GH 7 KH high?

[TroyL]

I am currently using API test kit for my water testing needs... With that said I have been having active discus breeding but no actual hatching.. So I was told do a full water test work up. These are my results.

pH 7.2-7.6
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 5-10 This is down from 80!
phosphates .25 or lower
GH 35.8 (2 drops)
KH 17.9-35.8 this one is tricky.. I put 1 drop in the tube and it went pale yellow.. put another in and went completely yellow
TDS 197 at one end of tank 207 at the other... How is that possible?


So i am guessing my GH and KH are very high as i have read they need to be under 15. My question is how do you drop those in a 240 gallon aquarium? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
Troy

[Akili]

Try bringing down the TDS below 100. 240 gallon tank is not ideal for breeding.Possibilities are that your pair is too young or they are two females,also you may have too much turbulence in the tank which will prevent the eggs from getting fertilized..

[TroyL]

OH i thought TDS should be 200 or lower... The pari is an older pair.. I have watched her lay the eggs and him fertilize.. They are orange the next day ofter laying which I have read means fertilized. Orange or tanish brown are a fertile color.. As far as turbulence in the this tank its so minimal. The bigger swards leaves move but everything else is very still and motionless most days.. I can always turn it down a bit more and see how it goes.. Give my K! media more contact time if I do.. maybe driving down the nitrates a bit more which couldn't hurt..
I was told that aquarium salt would also drop the GH.. not sure if thats accurate or not.. With the money I have wrapped up in plants I really don't want to kill them off.
Will see what I can do about dropping those..
I am guessing use RO/DI water to drop all these thing? I know DI will drop the TDS.
Thanks for some answers.

[Akili]

Do not put salt as it will raise the TDS.If the eggs are fertilized they will have a tiny black spot in it about the size of a pin head the next day.

[TroyL]

I do not currently use any salt as it is a planted tank.. Salt and plants as we all know isn't a good combo.. They seem to always lay eggs where you can't really get a good look at them. that and they are about 12 inches away from the front of the tank and i put the PVC pole in the middle of the tank just to give them room to move around it easily.. And to defend it against the others in the tank.. Which they do violently if they have to.

[Akili]

In my tanks with pairs I use a mix of RO and tap water and aim for TDS of 80. A 240 gallon tank is going to need a lot of RO water. I suggest you get a small tank for breeding them something from 20 gallon to 40 gallon size.In a smaller tank when the fry go free swimming they can find the parents easier.

[TroyL]

I have a 20 sitting around.. I just don't have a place to put it currently.. It doesn't have a stand and I don't have any tables that I could remotely put it on either.. Thats part of the issue.. I have a 17 gallon acrylic cube I could prolly put on my nightstand or dresser. They would be in the dark most of the time tho as i work 3rd shift and the blinds are always closed.

[MD.David]

I don't think you will have any luck breeding in a 240 gallon, but stranger things have happened I'm sure, so I guess it can't hurt.
Salt will do zero so don't bother.
You want to lower your tds but depending on how much calcium you have in your water usually depends on how much the egg is fertilized and how much they hatch. If you have to much calcium the egg shell can be to hard for the sperm to penetrate but if it does sometimes the wiggler can't wiggle out of the over hardened shell and they will die in the wiggle stage, so you need to play around with your water and tds with Mixing RO to find the right tds for your current water chemistry, some people say 80TDS is perfect, others say 30tds is, it's totally dependant on your water you are currently using.

[TroyL]

Ok so I just found out that I am actually very soft on my water.. I was doing the conversions for them when most of the stuff I was reading was in relation to the degree not the ppm.. So other then setting up a 20g tank for them my levels are really good in this massive tank. Glad I finally figured it out after stressing about it all day.

[MD.David]

At 4:50 they talk about water parameters, something to consider.
https://youtu.be/r8Kb5mfmeeM