so I want to keep discus how do i determine if my tap water is up to it?

[Randy-S]

so I want to keep discus how do i determine if my tap water is up to it?

I read about checking my ph out of the tap and again after it has aged? This will tell me if i can just do a water change.
I should check my hardness and tds levels?

If I do not plan on breeding and just plan on keeping a show tank once they are acclimated to my water parameters will it really matter if i have high ph and hard water?

[Yboat]

I'd be much more worryed about your hardness and what your water district adds to the water.

Most domestic discus can handle a wide range of pHs. As long as you are not really high or really low, you will be fine.

[discuspaul]

Yes, Ph out of the tap, anywhere from 6.0 to 8.0 is ok, so long as it stays stable.
Test it right out of the tap, then age it for a day, & test it again.
If there is very little variance, if any, you're good to go out of the tap.
If it varies a good deal, i.e. 7.8 from the tap, and 7.0 after a day, then you will need to age your water.

[PAR23]

so I want to keep discus how do i determine if my tap water is up to it?

I read about checking my ph out of the tap and again after it has aged? This will tell me if i can just do a water change.
I should check my hardness and tds levels?

If I do not plan on breeding and just plan on keeping a show tank once they are acclimated to my water parameters will it really matter if i have high ph and hard water?

Using aged and aerated water is recommended but if your pH flucutates more than 0.2-0.3 as compared to your tap water than it is a necessity. My tap water has a pH 7.5....24 hrs later, aged and aerated after CO2 is gassed off it climbs to 8.0. If you are not breeding your fish than the TDS and hardness is less important.

[DerekFF]

Tap water is pretty much always ok, as it needs to be drinkable. If its ok for human use, its probably ok for fish use

[Eddie]

I read about checking my ph out of the tap and again after it has aged? This will tell me if i can just do a water change. Yes, this will give you a good idea on what your water will do once in the tank.

I should check my hardness and tds levels? General Hardness isn't really too big of a factor unless you are breeding, same as TDS. You will however, want to check your KH levels to ensure your water has a decent buffering capacity to prevent a PH crash. As others mentioned, you don't want your PH swinging all over the place from water changes or lack there of.

If I do not plan on breeding and just plan on keeping a show tank once they are acclimated to my water parameters will it really matter if i have high ph and hard water? It might not matter what your PH is unless its really high. I wouldn't want to keep them in anything above 8.2, thats just my preference. GH, isn't something I'd worry too much about either. People keep discus in water with really low GH and some keep them with very high GH.


Eddie