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

[BoiseBobD at aol_com]

Have you thought about your dechlorinator?  Every time you do a 20% water 
change you take out about 20% of the dechlorinator and then add another dose of 
fresh dechlorinator.  This stuff doesn't dissipate.  Unless you have chloramine 
in  your local water supply you should be able to do 20-30% water changes 
without the dechlorinator. 

 With fish like discus, water parameters are critical, including temp.  But 
figure it out.  If the water in your tank is 85ºF and the water you are adding 
is 55ºF, then the the temperature will drop 20% of the difference.  20% of 30º 
is only 6º, dropping the tank to 79ºF, within the fish's acceptable 
temperature range for day-to-day life.  It may delay a spawning for a day, but it won't 
hurt the fish.  In the winter time, smaller more frequent changes will allow 
you to resolve the temperature issue.  

Other parameters are more important when considering water changes in a 
discus tank.  Discus like very soft, acidic water.  Running your water through a 
de-ionizer (or an RO unit if you live in the eastern US where water is in 
plentiful supply) will allow you to establish water that is to the fishes' liking.  
You will need to dose your fertilizer with the water change if the tank is 
planted.

Bob Dixon
_______________________________________________
Aquatic-Plants mailing list
Aquatic-Plants at actwin_com
http://www.actwin.com/mailman/listinfo.cgi/aquatic-plants