Ph water out of the tap is 7.3

[axl]

Hi Guys,
im setting up my 5ft tank again and wont to know your thoughts on my ph. It generallys sits around 7.3 according to my local water company, but in saying that i checked it at lunch time and it was 8.5 and the guy said that cant be right because the months average is 7.3.
Its going to be a planted discus tank with no co2 and im going to run a airstone 24/7. Would i just leave the ph the same and have it stable all the time when i do wc or do i need to lower it for discus. Whats your thoughts

Cheers Axl

[ILLUSN]

leave it stable, discus will adapt they just wont breed.

[lpiasente]

Mine went up to 8 about a year ago. I kept adding hydrochloric acid to bring it down but it was too unstable. Now I just leave it as is. They did stop laying eggs for about 4 months but i am sitting here right now watching a male fertalise the eggs the female has just laid. I thought they wouldn't lay at that ph as well.

[mistakes r crucial]

The Yanks have bred Discus in Ph readings of over 8, leave it stable. I've bred hundreds of Discus in a Ph of 7.0 - 7.3.
MAC

[goodoo]

My reading is about the same. I cant stop them breeding. They hatch and freeswim then get eaten. Just havent got a big enough breeding tank, I tried to get them to breed in a 70 litre but it was to small front to back. Water here is pretty soft though.

[Hassles]

Hi Guys,
im setting up my 5ft tank again and wont to know your thoughts on my ph. It generallys sits around 7.3 according to my local water company, but in saying that i checked it at lunch time and it was 8.5 and the guy said that cant be right because the months average is 7.3.
Its going to be a planted discus tank with no co2 and im going to run a airstone 24/7. Would i just leave the ph the same and have it stable all the time when i do wc or do i need to lower it for discus. Whats your thoughts

Cheers Axl

you may find, if there is nothing in your tank to buffer the water, that the PH 'may' drop over time -(it all depends upon the mineral contect of your base water). If this is the case lots of small water changes rather than large changes may help you keep the PH lower than the tap water. You'll need to run some tests.