Newbie Question From An Old Hoot

[chefjimmy]

i would keep checking nitrates and proceed as needed. 20% is nearly 275g. which is alot of water.

 

[dimfer]

Why not use it in the garden or on the lawn. No waste that way and I am sure some fertilizer is int eh water for the plants.

I do, I have a 1.5" diameter hose that siphons the water into my backyard in the summer. but I still hate throwing away approx. 400 gals of water a month during the winter month.

 

[dimfer]

I do water changes based completely on water parameters. I think the more efficient your mechanical filtration is at collecting debris and the more dilligent you are at servicing the filter media the longer you can go between water changes. I service the mech. filters every 7 days. My chosen Nitrate target is 20 PPM. I am able to go 10 to 14 days on my 240 and 20 to 30 days on my 100. I will be converting the 240 to the same style of filtration as the 100 soon.

thanks... would love to reduce my water change to 30 days also.

I think my filters (2) are very efficient in collecting the debris, because they can get dirty. 20 ppm seems to be a reasonable target

 

[dimfer]

i would keep checking nitrates and proceed as needed. 20% is nearly 275g. which is alot of water.

will do this. not just water, electricity also. tank temp drops 4 degrees after waterchange during the cold days of winter. stressful on the fish.

btw, I augment my filtration with this product

 

[rhodes_96]

Ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, ph, temp, are only one half of your water parameters. Generally if you do regular water changes and the above parameters are in check and your system is stable, then you should be ok.

If you are attempting to to extend water changes on a non planted tank then there are other considerations which need to be taken into account such as ORP value, phosphate levels, GH/KH, H2o minerals content. ORP value and mineral content are very important to arowana health. Water lacking proper mineral content and orp values can cause the arowana to be more susceptible to disease and other issues. That's why it's recommended to water change regularly.
If you can monitor and control all these values like in saltwater setups, then I suppose you could extend your water change intervals.

tank temp drops 4 degrees after waterchange during the cold days of winter. stressful on the fish.

4 degrees celsius or Fahrenheit ?

If it's 4 degrees celsius change, you are running a big risk of temp shock complications.
On cold winter days as you describe, pre heat and treat the water before adding to the tank.

 

[Keasarge]

I water change by parameters when my nitrate gets to 20 but that takes a month plus so I do weekly top ups my my tanks are very understocked and I have a lot of filtration