Can you ever do to many?

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Diskboy12

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Dec 9, 2007
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NY, USA
Water changes? I do a 50% wc every other day religiously. Sometimes I feel like it's not enough though. What are your wc regimines?
 
id like to say yes because if i changed over 50% then i would lose a fish or 2.
yet when i sold and my best mate changed the water the day after moving she took the fish out and put them in to bowls and emptied the tank, filled up and put the fish back in!!!!
they all lived!!!

so i dont know i spose would be my proper answer. technically it wouldnt make sense, bacterial wise and temps etc...but nyah, what do i know lol
 
I used to do 100% every other day, but that got pricey, and no loses what so ever...or ammonia, nitrate, nitrite spikes.
 
Depends on the tank. I avoid what I consider heavy stocking, but my moderately-stocked tanks get a 50% wc every week. Some of my planted tanks just get a small wc once a month or less. If you're doing that many water changes, you might consider a continuous drip system.
 
Yeah, it's pretty heavily stocked with the two 13.5" LMB in the 55 quarentine. They seem to love it though, and always get frisky after a wc.
 
I tend to alternate. water change one week filter clean next rince repeat. Seems to keep all my water levels spot on. When i used to clean filters and do a water change at same time I'd get cloudy water from bacteria I believe trying to regrow or something. Actually lost some fish when I had that water too clean.
 
It's all about consistency. If you are doing X amount of water changes for a long time, your system will adapt to that and rely on it. Any sudden change in the routine (more water, less water, whatever) will likely stress things out and could cause problems in certain settings. My Oscar broke out in HITH when I went from 30% to 90% suddenly. All the parameters were in check, and the nitrates were even lower than usual, but something in the tap must have been too much. I reduced to 50% changes (took a few other measures, too) and all is well now. All that remains is a tiny green dot on his 'nose'. I'm sure if I took the time to gradually increase the amount, I could safely be doing 90% changes, but with the plants and light feeding it's all good as is.
 
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