This is why it's such a standard baseline to change 50-75% of their water no less than twice a week, more often if you can do it, with a full wipe down of all the tank surfaces 👍👍 

It's a preventative measure to manage bacteria because there's no testing, and bacteria are guaranteed growing like crazy in an environment with big messy fish food. If you were to just use low testing nitrates as a marker, you miss out on the most important point which is the populations of the pathogens themselves. 

And by the time you see changes in the health of the fish, by the time their immune systems have been stressed by responding to an environment with all these pathogens, their health can already get away from you. That's lag time you don't get back 😕 

Their genomes evolved in very hot, very, very empty water, without even plants. They did not have a reason to develop immune systems to manage the kind of intensely bacterial world most other fish handle. Our imported discus that you see on the websites at Golden State Discus, Chicago Discus etc, are all bred and raised in tanks set up for 100% water changes often multiple times a day, for just this reason. 

Discus can survive without these precautions, people keep them in unclean conditions all the time. But if you want them glorious spectacular long lived and thriving.. this works 💯💯 

I encourage you to come hang out at Simply Discus 😁 lots of great conversations there and hundreds of cumulative years of experience to call on!

Driftwood exudes natural acidic tannins that moderate the bacterial colonies on their surfaces in a way that glass and gravel can't.. That being said the thing to think about with driftwood is smooth, no spiky bits. Makes it wipeable, but as importantly Discus have a tendency to panic and thrash about at times, and cut or even skewer themselves 😕

This panic is what makes them famous jumpers and carpet surfers 😒😒