PH not lowering?

[Woodsy]

I've had my Juwel Vision 260L community tank up and running for about half a year, since i've become more and more interested in Discus i've decided to give them a go.

I've never had driftwood before as my community fish can tolerate my stable tanks PH of 7.5 (tap PH is 7.1 or 2) I recently got two decent size pieces of Malaysian driftwood from my LFS to try and naturally soften my water quality as i'm trying to avoid using chemicals to buff it. As to my surprise the driftwood didn't release any tannins even though it was soaked in a container for two days (it did lower the PH to 6.0) I then decided to put it in my tank, the problem is it's been in there for about three days and no tannins have still been released and it hasn't changed my tanks PH from 7.5.

The only thing i can think of is the substrate, it's a mixture of gravel and trace amounts of shell grit, do you think i should replace my substrate?

[strawberryblonde]

Yes, definitely replace the gravel. Shells will naturally raise the pH.

Other than that though, your pH is fine for keeping discus. Mine is much higher than that and my discus are thriving. Stable water is much more important than a lower pH unless you are planning on keeping wild discus.

[Woodsy]

Yes, definitely replace the gravel. Shells will naturally raise the pH.

Other than that though, your pH is fine for keeping discus. Mine is much higher than that and my discus are thriving. Stable water is much more important than a lower pH unless you are planning on keeping wild discus.

I'll try changing the substrate, hopefully the bacteria living under it doesn't throw my tank into a mini cycle.

[DiscusDrew]

Remember that even if it drops your Ph it really shouldnt be that significant, which is good because when you do your (hopefully daily) water changes it will bounce the Ph back to that of your tap water. Im sure that the sea shells are buffering your water and not allowing the Ph to swing which honestly, despite the fact that I wouldnt really recommend a substrate to begin with, is a good thing. Like Strawberry said, having a Ph in the mid 7's is not bad at all and will be fine for discus. You might consider looking into aging as it is critical that things remain STABLE, not so important what the actual water perameter values are. My Ph is 8.2 after aging and my TDS is around 320, my discus grow like weeds and are happy as clams. The only time I will play around with RO water and change my Ph and hardness is when I have eggs, I dont do wilds so thats the only time I need to change anything at all. Hope that helps.

[Orange Crush]

I'll try changing the substrate, hopefully the bacteria living under it doesn't throw my tank into a mini cycle.
Remove a little bit at a time rather than all at once.

[Poco]

Remove a little bit at a time rather than all at once.

+1
Leave it bare bottom, without any substrate it will be much easier to maintain.

Stable pH is more important than lower pH. Lower pH will be required for breeding discus.

[Woodsy]

Didn't realize it was possibly to keep Discus in anything above 7, as well as shell grit having an effect on the PH.

[Orange Crush]

Didn't realize it was possibly to keep Discus in anything above 7, as well as shell grit having an effect on the PH.
Shells are manly made of the mineral Ca which is alkaline so it will raise the pH and hardness of the water as it breaks down.

[gwrace]

We are on a private well with rock hard very alkaline water. I ended up having to go to using 100% RO water to get my PH where I wanted it. Out of the RO unit the water is neutral or just a tad acidic. I do store and age about 100 gallons of water for my water changes. I remineralize the water to maintain a consistent hardness and PH. The fish seem to love it.

[Woodsy]

Got 33kg of new gravel, contains no shell grit. Now all I need to do is drain the tank and replace it (i've got a 170l box, and a few other 45l ones to house my tank water and fish in the meantime)

[Orange Crush]

Got 33kg of new gravel, contains no shell grit. Now all I need to do is drain the tank and replace it (i've got a 170l box, and a few other 45l ones to house my tank water and fish in the meantime)
Remember to remove only a little of the existing substrate at a time or you will be dealing with ammonia/nitrIte spikes in that tank.

[Woodsy]

Alright so i've replaced the entire gravel with plain natural gravel containing what's look to be quartz, brown/white and black pebbles. The water is back in, as well as all the fish, plants and driftwood. The PH in the tank still hanging around 7.3-4ish. Am i just being paranoid that i'm expecting the PH to drop instantly? (it's been around three hours since i added the driftwood)

[Orange Crush]

Since you did it all at once I would test your tank's pH, ammonia and nitrIte at least once per day. You removed a lot of BB so you may go through a mini N cycle. :(

[Woodsy]

Since you did it all at once I would test your tank's pH, ammonia and nitrIte at least once per day. You removed a lot of BB so you may go through a mini N cycle. :(

I couldn't partly change gravel because i would've had to sit 170l container on a table (and risk breaking it) and sitting my fluval 305 on the ground, because of the gravity force of the water entering it.

[Orange Crush]

That's fine. Just keep a close eye on the water perams and do water changes if you have issues.

[Woodsy]

Thanks, do you think the driftwood is working, or is the new substrate buffering it? :(

[Orange Crush]

Do you know what the hardness of your water is? If it is really soft your pH may crash.
What brand substrate is it? Some will affect pH/hardness others have no impact.

If your pH is around 7 without trying to alter it that is great.
Why do you feel you need to soften or buffer your water? Discus want stable water perams. If you alter it in the tank so it is different than the water you will add to the tank when doing water changes that is very stressful on the fish.

[Woodsy]

Brand of gravel is PetPac (Australian brand) Me and the LFS worker thoroughly inspected the gravel and he insisted it was inert. I haven't tested my hardness, but i know when i soaked the driftwood overnight in a 45L container, my PH was 6.0 and my tap is 7.2. May take some time to lower seeing as my tank holds 260L (68g)

Wanting to keep Discus in soft water because i feel it's the right way, i could try and add PH down everytime i do water changes :/

[Orange Crush]

Wanting to keep Discus in soft water because i feel it's the right way, i could try and add PH down everytime i do water changes :/
NOPE!
Discus want stable water, you may kill them trying to alter the softness and pH in the tank then adding water during a water change that has a different pH and hardness from what is in the tank. Yes, discus originate in soft, acidic water but most of the experinced, knowledgable discus keepers on this forum do not try and change their water from what it is. They often "age" it before adding it to the tank so the pH stablizes (from the disipation of CO2 in the water ) but even if the water is very hard and has a pH of 8-9 they still alter nothing and their discus are doing great because they do frequent water changes.

[Woodsy]

NOPE!
Discus want stable water, you may kill them trying to alter the softness and pH in the tank then adding water during a water change that has a different pH and hardness from what is in the tank. Yes, discus originate in soft, acidic water but most of the experinced, knowledgable discus keepers on this forum do not try and change their water from what it is. They often "age" it before adding it to the tank so the pH stablizes (from the disipation of CO2 in the water ) but even if the water is very hard and has a pH of 8-9 they still alter nothing and their discus are doing great because they do frequent water changes. Alright, if my PH doesn't change i'll try and keep them in the PH my tank is in.

[Orange Crush]

Whatever the pH of the water is that you are putting into the tank, that is what the pH of the water should stay at while it is in the tank. Easy peasy.

[Woodsy]

Whatever the pH of the water is that you are putting into the tank, that is what the pH of the water should stay at while it is in the tank. Easy peasy.

Yes, with stress coat (neutralizes chlorine and w/e else)

[Orange Crush]

Yes, with stress coat (neutralizes chlorine and w/e else)
Stress coat is not a great product, some people have had issues with it. If you can get Seachem's Safe or Seachem's Prime in Australia that is best. They are more cost effective and they neutralize any ammonia/nitrIte while allowing them to remain in the tank so that your BB colony is not starved and continues to grow.
http://www.seachem.com/Products/product_pages/Prime.html
http://www.seachem.com/Products/product_pages/Safe.html
One issue is that many water co. use chloramines (very toxic to fish) in the water now instead of chlorine in the USA. Many tap water cond. do not neutralize chloramines but Seachem's does.

[Woodsy]

Awesome, i'm nearly out of stress coat, i'll make sure to get either of them two next time i'm in my LFS.

[Orange Crush]

Then you are good to go. Let us know how things are going and if you have any more questions, we are here for you. :)

[Woodsy]

Ok thankyou very much!

[Woodsy]

Alright, it's been around 19 hours since I added the driftwood, and it hasn't done anything. I don't seem to have had a mini cycle, my ammonia and nitrite are both 0, and I have low nitrates.

Seems as though I'll just leave my PH alone, unless I try a different type of driftwood or select one that the LFS have in their tanks (as I know it's softening the water)

I could try reverse osmosis, whatever that is... Or peat moss, but I've heard it discolours the water

[Orange Crush]

Alright, it's been around 19 hours since I added the driftwood, and it hasn't done anything. I don't seem to have had a mini cycle, my ammonia and nitrite are both 0, and I have low nitrates.
Check everyday for at least a week. Just because you did not have issues on day one does not mean you do not have to worry about it.


Seems as though I'll just leave my PH alone, unless I try a different type of driftwood or select one that the LFS have in their tanks (as I know it's softening the water)
I could try reverse osmosis, whatever that is... Or peat moss, but I've heard it discolours the water
Your pH is perfect. Why do you insist on wanting to change it?

[Woodsy]

I'll take notice at what you suggest with ph, as you've had the experience.

I could let 45l's of water aerate overnight whilst heated for water changes

[Poco]

OC I just read the whole thread and I must say you have lots of patience :D

[Orange Crush]

OC I just read the whole thread and I must say you have lots of patience :D
I do. I just wish that others would speak up about how changing the pH is a BAD idea. Maybe then he will listen.

[strawberryblonde]

But...but, I thought you were handling it so well OC! LOL

Ok, I'll pipe up here and add my 2 cents to the conversation.

Attempting to change the pH of your water is a very tricky thing and can end up in massive failure, as in, dead fish. The problem with trying to lower it is that, with discus, you need to do daily water changes when they're small, and at least 2-3 water changes weekly as adults. Sooooo, you are constantly adding the higher pH water back into the tank! The fish are at 6 in the morning and 7-something at night...not healthy at all!

Aside from constantly stressing your discus with the fluctuating pH in the tank, you run the risk of having the pH crash on you when you play around with it too much. And pH crashes kill them even faster than the stress of the fluctuations.

Unless you own wild discus, who were raised in the Amazon and do best in lower pH waters, you are fine using whatever the pH of your tap water is. Domestic discus are raised in standard tap water and do very well in it.

Mine is off the charts and I just had wrigglers in my display tank and have more eggs incubating on my driftwood as we speak. My discus are healthy in my lime coated Idaho water! No really, I'm serious, my water comes out of deep underwater basins out here that are situated in lime rock! Can't get much further from Amazonian waters than that when it comes to pH. I have to scrape the lime crust off the top edges of my tank every few weeks. LOL

So stop playing with the pH of the water and just enjoy your discus. I'm betting they'll love the driftwood whether it lowers pH or not. =)

[Orange Crush]

But...but, I thought you were handling it so well OC! LOL

Ok, I'll pipe up here and add my 2 cents to the conversation.
Sometimes backup is nice!


Attempting to change the pH of your water is a very tricky thing and can end up in massive failure, as in, dead fish......So stop playing with the pH of the water and just enjoy your discus. I'm betting they'll love the driftwood whether it lowers pH or not. =)
Exactly!

[Poco]

Both of you made it very clear. Now lets hope someone gets it. No offense to anyone, all the newbies should listen (including me):D

Im new to discus but not to aquarium fish.

[Orange Crush]

I just ran across this thread because the person just posted a new thread that they are trying to delete their account. So read this ASAP because it will not be here long and the thread is about trying to adjust their pH....http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?83005-Automatic-Dispenser&p=686437&highlight=#post686437

[Woodsy]

Alright, i'll raise them in the same PH as my tap water.

You have all had years of experience after all, so i should listen.

[Woodsy]

Just another question, how would I go buying Discus from the LFS that's been raised in acidic water and acclimating them to my taps PH?

[Orange Crush]

What is the pH of the water at the store?

Are you talking about when you first bring them home or ones that you have already had for awhile?

Fish deal a lot better going from a lower pH to a higher pH quickly than going high to low. If there is not much difference in pH I would not worry about it.
When you first bring them home you can drip acclimate them : http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/aquarium/acclimate.php
If you have had them for a while in your tap water they are used to the new pH already.

[Woodsy]

What is the pH of the water at the store?

Are you talking about when you first bring them home or ones that you have already had for awhile?

Fish deal a lot better going from a lower pH to a higher pH quickly than going high to low. If there is not much difference in pH I would not worry about it.
When you first bring them home you can drip acclimate them : http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/aquarium/acclimate.php
If you have had them for a while in your tap water they are used to the new pH already.

PH at usual LFS i go to hang about the 6's, at another shop was as high as 7.7!

Yeah, when i first bring them home.

The guy at the LFS which keeps Discus in 6's told me that keeping them in alkaline water can harm their kidneys or something and they die quicker than raised in acidic water?

[Orange Crush]

The guy at the LFS which keeps Discus in 6's told me that keeping them in alkaline water can harm their kidneys or something and they die quicker than raised in acidic water?
There are some good LFS with knowledgable people but when it comes to knowledge of discus most do not really know anything. The people on this forum have experince and shared knowledge. If people on this forum say something different then what a person at a LFS says then I would listen to the people here.
You really need to start educating yourself by reading stuff on this forum and stop listening to the hogwash that your LFS guy is saying. Many, many, many long time, successful discus owners on this forum have been raising their discus in water that has a pH greater than 7 often around 8 or even 9. Their discus have lived long, healthy lives. Yes, ideally discus would prefer their water to be in the 6 range BUT the experince of the people here have shown that the discus do the best in water that is stable in hardness and pH. They never use buffers or things to lower the pH because that stresses the discus out and can KILL them. They use the water that they have AS IS. They add a tap water conditioner and if needed, age the water in a seperate container for a day to de-gas the CO2 which makes the pH the same as what is in the tank.
This is how I care for my discus and knock on wood, my discus have never been sick or died. But, it is really up to you who you want to trust and listen to. Who do you think has more knowledge of discus, the people on this forum who live and breathe discus or the people at the LFS who sell so many different types of fish that they are "jack of all fish but master of none"?

[PaulD]

O. C. You are the best!!!!!!!!

I have had read a lot of your post, reply ...... Very helpful. Thanks

[Woodsy]

Not going to listen to the guy at the LFS, he recommended me seachem discus buffer, and I was like "no thanks" especially with how expensive and useless it would be in the long run

[PaulD]

Not going to listen to the guy at the LFS, he recommended me seachem discus buffer, and I was like "no thanks" especially with how expensive and useless it would be in the long run

+1

[Orange Crush]

http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?97630-Help-please&p=909290#post909290

[Woodsy]

Most odd thing has happened, when my PH was at 7.2-3 I had two pieces of driftwood in in for decoration for a natural look. I wanted to get rid of the large helicopter ornament in my tank and replaced it with two more smaller pieces of wood expecting them not to do anything, but to my surprise my PH is now stable at 6.7-6.8...

[Orange Crush]

Most odd thing has happened, when my PH was at 7.2-3 I had two pieces of driftwood in in for decoration for a natural look. I wanted to get rid of the large helicopter ornament in my tank and replaced it with two more smaller pieces of wood expecting them not to do anything, but to my surprise my PH is now stable at 6.7-6.8...
Hmmm that seems odd to me.
How often (and how much each time) are you doing water changes?
How long has that tank been set up
How often are you testing the water perams?

You might be going through a mini-cycle because you removed all of that substrate at once (and a lot of BB with it) this can cause a pH crash. I would test your water perams everyday and do large daily water changes. However, if the pH changes a lot in a 24 hour period then you should do even more frequent water changes instead so there is not a big pH change everytime you change the water.

[Woodsy]

Hmmm that seems odd to me.
How often (and how much each time) are you doing water changes?
How long has that tank been set up
How often are you testing the water perams?

You might be going through a mini-cycle because you removed all of that substrate at once (and a lot of BB with it) this can cause a pH crash. I would test your water perams everyday and do large daily water changes. However, if the pH changes a lot in a 24 hour period then you should do even more frequent water changes instead so there is not a big pH change everytime you change the water.

At the moment I do weekly 25% water changes and gravel vacs twice a month.
Tank has been setup for half a year
Have been testing ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and ph everyday for over a week since changing the gravel, and I haven't seemed to experience a mini cycle.

I know when I did add the first two pieces of driftwood it lowered my ph from 7.5 down to 7.3-4. And only dropped to 6.7ish after adding two more.

[Poco]

What are your nitrates levels?

I am surprised that your nitrates are ok with only 25% weekly water changes. Ideally nitrates should be zero, but as long as they are under 10ppm they are fine.

[Orange Crush]

What are your nitrates levels?

I am surprised that your nitrates are ok with only 25% weekly water changes. Ideally nitrates should be zero, but as long as they are under 10ppm they are fine.
In a cycled tank nitrAtes can never be zero except right after a large water change. Keeping nitrAtes to <5 is the goal.
Definatley not enough water changes though.
Back to the driftwood. If there is something in the tank that is altering your pH then it should not be in your tank because that tank water perams will be different from the water you add to the tank during a water change. Could kill your fish. I'm feeling like a broken record on this point.....
I really doubt that the small pieces of wood will have dropped your pH like that when the large pieces didn't. Have you been testing your pH everyday?
At this point it sounds like you really need to start reading the "stickies" because you do not seem to understand some of the basics of caring for discus.

[Woodsy]

Nitrates usually hang around 10ppm, suggest i take the wood out? Because i know it's the wood that's softened the water, nothing else could've had an impact

[strawberryblonde]

Hi Woodsy,

I re-read the thread hoping to find out how many discus you have in the tank and how large they are. I couldn't find it anywhere, so could you fill me in on that?

Also, what other tankmates do you have for your discus, how many, etc.

[Woodsy]

Haven't got any Discus at the moment, i'm getting it ready for them.

Currently have Clown Loaches, Mollies, Gourami's, Angelfish and Pleco's. The only thing i'll be keeping would be my Bristlenose when the time comes for Discus.

[strawberryblonde]

Ahhhhhhh, then the water changes are fine for now!

You'll just need to increase them once you get your discus. The amount and frequency will depend on the size and age of the discus, but since it will always be at least 3 times a week, the pH won't have time to fluctuate as much as it is right now. =)

[Woodsy]

My tanks PH is at 6.7-6.8, when I do WC's with aged water with driftwood in the container buffering it to 6.0, would that stress them out?

Ph from tap is neutral and after 24hrs aging is 7.2-3

[CrazyAngels]

Woodsy, I'm having an issue with you mentioning buffering to 6.0.. Again there is no need to change the PH, you are expecting a lot from the driftwood in a big hurry and that is not how it works.. Driftwood usage for water softening is a natural slow process unlike chemical processing of water, in fact it was many weeks in my 75 gal tank with lots of Malaysian DW before I actually noted the PH values lowering just a little, and that only happened cause since the tank was being cycled, there were no constant water changes and the water had time to actually work with the wood. So in retrospect, if water is being changed often it will most likely not affect your PH level much so that you would notice it.

So unless you are breeding discus, you need not worry whatsoever about your PH and your discus will do awesome with what you are providing right out of the tap. All you need to do is age your water overnight (air and heat) then a few minutes right before the water change, then add the Prime or Safe and proceed with your water change...

As long as you keep your parameters stable (this has been said by all) you will be just fine.. Wish you the very best.. By the way use the driftwood as it will give your fish natural places to be themselves.


My tanks PH is at 6.7-6.8, when I do WC's with aged water with driftwood in the container buffering it to 6.0, would that stress them out?

Ph from tap is neutral and after 24hrs aging is 7.2-3

[Orange Crush]

Woodsy, lets try this a different way. Tell me all of the reasons why you want to change the pH of your tank.......

[Poco]

Alright, i'll raise them in the same PH as my tap water.

You have all had years of experience after all, so i should listen.

Woodsy,

What has changed between your post above (posted July 4th) and now to make you think you have to change your tank pH?

As mentioned by OC and others stable pH is important than lower pH. Playing with pH will probably end up in a disaster.

[Woodsy]

Woodsy,

What has changed between your post above (posted July 4th) and now to make you think you have to change your tank pH?

As mentioned by OC and others stable pH is important than lower pH. Playing with pH will probably end up in a disaster.

Only thing i've done is added driftwood.

[Poco]

I think you didn't get my point. Are you deliberately trying to change pH? If yes, then WHY?

[Orange Crush]

Only thing i've done is added driftwood.
You said you are using pH buffer. That makes 2 things you are adding to the tank to alter the pH. Please tell us why you want to change the pH. Only trying to help you.

[Woodsy]

Not trying to alter my PH, as I said I added two more pieces of driftwood for decoration not expecting it to drop my PH to 6.7ish.

I'm not using any chemicals, and or buffers. Only using dechlorinator. What I meant by "buffing" my water change container overnight was taking a piece of driftwood out of my tank and adding it to the container overnight whilst heating and aerating it before adding it to the tank. Because "apparently" adding my slightly alkaline 7.0-2 tap water into my 6.7 tank water would be bad.

When I tested my container water after wood was in there my oh was at 6, surely that would be stressful putting that into the tank when it's at 6.7?

[Brent1972]

My water is very similar to yours , 6.6 in tank and water barrel 7.2-7.4 I add it straight to the tank with no problems .

[boscobear]

Woodsy,
I did not see any reference to the type of filtration on your tank. One easy section that is always over looked is the filtration system. IF , you are using a trickle , wet dry type of filtration even the Marineland BioWheel system you will see a rise in PH. What happens is an unnormal degassing to the water. The trickle filters, because degassing will cause an extremely high gas exchange, they push large amounts of CO2 out of the water. These systems work very well with Marine, or African Cichlid fish that require high PH. The carbon buffering cycle in water is a very complex operation. After waste type organics are broken down by bacteria, a release of free CO2 happens with the water, some becomes Carbonic Acid. This type of CO2 also acts like a stabilizing agent within the bicarbonate and carbonic acid systems. In short, the lack of CO2 causes a rise in PH, just the opposite happens when there is too much CO2 in the system for the balance of bicarbonate salts, and then the PH could drop drastically. This happens to aquarist that add high amounts of CO2 for high plant growth through these high tech CO2 systems, and one day they wake up to crazy actions in their tanks, the PH drops fast at night, and can drop into the 4.0 range real fast. Don't take me wrong, trickle filtration can be excellent for Discus keeping, you just need to maintain the PH at those given stable levels. Some times you should leave well enough alone, and don't try the make the water something it just cannot become.
Your first problem was at the beginning of this thread, the substrate, and you have removed that, now you must stabilize the water chemistry, and it takes time.

[Woodsy]

I'm using a Fluval 305 canister filter.

Brent, how do they handle the fluctuation of PH during water changes? I might have to take the driftwood out.

[strawberryblonde]

To figure out if you need to remove the driftwood, do the following:

1) Do a 90% water change today.

2) Test the pH AFTER the water change

3) Tomorrow night test the pH again just before a 90% water change.

Repeat that 3-4 days in a row, testing pH each time. If the pH isn't bouncing around, you're good to go. The thing is, you can't judge your pH and tank as it is right now without any discus in it UNLESS you are doing daily water changes.

If the pH keeps dropping within 24 hours of a 90% water change, I'd suspect that it's your water itself that's the culprit, not the driftwood (I have huge chunks and my pH doesn't budge over the course of 24 hours).

[Brent1972]

I'm using a Fluval 305 canister filter.

Brent, how do they handle the fluctuation of PH during water changes? I might have to take the driftwood out.

If you do a 50% water change even if your ph is 6 in the tank and 7.5 in the barrel the ph will only rise a very small amount in the tank. Here is an example I had a ph crash in one of my tanks (5) , it took me two weeks of 50% water changes to get it to rise to 6.4 The fish show no ill affects .

[Eddie]

I'd keep the 7.5 ph, its fine.

[Woodsy]

If you do a 50% water change even if your ph is 6 in the tank and 7.5 in the barrel the ph will only rise a very small amount in the tank. Here is an example I had a ph crash in one of my tanks (5) , it took me two weeks of 50% water changes to get it to rise to 6.4 The fish show no ill affects .

My tap water is about neutral and after aging it is about 7.2, I done a 25% water change the other day and it seemed as though it only raised my tanks ph from 6.5 to 6.6ish after 4-5 hours.

[Brent1972]

why are you trying to change your ph woodsey ?

[brianyam]

Just do your tap water PH. Stable PH is more important than the level. Wild fish are fine with tap water PH. Why add more work and variables to worry about. The only fish I have come across where pH at first needs to be the same as the wild is altum angels, but even then, they can be brought to tap water PH over time.

[Woodsy]

why are you trying to change your ph woodsey ?

I'm not...

I used to have plastic ornaments, but i thought they looked tacky so i replaced them with driftwood for decoration.

[Woodsy]

Alright so now my PH seems to be 6.0, whenever i do a water change it bounces up to 6.4 after a few hours and drops to 6.0 again after a few more hours.

[strawberryblonde]

Your pH is dependent oh how much and how often you do water changes. If it's 7.2 after aging, then a 50% per day WC should keep it at about that.

If you haven't been doing at least a 50% WC per day, it's going to be lower in the tank and it's going to take more water changes in order to get it back to the 7ish range because you're only diluting the current tank pH a bit.

I wouldn't recommend doing a 90% water change at this point, just try increasing your daily WC to 60% or even 70% till you get the pH close to the pH value of your aging tank.

Are you sure you're doing a daily water change? If you aren't, then that's probably the reason that the pH keeps slowly dropping.

When you add your discus you're going to need to do those daily WC's, so it's best to get used to the routine now. =)