ph change with co2 tank

[Justin_NY]

hi
i am a beginner of discus. i have a saltwater tank in my house, so basicly i know a little bit about aquarium. my discus tank will be 55 gallon tank with wet/dry filter. i know discus need low ph. so i was thingking adding co2 gas to the tank, since wet/dry filter will raise the ph. i also add a power pump in the tank to circulate the tank. so what do u think guys, do u think this is alright or u guys have better suggestion. iam just affraid that my discus die because to much co2
thx

[jeep]

Hi Justin,

Discus do not require low Ph. They require stable Ph.

I would think using Co2 to lower your Ph would be a risky way of doing it because of a possibility of a Ph crash.

Just store and aggitate your water in order to rid it of Co2 and your Ph should be stable.

Brian

[Carol_Roberts]

Discus keeping is totally different than salt water. There are several good threads in the beginner index http://forum.simplydiscus.com//index.php?board=21;action=display;threadid=7983

As Jeep said discus prefer stable pH. My discus all live in pH 7.8. I bet your tap water will be fine. What is the pH from the tap and the pH of a glass of water that has set out for 24 hours? My tap pH is 6.8 and rises to 7.8 after circulating in my storage barrel.

[Tristanyyz]

But I understand your misconception on the issue. I once thought, when first starting my tank, that a C02 regulator would help maintain constant ph, which it does, but is not necessary. Spend the money $1700CAD, for a CO2 set up, on discus instead, get some nice wilds...you dont need CO2

[Abercrombie6202]

Where are you loacted in New York?

Discus are VERY different then saltwater, Discus are much different then normal tropical freshwater fish!

You do not need to change the ph, you don't need co2, and you don't need a wet/dry filter!!

What kind of tank are you keeping, gravel, planted, BB (barebottom)?

It's best to keep discus in a barebottom tank. Some have planted tanks, like me, but do not keep discus smaller than 4 inches in a planted tank as they may become runts. Runts are like dwarfs in the human world. They are smaller and won't reach the size they were ment to grow, except for a few, some have had there runts become bigger, by changing to different tanks, or changing the factor that was making them become runts.

Discus don't need a lower ph, i first thought this too, but they need a stable ph, that doesn't change constantly that causes stress, which could lead to disease, and then if not treated will most likely turn into death.

You don't need a wet/dry filter as you cna buy teh cheaper sponge filters and they will do fine!!

You could probably keep 5-6 adult discus in a 55 gallon tank with no other fish. Are you going to have other fish in the tank? You can also have 8-10 juveniles in the 55 gallon tank, but then would need to transfer them to a bigger tank as they grow older.

Do you have a quarintine and a hospital tank? THESE ARE REQUIRED NOT OPTIONAL!!!!!! Quarintine, always quarintine your discus they could be carrying a disease. A lot of people on Simply have had bad experiences when they were impatient and didn't quarintine the discus. Hospital tank, if you have a sick discus, you can put it in the hospital tank and treat only that one fish. Rather then treating the whole tank. I would recommend a 29+ tank for a quarintine tank and a 20 gallon high+ for a hospital tank.

Acclimation: This is a big debate some people don't acclimate there fish to the tank and some do. I personally feel better by accliamting the fish to the water, before just cutting the bag and putting the fish in the tank. NEVER ADD WATER FROM TEH BAG INTO THE TANK!!

Water Changes, you need to have a water changing system for discus, i reccomend doing, 25-50% every other day or 25% daily, for your water changes, the water must be aged water, by this i mean it has been sitting for atleast 24 hours and has had dechlorinator added to it!!

Food, what are you planning to feed the discus, CBW (california Black worms), frozen beef heart, earthworms, tetra bits, and other foods like Ocean Nutrion 1 are all good for Discus, Bewware some Live foods carry disease, frozen foods cloud water easily and some flakes/ pellets have color hormones in the foods.

When looking for a discus. Try going to a breeder and observe the fish for a while don't get the fish the first time you see it. Never buy a discus, if it has, a off shaped body (not round), it should be around the same length and height, do not include fins, it shouldn't have a lot of color if it is under 2 inches, it shouldn't poop white feces, don't buy the discus that doesn't eat the food when it is given to them, frayed fins, or any disease signs, don't buy the discus if it's eyes are big compared to the size of the body. I probably forgot a few.
When buying fish from online, always ask the online breeder for the best, try to tell them which kinds you want. ALWAYS QUARINTINE THE FISH MATTER WHERE THEY ARE FROM, ONLINE OR BREEDER!!!

LINKS:
Tanks, planted or Barebottom:

http://forum.simplydiscus.com//index.php?board=7;action=display;threadid=3645

http://forum.simplydiscus.com//index.php?board=21;action=display;threadid=6105

http://forum.simplydiscus.com//index.php?board=21;action=display;threadid=7674

PH:

http://forum.simplydiscus.com//index.php?board=21;action=display;threadid=7163

Filters:

http://forum.simplydiscus.com//index.php?board=21;action=display;threadid=7646

How many discus?

http://forum.simplydiscus.com//index.php?board=21;action=display;threadid=7354

Runts:

http://forum.simplydiscus.com//index.php?board=21;action=display;threadid=7617

Quarintine and hospital tank:

http://forum.simplydiscus.com//index.php?board=21;action=display;threadid=12077

Acclimation:

http://forum.simplydiscus.com//index.php?board=21;action=display;threadid=12114

Food:

http://forum.simplydiscus.com//index.php?board=21;action=display;threadid=7432

http://forum.simplydiscus.com//index.php?board=3;action=display;threadid=10227

http://forum.simplydiscus.com//index.php?board=3;action=display;threadid=12123

http://forum.simplydiscus.com//index.php?board=3;action=display;threadid=12124

When looking for a discus, what to buy:

http://forum.simplydiscus.com//index.php?board=21;action=display;threadid=6126

http://forum.simplydiscus.com//index.php?board=21;action=display;threadid=8592

What not to buy:

http://forum.simplydiscus.com//index.php?board=21;action=display;threadid=6125


ALSO GO TO THESE LINKS THEY WILL HELP OUT A LOT!!!

http://forum.simplydiscus.com//index.php?board=21;action=display;threadid=7983

http://forum.simplydiscus.com//index.php?board=21;action=display;threadid=5705



I found out that is always best to find a breeder or hobbyist near you. They can help out a lot!!!! make a lot of discus friends that cna help you out with all your questions. Read books and online articles read the begineer section here, read as much as you can. I'm still a newbie and look how much i have learned in the last 2-3 weeks!!!!!!!!

Also read about diseases, know all the different strains of discus, know the symbals, like PB, RT, BT, BB, CBW, etc... And if you want also read about breeding if you get interested into that!!!

[jeep]

Wow, Adam. You've been doing some reading :thumbsup:

[Tristanyyz]

We have a future Jack Wattley on our hands! :D

[April]

Adam.,im impressed....very good info.
i would just like to add...if you are getting your fish...best to buy the whole group of fish from one place at the same time. grow them out.
then if you want a second tank or more fish.get a new tank and another new group all at the same time.
the diseases that we talk about getting usually happens when you do get one from here and two from there etc.
then definitley you need to quarantine and have separate hoses and nets and washing hands between tanks etc.
i also agree. leave your water the way it comes out of the tap. store and agitate overnight and then it should all stay stable.

[drew22to375]

but do not keep discus smaller than 4 inches in a planted tank as they may become runts

So why does keeping Discus under 4" in a planted tank stunt their growth?

[Carol_Roberts]

I don't know, but it does. Don't ask me to explain how electricity works either. ;)

[ronrca]

So why does keeping Discus under 4" in a planted tank stunt their growth? There could be a couple of reasons and here are a few:
- lack of water changes
- lack of food
- not as clean as a bb (probably one of the important factors perhaps)

[drew22to375]

Well the reason I ask is I was thinking of growing some water sprite in my sump to help with alage control. Would this be a problem or do I just need to keep it out intil they are adults?

[Carol_Roberts]

watersprite in the sump should be fine

[ronrca]

Yes, watersprite is fine in your sump. Generally, when speaking of planted tanks, we tend to think of tanks with at least 2" of gravel, plants, driftwood, etc which hinder tank cleaniness when compared to bb tanks. ;)

[Luca]

Ok i have a question, my plants aren't doing so well so i'd like to add water that still contains CO2 for my plants (rather than off-gassing it). how do you get around this? my water is soft and suceptible to ph crashes.

[Carol_Roberts]

. . . . and therein lies the quandry . . . is your main focus raising discus or raising plants?

[Luca]

:-\

i hereby derive that this issue must remain the great plaging of soft water folks. Sure i always hear soft water is great for breeding etc, but too soft is just as bad as too hard!