WATER CHANGES: How much/often?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
You really see a big difference when nitrates are low and water changes are regularly done. The most important difference to me is growth. They just grow so much faster when the water is changed regularly . Then everything else follows... coloration ,vigor etc..

I can even make a bet that any fish from Neos tank will grow much faster than mine. Nevermind if i do waterchanges every 3-4 days and i feed the most nutrious food available. Why? because Neoprodigy has a continous water drip system and his water params are as close to perfect all the time.
 
I do 40% water changes every 3-4 weeks. I dont lose fish to poor water quality. I lose them because ive allowed them to kick the **** out of each other! :eek:
 
baddfish said:
I do 40% water changes every 3-4 weeks. I dont lose fish to poor water quality. I lose them because ive allowed them to kick the **** out of each other! :eek:
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you obviously have no idea what you are doing.
 
Frequencey of water changes also have a lot to do with the bioload you tanks are carying. Water changes should not be used to remove amonia as your filters should be taking care of that. You must make shure your filtration is up to task.
 
I have a very crowded 180 gallon community aquarium which requires a 50% water change every 7-10 days otherwise the Nitrates (NO3) gets well above 100 PPM. I feed 2 chicken pork hotdogs per day or the equivalent in shrimp or beef heart, together with 1/2 cup of Silver Cup brand trout pellets, both floating and sinking type. In the past I have been able to go a month without a water change but at that time I was keeping only 2 Oscars and a Jaguar. I test the water nearly every day and use the Nitrate level as an indication of how often to change the fish tank water.

For filling my aquariums quickly I have added two water faucet valves to my washing machine hot and cold water supply. They feed a 2 foot “Y” connection connected to a good quality garden hose with a plastic Home Depot PVC ball valve. I can mix the water to any desired temperature and get about 150 gallons before the hot water tank has run out. An average water change takes about 6-7 minutes.

How much new water can you add at one time? One day I came home to discover all my fish, about a dozen assorted types and sizes, flopping on the bottom of the aquarium in less than 1” of water. The power had gone off and my anti-siphon hole in the pump return pipe had become plugged. The sump overflowed and the tank was nearly dry. I turned on the fill water hose and adjusted the temperature to what seemed ok. I dumped in some Seachem Prime and let the 180 gallon aquarium fill up. All the fish made it but my 10” Tinfoil Barbs were a bit woozy for a while.

If you can keep you fish tank water PH at about the same level as the incoming city or well water supply, it has been my experience that you can do virtually any size water change you want without harm to your fish. I have a large bag of crushed coral in my tank sump to buffer the PH and add trace minerals. Without the coral to hold the PH at about 7.0, I must add 1 or 2 tablespoons of baking soda per day to prevent a PH crash. I have a very large fish load and most reasonable aquarists would not have to go to this extreme.

This is a photo of my 180 gallon community aquarium during a 50% water change.

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if you are having problems with fin rot then you are doing something very wrong... water changes should not have anything to do with finrot.

i suggest getting some test kits and testing your water.
 
so much discussion on water changes. water changes are to remove the nitrates after the bactiria in the tanks scrubs the ammonia and nitrites and turn them into nitrates. as they say,
"the solution to pollution is dullition!"

therfore, water changes should be done in relation to your nitrate levels. now, it is possible to create a biofilter for nitrates, they will be turned into nitrogen gas. they aren't as easy to maintain as the ammonia and nitrite bacteria filters. and they require low oxigen levels, and NO DITRIUS or you will have a nitrate producing factory! so you need more substrate or lighter bioload, and a place with low oxigen levels. with a modrate bioload and and extra deep substrate, I went 6 months between water changes, when i tested the water before i changes, i had no ammonia, nitrites or nitrate leves at all. my PH was at 7.2. no im not saying that water changes aren't needed, im saying that a blanket statement for ANYTHING in fishkeeping is silly. monitory your water quality and act appropietly and that should keep all tanks healthy!

(by the way, i have since swapped all tanks around and I'm doing my water changes every 1-2 weeks as the tanks cycle back in!)
 
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