Like the title says, and if they are how much and how often? Now I do 30% every 14 days. But is it a waste of my time?
Are WC necessary with 0 Nitrate?
- Thread starter soul_assassin
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still necessary. I am not sure how you have zero nitrate (do you have fish in the tank? plants?) but regardless a tank is a closed system. Nitrate is the easily measurable end product of the nitrogen cycle but lots of other organic compounds accumulate (e.g. hormones, phosphates). Even vitamins and minerals, which are in the food you feed, are not 100% used and so they too accumulate in the closed system. The only way to dilute all this is a water change. You simply cannot reproduce a complete ecosystem in a tank.
What he said ^^^^ 
Seriously though it really is that straight forward, it's part of the necessary maintenance on a tank. Only nature can maintain itself, to have your own slice of it you've got to put the work in.
Seriously though it really is that straight forward, it's part of the necessary maintenance on a tank. Only nature can maintain itself, to have your own slice of it you've got to put the work in.
Even with 2-5ppm nitrates you still need fresh water for replenishing vital minerals the fish need. But you certainly don't have to go crazy with wc, I've had low nitrate tanks and I just top off 1x per week.
Assuming your fish are still small as they get bigger so does the Bio load as long as they stay in the same size tank.
Make certain your tank is properly cycled, sometimes zero nitrates indicates the lack of bacteria needed to convert the ammonia to nitrite then nitrite to nitrates. You can have ammonia and no nitrites or nitrates, you can have ammonia and nitrites and no nitrates. 2 types of bacteria need to colonize I'm order to complete the nitrogen cycle!
×Go S. Vettel #1 Infiniti Redbull! 4x WDC!!! Congrats on another flawless title× <GET BETTER SCHUMI>
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Cheap way to decrease nitrates and keep your fish healthy: http://monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=504763
Assuming your fish are still small as they get bigger so does the Bio load as long as they stay in the same size tank.
Make certain your tank is properly cycled, sometimes zero nitrates indicates the lack of bacteria needed to convert the ammonia to nitrite then nitrite to nitrates. You can have ammonia and no nitrites or nitrates, you can have ammonia and nitrites and no nitrates. 2 types of bacteria need to colonize I'm order to complete the nitrogen cycle!
×Go S. Vettel #1 Infiniti Redbull! 4x WDC!!! Congrats on another flawless title× <GET BETTER SCHUMI>
__________________________________________________________________
Cheap way to decrease nitrates and keep your fish healthy: http://monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=504763
Some background: 65g with one adult 6" s. sanchezi that eats very little. Yes, I have plants and no canister and I clean my mech pads every 2-3 days. Bottom is tile and very clean. The tank has been up over a year. The nitrates reduced ~5ppm after I disconnected the canister, FYI.
Nitrogen is the last part of the nitrogen cycle not nitrate. I do top off water ~3g a week, so I do add minerals. I was just thinking of that Walstead method in a planted tank. Where there is a closed loop ecosystem in the tank. I will still keep doing WC, just wanted some opinions, thx.
Edit: I read that plants take up vitamins and amino acids that are left over, dont know about the hormones. Valid point.
Nitrogen is the last part of the nitrogen cycle not nitrate. I do top off water ~3g a week, so I do add minerals. I was just thinking of that Walstead method in a planted tank. Where there is a closed loop ecosystem in the tank. I will still keep doing WC, just wanted some opinions, thx.
Edit: I read that plants take up vitamins and amino acids that are left over, dont know about the hormones. Valid point.
My planted tanks run just fine with water top offs and weekly replacement of minerals ..Barrs GH Booster and trace minerals .. I do a once a month change of water of only 6 gals on my 90 g tank.. don't even measure nitrates , don't worry about them generally ..unless your breeding or have nitrate sensitive fish why test for them..? plus nitrates occur naturally in tap water, so unless your filtering your tap water.
Most people replace more water than they need too, I guess it comes down to whatever works for you..
Most people replace more water than they need too, I guess it comes down to whatever works for you..
Well let's be a bit more careful when talking water changes. I know it's a time old question and everyone has an opinion, including me! To be completely honest water changes are dictated by a a number of water conditions.
I agree with above posts that tanks are closed systems so it would make sense that in time, certain by products will build up and the need to replenish other minerals, nutrients etc is required.
That being said I find generally, it really depends on the tank water volume and bio load. I have been keeping fish for decades both fresh and salt water, my fresh water planted tank (100gal) CAN go without water changes for months (just topping off for evaporation) but is it the "best" environment for fish?? Probably not, nitrates slowly build up, nutrient levels slowly drop.
Fish are like most species, if the change is gradual enough they will tolerate it, but usually problems arise when introducing new fish because that gradual change to the fish in the tank is not so gradual to the new fish being introduced.
It also depends on chemical filtration, I would argue that chemical filtration (GFO, Carbon) can greatly improve water chemistry and can allow for longer periods between water changes.
There is no magic bullet you have to learn and respond to your tanks changing conditions. I used to monitor everything. PH, ORP, Nitrates, Nitrites, ammonia, everything in my fresh water tank and I still do occasionally...now with my experience I can simply look at the water, monitor my fish behaviour (I have some fish that are 8 or 9 years old now) and know if a water change is needed.
Bottom line, if your new(er) to aquatic hobby...water change regularly, regardless of bio load AND test kit results etc. as you gain experience (and that is measured in Multiple Years to decades in the aquarium industry) you can make that decision based on experience.
So I do not want to say, sure go ahead no need for water change since your parameters are x or y, it depends on your experience level. If your asking because your unsure, do a water change.
Nothing bad can happen by being pro active or conservative when it comes to water quality.
I agree with above posts that tanks are closed systems so it would make sense that in time, certain by products will build up and the need to replenish other minerals, nutrients etc is required.
That being said I find generally, it really depends on the tank water volume and bio load. I have been keeping fish for decades both fresh and salt water, my fresh water planted tank (100gal) CAN go without water changes for months (just topping off for evaporation) but is it the "best" environment for fish?? Probably not, nitrates slowly build up, nutrient levels slowly drop.
Fish are like most species, if the change is gradual enough they will tolerate it, but usually problems arise when introducing new fish because that gradual change to the fish in the tank is not so gradual to the new fish being introduced.
It also depends on chemical filtration, I would argue that chemical filtration (GFO, Carbon) can greatly improve water chemistry and can allow for longer periods between water changes.
There is no magic bullet you have to learn and respond to your tanks changing conditions. I used to monitor everything. PH, ORP, Nitrates, Nitrites, ammonia, everything in my fresh water tank and I still do occasionally...now with my experience I can simply look at the water, monitor my fish behaviour (I have some fish that are 8 or 9 years old now) and know if a water change is needed.
Bottom line, if your new(er) to aquatic hobby...water change regularly, regardless of bio load AND test kit results etc. as you gain experience (and that is measured in Multiple Years to decades in the aquarium industry) you can make that decision based on experience.
So I do not want to say, sure go ahead no need for water change since your parameters are x or y, it depends on your experience level. If your asking because your unsure, do a water change.
Nothing bad can happen by being pro active or conservative when it comes to water quality.
Great input you got here! Seeing this brought up a related question in my head:
I'm a member of reefcentral as well and there are some members, very very few might I add, that NEVER do wc's on their reefs for YEARS yet everything is stable and all corals and fish are thriving, even reproducing! These tanks are in the 400g+ range. If any of you guys are familiar with sw, how do these guys get away with it?
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I'm a member of reefcentral as well and there are some members, very very few might I add, that NEVER do wc's on their reefs for YEARS yet everything is stable and all corals and fish are thriving, even reproducing! These tanks are in the 400g+ range. If any of you guys are familiar with sw, how do these guys get away with it?
Sent from my iPhone using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
Hello; The water change amount - frequency issue has been discussed in several threads on this forum.
There are some I have known in person who never changed water, just topped up tanks. I essentially did this the first years of keeping tanks back in the late 1950s. We did not have the more comprehensive test kits yet and simply had not thought of regular water changes.
Mechanical filtration was also poor compared to what is available now at fairly reasonable prices. There were some strong filters around but they were too expensive for me at the time. Most of my mechanical filtration was air bubbler powered. After a time I used some of the early HOB filters. They were not very powerful, were difficult to keep running right and were likely to lose their prime at any time, almost daily is seemed. When they lost prime they were not able to re-start pumping water on their own. I guess that is why I continue to run bubblers of some sort in all tanks as they have saved my tanks many times over the years.
When I picked up on the notion of regular water changes, I only did it around once a month. That worked on my planted tanks well enough. On QT tanks or other non planted tanks I would change a bit more often. I also realised that using a siphon tube was a way to remove the detritus from a tank. I now do water changes more often.
There are some who post on these threads claiming to change large percentages of water every few days. That seems excessive to me, but more power to them if they can stand the strain (and expense).
I find my heavily planted tanks with a light stocking of fish, some ramshorn and MTS snails and a lighter feeding plan have reduced the absolute need for large water changes very often. I try to keep to a somewhat regular schedule but find over the last couple of decades that I have a cushion if I need to allow things to go for a while.
The advent of the decent home water quality test kits is a good thing, but I suspect has fostered some to be a bit too focused on absolute parameters. I go fishing and have noticed a fairly wide variety of water conditions. I also recall back in the 1970s taking a limnology class in which we took and tested water samples often, finding a variation in the natural parameters. Fish have to be somewhat tolerant of changes.
In the early days of water changes one of my main thoughts was that as evaporation took place salts and other minerals would become more concentrated over time. Water changes can dilute these things.
I kept a few tanks with what is now called the walstad method back in the day. It works well enough with a lot of plants and few fish. I have run tanks with only an air stone.
I agree that larger tanks are some easier to keep good water regardles of the frequency/volume of water changes or no water changes.
Good luck
There are some I have known in person who never changed water, just topped up tanks. I essentially did this the first years of keeping tanks back in the late 1950s. We did not have the more comprehensive test kits yet and simply had not thought of regular water changes.
Mechanical filtration was also poor compared to what is available now at fairly reasonable prices. There were some strong filters around but they were too expensive for me at the time. Most of my mechanical filtration was air bubbler powered. After a time I used some of the early HOB filters. They were not very powerful, were difficult to keep running right and were likely to lose their prime at any time, almost daily is seemed. When they lost prime they were not able to re-start pumping water on their own. I guess that is why I continue to run bubblers of some sort in all tanks as they have saved my tanks many times over the years.
When I picked up on the notion of regular water changes, I only did it around once a month. That worked on my planted tanks well enough. On QT tanks or other non planted tanks I would change a bit more often. I also realised that using a siphon tube was a way to remove the detritus from a tank. I now do water changes more often.
There are some who post on these threads claiming to change large percentages of water every few days. That seems excessive to me, but more power to them if they can stand the strain (and expense).
I find my heavily planted tanks with a light stocking of fish, some ramshorn and MTS snails and a lighter feeding plan have reduced the absolute need for large water changes very often. I try to keep to a somewhat regular schedule but find over the last couple of decades that I have a cushion if I need to allow things to go for a while.
The advent of the decent home water quality test kits is a good thing, but I suspect has fostered some to be a bit too focused on absolute parameters. I go fishing and have noticed a fairly wide variety of water conditions. I also recall back in the 1970s taking a limnology class in which we took and tested water samples often, finding a variation in the natural parameters. Fish have to be somewhat tolerant of changes.
In the early days of water changes one of my main thoughts was that as evaporation took place salts and other minerals would become more concentrated over time. Water changes can dilute these things.
I kept a few tanks with what is now called the walstad method back in the day. It works well enough with a lot of plants and few fish. I have run tanks with only an air stone.
I agree that larger tanks are some easier to keep good water regardles of the frequency/volume of water changes or no water changes.
Good luck
