7% bidaily - Testing the Water Change theory... please give this judgment
- Thread starter landmineyouth
- Start date
seems to me like a waste of your time, but if you have the time go for it. Most of your bacteria is in your filters, the longer your filters have been running the more water you can change without effecting antyhing. Atleast thats my knowledge. But go ahead and let us know. I already know the out come of course it will be healthy, but will be irritating doing changes every other day.
mauls said:
hmm trying to work out the theory behind that. the fact is that no matter how long your filters have been running if you change too much water too often you will loose bacteria and could start a mini cycle in your tank. i would if anything you are better changing large amounts at the begging of a filters life rather than when established but at the end of the day thats why its well known that 50% water changes or more are drastic measures only to be carried if you really have to.
I of course treat my water with Novaqua and Amquel. It sits for 24 to 48 hours before use, and I lower the ph with treatment as well (seeing as how i aim for 7.2 on my tanks and my ph is 7.6 where i live)
I always gravel vac the water i take out as well too so I do remove a big portion of waste. The 75gallon tank itself is only home to 1 archer, 2 monos, a black knife, pleco, an columbian shark, so i think its safe to say the waste load IS light.
I always gravel vac the water i take out as well too so I do remove a big portion of waste. The 75gallon tank itself is only home to 1 archer, 2 monos, a black knife, pleco, an columbian shark, so i think its safe to say the waste load IS light.
danny boy said:
Not really. Discus keepers( breeders ) specially in the far east do 100% percent water changes or 50 twice daily to keep the water pristine. No cycling going on and no adverse effects either.
redtailfool said:
yep thats true but try running a filter from a tank like that in a normal fish tank. all those filters do is push water around. the tanks are never cycled and the bacteria that make our lives easier as far as water changes are concerned will only show trace amounts.
If you have the time, do it! I think his fish will be happier. I agree though you should only gravel vac half your tank (or a third) with each water change. There is a lot of good bacteria in there. It might cause problems if you clean the whole thing every other day. BTW I don't think it's worth droppong the ph 0.4. You're adding checmicals for nothing IMO. Most fish will adapt to any ph level between 6.2 - 7.8 without a problem. The trick is to bring the ph up slowly over a few days and then you won't have to worry about it any more. Good luck.
landmineyouth said:
don't use amquel it will cause a false reading when you test the water for ammonia. Also here's an interesting theory. Fish release hormones in order to grow . High amount of hormones in water will cause fish to slow their growth. So imho I think multiply water changes is better than one big water change per week. One big water change I think will mess up your nitrogen cycle. Don't vacuum everytime you do water changes though.
I liked seeing the mention of hormones Fried Fish. Some fish it does not effect but others like sunfish react to high hormone levels with stunting and early sexual maturity, that is why so many small ponds have huge populations of 3-4" sunnies. I like gravel vaccing every water change but I just do a surface vac and a partial(1/3) deep vac, it is a habit acquired from using UGFs.
guppy said:
Yes great example however I believe it somewhat effects most if not all fish. It just effect some more than others.
