the part i dont get...

[cyberwaste]

i have been thinking about this for a while now...

i know everyone treats there tanks differently some like to have the exact pH, add prime to there water changes, do water changes every week/day, etc etc... all the stuff your "should" do

but some people dont do any of that... and there fish are happy healthy and growing... to me it doesnt make since

example1: i use to work with a guy that had 125g with the most impressive angle fish collection i have ever seen and it was overstocked. he did water changes every sunday(i believe is was 15%) and just ran cold tap water into his tank. also he cleaned his undergravel filter once a year. he has been doing this for years and hasnt lost a fish in years.

example2: my sister has two 47g talls she has a JD and a pleco in one and a huge red belly pacu(i believe she is trying to get rid of it tho) , a blood parrot, pleco and a pepper cory int he other. she doesnt do water changes, just adds water to her tanks when there low. she doesnt change the filters unless there clogged.... pretty much the least amount of work possible and her fish are just as nice if not nicer then most of yours.




some one explain?

and feel to flame as much as you want... i know someone(s) is going to anyway

 

[CLDarnell]

Naww, no one is going to flame. You ask good questions

And I am not sure if I have a good answer. If a keeper gets lucky and achieves a perfect balance, then he may continue to be lucky and not have a lot of health issues. But, one little thing can go wrong and the balance is shot. Frequent water changes are one sure way to control and insure the tank remains stable and healthy.

In your cases, how long have the keepers had the fish? I could probably go for quite awhile without water changes too...well, maybe not, I am pretty well over-stocked in every tank lol. The point is, for example, say you have enough filtration, tank space and good feeding habits to maintain 10 fish in your aquarium. But, you only have 3.
Therefore, you have a good margin for error.

My 150 on the other hand is pushing the limits. If something goes wrong, it's going to be bad...and I have no margin of error. So, I stay on top of things and am constantly checking it.

It would be nice to not have to worry about it as much as I do. But, to be honest, I enjoy checking, cleaning and maintaining the tank.

Hopefully others will have some input.

Take care...

 

[knifegill]

I agree. Those are frail setups just waiting for something to go wrong. I think of water changes sort of like exercise. Keeps the system fresh and close to what's in the pipes so that I can do a 90% water change on a whim and it won't matter. The longest I go for most tanks without a change is two weeks, after which I will beg for redemption by doing a few extra water changes in the week to follow.

*Exception: My guppy never ever gets water changes at all and he's two years old in the same tank, about two gallons of water and pothos everywhere. TDS is through the roof, but guppies like high TDS anyway. For most species like catfish and other amazon-type fish, low TDS (or whatever is coming out of the tap) is a good rule of thumb.

And, yes, I saw a lady with three or four large koi in a 125g and they looked amazing. Sometimes I want to shoot myself but then I remember that tanks like that are more likely to crash and those fish will probably not live very long.

 

[prober]

I agree with Cliff, and would add that those fish just got used to the environment they have been living in. I have seen people with similar tanks and when they try to add new fish, the new fish quickly die because they could not adapt to the level of nitrates in the tank.

Sort of like the sherpas in Nepal that grew up on Mount Everest. They can survive in that deadly environment because they grew up there and their bodies have adapted to it. We cannot last and would die if we stayed there.

 

[cyberwaste]

the guy i use to work with has had his for prolly 10+ years hes an OG MFK

and my sister is 3 years almost 4



hey cliff! hows Omaha?

 

[CLDarnell]

hey cliff! hows Omaha?

It's still cold! But, there's a glimmer of hope on the horizon. The week-end is supposed to be in the 40's

(most likely followed by a winter storm warning, frigid temps and below zero wind chills! lol...gotta love the Midwest, huh?)

 

[cyberwaste]

It's still cold! But, there's a glimmer of hope on the horizon. The week-end is supposed to be in the 40's

(most likely followed by a winter storm warning, frigid temps and below zero wind chills! lol...gotta love the Midwest, huh?)

yeah prolly i work outside so anything above 32 degrees is nice lol and your right all the snow will melt and then we will get something crazy ...

 

[Jc1119]

Lot of it just boils down to 1) fairly hardy species and 2) luck.
Once acclimated, most fish can adapt to elevated nitrate levels as long as they rise slowly and stay pretty stable. If your sister did a 50% water change tomorrow, she might very well kill some of her fish. Back in the day, fishkeepers believed old water was better for fish. Proof always lied in the fact that after a moderate water change, they suffered loses. They believed the new water was killing their fish. In actuality, it was the change itself that killed the fish, even if it were for the better.

Systems like those are just ticking time bombs. If, and usually when something goes wrong, it usually proves devastating. I believe in overfiltering and understocking my tanks, if for nothing other than added insurance against disaster. Way more margin of error in a syst like that.

But the thing that aggravates me is, really, how long does it take to change half the water once every week or so? I just did a 50% change in my 60 and my 20, and it took like 30 minutes for both tanks. It's kinda like owning a dog, but never grooming it or keeping it's shots up to date. Sure, it can be done, but owning pets brings responsibility. Water is pretty cheap and a bottle of prime lasts forever. Water changes do alot of beneficial things for your fish.....

 

[CLDarnell]

^well said