anyone read this months TFH, the article on water changes, i was supprised to see the results of their tests, im reading from the article right now it says a change of 20% a week always will leave one months worth of pollution in your tank, all the time. so at 20% a week your fish will always have around 30 days worth of waste accumulation in their water. and ten percent leaves about 67 days worth of waste . it says at 50% a week you will still have, all the time around a weeks worth of waste accumulation in your water. and 80% leaves a few days of accumulation all the time, i was very suprised to read this, i usually do around 75% a week but im gonna step it up to 75% twice a week, that should leave almost nothing im ny water, anyway, if you dont believe me, get this months TFH the December 09 one, with the jellyfish on the cover
TFH article, "a mathematical investigion of water changes"
- Thread starter golcondorus
- Start date
i have the article and i read it but i can't spare the time allotted (2) 75% water changes per week on 3 tanks. it's impossible to have a perfectly clean tank.
I would be interested to see how flawed their methodology was LOL
applying a mathematical model to a dynamic system usually never works.
too many variables to account for. each tank is different. depends on stocking, feeding levels, removal of wastes before breakdown to nitrate etc etc.
water change your fish people.
applying a mathematical model to a dynamic system usually never works.
too many variables to account for. each tank is different. depends on stocking, feeding levels, removal of wastes before breakdown to nitrate etc etc.
water change your fish people.
I read this months and last. very good reading.
What you forgot to mention was that total waste number was for day 7. And every other day had less total pollution.
I thought 1 50% weekly WC equaled 14days total pollution units i there graph?
What you forgot to mention was that total waste number was for day 7. And every other day had less total pollution.
I thought 1 50% weekly WC equaled 14days total pollution units i there graph?
Bderick67;3606088; said:Well then, no more water changes for me.
Guess I'll have to read the article but it really don't seem make sense. On the 6th or seveth day before a 50% I'll have more then a weeks worth of waste that is for sure.
Ditto for me. Imagine being so deluded for all those years. Damn defective test kits.
Bderick67;3606088; said:Well then, no more water changes for me.
Guess I'll have to read the article but it really don't seem make sense. On the 6th or seveth day before a 50% I'll have more then a weeks worth of waste that is for sure.
I reskimmed over the article. They say that a weekly 50% WC will have 14 days worth of total pollution units after it has balanced. Which the article is based off of (total pollution units or PU's ).
brianp;3606303; said:
So what type of test are you using to find the total pollution in your tank?
Nitrate is only a very small part of the total pollution in a tank.
The common wisdom is correct - that beneficial bacteria break down the toxic parts of waste and that the fish can live with higher levels of nitrates and other persistent wastes in their tank. However, it's bad for them to have too much of those persistent wastes, so we do water changes.
The amount and frequency of water change that has to be performed depends on SOOOOOOO many factors, including hardiness of fish, amount and frequency of feeding, volume of water, etc.
Play around with this calculator: http://www.theaquatools.com/water-changes-calculator
You'll notice that infrequent, large percentage water changes are most efficient. It gives you a graph of what your waste levels will look like over time, as regular water changes are performed.
So, the simple truth is that fish can live in water with SOME level of nitrates or other persistent wastes, it's just not good for them to be in high concentrations of it. The air in your home likely has 1-15ppm carbon monoxide in it. If it went up to 150ppm, you'd likely be dead.
Every aquarium needs a different amount of water change based on feeding. It's up to YOU to check your nitrate levels (a good indication of persistent wastes in the aquarium) and decide where you want them to be.
The amount and frequency of water change that has to be performed depends on SOOOOOOO many factors, including hardiness of fish, amount and frequency of feeding, volume of water, etc.
Play around with this calculator: http://www.theaquatools.com/water-changes-calculator
You'll notice that infrequent, large percentage water changes are most efficient. It gives you a graph of what your waste levels will look like over time, as regular water changes are performed.
So, the simple truth is that fish can live in water with SOME level of nitrates or other persistent wastes, it's just not good for them to be in high concentrations of it. The air in your home likely has 1-15ppm carbon monoxide in it. If it went up to 150ppm, you'd likely be dead.
Every aquarium needs a different amount of water change based on feeding. It's up to YOU to check your nitrate levels (a good indication of persistent wastes in the aquarium) and decide where you want them to be.