Maintenance... worth it or not

[Pufferpunk]

Also, as far as "not cycling " goes--the fact that folks have been cycling tanks with fish for years, proves some can live through a cycle. But how long do they live? Cycling with fish can permanently damage their gills, skin, eyes, etc. I guarantee you they will not live nearly as long as a fish that was introduced into a fully cycled tank with regular weekly water chages.

 

[Pufferpunk]

i got a 5 year old pair of red devil's and i plan on keeping them for another 5 by doing water changes.

The way you're going, they might live into their upper teens!
And isn't that our ultimate goal here, to keep our fish as long as possible? Fish in captivity should live longer & grow larger than fish in the wild.

 

[PacKRaT]

once again, it's with regular maintenance and water changes (python turns water change into coffee break) that I never test my own water. It's always clean! If water change is a headache, get different pets. If water change is a chore, you're in over your head! (too many tanks!) I maintain a 75, 55, 29, and 10 with 45 minutes weekly! Understocking and overkill filtration helps a lot, too.

 

[Wolf3101]

I have to just shake my head and move on every time I hear about all the people who can tell what the water perams are in thier tank just by looking...You should seriously look into a career in public water treatment....those poor fools run tests every hour of every day....

I can't quite understand waiting until you see a fish in distress to check the water.....and even then I doubt most of these people really check it they just do a massive water change and let it go. I even had one guy who was about 5 years into the hobby tell me that he tossed out his test kit because he could "SMELL" bad water.

I have no real trouble keeping clean stable tanks for years but I can look back over my testing records and chart trends that I wouldn't have had a clue about if I only tested my water when a fish went belly up.

 

[stingrayguy]

I change all my tanks two times a week. 40% each time. On Sunday and Wednesday. And test every Sunday. Works great for me. And the fish love it. The way I look at it. Is take care of them the best you can! I would feel like ***** if I went to sleep knowing my fish are in crappy water. Maybe its just me. But always want to keep it clean for them. Dont think its fare to hear you guys say you dont do it as much you should. Just not right

 

[ANGELMINE]

I hated water changes with carrying buckets back and forth,then the miracle happen ,someone invented thr python!!!!!!!.......I been doing 40%water changes once a week now in my 125 gal in 20 minutes,only add aquasafe and little aqua salt,its been great 3 years...i never check /amon/ph/nitr.ect

 

[DJ BIG T]

the more you maintain your tank the less you have to do..its not hard to clean your tank..and check your water..

 

[dbcb314]

testing water = overrated and i dont see the point. how often would anything ever change except nitrates? you would just keep getting zero ratings over and over and over again... some chart... one flat line. and if you tank its super overstocked and you are changing enough water nitrates are pointless to test as well.

water changes = used to think they are overrated, now i try to squeeze in extra changes during the week. fish are growing much faster they they did in my newb days when i never changed the water.

gravel vac = pointless... only do it for my sand bc the poo is anoying. for the gravel tank i refuse to do it


algae scraping = necessary bc i dont have a pleco in either of my tanks

 

[Muske]

I'm a big advocate for water changes... I should test the parms. more but the water changes are the biggest thing. Yea understocking and over filtering can do good, by why not have more fish in the same tank. My Africans love the fresh water "dump" that they get each week. Currently heavly stocked and turning over 20X per. hour. I guess that their is something to be said about "don't fix it til' it's broke", but my truck is still running w/ regular maintenance (oil change every 3K). I can't imagine not doing weekly water changes for the health of the tank, not just the fish. Plants and bacteria also benefit. In closing, my advise to all noobies is...
Do your water changes.

 

[wataugachicken]

gravel vac = pointless... only do it for my sand bc the poo is anoying. for the gravel tank i refuse to do it

do you have an rugf? otherwise i suggest you do a gravel vac just for fun and see how much filth is in there. . . gravel is a crap magnet.