Maintenance... worth it or not

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
I think by far the most important thing to do is change water if you do this youll be alot more succesful. But if you maintain everything else on a regular basis and test periodically you'll be fine. And with that im going to do my monday water changes.
 
People fiddling with water parameters with chemicals does scare me. So many people spend way too much time screwing with the PH in thier water...no matter how much you try to convince them that CLEAN water is the important piece of the puzzle and putting thier fish on a PH roller coaster is way worse than keeping them at a less than ideal PH.

As for testing...if you aren't doing it, you should be. Seriously the only reason not to do it is you're lazy or too cheap to buy test kits. It really terrifies me to hear that some folks wait until THE FISH ARE GASPING (!?) as a clue that they need to change the water! You CANNOT know the condition of your water by ANY method other than testing. And yes mabye your fish have been "fine" for ten years w/o testing but seriously fish are tough...just because they are surviving does not mean they are happy and healthy!

As for water changes, more are better, bigger is better. I change 75%-80% weekly. I really don't "need" to I guess, I DO test my water at least once a month and the tests hardly ever register *any* nitrate. I figure that if they were in a river they would probably have more fresh water than that! :) You can't beat 0 nitrate! :)

Wolf - you've got it right man.
 
gravel vac = pointless... only do it for my sand bc the poo is anoying. for the gravel tank i refuse to do it
Click to expand...
And how are your nitrates? That's where most of them live.
As for water changes, more are better, bigger is better. I change 75%-80% weekly. I really don't "need" to I guess
Click to expand...
Exactly how I feel! I know I probably don't have to change that much but I take a day off/week to answer a hotline & do water changes.
 
Just try doing a planted tank with ferts! I have to check my Nitrogen, Carbon, Potassium, Iron, and Phosphorus levels bi-weekly, and have to add Flourish Excel daily. =P Sunday water changes 50% RELIGIOUSLY.
 
so, question someone mentioned refusing to do gravel vacs, which is generally the part I am worst about.it seems like it would really build up over time untill there is just way to much and them you have to. but iif the water changes are sufficien and regular, how important is it to actually vacuum the gravel?
 
Extremely--I do gravel cleaning at least every other WC, if not every week (except my planted tank). That is where most of your nitrates are stored.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom