new to discus, why age water?

[clark12]

yep, i asked why do you age water for water changes? not arguing, i would like to know. very interested in getting discus, this is the start of my research. thanks

[warblad79]

For stability

[clark12]

For stability

please elaborate. I'm still confused on this part. and is it 100% necessary?

[Lido]

Tap water typically comes out at one PH, after settling and airrating it lowers to its stable ph. It is 99% necessary unless you have stable water out of the tap. Like super clean spring water.

[clark12]

Tap water typically comes out at one PH, after settling and airrating it lowers to its stable ph. It is 99% necessary unless you have stable water out of the tap. Like super clean spring water.

you say it will lower it to a stable ph, will this cause a ph swing or is it too small to worry about? my tap ph and my tank are the same 7.6. will it lower it from that or am i seeing this wrong? feeling stupid right now

[Clawhammer]

Water straight from the tap often contains substances that affect pH that will be removed from the water via aeration. Aging allows these substances to be gassed off before the water is in the tank, otherwise, pH would constantly be in flux. Discus are more susceptible to stress from pH change than other fish.

CO2 gas from the atmosphere will concentrate in water, especially when outside temperatures are low. As this gasses off, pH will rise. Water companies sometimes add buffers to water low in KH to prevent pH crashes in the system; as this gasses off pH will decrease.

Test your need for aging by testing pH after 24 hours of aeration vs. straight from the tap. If there is a large difference (more than a couple tenths of a point) aging is beneficial.

[clark12]

Water straight from the tap often contains substances that affect pH that will be removed from the water via aeration. Aging allows these substances to be gassed off before the water is in the tank, otherwise, pH would constantly be in flux. Discus are more susceptible to stress from pH change than other fish.

CO2 gas from the atmosphere will concentrate in water, especially when outside temperatures are low. As this gasses off, pH will rise. Water companies sometimes add buffers to water low in KH to prevent pH crashes in the system; as this gasses off pH will decrease.

now this is making sense. this seems like a huge amount of work when people are saying do 50%-90% a day WC. I'm not scared of hard work but thats a lot more equipment to getting it up from the basement. 55+ gal storage container, bubbler, heaters, pump valves. holy cow. 50% a day with the python is childs play. no other options?

[aweitzelleishman]

I have exactly what you just mentioned. 55 gallon barrel in the basement, a pump attached to a vacuum that leads into my sewage pump, then a pump in my barrel up into my tank. A heater and air stone in my barrel heats and ages the water for 20+ hours before I refill the tank.

It's a lot to think about, but if you shop around you can get some cheaper equipment to make it easier on yourself. My juvies are growing well, from 2.5" to 4" in 2 months, and I'm able to keep up with water changes easily because of the initial investment.

Sometimes I'm in a rush and I forget to fill the barrel, so the water comes straight from the tap. On those days I definitely see more darting and weird behavior, since they're stressed.

[CammieTime]

If your tap water pH does NOT change after aging, then you can simply refill the tank directly from the spigot - just adjust the temp to match the tank. My tap water has a high pH and a lot of dissolved solids, aging has no effect on pH. So, I can fill the tank directly. I bought a hand shower sprayer, connected it behind the shower head, cut the sprayer off and connected it to 1/2 vinyl tubing which I put into my tank. I use a pump to remove water quickly from the tank. No aging barrels, heaters, ect. needed.

Microbubbles are another reason to age your water, water directly from the tap is full of little tiny bubbles that take a few hours to dissipate, and discus don't like these bubbles and they make your sponge filters float.

With discus, the MUST have clean fresh water. They get sick and die without it.

[LoGeek]

Microbubbles are another reason to age your water, water directly from the tap is full of little tiny bubbles that take a few hours to dissipate, and discus don't like these bubbles and they make your sponge filters float.

A filter sponge and a 150micron filter sock attached to the hose will take care of microbubbles. I have been using that after reading about it in a thread here some weeks ago. It really works!

[Clawhammer]

A filter sponge and a 150micron filter sock attached to the hose will take care of microbubbles. I have been using that after reading about it in a thread here some weeks ago. It really works!

[clark12]

thanks for the additional replies. I'm going to do a test to double check what I'm saying. first check ph right out of the tap, then fill a 5 gal bucket with an air stone and let sit for 24 hours and recheck ph. this is the correct way right? does a heater need to be in involved? the micro bubble remover setup is awesome. i will also try this to test it out.

[Neptune]

now this is making sense. this seems like a huge amount of work when people are saying do 50%-90% a day WC. I'm not scared of hard work but thats a lot more equipment to getting it up from the basement. 55+ gal storage container, bubbler, heaters, pump valves. holy cow. 50% a day with the python is childs play. no other options?

I can describe my setup for getting aged water from the basement to the upstairs tanks if you'd like.

[clark12]

I can describe my setup for getting aged water from the basement to the upstairs tanks if you'd like.

i appreciate this but if my water tests allow, I'm going to skip the aging and do the sponges to get rid of micro bubbles. if my ph doesn't change, i don't see any reason to age water. except the bubbles, which has been explained. thanks though

[Neptune]

i appreciate this but if my water tests allow, I'm going to skip the aging and do the sponges to get rid of micro bubbles. if my ph doesn't change, i don't see any reason to age water. except the bubbles, which has been explained. thanks though

by all means, keep the task as simple as possible!