I recently picked up both of these products and i was wondering if anybody here has had any success using either of these with south american cichlids, specifically severums
Seachem Discus Buffer and Discus Trace
- Thread starter ceeej31
- Start date
What is your current water like? I find that a lot of those products are unnecessary. I have hard water with a pH in the mid to high 7's and I'm raising and spawning a few varieties of severums, even wild ones. I also grow out discus in this water just fine.
They could be, I guess. It really depends on how you're using them.
Any time you start altering you water with chemicals, you run the risk of having wild swings and fluctuations in water parameters. If you monitored everything really carefully and made sure the water was always exactly the same after a big water change, etc. then it could be fine. I always feel that stable, steady water conditions are better than playing with the chemistry of the water to create better/optimal ones. Others have probably used it with great success, though, so hopefully they will post opinions too.
Any time you start altering you water with chemicals, you run the risk of having wild swings and fluctuations in water parameters. If you monitored everything really carefully and made sure the water was always exactly the same after a big water change, etc. then it could be fine. I always feel that stable, steady water conditions are better than playing with the chemistry of the water to create better/optimal ones. Others have probably used it with great success, though, so hopefully they will post opinions too.
bump, i think i will try them out for a little while but if i start seeing any problems i will stop
You will hear the more experienced discus keepers say time and time again that stability is much more important than textbook water parameter ideals. Plus, what is it exactly your trying to alter with these products? Are you trying to lower hardness or ph? TBH I've spoken to many discus keepers and I hardly ever hear of them using products such as these. The two most popular methods for accomplishing this are using RO water or laboratory grade acid. My advice, don't play with your water parameters, especially for the usual farm raised american cichlids found in your lfs.