just started to keep discus two days ago i drop ph to 6 brought temp up to 83 f nitrite is good low level but water has gone cloudy today should i be concerned
water
- Thread starter pete
- Start date
Yes, you should.
How did you drop the pH to 6? Is the pH so low because you plan to spawn these discus?
Is this a raw new tank? Any detectable nitrite is an emergency, as they are highly toxic.
At that pH very little nitrification is taking place. Do you have plants to take up the nitrogen?
The cloudiness is a bloom of bacteria and plankton, unless you have very hard water and have used phosphate-based buffering to drop the pH.
You give very little information. What is your GH (total hardness) and your KH (alkalinity), for a start?
How did you drop the pH to 6? Is the pH so low because you plan to spawn these discus?
Is this a raw new tank? Any detectable nitrite is an emergency, as they are highly toxic.
At that pH very little nitrification is taking place. Do you have plants to take up the nitrogen?
The cloudiness is a bloom of bacteria and plankton, unless you have very hard water and have used phosphate-based buffering to drop the pH.
You give very little information. What is your GH (total hardness) and your KH (alkalinity), for a start?
firstly thanks for posting a reply so quickly
i droped the ph from 7.5 to 6.0 using a liquid ph dropper phosphate free and raised the temp from 79 to 83 the tank has been up and running for 2 yrs with community fish in it without no problems i droped the ph to 6.0 because i though discus were happier with that unfortunatly i only have a nitrite and a ph test kit at the moment and i am new to keeping discus i have got plenty of plants in there aswell i hope you can help me a bit more with this info
thanks in advance pete...........
i droped the ph from 7.5 to 6.0 using a liquid ph dropper phosphate free and raised the temp from 79 to 83 the tank has been up and running for 2 yrs with community fish in it without no problems i droped the ph to 6.0 because i though discus were happier with that unfortunatly i only have a nitrite and a ph test kit at the moment and i am new to keeping discus i have got plenty of plants in there aswell i hope you can help me a bit more with this info
thanks in advance pete...........
Well, that's reassuring, because Discus are too delicate to put into a not-quite-cycled tank. (I'm not keeping Discus myself-- not apartment-sized fish!)
Nevertheless, isn't part of the spawning trigger the change in conditions, specifically the drop in dissolved solids (which does bring a drop in pH)? There's lots on the web about spawning and breeding Discus and raising the fry. Google for it: "Symphysodon discus" "Spawn Discus" "Breed Discus" etc.
You need a GH/KH test kit.
Nevertheless, isn't part of the spawning trigger the change in conditions, specifically the drop in dissolved solids (which does bring a drop in pH)? There's lots on the web about spawning and breeding Discus and raising the fry. Google for it: "Symphysodon discus" "Spawn Discus" "Breed Discus" etc.
You need a GH/KH test kit.