Kh Or Gh For Discus

[Ptarmigan]

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[Alex_]

I heard that they can deal with alittle calium/magnesium

and they should be keeped in soft->very soft waters

the PH should be 4.0->6.8 Temp 82->88

I don't know about the rest

-Alex

 

[annka5]

... except for when they're young when they do better in harder water.... this is something I've read, which is based on the idea that they need the minerals for good growth. However, as they do live in the wild in soft water for entire lives, personally I don't get it
Mine are in soft water -low both kH and gH - and I don't intend to mess with it.
All I've read is that kH is the more important measure, but the key thing is stability rather than being a certain measure.

 

[Anita]

Hi I have kept Discus for 2 years. My ph is 6.5 kh 2.

The most important factor is stable water conditions, as they don't like change.

Are you new to discus or are you thinking of getting some?

Anita...

 

[Ptarmigan]

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[Gourami Lover88]

Gh : is a measure of how much hardness\mineral content the water has, low number means the water isnt very hard and doesnt have a lot of minerals, high number water has alot of minerals and is hard.
Kh : is a measure of the buffering capacity, low number means that the Ph can easily be changed and if it is to low the Ph could crash, high number means the Ph isnt easy to change and is not in danger of crashing.

My Discus are kept at : Ph 7.7 Gh 25 Kh 19

 

[Ptarmigan]

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[teaker1s]

i inherited two discus that have been kept in standard welsh tap water for years that is hard water. if you want a cheap water softener by sedge peat remove stringy bits and run boiling water through it and you have safe aquatic peat that can be used in aquarium filter soften water-care must be taken to avoid rapid ph changes

 

[Gourami Lover88]

Gosh ! That's a bit on the hard and alkaline side isn't it ?

When compared to wild discus habitat yeah it is pretty hard and alkaline, but mine are domesicated and the breeder I bougth them from has a Ph of 7.5 so I wasnt that worried and besides fish are more adabtable then we give them credit for.

 

[annka5]

I'm lucky with my tap water which is soft and acidic, but now the vast majority of breeders/keepers will agree that the level of pH, gH, kH are not as important as that its stable - discus will do fine and breed in harder/ more alkaline waterso long as they remain pretty constant.
To me feels wrong to say that a couple of decades of breeding has resulted in fish which no longer need what several millenia of evolution have given them, but whatever, they do do fine in harder/alkaline waters. Perhaps because they've been bred for vigour/shape/size as well as colour - hence selecting those with the "healthiest" therefore more adaptable genes...? Dunno, am guessing on that score.
Anyhow, you've the water butts now.
Hope you enjoy your move back into discus keeping - try looking at the UK Discus Association web-site, that's good for info.