Originally Posted by
antpal01
Mxx, I hear you on the desire to try to avoid WC's period. In my experience with Discus (a lot less than some of the folks replying here), I am not convinved it's possible to create a healthy environment for Discus without frequent water changes. I can see how the fish respond if I wind up not siphoning off the bottom as frequently as I should. For most of us on the forum, we can look at the fish and see if something is not looking right. And the first precaution when that something pops up is to be very aggressive on the WC's. In many cases, that can help (and in most cases, the fish were susceptible to the disease from poor husbandry or too many missed WC's in the first place).
I can not comment on the specific water chemistry parameter changes that happen in a water change. But I think that's really what you are trying to get to: what gets removed in the WC and how can you create a filter/ natural ecosystem balance to reproduce it without the WC. Did I net this out correctly?
I think it's a really interesting topic, and I am eager to see the results. A few ideas to share:
1) Is there a way to set up a control tank? Maybe the same size, stocking, plants, light, feeding, co2, etc but with regular/ frequent water changes? I think this should provide a really good comparison and help you confirm whether the tank with zero WC's is really thriving.
2) I have an automated water change system for my tank. It changes about 80 gallons/ day on a total volume of about 140 gallons. It is 100% automated - I don't touch a thing. The display tank (which is pretty heavily stocked) is upstairs and the sump, where the water change system is set up, is in the basement. In addition to the 80 gallons/ day, I also siphon off the bottom of the display tank every other day or so (takes about 3 minutes). The tank has a few potted plants, but no substrate (I actually started by transforming a planted tank into a discus tank and wound up swapping out the substrate and removing the plants with the exception of a few that are now in pots). In addition to the daily automated changes, usually on the weekends, I change more water. I don't have to kill myself with these changes, though, because I have the automated system (which I can use the change more than 80 gallons/ day if I want).
I'd be happy to share details about it if you'd like to discuss. It's not very high tech, but is really failsafe and easy. I know that you are trying to avoid changes, and this has been a really good way for me to minimize the effort in keeping the tank and maximize time enjoying it. Might be something to consider as a type of compromise from a strict zero water change system.
BTW - have you kept reefs or other fish in addition to what you mentioned in your previous posts? I've had many types of freshwater fish plus actually had a full blown 90 gallon SPS plus LPS and Softies tank w @1,000 watts of light. I did a lot of research and learned through trial and error to finally get to a stable and healthy position with the reef tank and again with the discus tank. The research is really important, but there's no substitue for watching the animals (and plants). They will tell you whether the condiditons are good or not. A really great guy from GARF (Geothernal Aquatic Research Foundation)explained that to me when I first got into Reef tanks - it took a while, but I learned and grew to appreciate what he meant.
Interested to hear what else you learn in your research.
thx,
Ant