PatrickTheArowana;2152879; said:
Yes - Malawi like BIG water changes. I do 70-80% weekly for my peacocks and haps.
Tanganyikans like smaller water changes. I do 20-30% weekly for them and stock lighter.
Big tanks, water changes?
- Thread starter franchise513
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Yes - Malawi like BIG water changes. I do 70-80% weekly for my peacocks and haps.
Tanganyikans like smaller water changes. I do 20-30% weekly for them and stock lighter.
frasertheking;2152544; said:
They may be some truth in that if you had almost no bio load in the system. However, even if you changed 50% of water once a week, or even daily, you'll still have dissolved organics in the system from the remaining 50% of water. Standard water parameters can still test "good", but they will still be dissolved organics in the water. I had a paper on this subject of tests conducted at a university that listed the percentages of organics removed from water changes, but I lost it when I updated the computer. It was very surprising at the amount of dissolved waste still in a system even after very large water changes. If you keep large fish, feed frozen or live foods, or otherwise have a large bio load, water changes are crucial to the long term health of our fish. This is one of the main reasons that fish don't live as long, or don't get as large in a tank as they do in the wild.
I have a 125 gal and it is a pain to the water change but it needs to be done... i say 30% for me is more than enough
I used to think water changes weren't nearly as important as they are and I had been keeping at least 1 tank for the past 15 years, usually 2. I'd moved and had to give away fish, lost them in moves, had some die, and so on. However there were times I did have the same for years, they didn't grow like I thought they should OR like everyone said they should. They still ate and swam around happy and healthy from what I could see so I usually just topped off the tank every week and didn't let it bother me. Maybe 6 months ago I got out of race cars (And you think Aquariums are expensive?) and started getting into aquariums more and more. I never really learned much in the past 15 years, I just fed them and kept the tank looking clean. In the past few months I've learned more than ever. I had never tested my water before, now I do it every week or two on all 5 tanks. After doing that and learning how parameters effect fish it's extremely important to do water changes, at least for me. I keep my tanks stocked, not just a guppy in 100 gallon so waste builds up quick. Now that I have a python it's quick and easy anyway.
The thing that really made me realize how important they are was a 10 second conversation with the boss at an LFS I frequent. I was looking at a display tank with some pretty large Cichlids of various sorts, I asked how old they were because they were beefy, he said all were less than a year. I was shocked and asked why mine didn't grow so fast because they are well fed and all much older. He asked what my water change schedule was like and this was before I knew the importance so I replied hardly ever I just top it off. He said there is your problem, the water quality is likely very poor even though it may be clear. He said he does 50% once a week and they grow like mad.
Again, I'm still no expert so the above may not be exact but it's my reasoning to keep up on the changes. Plus if I don't the Nitrates can get out of control real fast now that I test the water and monitor that sort of stuff.
The thing that really made me realize how important they are was a 10 second conversation with the boss at an LFS I frequent. I was looking at a display tank with some pretty large Cichlids of various sorts, I asked how old they were because they were beefy, he said all were less than a year. I was shocked and asked why mine didn't grow so fast because they are well fed and all much older. He asked what my water change schedule was like and this was before I knew the importance so I replied hardly ever I just top it off. He said there is your problem, the water quality is likely very poor even though it may be clear. He said he does 50% once a week and they grow like mad.
Again, I'm still no expert so the above may not be exact but it's my reasoning to keep up on the changes. Plus if I don't the Nitrates can get out of control real fast now that I test the water and monitor that sort of stuff.
I've upped mine to 50% weekly and noticed the difference in growth.
As rightly said previous; clear water isn't clean water
As rightly said previous; clear water isn't clean water
I do a 40% change ever Monday , by using the outlet pipe on my Tetratec1200 to empty into a 10liter bucket ( so it goes into and thourgh the filter straight into the bucket which i find much easier then what i used to do by using a small jug and walking back a forward to the sink taking my about 1.30hrs and now about 30mins ) , then just fill the tank back up by filling the bucket with normal tap water .
forget a python, buy the Aqueon brand. its built MUCH better and stronger than the python. i bought a replacement Aqueon faucet pump and i love it so much more than the Python!!!polish;2153445;2153445 said:
