if my nitrates are 0 or very close, what benefit would changing the water do for my tank? I would think my water quality is already excellent. Maybe I’m missing something.
Somewhat common misconception. Having -0- nitrates at your present test point is deceiving. Right now your large volume (125g) & heavily planted tank is assisting somewhat in controlling that parameter. Nitrates are constantly on the rise. How much & how fast is subjective. No two tanks 'creep' the same. Good tank husbandry is a requirement for discus to THRIVE.When they are young & growing, fresh water is like spinach to Popeye. It makes them big & strong. Controlling the nitrate 'creep' is best done by WC's. The more the better to keep that parameter low low. Those w/ OCD like myself sometimes go a bit overboard but the result will be spectacular, I promise. Young discus & WC's go hand in hand. You can ease back a bit after they are grown but WC's will always be your best friend. BTW there are products & contraptions on the market that 'claim to control' nitrates. I can't say yay or nay but you'll never go wrong with WC's!! "T"
125g Tenecor - Cardinal, Serpae, Bloodfin, Redeye, Phantom & Pristella Tetra - Ghost Shrimp - Raphael Cats - Stendker Discus
Rena XP4, Eheim 2075, 2 A/C500, 2(250w) Ebo-Jagers / Jehmco Controller, 29g AGA-sick
"Knowledge Gained & Not Shared Is Knowledge Lost"
Yes I agree, my nitrates are always almost 0, could be the plants are absorbing some of the nitrates.
These juvenile fish I have seem to have some sort of personality, I have 11 in my tank, there only 2-3 inches, but they follow me when I’m near the tank, I don’t think there hungry, I worry about feeding them to much. I have been feeding them twice a day.
This I can tell you for sure, if you increase the WC's & increase the feeding schedule your discus will thank you!! lol Juvies really need to eat a lot at this stage (3-4 tpd). You're treating them like adults. This is their time to GROW & nothing does it better than plenty of quality food & plenty of clean water. Now I see why your nitrates are holding. You really should up the food intake or risk possibly stunting your little ones. There are those (OCD like me) who might say 5 or 6 tpd is the order. 3 or 4 meals should do them just fine at least to the sub-adult stage. YES, it's gonna require more time & more work & more money but they are so worth it imho!!! "T"I will continue to do 30% water changes weekly and see how it goes, I’m just keeping fish as a hobby and something nice to look at in the evening after work. I may start feeding them twice a day instead of once on day though. So far they are doing fine. Beautiful fish.
125g Tenecor - Cardinal, Serpae, Bloodfin, Redeye, Phantom & Pristella Tetra - Ghost Shrimp - Raphael Cats - Stendker Discus
Rena XP4, Eheim 2075, 2 A/C500, 2(250w) Ebo-Jagers / Jehmco Controller, 29g AGA-sick
"Knowledge Gained & Not Shared Is Knowledge Lost"
It seems I’m not feeding them enough, I was worried about over feeding, it does seem like they are always hungry. I don’t have a problem with more water changes, but I’m not ready for 2 a day water changes yet, I just don’t have the time. I will start doing 2 maybe 3 wc a week, just to keep everything fresh.
My thoughts are if you planning on raising young discus in such a big,planted,O2 injected with substrate.You had better be up for a lot of work to keep things pristine enough to grow out healthy looking discus.I think you'll be buying discus every 4 or 5 months.They should live that long in your set up with you correct husbandry,maybe longer but not healthy.They are not your average tropical fish and if treated as such there will be issues down the road.So,IMO if you're going to raise young discus,this is not the tank to do it in to be successful/rewarding.