Would like some help with water

[koiman61]

Hello Mark here. I am still in the research phase of getting discus.A memeber suggested I test my tap water and then after 24 hrs with airstone. The results were not much different. Have very hard water here in NM. results of tap was 20 nitrate 0 nitrite 150 hardness 180 alk 8 ph , after 24 hrs 10 rate 0 rite 150 hardness 180 alk 8 ph. Can i use tap water? I use RO water now on tank.
Thank you for any help and suggestions.

Mark

[Ryan925]

It will be tough having 10-20ppm nitrate in your source water. You may need to go 50/50 or potentially all r/o remineralized.

You are using ro on other tanks?

[koiman61]

Tes I am The 55 gal that I want to use for the discus and my reef tank. I retested the tap water using a API test kit and the results were pH 7.4 Am 0 nitrate 8 and nitrite 0 after 24 hrs it was ph 7.6 Am 0 nitrate 5 and nitrite 0. Can i use a mixture of r/o and tap? What would be test results that I should aim for to be safe to use for the discus?
Thank you Ryan

Mark

[Willie]

You might consider calling your local water utility for their regular water testing results. 20 ppm nitrate is near the safety limit for human consumption.

Willie

[artiniphone]

Hello fellow Discus owners,

I apologize for hijacking this thread but I cant figure out how to start my own. I figured that my issue is a similar case and I could you your professional opinion. I have been using filtered water from the store and every 5 gallons costs me 1.50. I know it doesn't seem much but 2x 35% water changes a week can add up. I recently tested my tap water (pictures below) and the high and low PH levels are completely different from the filtered water. I believe my current PH level is around 6.4- 7.2. I have 6 discus ( 2 are beginning to pair) in a 45g tank. I have a Fluval 406 that is keeping the water super clean. My discus don't seem to move around much and continue to nip each other. I started with the yellow discus and the dark black discus and added the other 4 about a month ago. The two that are paired seemed to have taken over the left half of the tank. I tested both waters and attached the pictures below. Would it be safe to switch over to the tap water? How would I do it?

[ssevasta]

You would gradually switch over to your tap water by about 30% more tap water each water change until you reach 100% tap water. Make sure you add a dechlorinator like seachem prime or seachem safe to your tap water before you add it to your tank and also make sure that the replacement water is at or with 2 degrees of your tank's water temperature.

[Cosmo]

There is a filter very popular in England, can't remember what they call it, but I believe it is basically a couple of carbon blocks without the R/O membrane. That and some Seachem Prime might be all you need

[Ryan925]

Hello fellow Discus owners,

I apologize for hijacking this thread but I cant figure out how to start my own. I figured that my issue is a similar case and I could you your professional opinion. I have been using filtered water from the store and every 5 gallons costs me 1.50. I know it doesn't seem much but 2x 35% water changes a week can add up. I recently tested my tap water (pictures below) and the high and low PH levels are completely different from the filtered water. I believe my current PH level is around 6.4- 7.2. I have 6 discus ( 2 are beginning to pair) in a 45g tank. I have a Fluval 406 that is keeping the water super clean. My discus don't seem to move around much and continue to nip each other. I started with the yellow discus and the dark black discus and added the other 4 about a month ago. The two that are paired seemed to have taken over the left half of the tank. I tested both waters and attached the pictures below. Would it be safe to switch over to the tap water? How would I do it?

You say ph is 6.4-7.2. What is the actual value? That's a huge range...also 6 discus in a 45 is not ideal. That tank is too small

Do you have a picture of this dark black discus? There is no such thing as a dark black discus. If it's dark black it is likely very stressed and potentially sick