New member

[MarcusP]

Well if they keep raising the PH I may have to start using RO water. I heard they will raise it to 8.8 that concerns me even though I have seen some have been successful with that high PH. My daughter use to care but now seems no one does but me. So hopefully nothing happens to me because all my fish will be dead. My wife and daughter wouldn't be able to take care of the fish. I have moved them into the 180 so we will see how things go. You have one more tank than I have lol all of mine are in the basement. I'm running out of room down there. I could maybe get another 125 and that's it.

[Iminit]

Hey Marcus your discus look good! I’m moving at the same pace. Just moved mine into a 125. In October I added 4 more. Had them in a 45 and the rest in a 75. At the time I was running 7 tanks. Just too much. So now I’m down to 5 and 2 are shrimp tanks. So life’s gotten a little easier. Of my discus I too have a pair that have outgrown the rest. They are close to 6”. Most of the rest are at the 5” mark and a pair just hasn’t grown much. They are just under 4”. One of the little guys eats great and the other rarely eats. Here’s a pic of my 125. Let’s see your 180!96A67C93-C8E5-4AF7-B782-B37AD1FE05F1.jpg and a pic of my other 125DF4CBB73-E60C-4893-AF9B-B8C255615E0C.jpg

[MarcusP]

Mine are very shy now they freak out when I am even near the tank. I may move them back not sure I will have to take a photo when I get home now that I know how to take kind of decent photos.

[MarcusP]

I'm still working on taking better photos but here are the cowards hiding.

[MeganJK]

Well if they keep raising the PH I may have to start using RO water. I heard they will raise it to 8.8 that concerns me even though I have seen some have been successful with that high PH. My daughter use to care but now seems no one does but me. So hopefully nothing happens to me because all my fish will be dead. My wife and daughter wouldn't be able to take care of the fish. I have moved them into the 180 so we will see how things go. You have one more tank than I have lol all of mine are in the basement. I'm running out of room down there. I could maybe get another 125 and that's it.

I tested my yap water a couple weeks ago, here in Lakewood, and with the High Range pH it came out to nearly 8.6 ��
The RO water has been cheap and really easy, honestly, especially now that groceries stores, like my King Soopers, carries it. Buy the jug once, then refills are really cheap, just a few cents a galllon. I started woth 4, now I have 8 jugs so I don't have to get refills as often. I started slow, 10% RO with tap, but that was also with additives like Discus Buffer and the like, things to help soften the water and lower pH. Now I've moved up to 70-75% RO and barely have to put any additives in at all (DO use Discus Trace, or the like to replace lost nutrients with RO water.)
And I feel your pain, my husband and kids are clueless about how to take care of my fish, well rather my discus and the like. I got a community tank of platys, mollies, guppys, etc something they could enjoy and be more hands on with. This in no means helps spouses understand out obsession lol��
If your fish are doing okay, then they're doing okay. Yes, it's easier on them with parameters closer to their natural habitat and chemistry, but it doesn't sound like you're having issues. So who am I to say? But the tests I ran on the tap water freaked me out.
I still use some tap water, otherwise I've found my pH actually drops too low.
My dream would ne to add an RO system right into house so I could use a device like the Python and not have to worry lol
I'm running out of room, too. My study is filled, the 150 and a couple smaller ones in the living room but I want another big one in the basement. That's sharedbsoace though and the family is not thrilled about the idea if me adding more tanks haha but I really need at the very least another 55-75gal and I'm picking up another 20 for my betta breeding and a place for my females to grow out before sale. And my 55 is for QT and I want one just for grow outs and possibly a breeder for some of my Rams. I sound like a junkie lol
I do all the fish care solo, as well, though my son is starting to show interest (fingers crossed!!)
Side note, the app Let Go is where I found a couple great tanks for really decent prices here in Colorado. Oddly enough, the bigger tanks tend to be priced better than the smaller ones.
Good luck, and let us know if you decide to try out the RO addition!
Have a great day!

[JackFlorens]

Welcome to the forum! I'm also new.

[MarcusP]

I tested my yap water a couple weeks ago, here in Lakewood, and with the High Range pH it came out to nearly 8.6 ��
The RO water has been cheap and really easy, honestly, especially now that groceries stores, like my King Soopers, carries it. Buy the jug once, then refills are really cheap, just a few cents a galllon. I started woth 4, now I have 8 jugs so I don't have to get refills as often. I started slow, 10% RO with tap, but that was also with additives like Discus Buffer and the like, things to help soften the water and lower pH. Now I've moved up to 70-75% RO and barely have to put any additives in at all (DO use Discus Trace, or the like to replace lost nutrients with RO water.)
And I feel your pain, my husband and kids are clueless about how to take care of my fish, well rather my discus and the like. I got a community tank of platys, mollies, guppys, etc something they could enjoy and be more hands on with. This in no means helps spouses understand out obsession lol��
If your fish are doing okay, then they're doing okay. Yes, it's easier on them with parameters closer to their natural habitat and chemistry, but it doesn't sound like you're having issues. So who am I to say? But the tests I ran on the tap water freaked me out.
I still use some tap water, otherwise I've found my pH actually drops too low.
My dream would ne to add an RO system right into house so I could use a device like the Python and not have to worry lol
I'm running out of room, too. My study is filled, the 150 and a couple smaller ones in the living room but I want another big one in the basement. That's sharedbsoace though and the family is not thrilled about the idea if me adding more tanks haha but I really need at the very least another 55-75gal and I'm picking up another 20 for my betta breeding and a place for my females to grow out before sale. And my 55 is for QT and I want one just for grow outs and possibly a breeder for some of my Rams. I sound like a junkie lol
I do all the fish care solo, as well, though my son is starting to show interest (fingers crossed!!)
Side note, the app Let Go is where I found a couple great tanks for really decent prices here in Colorado. Oddly enough, the bigger tanks tend to be priced better than the smaller ones.
Good luck, and let us know if you decide to try out the RO addition!
Have a great day!

I'm not sure it would be worth it in the long run to purchase the water from the stores. My water once aged is around 8.0Ph usually it may go up a point every other week but so far its been 8 since they started raising it. I am changing about 130 gallons every three days. The 180 gallon I have them in has a 40 gallon sump so basically 220g. I already have 6 tanks but I was thinking about building a plywood tank maybe 500+ gallons. I then thought about and I am sure my wife would end up on that show Snapped! I have a RO/DI system ready to rock just have not used it yet. That lady at Golden Fish said she used muriatic acid to get the PH to 7. I was going to do that but I'm concerned about the PH drop, I know it cannot drop a lot the fish will be harmed. Here is my aging station and the RO unit.

[MarcusP]

Welcome to the forum! I'm also new.

Welcome, you have any questions just post. Many here will be able to assist you with just about anything.

[peewee1]

Welcome to the forum! I'm also new.

Hi, Jack! Although a greeting best not said at an airport, welcome. Where are you in this very large world?

[RickyB]

Hello all, I've been keeping African Cichlids for over 25 years and have finally accepted the challenge of keeping discus. I've always wanted to but I was told they're difficult to keep and their pH had to be in the 6's with soft water. That didn't match my tap water so I stayed away from them. My friend recently told me that domestically grown discus can do well with a pH of 7.4 (my local tap water) and that putting in some driftwood will soften the water.

So, I began reading and watching videos on keeping Discus and have now invested in 7 discus for my 110 gallon tall tank. They are 3 to 4 inches. I've been changing 35% of the water every 2 days and feeding 3 times a day. The temperature is at 85 degrees. They seem to be doing very well. My tank has a few rocks and gravel at the bottom. I look forward to using this wonderful forum if any issues pop up. Checkered Discus.jpgRed Blue.jpg

[MarcusP]

Welcome Ricky, I was concerned about the PH as well my PH has been changed from 7.6-7.8 to 8.0-8.3. So far mine are doing good as well, I see you have a Seachem filter awesome filter I have the 110 on my 40 gallon and one of my 75 gallons. I'm sure many will say they may need to be fed more often if you want them to grow. I just recently moved my 9 discus to my 180 gallon. It has a sump but recently my heater 800w failed after only having it for 9 months. I had to use two 300w heaters since thats all I had left. They're still a bit skittish but I am sure they will get use to the tank. I plan on getting at least 12 Sterbai corydoras, I have some dither fish. Lemon tetras, Diamond tetras, Neons and X-Ray Pristellas. I have about 30 of each of those but I dont want them to eat the discus food. I will buy more discus but I think I will get larger ones this time. Hope things work out for you, you will find any question you have on these forums. Plus many here are will to assist you just have to ask.

[RickyB]

Thanks for the welcome Marcus. I asked the LFS what they had been feeding the fish and they said TetraColor Bits. I bought some and they have taken to them except for my yellow melon. I purchased him 3 days ago and he's hiding and not eating when the others are. I'm hoping he's just getting used to his new home. I have two heaters and two power filters, the other being an AquaClear 500. They did a great job with my Africans so I consider them good filters. Good luck with your new purchases.

[Iminit]

Welcome Ricky! Nice looking discus. Yes ph doesn’t matter as long as you keep it consistent. As to your water changes I’d do 50% or more. Clean water really is the most important thing for discus. Next as Marcus said you should up your feeding. But again your are store bought and you don’t know how old they are. Unless you were there when they came in it’s tough to figure how old they are. As to your new guy you should qt any new discus. Even if it came out of the same tank. Qt for a month. Next your rocks though great for Africans can be dangerous for discus. Discus sometimes dash across the tank. Those rocks are sharp and could cause some damage. I use rounded river rocks and mine have still gotten scratched.
You’ve got some nice looking discus that look like they’ve got some growing ahead of them. Good luck with them!! Were they bought from a discus shop or a pet store?

[RickyB]

Thanks for your suggestions Iminit. I was also concerned about the large rocks, so I will heed your advice and take them out. As for the quarantining, I'm going to have to invest in another tank to do that. The discus I bought were from two local aquarium shops. I've always bought quality africans from them so I'm hoping they're also bringing in quality discus. Time will tell. Thus far, I'm very pleased at how they're eating and moving around the tank.

You suggest water changes of 50%. Is that daily changes or less frequent? Remember, I'm putting tap water in and I'm a little concerned about putting so much water conditioner in so frequently.

[Iminit]

Prime is fine. What I do for new discus and discus under 4” is change daily. For new I do it for a month. Once bigger you can change less but watch your discus. If they’re not happy with the water they will let you know. First sign is pimples.

2 different shops can be a problem. Discus coming from different breeders could have different things in them that they are immune to. When mixed they can contaminate each other. This does happen. Check out the German an Asian thread.