Ph drop???

[lx2077]

Hey guys I am currently being trained by" John Nicholson" he took me under his wings kinda of like an understudy anyhow I am unable to reach him through PM due to the fact his in box is full and i do not want to become a pest and call him on the phone for every little thing...so I'm hoping for an expert similar to his expertise I have a 55 gal. Community tank and my discus appear healthy eating just fine on a variety of live and dry food 2 of my blue diamonds started to breed for the first time I am having a problem with keeping my pH consistent it fluctuates from 6.52 right at water change down to 6.13 4 to 5 hours later??? And sometimes all the way down to 5.87 is this ok? I am using(15gal.) Of 24hr aged tap which comes out of faucet 6.5 and (10 gal.) Of aged RO please help any other info you made need let me know oh by the way forgot to say the aged water is not air rated...is that a problem

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[plecocicho]

Do you use pure RO or you enrich with tapwater/mineral mix? What is your tank tds/kh? Do you have either peat ion your filter or some leaves/roots in it?

[DiscusAB]

Co2 out gas ...

[DiscusLoverJeff]

If your PH is swinging like that, then so is your TDS. If you can keep your TDS consistant, you should be fine. Do you have a TDS meter? Test your tap water TDS from the tap. Then test your TDS after aging, before putting it into the tank. Then do the same with your RO water. Once you have balance there, you should ok. The PH is not a big problem. The bigger issue would be if your TDS is not consistant.

[lx2077]

Update- pH seems to be leveling out it has been at 6.30 for a day and a half now I'm just trying to do everything right I went into this hobby knowing the HUGE demand and care level these discus demand from us and willing to meet and EXCEED that demand and all that love pays off when u see those vibrant colors we ALL yearn for when our guys grow and play and look oh so happy than and only than you see all that hard work pay off!!!

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[lx2077]

As far as your questions go
YES- I have peat in my filter
YES- RO mix started off at 100% than 80/20...70/30...60/40...now I'm at (20gal) 24hr aged tap and (5gal) aged RO and that seems to be the money card/sweet spot...
NO- do not have TDS meter however I have the fluval G3 filter which has a water conductivity meter built in and I am pretty consistent at 200-260 micro seimens

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[plecocicho]

Peat lowers your ph, so there is your anwser. I would be carefull with peat and co2 since both lower your pH and the chart Kh/pH/co2 will be useless. I would ditch peat in the filter.

[PP_GBR]

Most ppl would love to have 6.5 pH out of tap water. Why do you bother with RO & peat? Do you need to keep your discus in low 6's pH range?

[lx2077]

No reason at all...I just wanted to achieve the proper pH and be consistent I guess when I dropped to 5.87 I was afraid of a pH crash and loose my fish.Ok than I'll ditch the peat however what chemical media do you recommend??? That would be helpful thanks

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[PP_GBR]

Why do you need chemical media? I would use straight aged tap water. Sometimes over caring is not so good for the fish. Relax and enjoy the fish.

[lx2077]

Oh wow!!! DID NOT KNOW THAT so what your saying is I don't need ANY chemical media at all? OK I'm doing 50% water change every other day religiously... would that be sufficient enough to be able not to use any chemical media as well?

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[DiscusLoverJeff]

Just a FYI for you. Since you have a hold on your PH. Now you need to focus your attention on a stable TDS. This will help balance your PH as well. If your TDS fluctuates a lot, so will your PH. Once you have balanced your TDS, everything else should fall in your parameters as well.

[lx2077]

Jeff thank you so much for your time im not sure if you know however I just had a successful spawn last night with 200-300 eggs!! U can read all about the details in my thread w/ pictures in the breeding section...ok now how can I find out what my TDS is and how do I balance it so I can finally have a level pH I have a conductivity sensor built into my fluval (G3) filter and im pretty steady at 200 to 300 micro seimens

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[Kal-El]

Jeff thank you so much for your time im not sure if you know however I just had a successful spawn last night with 200-300 eggs!! U can read all about the details in my thread w/ pictures in the breeding section...ok now how can I find out what my TDS is and how do I balance it so I can finally have a level pH I have a conductivity sensor built into my fluval (G3) filter and im pretty steady at 200 to 300 micro seimens

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I wouldn't call any spawn success until you have wriggler follow by attachment. As for your PH it's very simple keep PH stable at what ever PH your water set too within 24 hours. There is no reason to add peat and other things to lower PH. Measure PH from tab and age it for 24 hours by aerating it. If there's a big change in PH you'll need to age your water if not straight from tap should be ok. Not all of us can do strait tap so some of us age the water 24 hours before using it.