Falling Down in the Fall

I want to address an issue that rears it’s ugly head in the US every fall like clock work with some discus hobbyists. In a loose way it is related to the fact that in most major US cities, the water parameters change twice a year. The ph and hardness will change typically in the fall and again in the spring after winter. The hobbyists I have counseled have had it drilled into their head to test the ph of the aquarium with a liquid drop test kit before every water change. Also test the ph of the tap water at least monthly. The hobbyists that fall victim to the scenario described either do not test their ph or take it to shop to have it tested. A simple liquid drop ph test kit is under five dollars.

It goes like this. A hobbyist sets up a discus aquarium in the fall or winter. They change water on a monthly basis or every three weeks. While everything appears to be okay, each month that water change helps less and less and the water quality deteriorates some each month. When the fall rolls around, a water change will be done, usually with soft water, and during the night the ph finally crashes. The hobbyist wakes up to discus with hazy eyes with no appetite, skittish and patches of slime coat burned off.

Falsely assuming something was wrong with the water change, or an outbreak of disease has occurred, they run to a pet shop and promptly add Melafix or another medication to the tank. At this point, Melafix will actually irritate the burned eyes. Then I get the call. There is a hand full of hobbyists that go through this every year. This is so easy to prevent. Monthly water changes are not sufficient. Also water changes with ro or di water alone is not acceptable. On that note, if you blend ro and tap water for your water changes, additives to the ro water are unnecessary. Doing so can create harder water with a higher ph than you started with at the tap.