Curiosity regarding my water temp

[fredoman]

South Florida here, warmer than warm and I'm loving it.

Apparently so are my soon to arrive discus, because I've noticed that my 75g tank's normal temperature is about 83F. That's without a heater, a simple BB growing tank with just a few sponge filters. The tank just sits in my garage at perfect discus temperature

So I'm curious, do I even need a heater as long as I'm in the warm part of the year? I suppose I'll have the heater in there anyway, in case of a cold night, but I'm wondering if that's normal. Our temperatures today were highs in the mid 80s and lows in the high 70s.

I guess I'll see tonight if the temperature goes down too low, but I was just hoping to illicit some comments/ideas on my first post here.

Cheers from Florida :sun:

[joanr]

If your soon to arrive Discus are juvies, they would probably like a constant temp of 86 Deg. F, 30 C. If adults they could do ok at 83, but consistancy is very important. You want to maintain consistant temps, no dropping at night. Same for their water parameters, maintain consistant PH at whatever level is best for you to maintain.
Discus can thrive in various parameters as long as they stay steady, that is the key to happy fish along with good food and lots of clean water. So yes, you will need a heater to acheive the steady temps.

[fredoman]

I figured, Joan, but I had to ask. Curiously, you said something that made me wonder further:

"maintain consistant PH at whatever level is best for you to maintain."

From what I've read on this forum and heard from a few folks I've spoken to (Thanks Dan from Elite), pH tends to drop once the fish have lived in a tank for some time. I don't recall the reason at the moment.

So I'm wondering, if I throw in a bunch of fish into my pH 7.6 water, let them live there a few days before WC, and the pH drops a little, then WC with pH 7.6 water, won't that shock them a bit?

Sorry for being a bit gunshy, all my previous discus efforts (about 15 years ago) ended in pain and sorrow.

[joanr]

I feel your pain, we've all had that curve hit us hard at one time or another. To deal with the PH, mine is also 7.6 out of the tap. It will drop down to 7.2 or so if left in the tank for more than 2 days without a w/c. Solution is simple: for a 55 gal about a 1/4 to 1/3 cup of crushed coral in a media bag placed in your filter will keep the ph pretty stable. Amounts will vary, you would need to experiment. I use water that has been airated and heated to exact tank temps in a water storage barrel for 24 or more hours for my w/c's. This de-gases the water and the PH in the storage tank does not change over the 24 hr period. I guess you will need to do some PH testing of your tap for 24 hrs in a glass, and also your tank PH. A lot depends on how frequently you are doing your water changes. And yes, swings in PH will stress the fish, especially if going from higher to lower quickly. Going the other way is not as stressfull but all this can be avoided easily. Don't know much about the water in Florida, hardeness etc., Dan would be of great help with that.

[fredoman]

Yeah, I've done a little testing and the pH remains stable over time. I suppose that I'll know how the fish and their natural cycle affect the tank's pH once I throw them in there.

Thanks for all the advice

[joanr]

If the PH stays stable without lowering during the time between scheduled water changes, then you are home free. If it starts dropping just add some of the crushed coral, but not enough to raise the PH, just enough to keep it steady. For the perfect amount for your conditions you would start with the smallest recommendations, test the water, if needed add a little more, etc.

[Jhhnn]

I think what Joan offers is pretty accurate, in general. People who have exceptionally soft water need to watch for pH swings more than those of us who have water with at least some hardness. very soft water has low buffering capacity, so the pH will descend rapidly with the addition of fish, food, and biofilters. Your provider can give you the details about your water- they may have a web presence, making it easy. My provider, Denver Water, has a terrific website, for example.

Even if the tank water has a pH .5 lower than the tap, it's not a big deal in my limited experience, provided you're changing half the water or less. I usually don't let mine get that different, changing half or so daily. OTOH, I was away for 3 days, and when I came back the tank was ~.5 lower than the usual reading from the tap. Changing half their water, they seemed to enjoy it more than usual, and the pH ended up at an intermediate level...

From what I've read about florida water, it'll be pretty hard, resistant to pH changes, but you'll want to test it yourself with one of the usual kits...

[joanr]

Yep, Dan has remarked on occasion about the hard water in Florida. He shouldn't have too many PH worries. John is right on, .5 here or there is not that much of a swing, hardly measurable without a really good digital PH meter. The color test kits can be hard to decipher between a small change in PH, I mean how many shades of blue/green and in between are there?

[mjs020294]

I had a tank in the garage recently, and it was 88f late afternoon and 86f in the morning. That is in Tampa with no heater, and we are still a couple of months of peak temperatures.

[Discus master]

I think what Joan offers is pretty accurate, in general. People who have exceptionally soft water need to watch for pH swings more than those of us who have water with at least some hardness. very soft water has low buffering capacity, so the pH will descend rapidly with the addition of fish, food, and biofilters. Your provider can give you the details about your water- they may have a web presence, making it easy. My provider, Denver Water, has a terrific website, for example.

Even if the tank water has a pH .5 lower than the tap, it's not a big deal in my limited experience, provided you're changing half the water or less. I usually don't let mine get that different, changing half or so daily. OTOH, I was away for 3 days, and when I came back the tank was ~.5 lower than the usual reading from the tap. Changing half their water, they seemed to enjoy it more than usual, and the pH ended up at an intermediate level...

From what I've read about florida water, it'll be pretty hard, resistant to pH changes, but you'll want to test it yourself with one of the usual kits...

Ok so my tank water after about a day is 6.5ph and my tap is a real steady 7.0ph and I usally do 20% one day and then about 40% the next day and so on do I need to age the water oir not? I just started to age the water last night as a matter of fact I have had the discus now for 6 weeks ande verythings been ok but I do not know if I was doing any long term harm to them so I started aging the water. I thought with the many small water changes like 20% then 40% it would not be enoguh to reall make a huge impact on the tanks ph just to go ahead as I have been with out aging any thoguhts?

[joanr]

Really depends on how much gas is in your tap water. When you do your water changes if you see tons of small air bubbles clinging to your fish and to the walls of the tank, then yes, I would store the water and airate it with an air diffuser hooked to an air pump for 24 hours. This will de-gas the water. You can also add your Prime to the storage tank. Those bubbles are not good for the gills and irritate the fish. The PH seems ok, and won't hurt the fish just going up the small amount with 20 - 40% changes. You can always test it after a change to see how much it goes up. If it makes you feel better, deal with the PH drop in the tank with a small amount of crushed coral. Sounds like your fish are doing just fine with what you've been doing so far, but there is always room for small improvements in their environment. What these fish need most is clean water, clean tanks and a varied diet of premium foods.