aged water

[LeeDiscus76]

hi

can yous guys please tell me the ways i can age my water for my discus?

can i just fill a big bucket of water and let it sit there without heater or airstone?

how long should i age my water befor i use it?

thank you all

[Butch]

Lee...depends on what is in your water to start with!!
Just Chlorine or Chloramines...BIG difference between the two
as to what "aging" has to be done.
But even with just chlorine....you need air to agitate the water and
its best to match the temp of your tank.

Butch :)

[frenchdiscus]

If you do small water changes, like 10 ~ 20 % every day, you don't have to heat the water, room temperature is fine! The bigger the water change to more you want your water to be as close as possible from the tank temperature.

I heat mine cause I never know if I will have an emergency to change 40 ~ 50 % one day? I also use Prime to condition the water, it's safer and not expensive; 5ml per 50 gallons.

Olivier

[Carol_Roberts]

You have to test your own water and watch the changes. You may need to aerate your water for 24 hours . . . or not at all. Aging the water means stabilizing the pH, temperature and removing chlorine/amine.

Cold, hard well water takes longer to "age" than soft, warm surface water. TEst the pH of your water from the tap and then add agitation from a pump or airstone. Test the water every couple of hours and write down the results. When the pH is close to the fish tank pH your water is aged. Air stones are much less efficient than water pumps.

There is a nice article on discus water at www.discusnada.org (http://www.discusnada.org) under Discus Care titled "Is My Water Too Hard"

[timb000]

There is a nice article on discus water at www.discusnada.org (http://www.discusnada.org) under Discus Care titled "Is My Water Too Hard"

nice articles you have there carol. really helped me alot. I was lost on this website reading so many stickies. lolz :)

[markl323]

Carol, are you sure aging water can remove chloramine? I have read it only removes chloride.

[Carol_Roberts]

Aerating does NOT remove chloramine. You have to use a product like Prrime to remove chloramine. Sorry for the confusion. I meant that "aging" the water involves stabilizing pH, matching temperature AND removing the chlorine/amine whether by aeration or chemical means.