pH in my 75 gallon Discus aquarium

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R

Randydeuce

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jan 5, 2013
9
0
0
Denver, CO
Ok, so i have a 75 gallon planted aquarium. I added Discus about a week ago. 4 of them. I am concerned about maintaining a proper and stable pH for my new fishes. I have kept fishes for about 23 years and have also kept a beautiful reef aquariums for a few years. I grew tried of the mess saltwater creates.
At any rate, I would appreciate any and all opinions on the matter or anything hobbyists think I need to be aware of.
I have drift woods, lots of live plants, and use a blackwater extract. I have been adding Seachems Discus Buffer daily now to maintain the 6.8ish pH i was informed they like. I do weekly water changes. And add brightwell potassium, phosphate, nitrate & carbon planted aquarium additives. Good Idea??
Sphagnum Peat Moss??
Carbon cartridges in the HOT filter??
Thank you to the Monster Fish Keepers community for your time! Ive used it so much already. One can never know too much about ones favorite hobby!
 
Are they wild discus or tank bred? If they are tank bred past F3 or 4, they will most likely deal with your natural tap ph just fine. Stability is more important than the actual ph. In my 75 I have a couple blue discus, and the driftwood in there keeps the ph right around 6.8. My well water comes out neutral, but hard. Peat is a good idea for some people, but not always necessary. Im no discus expert, but in my experience, trying to manipulate ph with chemicals usually doesn't end well. It fluctuates too much. But you said you've kept growing reefs, so you know how important stability is. Raising discus is a walk in the park compared to growing lps/sps. Also, the carbon will become unnecessary in time. A mature, well planted tank doesn't benefit much from running carbon, same as salt. Also, I'm on a mission to get people to start keeping FW clams in their tanks. At $1 a piece, you can't beat it. If everyone kept filter feeders in their tanks, and worms in their substrate, there would be no need for anyone to buy polishing pads.


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They are tank bred. My tap is around 7.5- 7.7 pH. My in tank is around 6.7 - 6.9 pH & 53.4 - 53.7 kH. My phosphates are high. Im not sure why, or if i should do multiple water changes to correct this. My discus health is my main concern, and i know messing with stuff alot is just as bad as neglect.
FW clams?? Tell me more please....
 
My only concern is the uprooting of some plants. Besides that, i believe that they will be a great in my aquarium as a visual and mechanical addition.
 
Your tap water is fine for tank bred discus, reason your phosphates are high is because of the buffer you are using to bring down the ph. Just use dechlorinated tap water and you'll be fine.

Freshwater clams are good filter feeders, except they are very sensitive to nitrates and phosphates just like their saltwater cousins. When they die you don't know theyre dead until they have already rotted into a nasty pile of pus in your substrate. I know from experience lol.
 
Yep, a stable PH is best for domestic discus. People start to run into problems with discus when they try to mess with their PH...............
 
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