KH

[talktomrgibson]

after a long slog im getting pretty close to getting my first discus, wanting to get the water just right, pH is at 6.0, lvls of Ammonia, Nitrates and Nitrites are good, my only question is about KH levels, currently it's at 153 or something (seven drops) and i know discus should be 1-2 drops till the change which i believe is around 50, can any1 suggest how i can get them down, i have been advised that rain water works well, i was told by a girl at my LFS that keeps discus that at one stage she was using deminirialised water (that you put in an iron) that she could buy from the shops but was very expensive, i have one packet of peat moss in my canister filter, should i get more? and would that help?

[BigDaddyAdo]

I suggest rainwater.

What are your test results?

How long has the tank been running for?How are you cycling it?

[Mr Wild]

You really do not have to change KH for keeping discus, it is more of an issue if you want to breed and when that time comes you can manage it in the breeding tanks and yes rain water is generally very low TDS.

[talktomrgibson]

ok, so as long as the pH is right i should not have a problem even though the KH is relatively high (when comparing to ideal breeding conditions) ??

thanks so much for your input guys.

My in laws have a rain water tank so i will try and work out some ways of transporting water too and from their house :P (about a 30min drive)

[Old Dave]

When you go to buy your fish find out what their current water parameters are, maybe take a sample to test at home.

Some LFS keep discus well above 7 so If you put them straight into a 6.0 tank you will stress them. :evil: Likewise with hardness.

Take your time. If possible use a quarantine tank with water parameters matching the LFS's. Try to make changes slowly. Over days, not hours.
Small but frequent water changes.
These fish might have had pretty rough treatment in the last few weeks.

Personally, I use good water straight from the main discus tank for water changes in the QT tank. :oops:

ps.
my only question is about KH levels,
What substrate do you have?
What is the hardness of your tapwater?

hth,

Dave

[SLS]

Hey MrGibson,

These results dont seem right??

I would double check the kH reading with another test and a clean testing vial.

Unless you have added lots of Buffer, ie: Discus Buffer to get the pH low, it just dosnet make sense that you could have a kH of 7 and a pH of 6??

Discus are prob more sensitrive to kH changes then they are to pH changes.

Most ideal pH for Discus keeping is 6.8pH. Breeding pH is best at 6.2pH.

Filtration bacteria works best at pH 7.2 - 7.4. The further away from this range you move, the less efficient the filtration bacteria propergation. And higher depletion rate of kH, which at low kH and pH levels can lead to pH crash..

take a sample of your water to the store and ask them to test your kH and pH for confirmation with their test kits.

As Dave asked, what are your Tap Water parameters including pH and what substrate are you using?

Kind regards,
George