I Hate water Changes

[TexasDiscus!!]

If you are like me you hate WC. For me I have a 150 planted with deep substrate. I have 9 and various approved tank mates. I buy/fill 50 gallons of RO water weekly in 5 gallon buckets. I vacuum the tank and extract 50 gallons(1/3). I then add all 50 gallons when it's up to correct temp.

Someone tell me my discus will thrive under these conditions. I have had my tank for about 4 months. Not too interested in breeding, just colorful happy discus.

I have one canister filter. If I add filtration will it help?

[cybray]

I change the water every for 1/3 to half water for my 40 gal tank, I change the water though filter set with activated charcoal, water softener, two PP filter(hope you understand what I mean for it, I don't even know the actual/correct term for it), from tap water to my tank, but will be fill in the water slowly, the PH value will not shocking in short period for fish to suit with the new/flesh water. But this only can do it for a plain tank

[Maria Ashton]

I think the issue you will have is ensuring the substrate is kept clean, frequent large water changes ensure any nasties are kept to a minimum. I have a planted tank 117G and I am always finding crap around the stems of the plants despite 30-50% WCs every 3 - 5 days. You can look at something like the Philips aquarium purifier to help, not sure if they are out in the US yet - they are also not cheap but cheaper than most ozone systems and the reviews are all good thus far. Do you have cories or shrimp in your tank? Something to help clean up uneaten food?

The other thing to take into consideration is the number of discus in your tank, if you keep it on the low side then you won't have major issues with one large wc a week.

[Maria Ashton]

and adding filtration will help but only to a point

[rdiscus]

I buy/fill 50 gallons of RO water weekly in 5 gallon buckets.

WC 50 gallons by 5 gallon bucket? ... Lot of work and money. If you don't breed, why do you need RO water?

[TURQ64]

If you are like me you hate WC.

Not me, matey!..I actually love changing water..It's why I switched to total Discus decades ago.Stress relief immersed up to my armpits in water after a hard day...Lived near water all my life; coastal towns mostly, and fulltime sailor/boater, sometimes diver, bottom of the river gold dredger...
I LOVE WC's!!!!!!!!!!!!!..........(and suction devices)

[JamesP]

I would question the need for RO water and by bucket ouch. I raise wild and F1 Discus in straight tap and have in the past use straight from the tap, tap water. I just recently have added a holding tank for tap and circulate it in there for a portion of a day and then use a circulating lift pump to fill the tank. Hoses if setup correctly can make your job easier. Do you know what your tap water is like?

Jim

If you are like me you hate WC. For me I have a 150 planted with deep substrate. I have 9 and various approved tank mates. I buy/fill 50 gallons of RO water weekly in 5 gallon buckets. I vacuum the tank and extract 50 gallons(1/3). I then add all 50 gallons when it's up to correct temp.

Someone tell me my discus will thrive under these conditions. I have had my tank for about 4 months. Not too interested in breeding, just colorful happy discus.

I have one canister filter. If I add filtration will it help?

[steakman]

I don't really hate to do WC. I just hate to waste water, time and $ for water bill.

I have a 125 gallon low-tech planted tank with 7 adult discus. They have been doing fine in that tank for about almost 2 years now.

The hardest part is to keep the gravel clean. I do the vacuum once/month. I do WC once/week up to 60-70%. I use Safe to treat water.

I have 2 Eheim Professional II filters set up on both side of the tank facing each other. The water parameter has been good.

Every few months, I scrub the tank thoroughly.

I don't feed them any frozen or live stuffs. Their main diet consistent of FDBW, Terabit granules, BH Flakes.

Hope it'll help.

SM

[ericatdallas]

If you are gonig to spend the money on Discus I would at least spend a little time to consdier how you can improve your WC (and quality of life and enjoyment of the hobby). Invest in some water changing systems, pumps, etc if you have room for it. Even without Discus, it might make the hobby a little more enjoyable than using buckets....

Last night, after much over planning and time piecing my system together, I felt great changing the water on three tanks simultaneously (75G, 55G, and 40G).

It literally took me 10 minutes to do a 50% WC on three tanks.

As for wasted water, I hate it too... My wife asked me to calculate the water costs and I did so, and I calculated that if I changed all five of my tanks 100% every day it would cost us about $6-7. However, at my schedule, it literally will cost us about $2-3 month. It helps to have cheap water and when you think about it, the WC per tank is often much less than one person taking a shower (about 40-50 gallons). Of course it depends on how much water costs in your area.

RO water also uses more water (waste/reject water), but that's your call.

I do have plans to start up an indoor hydroponics project to recycle my water. Currently, I'm putting it on hold until March though. It will either directly be fed by my aquarium or as a standalone system where I siphon waste water into a barrel for holding with an overflow to drain. So basically, every time I siphon my tanks, the excess water will go into a holding barrel to be cycled through my hydroponics system.

This will give you some re-use. I was reading through Chad Hughes site yesterday (sandiegodiscus.com) and he says he uses his used water for irrigation.

In some areas, water companies charge you for how much water you pour down the drain and others, they charge you for how much water that doesn't go down the drain. In my area (dayton), apparently the more water that goes down the drain, the more I have to pay, so it actually makes more sense to dump it and use it to water the lawn.

[Rubberducky]

In some areas, water companies charge you for how much water you pour down the drain and others, they charge you for how much water that doesn't go down the drain. In my area (dayton), apparently the more water that goes down the drain, the more I have to pay, so it actually makes more sense to dump it and use it to water the lawn.

They do charge you for what you put down the drain, but that is based on the water you use. They have no method of determining wether you put it down the drain, or if you irrigate the lawn. The only exception is if you are filling a pool. they will come out and take a before and after reading and charge you for water usage, but not water disposal.

[YSS]

They do charge you for what you put down the drain, but that is based on the water you use. They have no method of determining wether you put it down the drain, or if you irrigate the lawn. The only exception is if you are filling a pool. they will come out and take a before and after reading and charge you for water usage, but not water disposal.

Yup.

[ericatdallas]

They do charge you for what you put down the drain, but that is based on the water you use. They have no method of determining wether you put it down the drain, or if you irrigate the lawn. The only exception is if you are filling a pool. they will come out and take a before and after reading and charge you for water usage, but not water disposal.

Actually, you are 99% right about that, but my city allows you to add a separate metering device for discharge and so do some other cities. Also, there are separate agreements for people who use well water but use public sewer systems. The cost of adding a second meter is at your cost. I actually thought this was on my house (I rent) but looking at my bill again, I have one meter, so you are right in my situation. So it might be worth your while to get a second meter.

Interesting enough, if I do eventually do 100% WC on all my tanks, it might actually be worth my while to get a separate meter on the deal (up to $40 a month).. hm... I should research it. I mean, how much could a meter cost?

[YSS]

Actually, you are 99% right about that, but my city allows you to add a separate metering device for discharge and so do some other cities. Also, there are separate agreements for people who use well water but use public sewer systems. The cost of adding a second meter is at your cost. I actually thought this was on my house (I rent) but looking at my bill again, I have one meter, so you are right in my situation. So it might be worth your while to get a second meter.

Interesting enough, if I do eventually do 100% WC on all my tanks, it might actually be worth my while to get a separate meter on the deal (up to $40 a month).. hm... I should research it. I mean, how much could a meter cost?

I wonder if my city provides separate meters. Even if they do, I doubt it will make that much difference for me. Probably not worth the hassle...

[ericatdallas]

I was wondering the same thing, so I did the math (my city also has an online calculator to help - so I guess they did the math). Right now, if I found a way to pump all the water I was using out I would save like a few bucks.

When I get my entire setup going though and if I do 100% WC on all tanks (which I won't), I could save at most $7 month. I did the previous math wrong (I forgot about base rate in my calculation and taking it out and some other odd math mistakes).

So even with twice as many tanks, doing 100% WC, I probably wouldn't save enough money in a house I rent, to make it worth installing a second meter (I did a search and found it costs anywheer from $400-700). I plan to live here two more years, so it would have to be $30/month to make it worth it.

[alpine]

I hate to post in this way but "if you hate water changes " you need to find a different kind of fish to keep . Discus will not work !

Roberto.

[eaglesfan3000]

Two words my friend...TRANSFER PUMP

[aguest]

I just use a good old bucket. Think of it as an exercise :)

[yim11]

I hate to post in this way but "if you hate water changes " you need to find a different kind of fish to keep . Discus will not work !

Finally a voice of reason! Thank you my friend!


Two words my friend...TRANSFER PUMP

Good advice here...if you hate the water changes then maybe try making it easier - transfer pump works great for both draining and refilling. Hell, at the very least a python would make draining easier for you.

And as aguest mentions, nothing wrong with getting a lil exercise during a water change if that's what you prefer!

[TexasDiscus!!]

Thanks everyone! I do have about 20 Cory's that will help keep my substrate clear. I have a hose with vacuume tip for cleaning the substrate, but I only do it once a month or so.

I use RO water because my tap water here is soo hard. Nasty limestone and mineral build up here in San Antonio. Also I thought RO kept discus happier and more colorful. I didnt think it was only good for breeding? Am I misinformed? my tap water comes out at about 8.2 PH

So the question remains, will my discus grow and live happy, colorful lives with my regiment of about 40% water changes weekly?

[TexasDiscus!!]

I hate to post in this way but "if you hate water changes " you need to find a different kind of fish to keep . Discus will not work !

Roberto.

Well, I do hate the work, but I love the beauty my discus bring to my aquarium. I am just hoping my WC regiment will keep them happy.

[Skip]

i am in austin.. and all my fish are in tap

[TexasDiscus!!]

i am in austin.. and all my fish are in tap

So am I misinformed when I hear RO water is good for discus color and livelihood? What is your ph at from tap?

[Skip]

So am I misinformed when I hear RO water is good for discus color and livelihood? What is your ph at from tap?

yes..

and

idk haven't check pH since last year..
but last check.. 8.2 out of tap.. 7.8 24 hrs later/aged

[ihor]

I have 75 gal planted - 2 Rena filters, flourish and eco complete substrate, T5 HO 110 watts lighting. PLant growing great. fish include 6 discus, including 2 adults >6", 6 cores 2 dwarf plecos, 5 rosy tetras, 7 rummy nose 5 neons, 2 pygmy chain loaches. Repeated discus spawning I do 25-30% water change every two weeks. 2 week aged tap watery stored in 1-gallon milk jugs between water changes in the basement. Gallone jugs are easy to empty into the tank and refill at the tap, but a bit of a pain in the butt carrying up ad doe the basement stairs. In your case, why are you concerned? If you have had the his for about 4 months and the fish are colorful and apparently happy, why change anything? You'll get lots of recommendations to up the water changes. If your fish and tank are fine with your current schedule why change?

[judy]

If your tank is heavily planted, your Ph will tend to drift down and your one-third weekly WCs won't cause too much of a yoyo effect if you do use your tap. I don't mind WCs at all any more thank to my handy-dandy Jehmco Super Safety Siphon. Vacuuming still requires buckets, but only three or four.
+1 on the "you don't need RO"...

[Jeapa]

I would definitely make it easier on yourself and get a pump type system to make the water changes faster. I gravity drain my water right into the toilet and I have a pump in my water storage barrel to refill the tank. I can do a 50% water change in 20 minutes and I can be doing other stuff in the same area while it is happening. If your discus are juveniles that you are growing out I would be doing at least 50% every other day, daily is best. If you have adults then you can probably get away with doing less.

[DonMD]

You hate water changes, and that's a real problem. If you can figure out a way to ENJOY water changes, then you and your fish will all be happier. Planning ahead for a system that uses a pump, with perhaps a remote operated switch (they're cheap and available at all the hardware stores), maybe you'll be one of the ones that comes home from work, sets up the w/c, then sits down at the table with your laptop open to Simply while your tank drains, then refills. If you can make it easy, your life will be much better! Good luck.

[TexasDiscus!!]

You hate water changes, and that's a real problem. If you can figure out a way to ENJOY water changes, then you and your fish will all be happier. Planning ahead for a system that uses a pump, with perhaps a remote operated switch (they're cheap and available at all the hardware stores), maybe you'll be one of the ones that comes home from work, sets up the w/c, then sits down at the table with your laptop open to Simply while your tank drains, then refills. If you can make it easy, your life will be much better! Good luck.

Huh hmmm. Automated wcs intrigue me very much. Can you expand more on how to make this possible?

[DonMD]

Huh hmmm. Automated wcs intrigue me very much. Can you expand more on how to make this possible?

Well, this is how I did it: http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?72105-Dining-with-Discus&highlight=

It's not automated, but it's painless.

[eaglesfan3000]

I would definitely make it easier on yourself and get a pump type system to make the water changes faster. I gravity drain my water right into the toilet and I have a pump in my water storage barrel to refill the tank. I can do a 50% water change in 20 minutes and I can be doing other stuff in the same area while it is happening. If your discus are juveniles that you are growing out I would be doing at least 50% every other day, daily is best. If you have adults then you can probably get away with doing less.

Yes you can multi-task like drink a beer. If you have a big tank a transfer pump is the only way IMO it makes it soooooooo easy. I did a 80 gallon water change last night it took a total of little over an hour that includes cleaning the food and poo, scrubbing the manzanita wood, cleaning the sponge, re-filling from two 44 gallon trash cans and re-filling the trash cans with new water.