When you do water testing, the results will tell you when, and how many water changes to do, on your system.
If you do a 50% water change and your pH is 7, but you test 3 days later and your pH is 5.5, it means a water change at 2 days may be needed because the tank water has acidified due to metabolism.
Or.... if you do a 50% water change, test and your nitrate level is 10ppm, but 4 days later, the nitrate level has climbed to 30 ppm, it may mean you needed a water changes after 2 days.
By testing your water, and keeping track (I have kept logs especially when starting a new tank) you learn to judge how your system reacts to water changes, stocking levels, and other factors. Stability in water parameters is what we strive for.
I prefer nitrate to be 5ppm or lower, and pH not to fluctuate more than 1.5 points.
Since you are in school, some chemistry classes with labs could be a big help to understanding the basics or your hobby, and actually make the classes tolerable, and meaningful to real life.
I started out as a fish hobbyist as a kid, and parlayed that impetus into a career as a water chemist, water microbiologist.
The latest nitrate reading on my tank.
To keep stable, low nitrate wate I do moderate daily water changes, that take no more than 10 minutes per day, and have more plants, than fish.
The pH of my tank hovers between 7.8 and 8.2.
. Does a weekly 50 percent Wc as soon as everything is back to normal sound good?
