Am I just asking for trouble?

[Radio KJ]

My store has a large (~60-65G) empty tank and I'm considering Discus. I've no experience with them, so I'm looking for some advice on their hardiness.

Now according to this and many other sites, pH should top at 6.5 and hardness at ~3dgh. Our tank is at 7.8pH and 9-10dgh. Given the city water around here is 8.6pH it's a very difficult task to try to lower it. Took me a month to get it down to where it is now. As for hardness, I'm able to bring that down to about 6-7dgh without too much trouble. Going any lower than these numbers will require me to almost double the retail price to give them an isolated tank that's better controlled, but since most of my customers have strong conditions like these anyway -- I would know, I've done their water tests -- there's not a lot of point to it. I'd rather have them conditioned for the city water here in the first place so there aren't any problems/deaths in their new homes.

I guess what I'm looking for is whether any of you have successfully kept Discus in stronger conditions similar to what I have, and if so what special treatment for doing it. Or if you have any better suggestions of large, fancy freshwater fish for a long tank this size that can take the conditions more easily.

[Fishguy2727]

What happened to all the responses to this thread?

[Incredulous_Ed]

AC has been having some database errors.

[SpyderSpy6]

I have a similar situation with the water coming out of my tap. There is any easy fix to this...

First off... Most discus fish that you buy are tank breed and not caught in the wild. These tank bred species have adapted to local water supplies and are resilient to differences in water parameters.

What I do to keep the best water with out a RO/DI filter...

I use Seachem Discus Buffer. This will help lower the pH and help with mineral balances that are healthy for the discus fish. I will occasionally use Instant Amazon to help soften the water a little.

Every water change I will add Discus Buffer depending on what my pH is at. I currently maintain a pH of 6.6 which is regulated with CO2. In addition I do the recommended doses for Bio-Coat and Discus Essentials to replenish the trace elements and minerals.

**Make sure you have an adequate UV Sterilizer**

In most specialty fish stores you can buy gallons of RO/DI water for fairly cheap. This will cut your stabilizing time in half.

Check out the website I have, I pooled a bunch of helpful information for a quick reference and answers to situations like these.

[Fishguy2727]

I have hard well water and no longer use the buffer I used to. They are doing better without it. As long as the pH is stable and the water quality is high you shouldn't need to do anything else.