100% water change good or bad?

[jcardona1]

100% water change is not bad. is it necessary? NO. but its not bad as long as your parameters match.

as for the gravel cleaner, if you gonna buy one, get an Aqueon. pythons are junk IMO and are built with the cheapest of all materials.

or you could build one for a fraction of the cost

 

[Deaths Sting]

ok my filter cant keep up with my piranhas. the water is very very dirty. fish chunks and fish waste and plant crap. i dont have a gravle cleaner or and undergravle filter so i was jw if i could do a 100% water change to get in the tank and clean the out of it? good idea or bad?

what is ur filtration?! you should of mentioned that!

my filter cant keep up with my piranhas

well maybe.... that's a sign u need a better filter/more filtration...

seriously man get some more filtration sounds like ur lacking... for god sake buy a gravel vac as well..

 

[TwistedPenguin]

I hate seeing people give such short answers that do not explain their reasoning. Very often it allows people to be mislead into neglecting their fish. Explaining your suggestions allows people to actually learn from what you have to say… or choose not to take your advice if they do not agree with you…

I DID explain-too much too fast. I'd have gone into full detail about the CO2 concentrations of the water and how it changes pH but I honestly didn't think he'd understand (or care).

 

[Iffrat]

I agree with those that are strongly suggesting you get a gravel vac… it will make your life a LOT easier…

The python is okay… but you can buy a 25’ vinyl hose and fittings to hook it up to your sink for about 1/3 the price. I’ve been using a vinyl hose for longer than Pythons have been on the market and it works great…

And for those suggesting a 100% water change is a bad idea… please explain why… because I do not agree with you at all…

There are some precautions that should be taken. The single reason a 100% water change can be a bad idea is when the tanks water parameters are different than your tap water’s parameters (pollutants not included). When a tank has a high concentration of organics then the PH will often crash/drop. If this has happened in your tank, then yes a 100% water change will cause a large PH swing which is bad for your fish.

But if you test your tank water… and test your tap water… and the PH is the same (or real close)… and you ensure the temperature is the same (or real close) when you refill the tank… there is absolutely nothing wrong with doing a 100% water change.

I hate seeing people give such short answers that do not explain their reasoning. Very often it allows people to be mislead into neglecting their fish. Explaining your suggestions allows people to actually learn from what you have to say… or choose not to take your advice if they do not agree with you…

If, your tanks PH and your tap water’s PH are different… then I suggest getting your gravel vac and start cleaning your tank… after you drain about 20% of the water… refill the tank… repeat… repeat… repeat…

its not about the PH or the temp .. its about the biological ecosystem in the tank .. you have all kinds of bacteria and this is what is really important for the health of the tank.. so 100% water change has a REALLY big change of killing the biological ecosystem in the tank.

 

[jcardona1]

its not about the PH or the temp .. its about the biological ecosystem in the tank .. you have all kinds of bacteria and this is what is really important for the health of the tank.. so 100% water change has a REALLY big change of killing the biological ecosystem in the tank.

nooo, the beneficial bacteria is attached to your filter media, not in the water column. if your theory was correct, we could keep tanks w/o filtration right? because the good bacteria is floating around in your water...NOPE thats not the case. if the water is properly treated, you wont kill your bacteria

 

[dmopar74]

nooo, the beneficial bacteria is attached to your filter media, not in the water column. if your theory was correct, we could keep tanks w/o filtration right? because the good bacteria is floating around in your water...NOPE thats not the case. if the water is properly treated, you wont kill your bacteria

tru-dat.

i have done 100% numerous times with no probs, whether it be from upgrading or moving tanks.

 

[Iffrat]

nooo, the beneficial bacteria is attached to your filter media, not in the water column. if your theory was correct, we could keep tanks w/o filtration right? because the good bacteria is floating around in your water...NOPE thats not the case. if the water is properly treated, you wont kill your bacteria

so your telling me .. if i was to take my 50 gal tank .. set up another one next to it .. fill it with fresh water .. put my fish in it .. and just move the filter over to the new tank my fish would not have any problem with that? and i would not see any ammonia spike?

 

[Itsadeepbluesea]

100% water changes are a bad Idea. Yah you could and you might be fine but it also could cause your tank to crash. I would just do more frequent water changes until it clears up or get better filtration.

 

[Toby_H]

I DID explain-too much too fast. I'd have gone into full detail about the CO2 concentrations of the water and how it changes pH but I honestly didn't think he'd understand (or care).

The OP not understanding or caring is a legitimate reason for discouraging the large water change... The reason I don't like giving short, inaccurate responses that error on the side of safety is there will be dozens if not hundreds of other people reading the thread that do care and can understand who will be mislead by the short inaccurate answer. So I take the time to explain it and if they don't understand that's their issue...

its not about the PH or the temp .. its about the biological ecosystem in the tank .. you have all kinds of bacteria and this is what is really important for the health of the tank.. so 100% water change has a REALLY big change of killing the biological ecosystem in the tank.

The bacteria that makes up our "biological ecosystem" lives/grows on surfaces and does not live free floating in the water... therefore changing 100% of the surfaces is a bad idea, but changing 100% of the water is not...

Naturally if you neglect to add dechlorinator then the high level of chlorine may harm your bacterial colony, but this is the result of not adding dechlorinator, not the result of a 100% water change...

 

[tcarswell]

I agree with those that are strongly suggesting you get a gravel vac… it will make your life a LOT easier…

The python is okay… but you can buy a 25’ vinyl hose and fittings to hook it up to your sink for about 1/3 the price. I’ve been using a vinyl hose for longer than Pythons have been on the market and it works great…

And for those suggesting a 100% water change is a bad idea… please explain why… because I do not agree with you at all…

There are some precautions that should be taken. The single reason a 100% water change can be a bad idea is when the tanks water parameters are different than your tap water’s parameters (pollutants not included). When a tank has a high concentration of organics then the PH will often crash/drop. If this has happened in your tank, then yes a 100% water change will cause a large PH swing which is bad for your fish.

But if you test your tank water… and test your tap water… and the PH is the same (or real close)… and you ensure the temperature is the same (or real close) when you refill the tank… there is absolutely nothing wrong with doing a 100% water change.

I hate seeing people give such short answers that do not explain their reasoning. Very often it allows people to be mislead into neglecting their fish. Explaining your suggestions allows people to actually learn from what you have to say… or choose not to take your advice if they do not agree with you…

If, your tanks PH and your tap water’s PH are different… then I suggest getting your gravel vac and start cleaning your tank… after you drain about 20% of the water… refill the tank… repeat… repeat… repeat…

Agreed 100% ive done plenty of 90% changes and I stored all my bio media and stuff inside a 5 gallon bucket with an air stone.

Never had a problem.