Perfect Water

Want perfect Discus water in your tank? Tired of fussing with chemicals and RO systems? Unless your backyard is the Amazon river you need to read this. Having perfect Discus water in your tank is easier than you think.
In this article we will cover some tips on how to have the best Discus water in your tank!

Do Not Use Chemicals

There is no reason to be messing with your current water via chemicals purchased online or the local fish store. Here is why, unless you are a trained chemist or run your tanks like laboratories, you will mess up or run out of chemicals. Then what? Let me tell you what will happen, the water in your tank will become unstable leading to, you guessed it, Discus death.
The only one solution you should be adding to your water is your favorite brand of chlorine/choloramine remover. That’s it! Chlorine and Chloramine are found in municipal water sources to kill bacterial growth. One other very bad thing it does is burn the gills of your Discus. That is why treating your water used for water changes with chlorine/chloramine remover is a must.

Separate Water Container

The ideal setup would have a separate container with enough water for 100% water change on stand by. This can be done easily by using a heavy duty plastic trash can which can be purchased at the local hardware store in different gallon sizes. Personally I keep several 45 gallon plastic trash cans filled with water for Discus.

When purchasing your trash can, don’t forget to buy the lid! This will come in handy when trying to keep the water temperature stable.

The trash can is either filled with an Tap/RO mix or straight Tap water. Inside the trash can I place the following in the water:

• Titanium Heater – I set this to match the tank temperature so when the water is used there is not a huge fluctuation in temperature.
• Powerhead – This is to circulate the water in the trash can. Without this the water would not be evenly heated.
• Air Stone – A large air stone with a powerful air pump will not only make the water oxygen rich but will also quickly stabilize the water chemistry.
• Chlorine/Chloramine Remover – Reading the lable on the bottle I introduce the required amount of remover per gallon of water.

So how do you get the water out of the trash can? If strong enough the same powerhead can be used or a stronger inline water pump can be used to take water from the trash can to your tank.

Stop Obsessing About Chemistry

Discus are resilient if and when raised with a good diet and kept in clean tanks. I have seen many hobbyist obsess over water chemistry to the point where they are more interested in water than Discus.
Enjoy your Discus and pay attention to their health. Discus can do great in many regions and in a variety of water mixtures. What Discus and most all living things cannot tolerate is a constant change in environment and the stress it produces.
By using harsh chemicals to replicate the impossible perfect water what you end up doing is sending your Discus to an early grave. If you want to remove particles, lower total dissolved solids (TDS) or other harmful substance use an RO System or water from a “Water Store”. Other than that keep your water treatment routine simple, clean and stable.

Questions For You

Do you keep water for water changes on stand-by?
Do you treat your water with chemicals?
Do you use and RO System?

Source: Discus Guide