am i changing enough water ??????

[dom2106]

hi all i currently have a 200 liter tank it has a trickle filter built in to the hood and im also running a tetratec ex700 i have 5 discus in there the biggest is 5 inch the smallest is 3 1/2 inch i also have a few tetras rummy nose and neons and a group of 5 corydors ,its not a planted tank i have a very thin layer of very fine white silica sand and a few pieces of bog wood i use hma water im changing 20% daily syphoning any waste ect from the bottom of the tank the fish all seem very happy and eat like pigs am i changing enough water or should i be changing more ??? any advice would be greatly appreciated cheers :D :D

[parkwaydrive]

sounds fine to me. keep an eye on water param's ie. nitrate levels thats the real teller.

[mcloughlin2]

20% per day is ok for now, but keep in mind if or when these discus reach 5-6" you will need more filtration or more water changes.

[Snookgum123]

20% is plenty ... I normally add some electrolytes into the fish tank that you can pick up at the store. Once every 2 weeks or so I add some in. Just to make sure they have planty of nutrients

[mcloughlin2]

Electrolytes have nothing to do with nutrients - they are elements such as Sodium, Potassium, Chloride etc that conduct electricity in the body (Very simplified description :shock: )

What product is it you add that contains electrolytes? Over doing it can be potentially dangerous to your fish.

[Snookgum123]

Electrolytes that i'm talking about are the basic nutrients. You probably call it trace elements. I just dont call it like that lol. All my discus are healthy and are at 6-7 inch from top the bottom. You should check it out on youtube and search for Damanwangsta. I use regular tap water since its got alot of nutrients in it. I would test the tap water thoroughly and if its save than use it. Thats how I been raising my fish for years now. From when they were a quarter small to full grown. Make sure you got planty of oxygen in the water also. Plants do like to take all the oxygen from the water away. They bigger they are the more they will need.

[Hollowman]

Electrolytes that i'm talking about are the basic nutrients. You probably call it trace elements. I just dont call it like that lol. All my discus are healthy and are at 6-7 inch from top the bottom. You should check it out on youtube and search for Damanwangsta. I use regular tap water since its got alot of nutrients in it. I would test the tap water thoroughly and if its save than use it. Thats how I been raising my fish for years now. From when they were a quarter small to full grown. Make sure you got planty of oxygen in the water also. Plants do like to take all the oxygen from the water away. They bigger they are the more they will need.

Fish are measured from the tip of the nose to the base of the caudal. This is called Standard Length or SL for short. OR, they are measured from the tip of the nose to the end of the caudal fin, this is called Total Length or TL. Measuring from top to bottom means nothing.

Also you say plants use all the oxygen???? where did you hear this? Plants through photosynthisis will take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen. The more plants the more oxygen. At night plants will stop this function and release some carbon dioxide, but not enough to affect your fish.

I also took a look at your video. Hmm! What strikes me is the fact that you have a couple of wild fish in with domestics. Not a problem in itself, but did you quarentine them? Also both of your wild fish have bad cloudy eyes and the fins look a bit tatty. I think that you probably have some water issues, can you post up all of your water parameters please. What is your water change regime?
Immediately, I think you need to sort out the wild fish, get that eye problem sorted.
:?

[Snookgum123]

None of my discus have cloudy eyes its the angle of my fish to my cheap video camera. My camera doesnt do justice to them. And they are quarantine and have been in there for years. I change my water every day and 50% every Saturday. Plus I have 2 canister one on the left and one on the right. My ph holds at 6.7, my amonia is none, and my fish are very healthy. The new discus the one with the spots on him have a bit of scales falling off from fighting with my discus that is already in the tank. They haven't adapted to him yet. But they seem to start taking a liking to him. I haven't had any dead fish in years so yes I am doing things right. Plus I do breed my pigeon oftem.

[Snookgum123]

Plants gives off Co2 at night and if you are like me and dont shut off your co2 at night than that also affect it. Plus not to mention that all your fish gives out co2 also and that reduces oxygen. The more oxygen you have in the fish tanks breaths healthier fish. Less problems to deal with.

[Snookgum123]

I measure them from the top to bottom and thats how I sell them to my client. You are going beyond taking care of discus worrying too much. I don't even need to measure my content to know how bad my water is. Its clean why because I change my water on a regular basis. Plus I have planting of bio, chem, and plants that makes my fish tank a healthy zone. I have planty of Oxygen, and nutrients in the water. I also have snails and 2 small pleco. None of my fish have die nor have they had any disease yet. But enough about my tank i'm not hear to talk about my tank :) I also have lots of shells on the ground for calcuim content and buffer.