Can We Make Discus Keeping more Environmentally Friendly

[discusgiz]

Hi All

I have like many others have kept discus for many years , but in recent times I have thought that with having to keep Discus at higher temperatures which I know they need in most cases and many of us feed Discus on Beefheart another strain on the environment is there ways Discus keepers can try to minimize the effect on the environment with the Discus keeping.

Just would like to know other keepers thoughts.

[Second Hand Pat]

Hi discusgiz, why is feeding discus BH a strain on the environment?
Pat

[LizStreithorst]

I'm not Pete, but the answer is that growing meat is way much more of a strain on the environment that raising food crops for humans.

[Second Hand Pat]

I'm not Pete, but the answer is that growing meat is way much more of a strain on the environment that raising food crops for humans.

Yes Liz but BH is a side product of the beef industry. If discus keepers quit feeding BH I doubt it would have any impact of the meat industry but it could help an individual discus keeper feel that their were doing their part. Of course we could all quit eating beef ourselves.
Pat

[captainandy]

You can install solar panels for light and heat and try some vegan burger meat.
Not for me but perhaps good for some

[jeep]

Of course we could all quit eating beef ourselves.
Pat

Not gonna happen!!

[jeep]

One of my customers was very inventive. One of his projects you a solar water heater that included some sort of tubing for collection, flexible copper tubing and a hot water circulating pump that circulates the heated water in a closed system that is contained inside a holding tank. Hope that makes sense...

[coralbandit]

I don't see the BH as a strain but I don't feed it anyways .It is using part of an animal that otherwise has few uses besides pet food and rendering ..
What about all the water ? There is no fish keeper more wasteful with water then discus keepers IMO.You may drain it to your garden but besides the few well owners the rest are using municipal water that goes through major treatments and chemical enhancements that are not good for the environment.. Not sure if I could accurately say well owners are or aren't wasting water as it may return to their well but if judged by appearances they are wasteful also .
And yea I said and mean wasteful ..If you care one little bit about the environment daily water changes over 50% are ridiculous ! Maybe on smaller tanks is less of a sin but on large tanks ? Is there a lesser sin ?
Those who insist on 100% are twice as wasteful IMO therefore .
That being said I need to go do my daily water change on the 29g..I chose to try to cram my 2 month-old juvis in a 29 for now rather then move them right up to 65g and twice as much water daily .
I will admit at their size and quantity I considered the 65g and every other day changes but that does reduce water quality IMO with the same amount of water being used [that is a losing proposition] ? Using BH you are asking to foul your water. IMO you might as well dump half a jar of flake food in also ! I don't feed flake either as they foul water too much for me also .Your fish will learn to eat what ever you feed them ..There can be no argument about that IME ..
Slow sinking pellets and freeze dried worms or frozen worms work just fine for growing and maintaining discus and keep the water cleaner IME ..
Having 60 tanks and running a RO unit I am more guilty then most so I point the finger in the mirror for sure but others should admit it or say they don't care ..
You can say water is a renewable resource till the next drought comes [glad again I don't live in CA or other drought stricken states].
What do those of you who live with water restrictions do ? They say no watering your lawn or washing your car ..Good thing they don't know about us I guess !

[Willie]

The best approach is reduce the environmental impact is to give up keeping discus. After that, get rid of the SUV, take the bus and move into an apartment.

[gunnerschh2]

QR we could close the lid.

[LizStreithorst]

They make sausage from all the nasty bits. The only thing I've started to do that I want to find a way around is using RO. My unit is quite efficient but there is still more waste than product. Right now the waste is going down the drain. I ordered 50' more tubing and connectors so I can run it down to the woods but I'd need 100 more feet to run it

[coralbandit]

I eventually upgraded my RO from 75GPD to 150 GPD .
In doing so it takes the waste water and sends it through an additional TFC which again makes clean water from that which would have been completely waste .
Also installing a pump to get pressure up to 80psi makes a difference in the amount of waste..It is the pressure that makes the TFC function ..Water under 70 is less RO friendly then 80degree water also ..

[BrendanJ23]

The best approach is reduce the environmental impact is to give up keeping discus. After that, get rid of the SUV, take the bus and move into an apartment.

Exactly, well said!. As far as I am concerned there are bigger environmental problems than a few water changes and some BH, which would go into pet food industry regardless.

[LizStreithorst]

I eventually upgraded my RO from 75GPD to 150 GPD .
In doing so it takes the waste water and sends it through an additional TFC which again makes clean water from that which would have been completely waste .
Also installing a pump to get pressure up to 80psi makes a difference in the amount of waste..It is the pressure that makes the TFC function ..Water under 70 is less RO friendly then 80degree water also ..

Tom, I have a 75 GPD unit. I'm only going through about 45 gallons of it so far. I mostly only use it on pairs and fish I'm hoping to nudge into spawning. But the thought even though my water is cheap here, it's still a resource so I would prefer not to waste it. Which of the two options would be the most cost and environmentally saving option in my case

[coralbandit]

Pressure is the #1 factor in RO efficiency I believe ?
So I would imagine with a well you don't have super high pressure like those with municipal supply.
I am municipal and still had pressure under 50psi and besides taking forever to make water [my 75 GPD unit made about 40GPD] it had to be wasting a ton of water .
I can fill my 42g barrel now in like 6 hours so that has to be saving water IMO..
The upgrade can be done anytime down the road ..I actually ran my RO for 3 years without the 150GPD upgrade or pump since I was only using it for my reef tank..
When I decided to use it for breeding like you then I needed to step it up..The 150GPD upgrade requires higher pressure to work so I would think the pump first is the proper order to go .
BRS [Bulk Reef Supply] has great videos and info on how to all things RO and worth watching for sure ..I had a commercial distiller before the RO and was intimidated until I got it all set up and saw for myself how it worked ..Now I laugh[and cry] about the time and money I wasted on my 8g distiller ! BRS is a good source of high quality cartridges also ..I have never bought any others .