Getting ready for discus

[sranieto]

Hello ,

I'm getting ready for the arrival of 6 medium size discus .

My tap water parameter are as follow :
GH - 2.2 dGH
KH- 1.12 dKH
pH- 7.6

Do i have to raise KH to 5 in order to keep the pH stable ? if i raise KH the pH will raise as well (i think ) and i certainly don't want that either , Or should i lower the pH with buffers? i know Jay doesn't like buffers but i don't know why the pH is so high and the KH so low . i have been using crush coral in my canister and the KH raise to 2.24 dKH , is that enough buffer ?

In the 57g tank where i intend to keep the new arrivals I'm housing angels and bala sharks that had been treated there for parasites , do i have to disinfect the tank and filter media after i move those fish to a bigger tank in order to use the filters for the discus ? i can always start cycling those filters (204 canister filter , aquaclear 30 ) with ammonia if i needed to .

Also do you think is wise to receive the discus and house them in a 20 G tank for a month while i treat them for parasites etc.. or should i just use the empty 57 G tank from the beginning ? i know i will expend more meds in there for the size of the tank but that is not a problem , I'm just worried of my biological filter going bananas because of the treatment that include the use of , malachite green , praziquantel y metronidazol, not all at the same time of course , as i said it will take me a month or so for the treatment to be over .
I know these are a lot of questions but i hope someone can help me .

Thanks in advance

[mcloughlin2]

Ok here we go -

1) pH is too high. It really needs to stay stable at 7.0 or below or you will have problems with your discus.

2) The crushed coral will be raising your pH so that needs to go.

3) I'd say put them in the 57G tank as there will be no other fish in the tank.

4) Theres no need to disinfect anything prior to adding your discus PROVIDING you havn't had any recent illness in the tank.

5) I believe the medications your using are way too strong. I think you should just dose the tank with a good broad spectrum medication. I used metro when i had a serious disease in my discus tank, and there is no way i'd use it as a precation medication.

HTH

[FishLover]

If you are not getting wild caught discus, there is no need for med until you see some problems.

Remove the corals and you will have much lower pH, which your discus will thank you for.

[sranieto]

The pH of my tap water is 7.6 , i added the coral to help raise the KH which it did, with so little alkalinity i think the pH could falls , i have read that discus get use to high pH , i don't intend to breed them but i will remove the KH anyway . Do you think i will have rollercoaster in the pH with a low alkalinity ? The pH has remained stable even though i added the coral 3 weeks ago .

Thanks

[FishLover]

where are you located?

[sranieto]

Mexico , Puerto Vallarta

[Merrilyn]

A very warm welcome to the forum sranieto.

It's great to see that you are getting your tank prepared well in advance of the arrival of the fish :P

I'd remove the coral from your filter, and allow the pH to settle naturally. If it comes out of your tap at 7.6, I think you'll find that it naturally settles at around 7 after standing for 24 hours, and a pH of 7 will be fine for your discus.

Do you know the parameters of the water the fish are being kept in now? You'll want to try to get your water as close as possible to their current tank water, even if you have to use chemicals to achieve that. Doing your normal water changes will gradually bring the parameters in line with your tap water, and that's just what we want. A nice gentle change.

If you find that your pH is dropping too quickly, then you can certainly add a small amount of coral to the tank (not the canister) and it will provide the buffering that you're looking for.

Good luck, and welcome to the wonderful world of discus.

[sranieto]

Thank you very much for your reply Ladyred , i let my tapwater sit overnight in a container with Prime as a dechlorinator and tested the next day , it came out the same pH- 7.6 . The LFS guy told me that their pH is 6.5 but their GH and KH are the same as mine , do you think i should use proper pH 6.5 buffer ? and also i was wondering what is the best method of aclimmation ? i read in another forum that the plop method is ok , that means removing the fish as soon a i receive the shipment and net them out of the bags to my tank because as the said my water will be with a higher pH and warmer than the bags they are in , intend to raise temp to 90F for the first week .
Any help will be sincerely apreciated .