Faaaling PH

[Bob_Speed]

I have two discus tanks which I change the water twice a week, (82 gallan, changing 30 gallons) using water stored in garbage cans (plastic) . I use the Tap water purifier, and use the additives these folks suggest.

My water in the tank before it goes in is:
PH-6.71
Hardness- 278

Tank water is:
PH-6.22
Hardness-423


Immediately after a water change the measurements are:

PH-6.42
Hardeness- 380

4 hours later-
PH- 6.20
Hardness-385
Alkalinity- 30ppm

Why is my ph falling so quickly. In the past I have used crushed coral in the canister to raise the PH, but it acheives this so quickly, I am afraid it is causing undo stress on the fish...

Any suggestions, on what I can maybe place in the storage tanks to alleviate these wild swings in PH?

Thanks

Bob

[Carol_Roberts]

Hi Bob:

What is your GH and pH out of the tap. What is pH of a cup of tap water left on the counter 24 hours?

Why are you using a tapwater purifier? Do you mean the tap water filter cartridge that softens water?

Carol :heart1:

[Carol_Roberts]

You must not be adding enough buffers/minerals to the change water - I'm trying to figure out if you are stripping the minerals out of your water before adding it to your tank.
CArol :heart1:

[Bob_Speed]

Carol,
On the elctro-right bottle it says "For Discus aquariums with a ph of 5.8, a conductivity of 90 us (60 ppm TDS), and a general hardness of (GH) of 30 ppm, use 2 teaspoons per 10 gallaons."
Right now my hardness is 208.71 or 11.66DH. Isn't this high enough to control the ph, or is the alakalinity which controls the up and down of the ph?

Bob

[Carol_Roberts]

Bob, I don't know very much about soft water. April does. I was just trying to find out if your original tap water is good enough to keep discus in. Do you strip the minerals from your tap water and then reconstitute?
Carol :heart1:

[Bob_Speed]

Carol,
Out of the tap-
PH-7.02
Hardness-120 micro Siemens

I will have to let you know about the 24 hour test.
Yes, using purifier to soften water
I imagine using this device will strip minerals and other items that are not so pure.
Thanks

Bob

[Carol_Roberts]

So Bob, if your water is about 3 or 4 GH why are you runnin it thru the tap water purifier?

I bet you could bubble it for a few hours to stabilize the pH and use as is. Daily water changes will probably keep the KH stable.

Have you tried agitating and heating straight tap waterAND doing daily water changes of 25% or more? If yes and you still have pH crashes talk to April or Steve or RandallB.

CArol :heart1:

[Bob_Speed]

Carol,
No I have never run tap water into my storage tanks. I guess I can give it a try. I do use aeration now.
I cannot do a daily water change. Just impossible! I travel 46 weeks a year, so if I get two a week, I'm on a roll.
Thanks Carol, I will give tap water a try. it would save me a fortune on water purifiers!

Bob

[Steve_Warner]

Hi all,
Bob, you have some excellent water RIGHT OUTTA THE TAP for discus! Have you ever thought about setting up a slow, constant drip/overflow system into the tank? This would alleviate the problems with maintaining the tank with your travel schedule! You would still have to remove excess wastes whenever you get a chance, but this would greatly increase your water quality! What else is in your tanks as far as substrate, plants, etc? What city do you reside in and does it have Chlorine or Chloramines in the tap? I wish I had your tap water params in my tap! I would run a slow drip into the tank, first running the source water through activated carbon whole-house filters. The reason your pH is dropping is due to the presence of acids already present in the tank AND acids being produced via Nitrification. When you say "hardness" what hardness do you mean(Calcium Carbonate equivalent)? I would not worry about the pH dropping AT ALL in that tank with those numbers-423 hardness(as long as they are accurate numbers). The buffer is maintained to an extent though the Denitrification process whereby Calcium ions are freed from Calcium Nitrate(<----------end product of breakdown in a healthy biofilter), thus freeing them to eventually become Calcium Hydrogen Carbonate(a buffer for acids). IMO, get rid of the "tap water purifier" MONEY PIT and put it in the closet! If you want to breed discus, use it for preping that water, but you DO NOT NEED IT with your tap you have. Just some thoughts

Steve

[Bob_Speed]

Steve,
Thanks for your advice. I will try using the tap water. I will store it in my tanks , use aeration. I do not know much Chloramines are in our water, but there is chlorine. I live in Suffolk county, Long Island, NY.
Bare bottom tanks, no plants.

Thanks again!

Bob