Which hardness test is it? General or carbonate hardness? is it in German degrees?
It is quite possible to keep Discus in moderately hard water, once you give them all the rest of the care they need. Soft water is an advantage, as is a pH below 7 and above 6, any lower then you risk crashes in soft water. You should cycle a tank and keep other fish in it for about 6 months before buying Discus. This lets the tank settle, you can monitor the pH to see if you can keep it at a constant level as this is the real secret to keeping Discus, and you can also predict and observe any difficulties with water changes and maintenance. Striving for the ideal water conditions is not as important as striving to keep the conditions constant, this is the major failing of a lot of people who have tried Discus and failed. Because they go to such great lengths to provide extremely soft acid water, they add too much, take away too much and generally pester the Discus into an early grave. Then they label them difficult: 'But I spent so much on them, and gave them everything they needed and cleaned the tank every day' is the usual tale of too much fussing and not enough time out with the fish.
Keeping a tank at a consdtant and clean state for 6 months is a good preperation for Discus as is reading everything that has the word Discus in it.
Ken
