Do i need to do water changes if i have good filter
- Thread starter Ender024
- Start date
Never underestimate the power of the 3 watt 660nm diode chips.
I know you've been doing a lot of work and tinkering about with this very subject. How far do you realistically think you're away from running tanks that would never ever need water changes?
Never ever, is eternity, need more acrylic, epoxy, and power supplies. Next week perhaps, but will never know until it has been tested for at least ever and ever.
Best run to date, 3 months with a 15 ppm to 30ppm nitrate creep. On scrubber only.
If the anaerobic reactor was going, it would be 00 ppm.
Best run to date, 3 months with a 15 ppm to 30ppm nitrate creep. On scrubber only.
If the anaerobic reactor was going, it would be 00 ppm.
I did smaller less frequent water changes on my salt system. But as
markstrimaran
said it takes alot of equipment to make it happen. Huge protein skimmer ( not a practical method of filtration in freshwater) bio pellet reactor ( not sure how well it works in fw) large refugium (plant filtration) tons of flow in all the tanks ( I had more vortech mp40s then Joey but I had to pay for mine) all this kept nitrates around 20ppm after 2 weeks. So I did biweekly 350g water changes that was around 25% system capacity. Oh had a dsb and around 800lbs of live rock too.
As for 3 oscars in a 55 please get a bigger tank and plan on 50% 2 time weekly water changes. Oscars are bery susceptible to hlle called hole in the head it's partially caused by poor water quality ie high nitrates. Plants or water changes to remove.
markstrimaran
said it takes alot of equipment to make it happen. Huge protein skimmer ( not a practical method of filtration in freshwater) bio pellet reactor ( not sure how well it works in fw) large refugium (plant filtration) tons of flow in all the tanks ( I had more vortech mp40s then Joey but I had to pay for mine) all this kept nitrates around 20ppm after 2 weeks. So I did biweekly 350g water changes that was around 25% system capacity. Oh had a dsb and around 800lbs of live rock too.As for 3 oscars in a 55 please get a bigger tank and plan on 50% 2 time weekly water changes. Oscars are bery susceptible to hlle called hole in the head it's partially caused by poor water quality ie high nitrates. Plants or water changes to remove.
If you really want to minimize water changes with filtration, I would suggest you use a bio-media reactor/protein skimmer to remove metabolism by-products before they end up rotting in a filter, like the one on the pond video below. Filters basically simply sweep stuff under the rug, they don't really remove bad stuff, until you clean them out. All the toxins remain in the tank (just invisible) until they are physically removed.
koi pond fractionation
or get 300 gallon rubbermaid, stocked with biomedia, and topped with plants (enough to use up nitrate and other metabolism by-products), kind of like the 300 gal sump I used on an outdoor 55 gal tank.
Plant ratio should weigh many times more than the weight of all fish to be effective.
koi pond fractionation
or get 300 gallon rubbermaid, stocked with biomedia, and topped with plants (enough to use up nitrate and other metabolism by-products), kind of like the 300 gal sump I used on an outdoor 55 gal tank.
Plant ratio should weigh many times more than the weight of all fish to be effective.
Eh. Maybe make it mandatory for all fish stores to provide a visual representation of all of the fish they sell they grow past 6 inches. Like have a huge poster with each fish, their name, and the print of them showing their max size in tanks, not the wild.
But, we can't force them to so we can only dream at this point.
But, we can't force them to so we can only dream at this point.
I’ve been experimenting with this topic. So far on my 10 gallon I’ve been able to run 2 aqua clear 50 gallon HOBs along with a 55 gallon sump/ refugium. So far my water quality is perfect three months in with no water changes (I have done some filter maintenance). I also keep pigmy cories and Khuli loaches to keep my substrate decent and have tons of plants to absorb nitrites.
In your case, hell no. The waste of these oscars is unimaginable especially in a 55. Plus there is no way you can keep all three in a tank that small without them killing each other. You might be able to keep one in a tank that small and I would consider that cruel because it’s growth would probably be stunted.
In your case, hell no. The waste of these oscars is unimaginable especially in a 55. Plus there is no way you can keep all three in a tank that small without them killing each other. You might be able to keep one in a tank that small and I would consider that cruel because it’s growth would probably be stunted.
