copps
09-07-2020, 10:16 PM
Hello discus world, thanks in advance to anyone reading this. While we may all be different in many ways, anyone reading this shares a passion for this hobby. My name is John Coppolino and I’ve been an avid hobbyist since I was a child growing up on a lake in Northern New Jersey. I just turned 43, and with the exception of two years studying and living in Ecuador in and just after college in the late 90s (Charles Darwin Research Station in the Galapagos, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, and Tiputini Biodiversity Station in the Amazon), I’ve had my homes filled with aquariums. Since moving back from Ecuador though almost twenty years ago, I’ve only kept saltwater aquariums in my homes. These have grown as our homes have grown, capped off with the 1300 gallon display I put in our “forever home” we built seven years ago. I take pride in my fishkeeping and still have the first clownfish I bought after getting married in 2001. For those interested, check out this thread which shows my saltwater systems through the years…
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2668064
While I was studying Ecuador I met a beautiful and amazingly intelligent woman just over twenty two years ago. We’ve now been married over nineteen years and have a fifteen year old son (who is die hard into the aquarium hobby) and a twelve year old daughter (who has picked up my other lifetime love, ice hockey). We visit Ecuador about every year or so and while I kept many different freshwater systems as a child, what I really miss is having an Amazonian planted tank. I’m therefore switching over a 350 gallon display I have from saltwater to freshwater, with the intention of keeping a planted discus tank with Altum angels, rams, tetras, Corydoras, some other fish, and some hardy plants.
Before getting the 350 going I’d like to get my freshwater feet wet again, while at the same time growing out a number of different discus in my fish room in 20 to 40 gallons aquariums. I’ll keep my favorites for the 350 down the line in a few months. My question is in regards to discus grow out water. My large reef system is 1950 gallons, with a 1300 gallon display. My RO/DI system produces up to 150 gallons a day of 0 TDS water, and many times that goes out as waste water, right down the drain. I plan to plumb the waste water so that it drains into the discus grow out tanks, after going through a tub where it gets aerated. The water will then overflow out of the tanks and down the drain, allowing me to keep excellent water quality at no extra water cost. My tap water is 4-5 KH and 6-7 GH. My waste water is obviously higher, with a KH of between 6 and 8 and a GH of between 10 and 12, and a pH of ~7.7 after aeration. I know that for grow out in keeping discus water changes and keeping organics down is more important than providing soft water, but is my waste water too hard for this purpose? I’d like your thoughts, and cheers to all fellow fish nuts! : )
Copps
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2668064
While I was studying Ecuador I met a beautiful and amazingly intelligent woman just over twenty two years ago. We’ve now been married over nineteen years and have a fifteen year old son (who is die hard into the aquarium hobby) and a twelve year old daughter (who has picked up my other lifetime love, ice hockey). We visit Ecuador about every year or so and while I kept many different freshwater systems as a child, what I really miss is having an Amazonian planted tank. I’m therefore switching over a 350 gallon display I have from saltwater to freshwater, with the intention of keeping a planted discus tank with Altum angels, rams, tetras, Corydoras, some other fish, and some hardy plants.
Before getting the 350 going I’d like to get my freshwater feet wet again, while at the same time growing out a number of different discus in my fish room in 20 to 40 gallons aquariums. I’ll keep my favorites for the 350 down the line in a few months. My question is in regards to discus grow out water. My large reef system is 1950 gallons, with a 1300 gallon display. My RO/DI system produces up to 150 gallons a day of 0 TDS water, and many times that goes out as waste water, right down the drain. I plan to plumb the waste water so that it drains into the discus grow out tanks, after going through a tub where it gets aerated. The water will then overflow out of the tanks and down the drain, allowing me to keep excellent water quality at no extra water cost. My tap water is 4-5 KH and 6-7 GH. My waste water is obviously higher, with a KH of between 6 and 8 and a GH of between 10 and 12, and a pH of ~7.7 after aeration. I know that for grow out in keeping discus water changes and keeping organics down is more important than providing soft water, but is my waste water too hard for this purpose? I’d like your thoughts, and cheers to all fellow fish nuts! : )
Copps