Hello Everyone! Excited Newbie to Discus Here!

[Bizarro252]

Thanks Looking forward to it! Ammonia stayed the same after about 5 hours, I couldn't help myself I had to retest lol...not sure why I expected any different :P

EDIT:
I have changed some of the plans here, plus one more question (adding some details about my water supply)

I have decided to step up a size from 2.5" to 3", price difference is not that bad and it will make me feel less anxious about stunting them, etc :P
I got a digital PH meter, just a cheapo one, but it has what appears to be a nice sensor on it (replaceable, will link it below). I calibrated it and got, what I think at least, are more accurate numbers on my PH, fresh and aged.
TAP: 7.8
Aged: 8.3

Other details about my water from the tap:
Nitrate 5
KH 10
GH 8

Given that I have a 0.5 PH jump from aging I assume for large water changes it will be necessary to age it - at least for an hour or so - I have read that any more than 0.3 movement means you should age. Thoughts on that?

PH meter:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Thanks!

[discuspaul]

Suggest you do the test once or twice more to confirm the pH differential between tap & ageing remains around the .5 level.
What's the pH in your tank ?. Is it around the 8.0 level ?

You should be ok without ageing with just a .5 difference, assuming that your wcs are in the area of say 50% or so, or even larger. The blend of the two (tank & tap) will not occasion more than a minor differential.

[Bizarro252]

Thanks Paul, I will check again. I tested my other tanks that I do not add any buffers to and they all came to 8.4 as well - the API high range test is slightly hard to read accuratly because its basically "hrmm how much purple is in this..." but it seems to match up in that range at least.

My Cichlid tank I do add just a bit of KH/GH too with Seachem Malawi buffer and Cichlid salt (1/2tsp of the first, 1/4tsp of the second per 10gal) and that tank sits at 8.7. I actually used to dose double those numbers and am slowly backing off as after I tested my tap many time for PH, KH and GH its basically perfect for cichlids anyways so I am trying to dose less or go to none at all.

I do NOT plan on dosing anything to the Discus tank, just to get that out there, IMO lowering PH with chemicals is asking for trouble if you are starting with hard tap water like I am, I would likely see a drop and then a slow rise back to where it was with the amount of KH I have

[Bizarro252]

Added two more sponge filters (Hydor IV Pros) and dumped in a bottle of Tim's Bacteria I overnighted because I am crazy :P
Ammonia is now dropping from 1ppm to 0.25 in about 10 hours (vs 30 on day 1). I keep dosing daily, Nitrite has remained at 0, never seen it jump (weird, but maybe I brought over more of those bacteria in the media...), Nitrate up at 80ppm last night (5-10 at tap) - so its cycled, just keep dosing to grow the colony and get it ready for the load

Discus are ORDERED, they will arrive Friday and I have taken the day off of work - going to be a great weekend.

Last thing is to convince myself that 90+% of you are right and I should just temp acclimate and plop and drop these guys in (PH is 8.3 is why I am concerned) but the more I read and look around the more people I find having success, still have not come across anyone that had terrible results, even with 8+ PH.

I have foods in already to get them going, waiting on some worms and worm/beef heart chow from California Blackworm Co. - going to fast them at least until the following morning after they arrive, that seems to be a pretty standard suggestion.

Here is what I got - pictures incoming Saturday when I will actually turn the lights back on
(one each)

Checkerboard Discus 3"
Leopard SnakeSkin 3"
Red Scribbelt Discus Fish 3+ Inch
Marlboro Red Discus Fish 3+ Inch
Brillant Turquoise Discus Fish 3+ inch
Cobalt Discus Fish 3+ Inch

[Kyla]

i now use the drop and plop method, my ph is over 8, never any issues. make sure u float the bags so they r same temp as ur tank first.

[Bizarro252]

i now use the drop and plop method, my ph is over 8, never any issues. make sure u float the bags so they r same temp as ur tank first.

So we are up to 92.8% now :P haha thanks