Water change with ray's

[Zoodiver]

Matt, how big are the tanks you're talking about?

I was refering to many of the systems I've delt with - from 90 gallon pup tanks all the way up to the big exhibits.

Many of the tanks I see are under filtered. Not enough mechanical, so the excess waste stays in and breaks down, feeding the nitrate /ammonia issue.

 

[Whynot91]

Wow i'd have to be working for the water company to be doing 90% water change every week lol Thats 280 gallons of water a week

Dammit, why did ray's have to be one of my favorite fish?!?! LOL

 

[Just Toby]

I think that there is a danger with very large frequent water changes....the filter bacteria doesnt build up, the day you stop changing water is the day you start your new tank cycle. Water changes are to replenish and refresh, not sustain IMO.

 

[mshill90]

I think that there is a danger with very large frequent water changes....the filter bacteria doesnt build up, the day you stop changing water is the day you start your new tank cycle. Water changes are to replenish and refresh, not sustain IMO.

changing water won't restart your filters if they are already seeded and cycled.

If it did, why would they suggest water changes during a tank cycling?

If you have a lot of chlorine, that might set the filters back if not dechlorinated before hand.

 

[Energy]

I do 30% daily.

 

[hereticlosmorte]

changing water won't restart your filters if they are already seeded and cycled.

If it did, why would they suggest water changes during a tank cycling?

If you have a lot of chlorine, that might set the filters back if not dechlorinated before hand.

technically, really cold water could put your BB into a coma state, so the nitrite and ammonia go unchecked.

also, and this could happen anytime, something happens to your water source and screws your parameters/kill off your BB/fish.

basically what i believe toby is saying is, if you are changing massive amounts of water each day, you could be starving your BB by not leaving enough "dirty" in your tank to keep their colony going.

 

[PeteLockwood]

This is silly. The fish are producing the ammonia constantly. They don't say "ah, it's 10am and I gotta sit with a paper and bust my daily loaf".

The filters are able to keep said constant supply of ammonia in check on a continual basis to the point where we're unable to measure the ammonia level with our hobby-grade test kits. In a cycled tank, ammonia doesn't build up over the week (or month or whatever), it stays at zero.

This means that if you have two tanks, same size, same stock, same feeding, and change water daily on one but only weekly on the other, both tanks will have exactly the same amount of bacteria in the filter. The bacteria multiply to the point where there are enough to handle the ammonia production. There are no more and no less, regardless of how much you change water.


Oh, and really cold water isn't a "regular water change", it's an attempt to kill your fish.

 

[J.Lake]

This is silly. The fish are producing the ammonia constantly. They don't say "ah, it's 10am and I gotta sit with a paper and bust my daily loaf".

The filters are able to keep said constant supply of ammonia in check on a continual basis to the point where we're unable to measure the ammonia level with our hobby-grade test kits. In a cycled tank, ammonia doesn't build up over the week (or month or whatever), it stays at zero.

This means that if you have two tanks, same size, same stock, same feeding, and change water daily on one but only weekly on the other, both tanks will have exactly the same amount of bacteria in the filter. The bacteria multiply to the point where there are enough to handle the ammonia production. There are no more and no less, regardless of how much you change water.


Oh, and really cold water isn't a "regular water change", it's an attempt to kill your fish.

What he says

 

[aprime11b]

I do 30% daily.

how do you have time for this? I can't imagine doing that daily.

 

[buddyboy563]

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