How Often do you water change>?
- Thread starter SteveR
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Bump for the thread topic.....
Alistriwen;1964836; said:
Even large bodies of water don't maintain one temperature. Test the surface of the water, then go down 4' then down another 4'. Each drop of elevation can have a large change of both temperature and o2 levels. When it rains surface temperatures can drop dramatically.
Bass fishing teaches you much about water temp and movement, as these fish are hard to find if you don't pay attention to the lake and temperatures.
The "constant drip" reference I made was a little mis leading...I did not mean to make it sound like constant drip blows fresh water through your tank at a high rate at all times...I meant the total amount of water changed, over the course of 24 hours...That total can easily be 30% per day...That is why I compared it to 30% water changes...Fish seem to thrive best (as far as my research has led me) in a constant drip environment, just like they receive in nature....Hope this clears that part up a bit....
Oddball: That list was copied directly from my kit. Ive used it on different aquariums to see what was there and while the concentrations are definetely not the same as in nature many of them are present in some quantity. The addition of food, fish waste, chemicals we put in and all the processes going on in the aquarium can lead to their formation on a molecular level.
As for the difference in small bodies of water that may be the case in some areas, I won't claim to know every river, tributary, creek and lake on earth but I would think that small bodies of water which are subject to rapid changes in temperature due to environmental situations are the exception rather than the rule. Most bodies of water are thousands upon thousands of gallons and most are connected to other bodies of water either through streams and rivers or underground water systems that run across our planet. Indeed, more of our freshwater is found underground than above.
Granted. As you go deeper the temperature will definetely change. Im not going to claim to know how dramatically or how often but I assume it's more of a gradual shift than just 78f to 72 as soon as you go past the 'x' foot mark. For the most part as we can observe even in our aquariums, most fish stick to a certain strata and rarely divorce it except for in special circumstances. Being though that I think the depth temperature shift is a gradual shift, I dont think most fish will go from one temperature to a vastly different one instantly as would occur if you replaced 50% of your tank water with water 4 or 5 degrees warmer or cooler.
Also, you are probably right about the surface temperature changing somewhat, although as water circulates the temperature will constantly work towards equillibrium. The majority of the body of water though wont change at all because of the sheer volume. In most places, it doesn't rain for very long either most of the time. Even when Im in Florida I rarely see it rain for more than 20 minutes at a time and that's a tropical climate. If you've ever been to Florida you will also know that oftentimes the rain itself is quite warm just because of the heat in the air.
Ultimately, my main concern with doing 50% water changes is an environmental one. I envision a future where water is fought over like oil and try as much as possible to minimalize my personal contribution towards said future.
As for the difference in small bodies of water that may be the case in some areas, I won't claim to know every river, tributary, creek and lake on earth but I would think that small bodies of water which are subject to rapid changes in temperature due to environmental situations are the exception rather than the rule. Most bodies of water are thousands upon thousands of gallons and most are connected to other bodies of water either through streams and rivers or underground water systems that run across our planet. Indeed, more of our freshwater is found underground than above.
Granted. As you go deeper the temperature will definetely change. Im not going to claim to know how dramatically or how often but I assume it's more of a gradual shift than just 78f to 72 as soon as you go past the 'x' foot mark. For the most part as we can observe even in our aquariums, most fish stick to a certain strata and rarely divorce it except for in special circumstances. Being though that I think the depth temperature shift is a gradual shift, I dont think most fish will go from one temperature to a vastly different one instantly as would occur if you replaced 50% of your tank water with water 4 or 5 degrees warmer or cooler.
Also, you are probably right about the surface temperature changing somewhat, although as water circulates the temperature will constantly work towards equillibrium. The majority of the body of water though wont change at all because of the sheer volume. In most places, it doesn't rain for very long either most of the time. Even when Im in Florida I rarely see it rain for more than 20 minutes at a time and that's a tropical climate. If you've ever been to Florida you will also know that oftentimes the rain itself is quite warm just because of the heat in the air.
Ultimately, my main concern with doing 50% water changes is an environmental one. I envision a future where water is fought over like oil and try as much as possible to minimalize my personal contribution towards said future.
Alistriwen;1966180; said:
You'd be amazed at the temperature difference. Here we have several deep lakes/resevoirs, and the temperature can drop 3-4dF per every 4 feet, and as it gets deeper past 12' the temperature can be over 10dF different than the surface. Lake Coeur d'Alene has a glacier at its bottom, and can have a huge drop in temperature as soon as you drop below 10 feet. Try going swimming, even in Florida, and place one hand down 4' and one at the surface. The suns warmth keeps the surface much warmer than the lower sections. Being that heat rises, the colder water will stay down lower, even with circulation. Next, try diving down 10' or so, and see how much of a change in temperature it is. Quite amazing actually how dramatic it is. Of course if you are in a high current area, such as near the entrance/exit of a river, then this may not work.
Alistriwen;1966180; said:
Up here in the northwest it can rains non-stop for days on end. The western washingtonians can vouch for that (grew up there). In the amazon it rains quite a bit longer than 20 minutes as well, being that it is in a rainforest.
Temperature change from rain can be dramatic, many species of corydoras have a trigger for breeding of a large water change that is more than 10dF different from the tanks temp. Several plecos will have a very similar breeding trigger. This is due to the rising temperature during the dry season, and that initial first rain will be long, hard and cold. The temperature of the rivers will drop signaling that the rainy season has come, and shallow waters/smaller volume of water will not be a problem for the young. Up here in the north, we will have snow in the mountains, and when it rains, not only does the rain drop the temperature on impact, but it also will bring with it run-off, which has run from the mountains/hills that are covered in snow, often this run-off can be 15-20dF lower in temperature. When the run-off starts here, the bass don't bite, a couple weeks after though, they start waking up, as the temperature has begun to rise. Even rivers are not immune to these problems. Run-off will often drop a river/creeks temp faster here. Even fast moving water will have varying temperature. Rivers and creeks have wider and shallower areas, and deeper areas. Deeper sections will be cooler than the areas that are shallow. This is due to the surface area to volume ratio that the sun is hitting. Shallows are going to be the most easily changed area when it rains.
Of course every area is different, and how the rain/snow, run-off, sun, and depth affect a body of water's temperature will vary.
