Amonia Suddenly in Tap Water
- Thread starter Gavint85
- Start date
150% of water change with untreated water is wayyyyyyyyyy too much, not only do you Risk your fish when your local water company ****s up, or something dies near your well. You also risk killing off all your beneficial bacteria then you’ll kill your fish when your tank goes into a new cycle.
I know everyone on here pushes huge water changes but let’s get real here. Unless yOur bucket filling while letting prime sit in your water before you put it in the tank your always introducing unwanted things into your tank. But when you do medium water changes you introduce more tolerable levels of bad stuff( very technical I know)
I personally stick to about 30-50% once a week. But I know people that do 10-20% every other day. But in my opinion, unless your pre-treating water the correct way, (not just pouring a couple drops of prime in the bucket then dumping it 10 seconds later.) then anything over 50% and you run the chance of doing more harm then good.
Also proper stocking has a lot to do with the amount and size of your water changes.
*edit* I also like S squint setup.
I know everyone on here pushes huge water changes but let’s get real here. Unless yOur bucket filling while letting prime sit in your water before you put it in the tank your always introducing unwanted things into your tank. But when you do medium water changes you introduce more tolerable levels of bad stuff( very technical I know)
I personally stick to about 30-50% once a week. But I know people that do 10-20% every other day. But in my opinion, unless your pre-treating water the correct way, (not just pouring a couple drops of prime in the bucket then dumping it 10 seconds later.) then anything over 50% and you run the chance of doing more harm then good.
Also proper stocking has a lot to do with the amount and size of your water changes.
*edit* I also like S squint setup.
Maybe smaller water changes are your only option for now. I don't like doing smaller changes because the amount of time and effort is nearly the same for a bigger change.
You could also try Hikari Ultimate. The higher dosage means it will probably react faster with chloramine, chlorine, and ammonia than prime.
You could also try Hikari Ultimate. The higher dosage means it will probably react faster with chloramine, chlorine, and ammonia than prime.
Scary thing is that the 4 mg/L limit on chlorine is an annual average, tabulated quarterly. Therefore, I think it's possible for chlorine to spike well above 4 mg/L.
I actually saw a LFS that was selling a propane tank filled with some form of carbon medium and two hoses on the end to prefilter the water through there before it enters the tank. Can anyone think of a medium that would be su
The biggest issue I've ever experience with large water changes is IF it drastically changes the water chemistry, But if you do semi frequent water changes, that should not be an issue.
There's no chance of killing off the bacteria. I'm running a pair of FX-6's filled with a TON of Seachem Matrix. In the tank itself there is a 3" level of sand, plus rocks, driftwood, plants, etc.
The biggest issue I've ever experience with large water changes is IF it drastically changes the water chemistry, But if you do semi frequent water changes, that should not be an issue.
Also, as far as I am aware, it is impossible to replace my lost geophagus mirabilis, but if someone on here knows otherwise, PLEASE let me know.
Catalytic carbon for chloramine but that would still leave ammonia to deal with. An RO membrane and DI should take care of the ammonia. However, using RO/DI means having to test regularly for chlorine or ammonia breakthrough especially at higher flow rates. It also includes the chore of remineralizing the water properly.
Nitrifying bacteria can tolerate chloramine levels of 4 mg/L. Fish may be harmed by as low as 0.003 mg/L over time.
Do you have room for one of the big 30-40 gallon trash cans that can be put on wheels? We used those and a sump pump to change water at the aquarium maintenance company I worked at. Allows for pretreatment and heating, doesn't take up as much room as empty tanks. The small sump pump is to get the water from the trash can into the tank.
