# water changes



## osprey48 (Sep 9, 2010)

Hello

My name is osprey48, named after my favorite bird and my badge number.
I have had aquariums since 1980? Been with saltwater since 1987 and am looking forward to a new challenge for an empty 220 gallon acrylic. I am interested in setting up a fresh water planted discus community aquarium. For my reef tanks, I have been using ro/di water for years. Good quality protein skimmers have reduced the need for frequent water changes and when done, only about 10%. I am learning that with fresh water planted tanks, large water changes of 20% every two weeks is necessary BUT.....tap water is okay to use so long as it is dechlorinated and the ph is correct (in the case of discuss, raised to about 8.0-8.2). 

Is this correct? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.


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## WhiteGloveAquatics (Sep 3, 2009)

Ro/DI will work just fine for discus, infact its almost a must have.

8.0-8.2 Ph for discus is very high. they thrive in around the 6.0-6.5 range which RO will give you.

I just recently finished up my 210 planted discus tank and am be able to finally enjoy it. I do 2x40 gallon changes twice a week.


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## JMatthew (Sep 7, 2010)

I swear the claim that RO water is a do or die for discuss is some sort of RO manufacturer conspiracy! 

Everytime I do a water change for my discus I simply fill up several 5 gallon jugs of water straight from the tap and then allow it to sit until the next water change (anywhere from 2 to 5 days - these are for adult discus). Aging the water gets the job done. My discus are happy and healthy - eating ANYTHING I throw at them.

Note - I, of course, do use dechlroninator also. I just toss in a half a capful of prime into each bottle a few minutes before I do the water change.


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

Ospry, that sounds familiar. Do I know you from A of A.

Anyway, welcome to the site.


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## osprey48 (Sep 9, 2010)

Sorry I miss spoke about the ph, I quess I still had saltwater in mind. Okay this is what I'm thinking. I do not believe there would be any disadvantages to using ro water for fresh water planted discus. However, it does seem more critical for a fresh water planted discus aquarium to receive large (in my mind 20%-25%) water changes every 2 weeks. In my reefs, this was completely unnecessary. I can't see myself doing this on a 220 gallon with r/o water. Thats alot of work and wasted water. Thanks for the replies.


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## osprey48 (Sep 9, 2010)

oh Susankat, its osprey, not ospry but no I dont know what A of A is. Thanks


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