[APD] Re: How do you guys do water changes?????

["Daphne Freeman" <daphne_freeman at charter.net>]

Sorry for jumping in so late on this. 

Poe asked about water changing discus tanks.  I can't comment on the hot
water heater part but I can say that I have had no problems refilling the
tank directly from the tap.

My discus tank is a heavily planted 92 gallon, the fish are adults.  It has
canister CO2, with GH=3, KH=3, pH=6.6, temp 84F.  The tap :  GH=0, KH=0,
pH=7.

Once a week, I use a Python to drain between 20-30 gallons of water into my
front yard and then refill straight from the tap to the tank.  I make sure
the water has a similar temperature and add fertilizer, Equilibrium and
Alkaline Buffer.  I do not use dechlorinator.  The discus hide during this
but as soon as I am done, they are back out and ready to be fed.  On
multiple occasions, I have done 50% water changes without dechlorinator with
no problems.

On 3 occasions, one of my "plates" floated and was blown up like a balloon.
It had nothing to do with a water change though.  It was New Spectrum discus
food.  After the second time, I started soaking the pellets in water before
pouring them into the tank.  The bloating problem happened a third time so I
tossed the food and it has not happened again.  It was not the same fish and
each time, they recovered with no intervention on my part.

With regards to the sludge issue, my house is 6.5 years old and I've never
drained the hot water heater.  

There are some fish that are sensitive to large water changes but I've never
experienced any problems with my discus.

Good luck.

Daphne


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