Water Changes- Which is better?

[motorhead1980]

Would like to get some opinions as to what is better. I have a 180 gallon with two 7" Jags which I feed twice a day. I have a fluval FX5 canister, one marineland 350 HOB filter and one marineland 400 HOB filter. Currently I'm chnaging 20 gallons of water everyday. Is it better to keep doing this or change the water less often but a larger amount. As my nitrates out of the tap are about 20ppm, and I use Prime when adding any water. Nitrites and amonia are always both 0ppm.

 

[JRT8783]

Would like to get some opinions as to what is better. I have a 180 gallon with two 7" Jags which I feed twice a day. I have a fluval FX5 canister, one marineland 350 HOB filter and one marineland 400 HOB filter. Currently I'm chnaging 20 gallons of water everyday. Is it better to keep doing this or change the water less often but a larger amount. As my nitrates out of the tap are about 20ppm, and I use Prime when adding any water. Nitrites and amonia are always both 0ppm.

The way you're doing it averages out to about 140 gallons every week... the way you're doing it now is better since your water parameters will stay a bit more consistent. But if u were to do 2 70 gallon water changes a week, there wouldn't be anything wrong or unsafe about that either. I do 2 30-40% water changes on my 125 gallon tank every week that has just 1 9.5" male jag and its worked just fine for me for the 13 months I've had him. I'd just do whatever works best for you...

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[fishrlife]

I personally would add a power head, on a 180 with the filtration you mention + one more Fx5 and ,50% water changes twice a week. If you do this you can add a few more fish.

 

[xraycer]

If you have the time and don't mind the daily w/c then I think what you are doing is great. 20% w/c will cause less of a water temp fluctuation (if using only cold water), so your fish will appreciate that, plus it'll be less wear and tear on your heater(s).

 

[verbal]

I think you can increase the size of your water changes and decrease the frequency. You can get a nearly equivalent reduction in wastes doing a 60%+ water change weekly.

However if your current system works for you, keep doing it.

 

[motorhead1980]

Thanks for the advice, I do have a powerhead rated for a 180, the only draw back to the daily water changes is the time a labor as I do it by bucket (as the tanks are in the basement and not close to a drain or water source). Plus the fact I'm anal and don't like to see poop all over the substrate, and these guys are machines when it comes to this! I guess my only concern was the nitrates creeping up to over 40ppm over a few day period. Do you have any advice as to how fish tolerate these levels over a period of a few days to a week?

 

[duanes]

I also try to do daily (or every other day) water changes.
I find they keep my nitrates down, and alkalinity up, and pH stable.
And because fresh water fish are constantly urinating, if it were me, I would not like to be swimming in my own urine some days more than others.

 

[xraycer]

My 180 is also in my basement and I can't use the outside water faucet since its usually frozen during this time of the year. What I did was I bought those "Pocket Hose" (75ft) and connected them, upstairs, to my washing machine water source using a y adapter.


I don't know how much you're feeding them each time, but if you're like most of us, you're probably over feeding. You're Jags are no longer juvies so you can feed them a lot less which would significantly reduce poop. I would feed them just once every other day.

 

[F1 VET]

Think of ways to reduce nitrates. Plants or Pothos are great solutions! A well established bunch of pothos will greatly reduce nitrates, some experience a 50% decrease even! Not bad for a 10$ plant at your hardware store! Link in my sig




×Go S. Vettel #1 Infiniti Redbull! 4x WDC!!! Congrats on another flawless title and 9 wins back to back in 1 season (record!) See you next year in Australia boys!× <GET BETTER SCHUMI>
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Cheap way to decrease nitrates and keep your fish healthy: http://monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=504763

 

[motorhead1980]

So how to you drain your tank? I'm assuming to fill it you are just connecting to the water source and letting it go? Also where did you buy the pocket hose. Thanks for the info