210 Water Changes

[AAVPredatory]

hello everyone, I had a fish tank setup for over a month now and I would like to know how often I should do water changes. I been doing them weekly about 25-35% water change but I am wondering if I can do them biweekly or twice a month instead of every week.

My current setup is a Aqueon 210 (72x24x29) with two overflow boxes and a Eshopps 300 WD sump system.

My stock for right now is a 3 inch Silver aro and a 3 inch Ornate bichir.

 

[skjl47]

Hello;Three ways to figure WC the way I see it. One is to have some fixed schedule and amount without testing the water. Another is to work out a schedule and amount based on water parameters. A third is to let someone else tell you what you should change.

First thing to me is your fish are small now so the WC schedule may be ok at every two weeks or so for a little while. The aro will get very large and my WAG is you will be facing over 50% WC up to two or more times a week eventually.

I hope you have not figured on good mechanical filtration getting you out of large WC. While it is a nice thing to have the WC need will still exist.

Also it might be better if you do not get tempted to add any more fish because the aro is likely all by itself to need the tank. This is based on reading many posts on the aro's.

Good luck

 

[esoxlucius]

Your nitrate reading is what will determine when your water change is due. Unfortunately none of us on this forum will have a scooby doo what your nitrate level is so in effect your question is lost on us.

Find out what your nitrate level is and we'll be able to help.

 

[AAVPredatory]

Your nitrate reading is what will determine when your water change is due. Unfortunately none of us on this forum will have a scooby doo what your nitrate level is so in effect your question is lost on us.

Find out what your nitrate level is and we'll be able to help.

What about my filter floss? I’m using sheet of quilt batting and poly fill. Should that be replaced weekly, no excuses? Or it can be changed depending on when I do my WC

 

[esoxlucius]

Is that nitrate reading just after a large water change?

 

[skjl47]

What about my filter floss? I’m using sheet of quilt batting and poly fill. Should that be replaced weekly, no excuses? Or it can be changed depending on when I do my WC

Hello; There are one or two functions of filter media (batting, poly fill and such) The first function is simple mechanical filtration which is to trap particles from the water. This is most often in a first chamber of a filter. It can be replaced from time to time. (Some insist on gently rinsing it in a bucket of old tank water during a WC (waterchange) and reusing it. I toss mine. As long as not all is replaced at one time you will not lose much of the bb in it. Your call.)


The second function is as a place for beneficial bacteria (bb) to colonize and live. The floss or batting can do this to some extent as well. Many like to have a second type of media in filters specially for being a home of the bb. (often called bio-media) This can be a number of solid materials as the bb will make a sticky biofilm on the surfaces. Some get more expensive special made ceramics and the like, while others use simple things like plastic scrubbies. I have used glass marbles in the past.
The trick is to have the poly/batting positioned where the dirty water hits it first. With enough poly/batting most of the particles (detritus) will be filtered out. Further along will be the bio-media which should then have mostly clear water passing around and thru it. The bb living on the bio-media will take in the ammonia and nitrites eventually in two stages changing them to nitrates.
This bio-media can be left alone for a long time. After a long time it can get loaded with detritus and need rinse. The bb bio-film sticks well and a gentle rinse in old tank water will often clear the detritus. Keep it wet and put it back in the filter.

One more thing. To tell if the tank is "cycled" show us the test for ammonia and the test for nitrites. In an established (cycled) tank the ammonia will be zero, the nitrites will be zero and there will be some nitrates. The goal is to keep the nitrates under 40 ppm with WC.
That your tank is not showing any nitrates leads me to think it is not cycled.

 

[Terraphyte Tank Guy]

hello everyone, I had a fish tank setup for over a month now and I would like to know how often I should do water changes. I been doing them weekly about 25-35% water change but I am wondering if I can do them biweekly or twice a month instead of every week.

My current setup is a Aqueon 210 (72x24x29) with two overflow boxes and a Eshopps 300 WD sump system.

My stock for right now is a 3 inch Silver aro and a 3 inch Ornate bichir.

AAV...

Unless you change more than half the water, you're leaving most of the polluted water in the tank. The fish will then add more pollutants before the next weekly water change. If you want your fish to be their healthiest, then work up to the point you change more than half every week. This will guarantee a stable water chemistry and healthy fish with no tank problems. This is the best way to go unless you've set up a natural means of water filtration.

TTG

 

[Jexnell]

If you don't know all ready, the #2 bottle for the nitrates test needs to shaken very vigorously before you can use it. If you don't you can get false reading from your test.

From the looks of your picture this may be happening, as there will always be nitrates in your water, if the test shows no nitrates then you didn't shake the #2 bottle good enough. The agent can recrystalize in the bottom of the bottle. Without breaking it up and mixing very well you will get false test results.

 

[AAVPredatory]

Is that nitrate reading just after a large water change?

Haven’t done a water change since last Sunday.

 

[Coryloach]

If you get into the habit of changing 50%+ water weekly, you'll save yourself a lot of trouble down the line. The issue with lack of water changes is gradual and becomes apparent in months, a year, etc..when the fish start having "odd" diseases...

Nitrate is just one thing to test for out of many....you can't go just by that at all, also considering the inaccuracy of the test....Due to the test being affected by other ions in the water, one's tank reading of 10ppm might be the equivalent to 50ppm in another one's tank...Just stick to doing large weekly water changes...Buy yourself a python if you don't have one already. Drain more than half the water each week and re-fill with temperature matched water. Dechlorinate the entire tank before re-filling. Seachem Safe is a cheap option and little goes a long way.