first do yall gravel vac at every water change or not. I hear some people vac without a big wc, say 2 or 3 buckets, the bare min of just going through gravel. that being said do you sometimes do a giant water change with out touching the substrate; OR do you always do both. Also which is better, a big water change once a week, or several small ones. With me having 1x 75, 2x125s and the 180 now; Sometimes I love water changes, sometimes mehhh, what do you do to keep the fun in it.
gravel vac VS water change. many small or 1 big
- Thread starter mopani
- Start date
I don't gravel vac as I have sand, but removal of physical waste from your system as frequently as possible is good. Generally speaking, changing half the amount of water twice as frequently will always be better than one large water change as it will keep the average nitrate level lower and keep your water more stable. However, when you start getting towards the extremes you need to change more water to avoid the nitrates building.
For example, if your nitrates rise by 3ppm per day, changing 25% of the water every three days will give you lower average nitrate levels than changing 50% every six days. But, changing 8.3% daily will not be enough to prevent the nitrates from increasing, even though you are changing the same amount of water in total. Changing 100% every twelve days will also give you higher average nitrates than the 50% or 25% changes too.
Larger changes = greater dilution, but higher peaks. The only way to really tell if you're doing enough (or too much) is to monitor your nitrates over time and experiment with different frequencies and amounts. Or you could simply do what many here do and change excessive amounts fairly frequently then you know you've got it covered!
For example, if your nitrates rise by 3ppm per day, changing 25% of the water every three days will give you lower average nitrate levels than changing 50% every six days. But, changing 8.3% daily will not be enough to prevent the nitrates from increasing, even though you are changing the same amount of water in total. Changing 100% every twelve days will also give you higher average nitrates than the 50% or 25% changes too.
Larger changes = greater dilution, but higher peaks. The only way to really tell if you're doing enough (or too much) is to monitor your nitrates over time and experiment with different frequencies and amounts. Or you could simply do what many here do and change excessive amounts fairly frequently then you know you've got it covered!
Just should note that there is such a thing as too often and too much. I do 25% about once every 5 days, and gravel vac usually every 2-3 days (just to remove the poop, about a 5gal change). But like David said its definitely most important to just watch your nitrates and find a good schedule that keeps them as close to 0 as possible with little or no spikes.
I do both depending on spawning. If no fry, I vacuum every water change. If fry are in the tank I do a little larger change and avoid pissing off the folks. Up to 75%
And a bit of math to illustrate nitrate removal.
"Another misconception is that doing two separate 50% water changes is identical to a single 100% water change. Each time you do a water change you're diluting the dirty water with clean water. So if you do a 50% water change, you're putting back in the same amount of clean water. When you do your next 50% water change, you're only removing 25% of the original dirty water because it was diluted so it's only identical to a 75%WC. Instead of 4 separate 25% water changes to get to 100%, you would actually need to do 11 just to get to 95%. Understanding your partial water changes is vital for proper waste export."
Sent from my iPhone using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
And a bit of math to illustrate nitrate removal.
"Another misconception is that doing two separate 50% water changes is identical to a single 100% water change. Each time you do a water change you're diluting the dirty water with clean water. So if you do a 50% water change, you're putting back in the same amount of clean water. When you do your next 50% water change, you're only removing 25% of the original dirty water because it was diluted so it's only identical to a 75%WC. Instead of 4 separate 25% water changes to get to 100%, you would actually need to do 11 just to get to 95%. Understanding your partial water changes is vital for proper waste export."
Sent from my iPhone using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
There is no such thing as too much as long as the tap water is properly treated and you match you tank and tap temp!
Say you do a 50% wc and the incoming water is 100° and the remaining water in the tank is 75° you just upped the temp to approximately 87° which most fish can't handle.
My point is large wc are fine if done correctly. The same amount of work goes into a 75% vs a 25% wc (beside the time it takes to drain and fill) but all in all if you do one large wc per week as opposed to two you will save time and energy that you can invest into enjoying your fish!
The temp can accurately measured with a IR thermometer http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000MX5Y9C just check the tank temp then check the stream of tap water and dial it in. This will greatly reduce stress amongst your fish.
And as David said with PFS we don't need to vac because the crap stays on top of the sand and if your filter and powerhead are setup right you never need to touch the sand except stir it up every 6 months or so depending on how deep the bed is.
To sum it up: large water changes are more practical, convenient and time saving as long as tap is properly dechlorinated and temp is matched.
And imo sand (pfs) looks great and is cheap!
×Go S Vettel #1 Infiniti Redbull! 3x WDC!!!×
__________________________________________________________________
Cheap way to decrease nitrates and keep your fish healthy: http://monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=504763
I do roughly 90% twice a week on my overstocked 125. Not really because I need to, as much as I want to. I love how my fish act when they get clean water. Much more active and "happy". My nitrates generally stay below 20 ppm.
Thanks for the in sight guys.. I think I will do a 25% every 3-4 then. 50% on each tank per week; was getting Pretty blah. My water pressure sucks in fish room sink. It will suck water but not debree. What do I'd put it on suck out then go old schools with buckets and actual use the suck in spit method
Sent from my iPod touch using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
Sent from my iPod touch using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
It will make your life a lot easier to not use the sink python to drain the water. Use a garden hose and run in outside and siphon it out. As long as the hose is lower then the tank level you'll be fine. It takes me about 12-15 minutes to drain my 125 90% and another 10 to refill.
+1
Op try pothos to reduce wc!
×Go S Vettel #1 Infiniti Redbull! 3x WDC!!!×
__________________________________________________________________
Cheap way to decrease nitrates and keep your fish healthy: http://monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=504763
Yea my Aquaeon will drain water. Just doesn't have power to suck crap from gravel. So what I do is submerge it, get the flow going st use it to slow drain. Then I use old school gravel vac and bucket and get about 20 gallons of water from slurping poop from gravel; all the while the aquaeon is draining
Sent from my iPod touch using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
Sent from my iPod touch using MonsterAquariaNetwork app