pH in Water

Hey Everyone,

I've been planning on buying discus over the last couple of months. I've been doing a lot of research as well as testing my own waters to see if it'll be a good fit for discus. I recently bought a digital pH tester and found out that in San Francisco -- the tap water comes out at 9.0 pH and decreases over time.

For my display tank, I run CO2, have plants, and have substrate that lowers pH. Depending on the time of day, my pH ranges from 7.0 - 7.5 every day. When I do water changes, depending on how much I change, it goes up to 8.0. For my quarantine and hospital tanks, it has a pH of 7.5 consistently.

Will discus be able to handle the the pH swings? If not, what are alternatives methods I could use to make it so I can raise discus?

Thank you!

Even seemingly minor pH swings can be very stressful for discus, especially if those swings are rapid. Since a pH change of 1 is a change to the power of 10 (i.e., 1 until is 10x different, 2 units is 100x different), then your tank jumping from as low as 7.0 to as high as 8.0 is a significant swing. If that swing is happening as rapidly as a water change, then that could be quite a shock for discus. Some fish might be able to endure that kind of shock, but I would worry about its effects on discus.

Have you considered an RO unit? They aren't practical for everyone, but they can definitely solve water quality issues in source water. I know some people filter through peat to lower pH. I haven't tried that method so I can't speak to any potential pitfalls of that method.

I would not do anything different in your position. San Francisco is fed by Mono Lake, which is in turn fed by mountain runoffs. The water is relatively soft, so pH differences are inconsequential. Many pioneers of discus breeding started in there and used straight tap water for breeding and raising discus very successfully. On a practical matter, R/O will be problematic in municipalities undergoing constant drought and water usage limitations.

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Originally Posted by G_Man10

Even seemingly minor pH swings can be very stressful for discus, especially if those swings are rapid. Since a pH change of 1 is a change to the power of 10 (i.e., 1 until is 10x different, 2 units is 100x different), then your tank jumping from as low as 7.0 to as high as 8.0 is a significant swing. If that swing is happening as rapidly as a water change, then that could be quite a shock for discus. Some fish might be able to endure that kind of shock, but I would worry about its effects on discus.

Have you considered an RO unit? They aren't practical for everyone, but they can definitely solve water quality issues in source water. I know some people filter through peat to lower pH. I haven't tried that method so I can't speak to any potential pitfalls of that method.

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I don't think a RO unit would be viable for me. I was considering buying a 55 gallon bucket and aging my water...so that might be a viable situation.

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Originally Posted by Willie

I would not do anything different in your position. San Francisco is fed by Mono Lake, which is in turn fed by mountain runoffs. The water is relatively soft, so pH differences are inconsequential. Many pioneers of discus breeding started in there and used straight tap water for breeding and raising discus very successfully. On a practical matter, R/O will be problematic in municipalities undergoing constant drought and water usage limitations.

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If this is the case, this will safe me so much time and effort! I am considering aging my water to be safe though.

I live in San Francisco in the Inter-Richmond District same area as Fairy Lake Discus.
My ph runs around 8.9 out of the tap, Discus are raise and breed straight out of the tap.

Cliff

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Originally Posted by CliffsDiscus

I live in San Francisco in the Inter-Richmond District same area as Fairy Lake Discus.
My ph runs around 8.9 out of the tap, Discus are raise and breed straight out of the tap.

Cliff

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This is great news. Much appreciated Cliff!

Jason, if you are going to run CO2 I would suggest you strongly consider adding a pH controller so you are not fluctuating between 7-8 on water change days, or in fact 0.5 on non-change days.