Using Discus Buffer to lower PH

[Crystal]

i am new here, I have a pair of young Discus which just pair up. I moved them to a 20 gal. tank and the female had laid eggs 4 times, but everytime the eggs turn white the next day. Bothe male and female still tending the white eggs for two days, and finally gave up and ate them as they probably realize it will not hatch. My tap water PH is 7.6, I just bought the Discus Buffer intending to lower the PH gradually every day doing 10 or 20% water change. The bottle said it will lower the PH and GH as well. Will it stripe off all mineral from the tank as I know people who use RO water have to add back Trace element or mineral into the water. I cannot afford to buy an RO unit, I went to Water Depot and brought a 5 gallon RO water with Jug for $13.56, each refill is $3.25. Should I add the Discus Buffer using one gallon of RO water and one gallon of tap water such that there is mineral, OR should I just add it to straight tap water to bring down the PH during water change ? I change 10% of water every two day when I sucked up all the debris on the bare tank. I do have one plant in a small pot though, will the Discuss Buffer cause lots of algae on my plant as the Buffer got phosphate ? Please kindly advise

[slicksta]

Are you sure the pair is fertile?
Did the eggs hatch before you moved them to the 20?

[Second Hand Pat]

Hi Crystal, first please do not use the Discus Buffer. It will make the ph jump about and which is not good for the fish. Let's start at the beginning. First and John has a point. How old are your discus? and have you seen the breeding tubes to confirm gender. Females will lay eggs at an earlier age and males mature later then females. Need to determine if your discus are old enough and if you do indeed have a female and male.
Pat

[Willie]

You only need to have soft water for a very short period of the breeding process - during fertilization. So buy a couple more water jugs and just do a large water change with R/O water when they start to clean the cone. Don't add any chemicals or minerals during the process. After the female spawns and the male makes his fertilization runs, you're done. Make your water changes as usual and the spawn will hatch out fine - assuming you've got a fertile pair.

Discus Buffer is phosphate based. Bacteria in the system will rapidly use up the buffer and all buffering capacity is gone. It frankly doesn't work.

Good luck, Willie

[Crystal]

No, The eggs turned white twice the next day before I move them to the 20 gallon tank

[Crystal]

No, I am not sure, they laid eggs twice and turn white the next day, then I moved them to the 20 gallon tank.

[Crystal]

Hi Pat, the female is about 9 months old as when I first bought the 4 Discus (3 inches) I asked the aquarium place how old they are, and he said 4 or 5 months old, so by now she would be 9 months old. But they fight like hell, so I bought another one and this one is bigger (4 inches), but I forget to ask how old he is, but he is now about 5 inches. Then they still fight, but this time these two pair up and both fight the other 3 in the tank, they laid eggs twice on the glass, but turn white the next day. So I moved them into a 20 gallon tank and brought them a cone, since then, the female laid 2 times eggs again, but still turn white the next day. I want to attached a picture for you to see, but I do not know how and where I can click on to attach the picture. I do know that the male takes about 3 to 6 months longer to mature, but I have no idea how old he is, perhaps you are right, he might not be mature enough to fertile the eggs.

[Crystal]

Hi Willie, I can buy a few more jug to refill the tank as they said only cost $3.25 to refill, but since their PH is now 7.6. If I suddenly put them in RO water which is 6 ( I test it and they said the TDS is less than 10) won't the sudden of PH change shocked them? When you said a large water change, what percentage or how many gallon should I change ? Also since I am new in this hobby, I read as much as I can on the internet and here, they said RO water is strip off everything, there is no mineral in it, so you mean the left over 7.6 water in the tank have enough mineral for them to survive and that I do not have to buy any trace element or whatever to put in ? I am really confuse. That is why I used the Discus Buffer, and yes it is Phosphate base, it said it will lower the PH to 5.8 - 6.8 and the GH as well, but I read that the KH will increase. I have not a clue what I should do now. I just thought if I add the Discus buffer and change the water everyday to reduce .2 until it reach 6.5, then they might be fine, I am so afraid to hurt them, I only change .12 the first time, but you are right, the next day when I test the PH, it is back to 7.6 again instead of 7.5. further advice and instruction will be much appreciated

[Crystal]

Pat, by the way how do you add or attach a picture to the message ? Thank you !

[CliffsDiscus]

Are you sure the pair is confirm and fertile? Are you
not sure if the eggs are turning white because of your water parameters. Sometimes adding too much
Discus Buffer can cause the ph to drop too quickly causing acid burn on the body.

Cliff

How many teaspoons of Discus Buffer are you adding to the 20 gallon during each waterchange?

[Crystal]

1/4 teaspoon in the bucket which is to replace the water taken out, I test it first to see the PH, then pour it in, take the reading and get 7.4 instead of 7.6, but then the next day, when I checked the PH, it is back to 7/6 again. that is why I am back again to search for answers, a couple of other people did also say that they might not be mature enough. With so many difference answers, I am all confuse, so I think I shall leave them alone for awhile as I did read from somewhere that the male take 3 to 6 months longer to mature than the female. Thank you

[Filip]

Hi Crystal . You can upload photos using the third icon from the right on your message box ,the icon with a little tree on it .The photos must be less than 2 Megabytes to upload .
Investing in a cheap RO Unit (50-100 $ ) would be the best choice IMO , if you really want to try and experience in breeding discus .