The perfect water guide for Discus..

[brewmaster15]

Hi all,
Was thinking again ( bad Habit I have). One of the main problems we have in the hobby is just water...not enough water, sub optimal parameters, well water, city water, expensive water...etc. Lets face it , Discus do best in clean water (uh DUH>>> no brainer there), but not all water is equal as far as fish keeping goes and as far Discus Keeping and breeding.

Now we all know that as Discus Keepers your number one factor when you are looking for a place to live is the water.. the other stuff is just not as important.:) So how do you figure out where to live if you wanted the best water possible for raising discus and breeding them without using r/o DI, fancy filters etc.. you have no way ...until NOW... Drum Roll please.

Why not a locational database of water parameters.... you post your profiles of your water and various factors like water cost, electricity, heating costs etc....and we build a database... that way the next time you get offered a job in one of several locations or win the lottery, you can choose the best place... who knows the data may even help people find the overall best place to start a commercial hatchery. Water varies so much that maybe the next town or two over from you is better than yours.

Is it feasible? what kind of factors would we need information on and what sources of information can we tap into, like muncipal water reports, cost of living reports etc.

Is it Doable? I think it might be. Its mental exercise I know.. but would be pretty cool.

-al

[Northwoods Discus]

Al that's a great idea. I have been thinking about that myself. If i buy property to build the first priority is going to be how is the water. If that passes then the rest will be considered.
I'll start by saying the water here is horrible, very hard. High Iron content. R/O is a must. Mid MI

[bobdon]

MINE IS LIKE DISTILLED ALMOST

[SMB2]

Al, What would be you list of "must" parameters?

[brewmaster15]

Al, What would be you list of "must" parameters?


Stan,
I think if we wanted an " ideal water " we would factor in

1) Purity... some water out there members are dealing with just stinks...and literally.
2) Abundance... raising discus in areas prone to water shortages and mandatory restrictions is difficult
3) cost... if well water... what the water bill going to run you for electricity to run the well. If city/municipal water...whats it cost. Better factor in a new well if planning long term..they DO run dry and burn out!
4) waste water...what goes in, must go out!! some municipalities and water companies charge you a fee for waste water.
5) Too hard or high a pH, or too soft should be an issue to consider. Some water companies balance the water 's parameters.

Other considerations?
-al

[Second Hand Pat]

Al, this is containly worthwhile but it seems a definition of "perfect water" would be helpful for comparison. Also I have no clue how much of my power bill is applied to running the pump on the well.

So perhaps perfect water could be ph 6.5, kH 4-dKH, gH-4dGH TDS 60-80ppm. Or perhaps perfect water is dependent on your goals, breeding, growout, or both.

[ZX10R]

I sure am going to have a hard time talking the wife into moving to Florida because the water there is better for the fish :p

[brewmaster15]

Also I have no clue how much of my power bill is applied to running the pump on the well. Pat, Your pump takes X amount juice to run...you can get a good idea how many KW hours you run it.... but and even easier method is do a comp with your neighbors... For example my bill out here, was 6-8 times that of my fishless neighbors.

Probably the easiest thing is for us to compare the cost of electricity in kW hours as part of the equation...

-al

[brewmaster15]

I sure am going to have a hard time talking the wife into moving to Florida because the water there is better for the fish :p

Sean,
A tip my friend.. When you negotiate, you need not lay ALL your facts on the line, and you should always give reasons that appeal to the person you are negotiating with.:)

-al

[ZX10R]

Sean,
A tip my friend.. When you negotiate, you need not lay ALL your facts on the line, and you should always give reasons that appeal to the person you are negotiating with.:)

-al

So lie lie lie gotcha :thumbsup:

[ZX10R]

Use this to figure up the cost of running your equipment. All you need to know it wattage, how many hours it runs, and what rate your power company charges you.

http://www.citytrf.net/costs_calculator.htm

[Second Hand Pat]

I sure am going to have a hard time talking the wife into moving to Florida because the water there is better for the fish :p

Sean, this is not my normal water but my target water with the addition of RO with my tap.

[SMB2]

Here is the cheapest answer Al, and all the water you want, no aging, no Prime and you can throw the culls back.


http://www.viviun.com/AD-182128/

[brewmaster15]

LOL.... okay well lets work on the other answers for those of less inclined to move that far!:)

-al

[SMB2]

OK, well I was just trying to make it easy.

So other than the usual parameters, what do you want in your list?
TDS, phos., lead, price/gal etc?

[brewmaster15]

Nitrates?..

Does it need to be aged? or is it stable pH?

-al

[discuspaul]

This, for you Canadians out there:
It seems we are somewhat blessed here in the Pacific North-West of Canada.

Our city water out of the tap is:

- pH of 6.8, soft, slightly acidic
- KH & GH - under 6 .... TDS' -usually under 40 ppm
- Very low level usage of chlorine most of the year (I'm told many aquarists don't even use a de-chlorinator, but I wouldn't chance that with discus).
- No usage of chloramines that I'm aware of
- No ammonia and no nitrates in the tap water - no phosphate levels detected
- Water shortages are few and far between, never an inconvenience here at any rate
- My water & sewer utility costs run about $75./month - and that's with my wife, 'Mrs. Clean', doing a load of wash, & washing all the flooring almost daily. And we have an automatic sprinkler system for the front & back lawns & flower/shrub beds, used 3 X week from March to November.

I really don't think it could get much better than that for discus - but not so great for many aquatic plants. LOL

[brewmaster15]

This, for you Canadians out there:
It seems we are somewhat blessed here in the Pacific North-West of Canada.

Our city water out of the tap is:

- pH of 6.8, soft, slightly acidic
- KH & GH - under 6 .... TDS' -usually under 40 ppm
- Very low level usage of chlorine most of the year (I'm told many aquarists don't even use a de-chlorinator, but I wouldn't chance that with discus).
- No usage of chloramines that I'm aware of
- No ammonia and no nitrates in the tap water - no phosphate levels detected
- Water shortages are few and far between, never an inconvenience here at any rate
- My water & sewer utility costs run about $75./month - and that's with my wife, 'Mrs. Clean', doing a load of wash, & washing all the flooring almost daily. And we have an automatic sprinkler system for the front & back lawns & flower/shrub beds, used 3 X week from March to November.

I really don't think it could get much better than that for discus - but not so great for many aquatic plants. LOL

Nice! Thanks Paul!

-al

[mmorris]

Something to consider if the house is on well water is the cost of back-up power for the well pump in the event power is out for more than a few days. I have a generator, but I don't have water in a power outage.

[brady]

I'm on well water in northern Ct. Direct water changes from the tap after mixing hot and cold to reach appropriate temp. in a garbage pail.
Parameters- ph 6.9 , stable, no need to age
gh- 90 - 100 ppm
nitrites-0
Nitrates- 2 to 5 ppm
not sure what kh is
fish sure like it when I do w/c.
Jay

[denmark discus reef]

Hi all,
Was thinking again ( bad Habit I have). One of the main problems we have in the hobby is just water...not enough water, sub optimal parameters, well water, city water, expensive water...etc. Lets face it , Discus do best in clean water (uh DUH>>> no brainer there), but not all water is equal as far as fish keeping goes and as far Discus Keeping and breeding.

Now we all know that as Discus Keepers your number one factor when you are looking for a place to live is the water.. the other stuff is just not as important.:) So how do you figure out where to live if you wanted the best water possible for raising discus and breeding them without using r/o DI, fancy filters etc.. you have no way ...until NOW... Drum Roll please.

Why not a locational database of water parameters.... you post your profiles of your water and various factors like water cost, electricity, heating costs etc....and we build a database... that way the next time you get offered a job in one of several locations or win the lottery, you can choose the best place... who knows the data may even help people find the overall best place to start a commercial hatchery. Water varies so much that maybe the next town or two over from you is better than yours.

Is it feasible? what kind of factors would we need information on and what sources of information can we tap into, like muncipal water reports, cost of living reports etc.

Is it Doable? I think it might be. Its mental exercise I know.. but would be pretty cool.

-al first I will say I am new with discus however learning fast, I have a well used for watering grass about 12 feet deep, I tested the water using a 6-n-1 test kit and it seems to be perfect for breeding, has anyone had any experience using ground water just wondering what problems could arise by using it.

[DLFL]

http://s191.photobucket.com/user/DLFL/media/2012waterreport_zps6aa6024b.gif.htmlI live in Panama City, Fl.
Panama City, Fl
1) Water is from reservoir filled with mostly spring water.
2) Abundance... Have only seen a lawn watering restriction one summer in over 30 years. Never had home usage restriction.
3) Water cost for one winter month = $18.26
4) Sewage cost for same month= $38.20
5) Tap water has a ph of 6.4 and a TDS of 70, GH=71.6, and KH= 35.8.
6) electric bill for March 2014 was $99.47
This is a link to our 2012 water quality report if you are interested. I could not get it to post here.
http://s191.photobucket.com/user/DLFL/media/2012waterreport_zps6aa6024b.gif.html

[musicmarn1]

Well colorado pagosa springs, I bought a house because it had the best sulphur free well in the area, iron yes sulphur no. Said it was 300 somethingscof pressure which all the experts were excited about.....3 years later kept seeing discus irritated with it and now...it ran dry. So fish lovers watch out for pagosa! Its haul it or lump it.

Now how do I get Ro with hauled..? Need to make pressure from storage tanks to run the ro unit

[afriend]

NW Arkansas

Private well 500ft deep. Static water level 220 feet from surface. 2HP pump delivers 9.5 gallons per minute continuous.

KH 11, GH 15, TDS 240ppm, PH 8.2 before aging, PH 8.6 after aging.

Electrical pump cost per 1000 gallons $0.18 Electrical cost per KWHR $0.084

Monthly cost to exchange 35% daily for a 100 gallon tank $0.63 (includes RO waste water)

Water parameters after mixing RO water with straight well water KH 3, GH 4, PH 7.6, TDS 78ppm.

0 Nitrates, phosphates, iron, and sulfur.

Water is crystal clear with sweet taste and no smell.