I'm using peat filtered water to get my discus to spawn - not RO

[tackjibe]

Here is my discus set up. I am strictly an amateur and I wanted to avoid buying an RO unit. I think it wastes water. We have to pay for how much water we use where I live. It is working so far.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WX8hOS14fvA&feature=youtu.be

Thanks.

[John_Nicholson]

A couple of note. Peat does soften the water but are you sure your water was to hard to begin with? Second many of us use our RO waste water for water changes to other tanks so there is no real waste.

-john

[MadMatt]

A couple of note. Peat does soften the water but are you sure your water was to hard to begin with? Second many of us use our RO waste water for water changes to other tanks so there is no real waste.

-john

John is a very experienced breeder and has helped me out before with a few other experienced breeders like Liz as well, his comment is 100% correct.
Further more:
Test your tap water!
Find out your TDS, GH, PH, KH
Also, fill up a pail with tap water, aerate it, test your PH right after you fill it, retest the water after 12hrs and again in 24hrs. Your looking to see if the PH changes, if it changes more then .4 you need to age the water before you do a water change, you do this to avoid too much of a Ph swing, this could stress your fish and kill your spawn.
After you do the water test a few time you will figure out how much you need to age before it stops swinging.
I have to age mine 6hrs and it will only swing .2 over the next 2 days, most of the time it barely swings after 4 hrs of aeration.
If your TDS is under 150PPM chances are you will have somewhat success just as it is. The lower the TDS the more higher hatch rate you will have because the sperm will have more time to penetrate the egg membrane.
Most people us RO water to increase the fertilization & hatch rate of their spawn.
However some people have said they had success in 250PPM water TDS and others say it has to around 50PPM.
As you research breeding discus it becomes more apparent that the water quality and stability is the absolute most important part of breeding discus. Moreover, it is the water hardness coupled with the water quality and how stable your pH is that will factor in how successful your spawn and juvenile development is.
Furthermore, pH measures potential hydrogen, (the lower the PH the higher the amount of hydrogen content is in the water) it is the fluctuation in hydrogen level in the water that tend to stress the discus and potentially wipe out the Spawn. although I am not a water expert and I wish I knew one, water is very complex, I think you have to have an IQ close to "The great Archimedes" to fully understand it, however depending on how your water is treated in your county, city or municipality coupled where the source is, if it's deep water or shallow can make different factors.
My city has very challenging water when it comes to discus keeping and especially breeding, some times the TDS has to be Round 30ppm to make a spawn successful.
But first things first, test your TDS and take it from there.

[MadMatt]

Here is my discus set up. I am strictly an amateur and I wanted to avoid buying an RO unit. I think it wastes water. We have to pay for how much water we use where I live. It is working so far.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WX8hOS14fvA&feature=youtu.be

Thanks.
Pretty cool set up that's for sure, as far as practical goes for breeding I think you might have to go bare tank-bare bottom.
I would have to see how the wigglers respond when they free swim, I can see many getting lost in the plants and such, if they don't find the parent pretty quick to feed and they go for something else, (I have found) they get infatuated with whatever they feed on first, whether it's a sponge, dark bottom, black caulking, Whatever.
I'm not saying this won't work, you will just have higher fry fitality rates.

[LizStreithorst]

I like your method. You thought it out well.

Peat is great. The Discus enjoy it. Strangely it lowers the pH but raises TDS. Generally we say that TDS is what's important, but it's importance depends on what minerals are in your water, how of the overall quantity of minerals. That's why some people need a very low TDS to have a successful hatch and others can get away with a higher TDS.

If you had no luck getting wigglers in your tap, keep doing what you're doing.

As for using RO waste for regurlar WC, some times it works, sometimes not. With my kH of 4.5 here, it works. When I lived where my kH was 6.5 I got deformities in my fry. The moral of the story is, go with what works for you.

[tackjibe]

Great responses. I had these fish for 2 to 3 years with no spawning at all until I used the peat filtered water. The first time I used it, they spawned right away. I don't expect to raise any fry. I'm not rigorous enough with my feeding. It is a hobby, but I do enjoy it.

[jake]

Great responses. I had these fish for 2 to 3 years with no spawning at all until I used the peat filtered water. The first time I used it, they spawned right away. I don't expect to raise any fry. I'm not rigorous enough with my feeding. It is a hobby, but I do enjoy it.

How much peat are you using to how much water? Have you considered the parents raising the fry? For a hobbyist that's doable and pure enjoyment.