New Tank Water Question

[soulsailor]

Hi guys, I've been keeping "standard community" tropicals for a few years now, but with the advent of some re-decoration in the house, I have decided to set-up a new tank...

The tank was set-up loast week about 6 days ago with substrate, lighting, filter and heating and a small selection of plants (while I wait for the larger order to be delviered) planted 2 days ago...

My question is that the water tests I have done seem a little strange (different to my established tank) and I dont know whether they are suitable for Discus as I had planned...

The PH is about 7.8->8 in the new tank (established tank is 6.6) and the Gneral Hardness (GH) is about 15degs..

So firstly, will the new tanks PH "settle" and become as low as the existing one, and if so how long is the settling period and is there anything I can do to aid this without too much ongoing reliance on chemicals?

Secondly, if the PH remains around 7.8 and the hardness at about 15, is this water quality suitable for keeping Discus in???

I look forward to your thoughts..

Ant

[Carol_Roberts]

My pH is 7.8 and GH 12 - fine for growing out juveniles.

I know the older discus books stress low pH and show pictures of planted tanks with brightly colored adult discus leading you to believe they grew up there. Those books are deceptive or just plain wrong. Juvenile discus will grow in a wide variety of pH as long as it is stable and you keep the tank and water very, very clean. Plants and gravel are not good for growing out juveniles. You can't keep the tank clean enough. I suggest you buy a couple of fully grown discus for your planted tank.