newbie

[pjenk]

Hello,I am new here and this is my first post.I have a 90gal tank with 4 full grown discus and 1 the size of a silver dollar.I checked my water and it was considered hard using a hagen test kit it was at 180?I picked up a water softner pillow and put it in my filter.It is starting to drop the test readings.Is there anything I should watch for?Is this done by adding salt to the water or is there a chemical in the pillow?The tank is heavily planted and I used to use flourish for my plants but I havent since I put the discus in because I understand they are very sensitive to certain things.Any help would be appreciated.Thank You.

[Abercrombie6202]

WELCOEM TO SIMPLY!!!!
i'm just wondering cna you tell us the size of your discus in inches cuz silver dollars range from 2 1/2 inches to over 4 feet big (depends on species)

[pjenk]

larger are about 3.5in and smaller is 2.0in.From what I was reading it might be easier to use ro water hmmm.I will look into that.

[Jeff]

The discus will do fine in hard water, but you may not get live spawns. My water is very hard and they do just fine.

[Carol_Roberts]

My water is also moderately hard with a pH of 7.8 and my discus do fine - except (like Jeff said) the eggs don't hatch

[pjenk]

thank you.also is there a specific chemical or is it just the ammonia and nitrites you arew trying to rid with the daily water changes.a well cycled tank just dosnt cut it?I have been doing water changes every three days and checking water parameters daily.I am afraid theres something that dosnt show in the normal testing.

Ammonia and Nitrites are taken care of by a well cycled filter as they are produced....the water changes remove the Nitrates(and other disolved organics) that the filter produces.
Id get rid of the softener"pillow" You dont need it. All its going to do is cause fluctuations in the water perameters...and empty your wallet.

Tony