Micro bubbles and effect on discus

[walt]

Hello all I recently started doing my wc directly from my tap (I was aging my water ). I like this because it's easier and I can do larger wc this way. My ph stays the same and refill thru a 100 micron filter sock. I still notice bubbles on my plants and in water column and on one of my discus today I noticed 3 small bubbles by tail fin. Two of the fish seem to be acting different, not being as bold or out in the open as they usually are. Could this have a cumulative effect on the fish or am I looking into this too much,I do 5 50% to 75% wc a week and full gravel vac all parameters are good the fish are all between 5 and 6 inches. Thanks Walt

[rickztahone]

Hello all I recently started doing my wc directly from my tap (I was aging my water ). I like this because it's easier and I can do larger wc this way. My ph stays the same and refill thru a 100 micron filter sock. I still notice bubbles on my plants and in water column and on one of my discus today I noticed 3 small bubbles by tail fin. Two of the fish seem to be acting different, not being as bold or out in the open as they usually are. Could this have a cumulative effect on the fish or am I looking into this too much,I do 5 50% to 75% wc a week and full gravel vac all parameters are good the fish are all between 5 and 6 inches. Thanks Walt

Your discus are stressed. Do you have a means to age your water before doing a WC?

[Akili]

What is the reason to go from aging the water before to direct water changes recently?

[walt]

I have a 50 gallon container I was using I went to this method to make it easier for me and so I could do larger wc I have a 120 gallon tank also my ph does not change with aging and the 50 gallons is only 40 to 45% of my tank volume.

[rickztahone]

I have a 50 gallon container I was using I went to this method to make it easier for me and so I could do larger wc I have a 120 gallon tank also my ph does not change with aging and the 50 gallons is only 40 to 45% of my tank volume.

are you saying you are already aging your water?

[Akili]

are you saying you are already aging your water?If I understand correctly OP was aging his water but it was not enough as he only has a 50 gal container to age with. So in order to make larger water changes he went to direct water.

[Akili]

I have a 50 gallon container I was using I went to this method to make it easier for me and so I could do larger wc I have a 120 gallon tank also my ph does not change with aging and the 50 gallons is only 40 to 45% of my tank volume.I suggest you continue aging in your 50 container and after using that aged water, refill the container and aerator very heavily for an hour or so with Prime or Safe and finish topping the tanks. Give it a try and see if it will work for you. Read my post #19 in this thread. http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?122728-Questions-about-getting-started&p=1194137&highlight=#post1194137

[walt]

I've read that micro bubbles have more of adverse affect on juveniles I don't see slime coat be affected I thought aging was needed to stabilize ph min does not fluctuate so the bubbles could be causing stress on 2 of my discus have total of 10 the other 8 don't seem to be affected I guess it's just a good practice to age water

[Akili]

I've read that micro bubbles have more of adverse affect on juveniles I don't see slime coat be affected I thought aging was needed to stabilize ph min does not fluctuate so the bubbles could be causing stress on 2 of my discus have total of 10 the other 8 don't seem to be affected I guess it's just a good practice to age waterA good practice to age to water for large water changes daily.Run a extra airstone in the tank, it will help disseminate microbubbles.

[Cosmo]

If you have just recently made the change, your tank still contains some aged water to which you are adding the tap water. If this is relevant it will work itself out over time until 100% of the tank water is direct tap, so long as there is nothing in the tank that is causing them to stress out. There are parameters other than Ph that can cause stress to your fish. Are you measuring anything more than Ph?

[walt]

What else should I measure I do so many water changes nitrite and ammonia are good my nitrate never goes over 10 to 20 ppm thanks for taking interest Walt

[Cosmo]

What else should I measure I do so many water changes nitrite and ammonia are good my nitrate never goes over 10 to 20 ppm thanks for taking interest Walt

Walt, to my way of thinking 20ppm of nitrate is too high, I strive to keep mine <5 but it could be a difference in our source water..Jim

[pascal]

Hello,

Instead of adding the tapwater directly from the tap into your tank, you can continu to age your water in the 50 gallon tank. That amount of water will be aged anyway. As soon as the volume of your ageing tank is decreasing, you can fill it straight from the tap and aerate it intensively. The water will be exposed a while to ambiant pressure, it will be aerated and a lot of the gases will be eliminated in the ageing tank. Even if you change 75% water, this means 75% of 120 gallon = 90 gallon, 50 gallon will be aged since 24h if you change daily and the remaining 40 gallons will not go from the tap directly into your tank, but via the ageing tank where it has been aerated for a short time. Not ideal, but better that straight from the tap. In the mean while, your ageing tank of 50 gallon is filled with fresh water for the next day.

[gunnerschh2]

I've had this happen & read on this forum so I use a large esopps bag with 100 micron lined inside it then put in it a smaller micron bag, put the hose in all three & water straight from the tap. NO more micro. Odd that the micro does not bother other fish only the discus.

[walt]

I started doing the same thing double up on micron bags definitely makes a difference

[RDFISHGUY]

Not to hijack the thread but I have a similar problem in that I don't have room for an aging barrel. Can I just put a 200 micron bag inside a 100 micron bag to accomplish the same thing?

[walt]

Yes that's what I'm doing and it definitely makes a difference

[RDFISHGUY]

Thanks for the reply.

[rickztahone]

Not to hijack the thread but I have a similar problem in that I don't have room for an aging barrel. Can I just put a 200 micron bag inside a 100 micron bag to accomplish the same thing?

It is better than nothing that is for sure.