How much can PH swing and be safe still?

[Laconic]

I am in the planning stages of getting discus and am thinking of getting an RO Unit to keep the PH close to 7 (tap water is around 8). The PH of the water my soon-to-be fish come in will probably be around 8 so that will be my starting point. I will slowly add RO water to lower the PH but wonder how much of a change they can handle in an hour or 6 hours or day?

Can I go straight from a PH of 8 to 7 or will that shock the fish? If it eould shock, what would a safe increment of change be? Thanks!

[Laconic]

For those who are curious, I did some reading on the net and found that a change of .2 to .5 in 24 hours is fairly safe for fish.

My plan was to RO the water to get rid of buffering ions to be able to lower the PH with chemicals but I have read a lot that it may be better to leave the PH higher but at least its stable.

I would liike to try breeding down the road so anyone have success stories with a PH around 8?

[Jennie]

you can swing up on ph but not down when introducing. The fish will suffer ph burns.

[Skip]

laconic.. tap water would be just fine.. imho, unless you are breeding.. there is no need to use RO.. for me, i would rather have stable, clean water.. then worrying about pH...

just a thought..

in the future, i would want an RO unit, when i have more room and i move out of apartment to do some breeding. :D

[Jennie]

wait before you say that warlock. :(If he's receiving fish from a higer ph than his own, he could kill his fish! I killed six fish by not doing the drip method. he needs to do the drip method. Laconic, if you are receiving fish via fedex and the ph is higher, empty your fish and water from contents of bag into a large bowl and slowly add a cup of water every ten minutes to give the fish time to adjust to the ph swing. after doing this several times net the fish from the bowl and add to your tank.

[Skip]

DL65, of course..

but i was saying that cuz he doesn't even have his tank set up and is thinking about gettin RO unit.. for me as a NEWBIE also, i find it is much easier to K.I.S.S.... Keep It Simple Stupid... thats my motto.. :D

I would have ASSUMED, that he would have slowly acclimated his fish before dumping them in..

[Jennie]

I never assume anything:) the kiss rule doesn't apply to everything

[Skip]

I never assume anything:) the kiss rule doesn't apply to everything

see... thats why you are here.. :D

[Jennie]

I can only comment from my experience with ph swings and differences, nothing more.

[Laconic]

Thanks for the advice. Not sure where I will get them from yet but when the time comes, IF the ph was higher than my tap water, I wanted to be sure I knew what to do. I think I have it covered for this and for when I want to try breeding and lower it to around 7.

[Jaws]

I don't use water because there are too many varibles. PH, hardness, etc, etc, etc.
I keep my fish in BEER!. I have filled all my fish tanks with beer and my fish are happier than they have ever been. They may swim a little funny, kind of a wobbly motion, but man they have big smiles on their face and are constantly laughing and having a good time. Beer is the way to go, no more inconsistent readings and the fish love being drunk.