Change PH?

[amirnezhad]

I saw some different messages about changing PH foe Discus fishes in this foroum ??? so I am confused and dont know what I have to do with PH?

I have some questions about that:
1) is it necessary to keep PH in a constant range or not?
2) if yes what is the range?
3) and also how can I change PH? (increase & decrease)?

Thanks for you replay :)

[Ryan]

What is your current pH now before changing it?

Discus require a constant, stable pH. Your fish may go into shock if the pH change is too rapid and if it's a large change. Some people change their pH gradually over time for breeding.

Most of the time, tap water is fine for raising discus. Tell us what your current pH is.

Ryan

[Carol_Roberts]

Ryan is correct. If the pH in your tank is 6.2 all the time that is fine OR if your pH is 7.8 all the time (like mine is) that is fine too.

Problems occur if the pH fluctuates (goes up and down).

The pH from my tap is 6.8 because it is from a well and the water is under pressure. Many times well water contains large amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) which makes the water more acid (lower pH). Aerating or agitating the water releases CO2 which raises the pH and stabilizes the water

You can see if I did a 50% water change I would drastically lower the pH and my discus would be stressed. I heat and agitate my water in a plastic barrel so the pH is the same as my tank water. Now I can do 90% water changes and not bother the discus at all.

Sorry for the long answer, but if you understand the science behind it, it makes more sense.

[fossil]

I posted a question just like this a while back when I started with discus. I understud about how the PH could change over time. The fish I had before discus were not effected by the PH change although the discus is. Lucky for me my PH does not change. Heres what you can do to see if your PH does change, put some of your tap water in a cup and then test the PH then come back in 24 hours and test again. If the PH did not change you can keep your discus in stright tap water. You may want to heat it up to the same temp as your tank before you put it in too. One more thing check and make sure no chemicals are in your water.

_-_ *If your PH did change over the 24 hour period, post and say that some one who does age their water could go on more depth on how to do that.

-hth

[amirnezhad]

My Current pH is 6.5



What is your current pH now before changing it?

Discus require a constant, stable pH. Your fish may go into shock if the pH change is too rapid and if it's a large change. Some people change their pH gradually over time for breeding.

Most of the time, tap water is fine for raising discus. Tell us what your current pH is.

Ryan

[shamsoo]

if 6.5 is tapwater ph then it is excelent, what about gh kh and tds

[amirnezhad]

Hi

Unfortunately I dont know waht is gh kh and tds :(
You know, I am new to Discus and before this I had some fishes like Oscar, Fighter and Knife and never attention to this fileds :(

Please tell me what is gh kh and tds and how can I measure them?
Thanks

Hi Ali,

Check your IM. I have sent you a article which describes water chemistry regarding GH/KH TDS/Conductance a bit.

HTH Ronald

[amirnezhad]

Thanks ronald :)
It seems that everyone in this forum want to help me to take care of my fishes, I`s so nice :)
Thanks everybody

Yep you found a very informative board ;D

Ali: Welcome! What type of discus can be found in your country? What type of food are you feeding them? The reason I ask is that I met an hobbyist insisted on feeding their discus vegetable only due to his background. I wonder what kind of vegetable only diet available for discus in your country. Don't misinterpret my only interest in various discus diet around the world. PM me. Thanks.
Jimmy.

[thepretender]

Hi.Ronald


Can you also send me article which describes water chemistry regarding GH/KH TDS/Conductance a bit.

thank you

[Truelies]

Hello Ronald,

May I too get that aritcle which desricbes water chemistry i.e. GH/KH TDS?

Thanks in advance for your help.

:)

[kelseygirl]

Hi Ali! :D I would KILL for a ph of 6.5!!! My tap water is 7.4 and then rises to 8.2 in aging. My discus are thriving in the 8.2 and are spawning, but I can't get the eggs to hatch. So now I'm experimenting with peat moss. Enjoy your discus. This is a GREAT place for info!!! Janice

[Carol_Roberts]

Hi Janice:
GH oir hardness is much more important than pH for hatching eggs. Buy an Aquarium Pharmaceuticals GH/KH test kit. If it takes more than 9 drops to turn the water green you will need an RO

[ahsan]

hello , i've been keeping discus for just less than an year ,, i always was lucky enough not to get my discus diseased in all that time . but for the first time i noticed a tail rot , also affecting fins now ,, it's not improving , , just need to know that does it has to do something with water's PH.
i am changing water , using medicines , salt and temp treatment is there ,, need to know that is there any water chemistries involved in the uneffectiveness of all these treatments.
Also Ranold would you kindly share you water chemistry aurticle with me .
ahsan

[Truelies]

Hello everyone.

Sorry, but still we did not get the answer for PH stabilization. Other question is, what is OR?

Thanks in advance for you great support.

[Howie_W]

hello , i've been keeping discus for just less than an year ,, i always was lucky enough not to get my discus diseased in all that time . but for the first time i noticed a tail rot , also affecting fins now ,, it's not improving , , just need to know that does it has to do something with water's PH.
i am changing water , using medicines , salt and temp treatment is there ,, need to know that is there any water chemistries involved in the uneffectiveness of all these treatments.
Also Ranold would you kindly share you water chemistry aurticle with me .
ahsan


Hi ahsan,

I remember you mentioning this problem in another thread...and also that you were in need of changing your water regimen.

The key to avoiding this problem is clean water. Please tells us a bit more info; What are your water readings; Ammonia, Nitrate, pH, GH, KH? Tank size? Number of fish and their size? Filters being used?

Howie

[Howie_W]

Hello everyone.

Sorry, but still we did not get the answer for PH stabilization. Other question is, what is OR?

Thanks in advance for you great support.




I think what your asking about is RO...reverse osmosis. If you head over to the water works section, RandalB has an excellent article on exactly how it works.

Re: pH stabilization. What are you trying to do? What is the pH out of your tap, and what is it after aging for 24 hours?

Howie

[Truelies]

This is just great! Howie_w you are wonderful.


Thanks very much for your consern

[ahsan]

i have sent the water sample to a house lab just next to my house ,, and ill check all the parameters and let you know,,
now i have all the discus infected somewhat ,, the rest three have developed a bit of fin rot as well. changing my water daily , and adding salt .
i have a 30 gallon tank with 4 discus in it and a pair of dwarf catfish.
ill just keep you update , ill also send a few IMs coz i am on somebody else's thread , it looks a bit odd that you just speak off about your problem in the middle of somebody else's problem
thank you very very much for your concern
regards
ahsan

[Anonapersona]

May I suggest taking this over to a new topic instead of going private with it? We all learn from following your conversation, even if we just read and don't comment, and we are all interested in the advice and the results you get.