Dan's first Discus Tank!

[Dan99]

The water with the higher pH was let to sit for over a day. The lighter green/ blue is straight out of the tap. I did another test with just leaving the water out for 5 min and the ph was the same as the pH of the tank so I guess with a larger bucket I'll need to age it for maybe like 10 min. As for the filter I think I'm going to rinse the media and do a fish in cycle with 80-90% water changes and daily dose of prime.

[Dan99]

IMG_3574.jpg
That's funny I checked the pH of another tap that I used to fill up that tank. The one that I used primarily. (My mom was cooking so I had to switch taps for a few buckets.) the pH of that tap matches the pH of the tank exactly. Does that mean that my 2 water sources innately have 2 pH levels or is it that the other tap that had that huge gap just has more dissolved gas. It was odd because I let a bucket sit when I went to school when I came back, tested water, the pH was the same as the morning test. Any thoughts/ opinions?

[Ryan925]

You want to aerate the bucket

[DJW]

... and the tank.

[Jack L]

as mentioned earlier, its the gas escaping from the water. if you want to see for yourself, take 2 jars of water, seal one of them up, let the other just sit.

do hourly water tests. the open air one will change and stabilize, the closed one will stay where it started.

i have done this to explain to children, the closed one stayed the same for days.

get an aging barrel, look on craiglist for plastic drums. i found two for $15 each.

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cycle. up to you.
but FWIW, my reasoning=
-if i had a stable tank going, i just did a filter squeeze from established tank to new one. and had an instantly cycled tank
-i just never had the patience for fishless, even starter cultures tested my patience.
-i never lost a fish due to seeding from a healthy mature established system
-i have lost fish due to impatience and improper cycling without seeding.

and eventually, i've always added fish and plants(except piranha tanks, no plants) and all those things are going to bring in contaminants.
i quarantine, but there is only so much you can do. its not a sterile environment

[atlantadiscus]

I do not think you are getting accurate PH numbers from your testing,as both of your pictures show vials filled to incorrect levels?