Ph: any good sources, readings?

[DiscusBR]

Hi all,

I am having a debate in a forum here in Brazil about ph and discus. One of the things I learned here at SD is that a STABLE ph is more important than a ACID one. But in Brazil whenever a beginner asks about it, even veteran fishkeepers will say that s/he has to bring the ph at or below 6.8. As you can imagine, corrective manufactures selll a lot over here. I am counter-arguing that even wilds can thrive in relatively alkaline water and that people should not fill their tanks with chemicals just to come to that magic number.

My question is, would you have any good readings or sources that discuss the matter on more detail?

Thanks,

Mauro

[pepetj]

I think you won't find support for keeping wild caught discus in other than soft/acidic water. For most of the other variants, it will depend on how they were raised. Keeping them alive is one thing but thriving is another. I doubt Discus egg will hatch in alkaline water. I've seen seveal reports of Discus that have been kept in pH 7.2 and sometimes a bit higher than that without much issues. I rather keep mine as your friends suggest (5.0 to 6.8).

TFH magazine has a monthly column, authored by Jack Watley named "Ask Jack" where you can find info on this subject. You will need a subscription to the magazine. I do believe there's an offer now for one year subscription at 1usd (I read that in April) so look for that.

Some books may say one thing or the other, it depends on the author opinion. I keep all my Discus in soft/acidic water using RO water. I do add buffers to the water (Seachem's Equilibrium or Kent Marine R/O Right; as well as sodium bicarbonate).

The only time I have used chemicals to drop pH is when doing treatment e.g. Discus Flu) or when in need of "instant" soft/acidic water for some plant specimens I got without being prepared.

Pepetj
Santo Domingo

[DiscusBR]

Thank you Pepetj,

This is now what I learned in this site. See for the example the article:

http://www.simplydiscus.com/library/...nochange.shtml

Any others?

Mauro