Newbie

[Greg6585]

Hello all,

I am a newbie to Discus. I was wondering what you all do to soften your water as my tap water is very hard. I have heard of many solutions such as adding Peat to filters, driftwood, RO, and many more.
1. Adding Peat to your filters...I have an Eheim 2215 canister, where do you
add it to the filter?

2. Driftwood...I would like to get some African driftwood

But I have also heard if you buy farm raised not wild that they can survive in hard water. I will be purchasing farm raised. Is this true or will it be stressful to the Discus?

Thanks,
Greg

[Crispy]

I wouldn't say that farm raised discus can live in hard water, but they can tolerate a much wider range than wild caught. Keeping your params neutral would be fine. IME, cleaner, stable water is most important for the longterm health of sensitive fish.

As for adding peat, I think most use HOBs (hang-on-back) filters for this. I don't have much canister experience.

Personally, I use LOTS of driftwood to soften my water and keep my ph neutral.
Works as a great buffer/stabilizer too when used in quantity.

[Greg6585]

Yeah, that's just it. I don't want to have them "tolerate" the water. I want to house them in the right water.

I do have a HOB filter also, an Aquaclear 110 to go along with the Eheim canister. Does anyone know where to get the Peat?

Thanks for the reply

[Crispy]

Another thing I would recommend for discus is a well established tank. Not a new tank that has recently been cycled. They seem to not be as stable at this stage (tank params).

[Northernguy]

Another thing I would recommend for discus is a well established tank. Not a new tank that has recently been cycled. They seem to not be as stable at this stage (tank params).
Great post!
Once your tank is cycled add some other small fish first that are goes well with discus like cardinal tetras first.You can get your cycle well established before getting your discus.
Driftwood is great for helping buffer ph.
Peat is available at some pet stores and landscape nurseries.

[Greg6585]

My tank is already well cycled. It has been up and running for 2 years or so.

Another question about the Peat. About how much would Peat would you put in the media bag before putting it in the tank?

The way I figure it, I'm going to put it in some kind of mesh bag and insert it into the filter with the other media. What I see happening is....I put way too much in the media bag and the water turns brown!

[sheamurai]

I'm not sure if its tank-ready or not, but you can get peat at any gardening store...

[Greg6585]

Well, it's not tank-ready for Discus yet but it is well cycled.

Unfortunately, I have to sell off my Malawi's first

[Crispy]

I believe you rinse the peat really well (once it's in the mesh bag) and then your water should turn tea-colored (instead of mud). You can remove the tea-color by using carbon (same as removing tannins caused by driftwood).

[domjd05]

I wish I could say that carbon removes the tannins, but I've never had such luck... You could try boiling the peat, or driftwood if your using that.

I've never used peat so I can't say much for its effectiveness but I've heard it does work well.. driftwood will work well but to really stabilize your PH its going to take a lot of driftwood.. and it will take a long time.. a few months, to really stabilize, and oh yeah the tannins look nasty which means water changes (In my experience, carbon does not remove tannins) and the water changes pro-long the amount of time it takes for the tank to stabilize.

[domjd05]

Please take your time and research discus like you would research doing a SW tank, they are a very demanding and sensitive fish, even when all there needs are met (as far as water parameters, tank setup) they still require a lot of work.. don't jump into it because they aren't exactly cheap, or that easy to come by, trust me, when you get one you like you WON'T want to lose it... but if you don't take your time and do it right, you very well may...

Whatever you use to change your PH stay away from PH up and down chemicals that you can buy, discus will not tolerate these chemicals.

[Greg6585]

Please take your time and research discus like you would research doing a SW tank, they are a very demanding and sensitive fish, even when all there needs are met (as far as water parameters, tank setup) they still require a lot of work.. don't jump into it because they aren't exactly cheap, or that easy to come by, trust me, when you get one you like you WON'T want to lose it... but if you don't take your time and do it right, you very well may...

Whatever you use to change your PH stay away from PH up and down chemicals that you can buy, discus will not tolerate these chemicals.

Thank you domjd for your help but I am an experienced fish keeper for about 15 years. I agree with your comment on not jumping into something without checking it out first. I have done my research thoroughly about Discus, my only question pertaining to Discus was about the hardness of water, as my water is very hard, and what is the best way to soften it up? I've heard about the Peat method but I have never used Peat.

My example of good research is....I have a Tropheus tank right now and it is my first Tropheus tank I have ever had. You may have heard of the difficulties in keeping Tropheus; ie. water stability, bloat, food requirements, etc. I have had it now around 1 year, no losses and no bloatthumbs2: and this I attribute to the research that I do to keep my fish happy.

Regardless of what fish I choose to keep, this is how I do it!

[domjd05]

Well it's good to hear you're experienced, I wasn't trying to deter you from keeping discus but since it's such an investment.. ya know..? LOL, but if you can keep tropheus, its clear you understand how to meet water parameters, I've never had to lower my PH as mine is naturally low, but driftwood and peat is the most common method I've heard of.

[Greg6585]

Well, guess that is what i'm gonna do then. I definitely want a nice big piece of driftwood but I'm going to try the Peat also.

Thanks all for your advice and comments:22: