so i posted befor concerning discus fish, but i have more questions. so im using RO water, what chemicals would i need to use to make the water where it needs to be. i was planing on using neutral regulator, discus essentials and acid buffer. are all these needed or should i consider something else. from what i read the neutral regulator would make the ph 7.0. that discus essential would replace electrolytes. and the acid buffer would make the water in the more acidic range. correct??
ah crap??
- Thread starter sweeTang21
- Start date
Go to seachems site and read.. I read up there on this stuff. but don't use RO so the info evaporated 
But I know its there I know it said you need an up and down too...
But I know its there I know it said you need an up and down too...Why all the additives?
I just use RO mixed with enough tap to get the pH correct ?
My Discus look great and eat like pigs....
I just use RO mixed with enough tap to get the pH correct ?
My Discus look great and eat like pigs....
abpositive;822395; said:
thats all it takes lol. the lfs guy said that i would need addatives to add and this and that, obviously to make money, but i dont need any of these??
sweeTang21;825103; said:
My vote is no. As long as you water is soft and acidic, you'll be fine. The only issues I've had with my discus was linked to temperature. I use peat to soften the water and that's about it.
Why use R.O water at all unless you are breeding them. I raise all my Discus in Phoenix tap water and it is hard as a rock. But all my breeding pairs are in R.O water. The R.O water is used to make sure the eggs get fertilized. Once they hatch I slowly start to switch the fry into tap water. You will find yourself working to hard to match your R.O water each time you want to do a water change. Stick to tap water until you are ready to start spawning them.
hmm. more good ideas. is it as hard to match levels in RO when your doing saltwater. this deff. is not the thread for this subject but im also starting a saltwater and your supposed to use RO with reef. i have one tank that is RO water and my levels do fluctuate so i realize what your saying!!
sweeTang21;825103; said:
LFS guys say a lot! and 80% is crap! 5% is true(most LFS) and 15% is irrelavant!
GeorgeG;825840; said:
I use this same method and have for 40 years of discus breeding both wild and domestics. However, more and more water supplies are high in nitrates, primarily in areas subjected to intensive agriculture so if your water has undesireable amounts of contaminants RO dilution may be necessary. The EPA allowable nitrate content limits in potable water are greater than is best for discus. One has to know what your water is like. To generalize and say all you need is tapwater is not going to be good advice in all cases.
I have sucessfully bred wild brown and Blue Discus in water with little nitrate but 250 ppm total hardness and 7,6 pH. Largest sized brood I have ever raised was 174 fry from a pair pair of wild caught Brown discus in water exctly as I described above. This pair laid their eggs on the Jaeger submersible heater and I was fortunate to notice in time to unplug it.
My current water source is better just out of the tap at 120ppm total hardness and pH is 7.4.