Time to cut down on Water changes

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M

Mel O

Gambusia
MFK Member
Nov 26, 2009
179
7
18
Seattle
The time has come for me to think about ways to cut down on water changes. I feel guilty about how much water I "waste". Also the cost of my water bill keeps rising every month. With the 3,000 plus gallons of water I maintain in my home raising my Central and South American Cichlids I currently do as much as 10% daily and 60% biweekly/weekly water changes to each of my several very large tanks. I have been very successfully keeping my fish happy/healthy this way for well over 35 years.

Times are changing. Technology is getting better and better each day and our environment needs us to conserve more. With that in mind I thought I would toss out this new subject to see if others are thinking along these lines and what ideas everyone has to keep our fish in their best condition and reduce water changes at the same time.

I will start the discussion with a new product I have heard about (but not used yet) it is call EcoBio Rocks and looks interesting. Here is a link for it.
http://www.onedersave.com/ Has anyone tried this stuff or something similar?
 
The "how it works" link explains the nitrogen cycle: ammonia --> nitrite --> nitrate. We still need to take the nitrates out of the water, there is no solution to this but WC. There is nothing here in the link that says anything about taking out nitrates (excepts plants and "microbes" in the gravel convert it into nitrogen).

Mel O;4059971; said:
The time has come for me to think about ways to cut down on water changes. I feel guilty about how much water I "waste". Also the cost of my water bill keeps rising every month. With the 3,000 plus gallons of water I maintain in my home raising my Central and South American Cichlids I currently do as much as 10% daily and 60% biweekly/weekly water changes to each of my several very large tanks. I have been very successfully keeping my fish happy/healthy this way for well over 35 years.

Times are changing. Technology is getting better and better each day and our environment needs us to conserve more. With that in mind I thought I would toss out this new subject to see if others are thinking along these lines and what ideas everyone has to keep our fish in their best condition and reduce water changes at the same time.

I will start the discussion with a new product I have heard about (but not used yet) it is call EcoBio Rocks and looks interesting. Here is a link for it.
http://www.onedersave.com/ Has anyone tried this stuff or something similar?
Click to expand...
 
Nitrates are only a small part of the picture. The DOC's need to be removed to.

If you want to change less water, keep fewer fish.
 
Rocks? You'd need boulders for your setups:D. What works for me, when it comes to nitrates, are plant cuttings. I start philodendron cuttings under moderate light and eventually the roots reach the bottom of the tank. They're easy to maintain and do a great job with nitrates. Again, you'd probably need a forest growing out of that 1000gal.
You may also get results by using an algae scrubber. A massive one.
 
Trace elements and buffering capacity are replaced through changes too. Just water your garden and lawn with the old water. Maybe brush your teeth with it too!

C'mon Mel, you're from SEATTLE! Water is the last thing you should be worried about conserving!
 
flowerpower;4060037; said:
Rocks? You'd need boulders for your setups:D. What works for me, when it comes to nitrates, are plant cuttings. I start philodendron cuttings under moderate light and eventually the roots reach the bottom of the tank. They're easy to maintain and do a great job with nitrates. Again, you'd probably need a forest growing out of that 1000gal.
You may also get results by using an algae scrubber. A massive one.
Click to expand...

I started using philodendron's in one 270 as an experiment about 4 months ago. So far it has not grown big enough to have an impact but it is going well. That is the approach I will be taking for now. It has not reduced the need for the water changes (at least not yet) but it is providing cover for my Fred's fry and is pretty to look at in the tank...
 
Why instead of cutting down on water changes don't you invest in a rainwater collection system? It may not completely replace your need for using public water but it could certainly help reduce it. I'm sure you get tons of rain there in seattle, though I cant say this would work for you because you would need room for a large setup to collect enough water to make it practical.
 
The aquaipure filter can be effective at removing nitrates but as stated above its only part of the equation. Unfortunately, water changes are still necessary. More water fewer fish......
 
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