what do you do to your water before it goes in the tank?

[talktomrgibson]

what do you put in your water before it goes in the tank?

i'm currently using PRIME and Discus Buffer + making sure the water is at the correct temperature.

anything else i need to be doing? looking at getting my discus in a few weeks time once the cycling is complete and dont want to screw anything up!

[Ghoti]

I am far from"experienced" and even further from "expert" so I follow the advice of one of the folk that do deserve those accolades.

I draw my water into an aging barrel, add Superchlor (dechlorinates as well as making safe metals like zinc, copper and aluminium) and Tropical Water Conditioner then circulate for 24 hours whilst heating to 30C.

I then use this water for my 30% WC. I do this twice a week most weeks.

Cheers,
Scott

[BobbyBruce]

Hi Mr G,

I run my water through an RO unit into a spare standard 4' aquarium. I then pump this into my water change tank, then add Kent Marine RO Right to bring it up to a Gh of 3 - 4, Kh between 1 - 2, Ph 6.0 - 6.5, aerate and heat for 24 hours, check for Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate, if all is good then add to the tank at around 180 ltr per water change 2 - 3 times per week.

Regards,

Bob

[Nev]

Wow!
Wish l did half of what others do.
So my method is a bit more basic.
Put water from tap in 20 lt bucket. Grab a beer.
Add conditioner/dechlorinator and a pinch of ph down.
Add two boiled kettles so it's not too cold, winter only.
Add contents of bucket to tank. Drink beer.
Repeat till tank is full. Or I've had too many beers.
Fish don't complain and seem happy and l'm usualy pretty happy at end of it too.

[Mr Wild]

Don't forget to aerate while water is in the holding tank it helps degas the water so that the tiny bubbles you get to not coat the gills of the fish - it make it very difficult for them to breathe if this happens.

[talktomrgibson]

great, seems there is a bit of variety as to what people are doing, i haven't been aging my water for 24 hours but have thought about getting this sort of setup happening.

with so many products out there that 'condition' your water i was feeling a bit overwhelmed with the different options, and was not sure if stuff like water ager and Seachem PRIME were doing the same thing, the fish are not complaining and i'm doing about 1/3 changes each time so i will probably keep doing what i'm doing.

I have heard that airating also helps the pH stabalise faster? haven't realy been bothered but i'm getting closer to getting another pair of discus (first for this tank setup) after about 12 months of not having any so felt a bit out of it and not realy wanting to make a $250 mistake!

thanks for the help and ideas!

[Ghoti]

240 lt Food Grade plastic drum from fleabay - $20
Air pump from fleabay - $15
300w heater from fleabay - $19
Tubing & airstone from parts collection - free
Happy discus - priceless!!

And for convenience:
3500 LPH pond pump from fleabay - $35
20mt hose & hose reel from Bunnings - $39
Flick switch to transfer water from drum to tank - priceless :D

Cheers,
Scott

[rex82]

I add dechlorinator and nothing else. People who adjust ph etc are destined for trouble IMO/E.
At the rate I use water, adding anything would make it less cost effective than it is already.

[Mr Wild]

Thats all you need to add if your water is good and you are only keeping fish.
When people start changing water chemistry it is either because they have problems with their water of they want to breed.
Otherwise tap water with dechlor and degassing is fine.

[rex82]

Thats all you need to add if your water is good and you are only keeping fish.
When people start changing water chemistry it is either because they have problems with their water of they want to breed.
Otherwise tap water with dechlor and degassing is fine.

I can breed intap here, Generally from most people i speak to on the east coast of oz they can breed on straight tap. I use R/o to increase hatch rates but thats it. Never bother with Ph

[Wendy]

I only have access to rainwater where I live, it is ph 7.0 kh 0 gh 0. Nitrate, Nitrite, Amonia 0. I have just set up a barrel and pump etc and will be ageing and heating change water for 24hrs. I use SAFE water conditioner even though there is no chlorine etc as the water is collected off a steel roof and hopefully it will lock up any metal pollution.
I'm planning on getting my first discus soon and keeping them in a bare bottom tank. Is there something I should be adding to the water to increase kh and gh? and can this be done without raising the ph?

[Mr Wild]

Yes Wendy there is. You are in the same situation I am as rainwater carries no minerals or trace elements that the fish require, we have to add them. I have used several but find Aquasonics tropical conditioner and Tropic Marin both to be very good.
HTH

[Wendy]

Thanks Kath, I will get some.

[Wendy]

I just googled them both and they both contain salt which will be fine for the bare tanks but I was wondering what you do for planted tanks, will the salt hurt the plants? Also what dosage do you use please.

[Ghoti]

I just googled them both and they both contain salt which will be fine for the bare tanks but I was wondering what you do for planted tanks, will the salt hurt the plants? Also what dosage do you use please.

I use the Aquasonic Tropical Conditioner at the rate of 1 teaspoon per 100L to boost my TDS to 120 -150ppm and have no problems at all with my plants.

Cheers,
Scott

[Wendy]

Thanks Scott, sorry for being dumb but how do u measure your total dissolved solids?

[mitsui]

I follow nevs method exactly LOL

[Ghoti]

Thanks Scott, sorry for being dumb but how do u measure your total dissolved solids?

I invested in a precision instrument, privately imported from the mysterious east via that exclusive supplier referred to as FleaBay :D

Cost me about $15 posted if memory serves correct.

Cheers,
Scott :D

[Wendy]

Sorry to drag up this thread again but I cant seem to find either the Tropic Marine Discus Pro or the Aquasonics Tropical Conditioner in Perth. The guy at the LFS sold me some Discus Trace made by Seachem....will this be OK? Also I'm worried about the KH...mine is less than 1. Do I need to adjust this? and if so how do I do it without sending the ph up?

[Ghoti]

Sorry to drag up this thread again but I cant seem to find either the Tropic Marine Discus Pro or the Aquasonics Tropical Conditioner in Perth. The guy at the LFS sold me some Discus Trace made by Seachem....will this be OK? Also I'm worried about the KH...mine is less than 1. Do I need to adjust this? and if so how do I do it without sending the ph up?

I get my aquasonic conditioner online from age of aquariums. Terrific service and flat priced shipping.

Cheers,
Scott

[Wendy]

Thanks Scott I will do that cheers!