My tap water is not the best for discus

[Waterobert]

My tap water pH is 8.12, kH 120ppm and gH is 330ppm. That is a little out of safe limits for discus. I will be getting 5 discus this coming Tuesday, so I used RO water to fill 40 gallon tank. Today I want to add some tap water since RO water is too clean. My question is, how close should I stay to "perfect" parameters for my initial water? For practical reasons, eventually, I want to use aged tap water mixed with small amount of RO water. How fast can I change? My discus will be 4-4.5 inches, so they should be somewhat less sensitive to less then ideal parameters.Thank you for your help.

[LizStreithorst]

Your tap water will be just fine for your Discus. Like me, you will only have to use RO for breeding. Have you checked your water for a pH swing yet? It can be important if the swing is .4 or more.

[Waterobert]

Thanks, my tap water starts at 7.9 and next day is 8.12 according to Hanna pHep+ pen checker. In my 40 gallon pH currently is 5.59, however I had readings around 5.9 this week. I was checking at the evening time every day, since this checker has also temperature probe and I wanted to know how stable my temperature was. So far it is 83-83.4F, should I bump it up? I wonder what parameters Golden State Discus use and their Malaysian supplier?

[LizStreithorst]

That makes your life easier. The only reason you might want to age is to keep the temp of the water change water the same as the tank water.

Don't worry about the pH of the water the fish came from. Discus can handle a big swing once in a long while. What stresses them is a daily swing up and down.

[jeep]

I agree your water should be just fine. Discus simply want a stabile ph and in most cases hardness is not an issue unless it's too soft then ph can crash. This is why your 40g with RO tank has low ph. With additional bio-load, it'll continue to drop unless refreshed regularly.

Domestic discus can easily and quickly adapt to different water parameters, even ph (as longs as it's stabile). To be sure, you can call Golden State and ask them their water parameters.

When your fish arrive, don't do a drip acclimation. Just float the bags for 15-20 minutes, open one bag at a time, remove the fish with your hand or a net and drop it in the tank. Don't use the bag water.

[RogueDiscus]

Your tap water is fine as is, assuming it isn't chlorinated, in which case you just need to add Safe or Prime. I have very similar pH and hardness above 400 ppm. My fish are fine. I think the hard water actually helps buffer against pH changes. You can enter hard water into the search bar at top and see lots of similar responses. Sounds like you are relying on old information.
Steve

[Waterobert]

Thank you guys!
I only discovered this forum last Sunday, so yes some of the information I have might be a little old, lol. Since I already have RO water in the tank, today I will make 50% water change and use tap water. Once I get my fish I will do water changes with aged tap water. Probably, for the first few times I will add 10-20% of RO water. Better safe than sorry.
For the food, I have Vibra Bites and Micro Pellets, both from Hikari. I was going to get 3-3.5" discus, however changed my mind thanks to the information from this forum. If everything goes right I should have my fish on Tuesday before noon. When should be my first feeding, Wednesday morning or evening? I know that fish should be very hungry and it will be the best time to get them to eat flake food. I want to teach them to eat most nutritious and least polluting food. What other food should I buy?

[jwcarlson]

I wouldn't screw around adding anything but straight tap. No clue what Hans' water is like, but mine went straight into 8.3 pH and 18-20 degrees gH and kH. I think yours will be fine.

[solasis]

You can view my forum thread here: http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?139148-Discus-in-harder-water&p=1365667#post1365667. My tap water is very hard too. I'm getting some golden state discus this week as well. I agree with what everyone said above, I would just use straight tap water. Makes it much safer as you will getting exact parameters every time. You can do much larger water changes more frequently with tap. What strains did you decide to get? Post some pictures once you get them, I'm excited to see. I will be getting my group on Thursday. :)

[Waterobert]

Thank you for your help.
I already have RO/DI unit, so making my tap water better/softer is not a problem. I never felt safe with using water strait from tap into any fish tank. I always keep my water for 24hrs with pump or air stone and heater.
After reading this forum all day long, it seems like daily water changes are the most important for successful discus tank. I just can't get used to the recommended percentages. It feels to me that anything above 50% would be giving stress to the fish. Anyway, what do I know?

[LizStreithorst]

That's exactly why some of us have to age our water, Robert. It's the constant swing in pH (which you don't have anyway) which causes stress. When outgoing water is the same pH as the incoming water there is no stress. RO isn't "better" it's just more wasteful and more expensive.

[Waterobert]

Hi Liz!
I do agree that RO water is more wasteful and more expensive.
So, I am getting my discus tomorrow around noon, when should be my first feeding?Wednesday morning or should I feed them tomorrow evening after few hours of acclimation. Since they are going to be very hungry I will feed them pellets. I have Vibra Bites and Micro Pellets, both from Hikari. Also I ordered #3 and #4 pellets form Fishguy's Place. What else should I get?
Thank you for your help

[jeep]

The owner of this site sells some of the best discus foods around. Freeze dried blackworms great!

https://aquaticsuppliers.com/

[cbudz]

That sure is the truth ! they really love Al's blackworms, from finicky eaters, to begging at the front of the glass every time I enter the room !

[jwcarlson]

Thank you for your help.
I already have RO/DI unit, so making my tap water better/softer is not a problem. I never felt safe with using water strait from tap into any fish tank. I always keep my water for 24hrs with pump or air stone and heater.
After reading this forum all day long, it seems like daily water changes are the most important for successful discus tank. I just can't get used to the recommended percentages. It feels to me that anything above 50% would be giving stress to the fish. Anyway, what do I know?

I do age my water 24 hours because my pH swings from 7 to 8.2 or 8.3. And preheat it, of course. I do about a 90% change every night. Fish are laying on their sides all the way and have to "kick" to get around. They don't seem to mind as they're eating as soon as I toss in their post water change snack (usually Al's freeze-dried black worms linked above).

[LizStreithorst]

I can't afford the Blackworms any more. I have a medium size fish room. They would put me in the poor house. If you can afford them, go with them for sure. If you are on a budget and trying to find the best food, do as I do and get tubifex. What they say about Tubifex, even here, I believe to be a myth. Although they might be able to survive in sewer water, the ones that we buy are farmed in clean water. I've been feeding them for several years and have yet to get a disease from them in any of my tanks. My fishes even meal is always Tubifex.

[Waterobert]

My fish are arriving today!!!
I've got White pigeon checkerboard, altum carnation, maze turquoise, leopard and tiger snakeskin. All should be 4-4.5" big, I wonder how old are they?

[Waterobert]

133678

They are here! All in great condition

[LizStreithorst]

Congratulations. See, there's nothing at all wrong with your aged tap.

[Waterobert]

133677

[Waterobert]

They survived first 2 hours in my tap water, maybe they will make it 24 hrs , lol
Any idea why my photos are rotated 90 degrees?

[RogueDiscus]

I think because of its size and that it's taller than wide. One of the mods may be able to fix it. I sent them a PM.

[Waterobert]

Thank you ��

[LizStreithorst]

If you email the pic to yourself it will be automatically resized to fit into this antiquated software.

[jwcarlson]

Congrats! :)

[solasis]

They look great, congrats on the new fish! :)

[Waterobert]

Thank you guys. Fish are doing good. I gave them some pellets last night, however they didn't even look at food. I will try again in few hours.

[Waterobert]

Discus in the middle is the one I am concerned. He is the skinny one and his fins are not extended 133679

[Waterobert]

They are all still alive, gave them pellets again. They didn't eat at first, however about 30minutes later when I was going to siphon it out, food was gone. Did my first 50% water change at 5am this morning and another one at 8pm. I have frozen bloodworms, but I am not sure if I want to feed it to the discus yet. I really want them to get used to the pellets. Maybe tomorrow if they don't get excited about pellets, I will give them some bloodworms.