Setting Up a Discus Tank

[Hilroy50]

I am currently setting up a discus tank. The stores in my area tell me that all of the Discus are tank raised thus PH is not a concern. But all my reading tells me different. My PH is 8.0 KH is 200ppm. My tap water is from a well that goes through a water softner. If someone could offer advice on the treatment of my water. Thanks.

 

[madasafish]

That is pretty high for discus (as you obviously know). I've found that using peat in my filter has been an effective way of reducing my pH and softening the water. Fluval sells this peat for about $9 in packets that are plenty for a large tank. Certainly, don't go with chemicals such as pH down or Seachem's "Discus Buffer." These can really mess up the tank, and high concentrations of them can hurt your fish (e.g. phosphate buffers in seachem products).

I think the guy in the store is wrong, and you're right . Regardless of their birthplace, these discus will thrive best in soft, acidic water. That's what their bodies are designed to do.

 

[Menagerie]

[center:8b7b2331a6] Welcome to AA, Hilroy50!! [/center:8b7b2331a6]
I agree with madasafish. I don't keep discus, but I do keep rams and apistos. They want to be in soft, slightly acidic water (and in Calgary, that is hard to come by ). Make the extra effort with the water, as mentioned, there are natural ways to change the water! I know there are discus keepers on this board, the only one I can think of is BrianNY. PM him if he doesn't pop up here

 

[BrianNY]

IMO this whole PH thing has been taken too seriously. Discus can thrive in a high PH. What they cannot tolerate are PH swings. My water is over 7.5 and since I change water daily, they've adapted well to that PH.

Here's the prob with discus and a PH over 7. Discus are susceptible to a variety of bacterial diseases. Those bacteria can't tolerate a lower PH so it is easier to keep discus healthy in water under 7. But, if you keep your tank and filters clean, change plenty of water, and properly QT new arrivals, you should be OK.

Have your lfs test for PH in his discus tank. I'm curious about how often he changes water as well. Most lfs don't have the time or knowledge to properly care for discus IMO.

 

[Hilroy50]

Thanks for your help. I can build on that. In regards to filters, I currently am running a AC 300 with foam, Green X, and Bio max. I have a powerhead that I purchased a strainer for. Should I run the powerhead??? Or is the AC300 enough. I was going to run the powerhead at it's lowest ouput. Again on the PH issue, if the stores PH is lower and mine is higher, this should be OK???

 

[BrianNY]

Nix the powerhead as discus don't care for fast moving water. Add a seperate sponge filter with an air pump. The water can become O2 depleted at 84F, so the surface agitation is good.

The PH issue..... it depends on how much lower. Discus actually have an easier time acclimating from a low to high PH, than the other way around.

Hilroy, is this a discus only tank?

 

[Hilroy50]

It will be. I had a single Discus for over 2 yrs. I have just downsized from 3 tanks into one. Ran out of time to look after all of them. I figure I can do a good job with one, so we decided to make it Discus only. It is currently a community tank. I want the water to age some more. The water tests are ok and most of the water came from a bigger tank. I want to make this a Discus only with live plants. Thanks.

 

[BrianNY]

Cool Hilroy. I think you're on the right track. What are your plans? Are you going to get adults or try and grow out some juveniles. It makes a difference. BTW, I've got 10 adults in a 55g discus only tank. I'm growing out 9 more in 2 other tanks. There's been a lot of sick fish coming in from Asia lately. You need to be careful where you buy. I've just gone through a horrendous bout with the discus plague!!!!

 

[Hilroy50]

I think you have me on the right track. My tank is only 33 Gal. I wish I had kept my 66 Gal. My local fish store says that I should only keep a pair if I want them to grow to full size. I was hoping I could keep 4 juveniles. There aren't any Discus to be found in this area right now. The closest place is 2.5hrs away in Toronto. They claim to have had them for quite awhile. Discus aren't too popular here. No one wants to pay premium dollars for freshwater fish. I'm glad you mentioned Asia. My local pet store gets them from Asia. Thanks again.

 

[BrianNY]

I've found that discus establish a pecking order. They do better in larger numbers. I start with 5 juveniles in a 29g. Change a third of the water (at least) daily. Feed at least 3X daily. Growth is rapid. When they reach 4 inches, they're transferred to a 55g.

Here's where I've been getting my discus from.....fcdiscus@aol.com. Frank is a local breeder here on Long Island, and has one of the best reputations in the world of discus.

 

[Atlarge]

Give them a constant low pH if you don't want them to be sichconstantly

 

[BrianNY]

Keeping the tank and filters clean is #1 in maintaining the health of discus. That means changing lots of water!!!! It's true that a PH of around 6.5 is ideal, but if your tap water is high, and unless one is prepared to adjust the ph in a holding tank for water changes, the stress of ph swings is much more harmful to the fish than a high PH.

Not doing water changes is even worse!!!!!

 

[Hilroy50]

Brian: My tap water is between 7.2 and 7.4, I wonder what is causing my PH to go up??? I have 2 large pieces of driftwood in the tank with a gravel bottom and a couple of unknown stones that came from an aquarium shop.

 

[BrianNY]

That's great info Hilroy. I found something similar. Your water could be high in CO2, as that gasses the out the ph will rise. What is the GH and KH?

 

[Hilroy50]

Hi Brian: The GH is less than 20mg/l and the KH is 180 mg/l.

 

[Hilroy50]

What tank mates can I keep with the Discus?? I currently have 2 common plecos, 2 Emporer Tetras, 2 Clown Loachs, 1 large Angel, 1 large Gold Gourami??? Clown loaches are always chasing the angel.

 

[BrianNY]

Well Hilroy, as this will be be your first discus tank, you're better off keeping only discus. A lot of people keep other species with discus. Small schooling tetras, dwarf bristlenose plecos even corys make good tankmates.

Discus are slow well mannered eaters. Avoiding fish that out compete them for food will make their life (and yours), easier. I wouldn't ever keep angels and discus together. Angels can carry columnaris which is hell on discus.