.com for retrofit kits that are cheap and pretty easy to convert what you have to PC. That will at least give you some ideas about what your options are. Other online retailers carry retrofit kits as well, but AHSupply is the best I know of.

You do need at least 2wpg if you want decent plant growth.

CO2 will lower pH, but it is safe to do this only with a KH of 4-5 degrees, so check that out too. Discus and rams really do much better with a more acidic pH, but you can leave your tap water alone and house angels or other cichlids.

 

[Voodoo Chilli]

It's best to draw a container of tap water, leave it uncovered for 24 hours and then test it.

A lot of what you can do will depend on the hardness levels of your tap water. Can you have your KH and GH levels tested and post the results?

I'll tell you from personal experience, altering the pH can be tricky business. Spikes and drops can have disastrous results. It can also become a very tedious and time-consuming chore that can suck the fun out of your aquarium. Keeping fish that are compatible with your tap water is a huge bonus.

With that being said- it's not out of the realm of possibility that you can keep discus in your tank (although breeding them would be). There are a lot of options for you that I'd be glad to help you with- but having your KH and GH levels would be a tremendous help.

Steven

 

[Adzatious]

okay guys, here are all of my water parameters - taken about 12 hours after filling the tank. (I added some stuff to dechlorinate and some cycle aid)

pH= 7.5
Ammonia = 0.6mg/L (ppm)
NO2 < 0.1 ppm
NO3 < 5 ppm

KH is about 75 mg/L or approximately 4 dH
GH is about 100mg/L or approx 5.6 dH

Hope this helps you help me!

 

[Voodoo Chilli]

If those numbers hold steady, I don't think you'd have any trouble setting up your planted Amazon tank. Although your pH isn't identical to what discus would find in nature, it IS perfectly fine to maintain them in. Most commericially bred fish are reared in similar water to yours, anyway. Your hardness levels are great because they're on the softer-to-slightly hard side, but they'll provide enough buffering capacity to help prevent pH dips or spikes.

Other than deciding what to do with your tank, the other major point you need to decide is how you're going to cycle the tank. Fishless, with fish, fish with Bio-Spira, etc.