Water Changes

[hunglikeafish3611]

Hey Guys,
I have a Tiger Oscar, a Jack Dempsey and a leopard pleco. All of them are relatively small but seem to produce mucho waste. I was wondering how often I should clean out the poop and do water changes. I have a 55 gallon tank so i tend to do 5 gallon waste removals about every day to keep the poop cleaned out. Is this a good thing or should I wait a week or three days to clean it out and do a large water change? Any suggestions?

 

[benzjamin13]

What kind of filteration do you have on it? I do 50% water changes weekly in my tanks. Even when I had Cichlids, I just always did my water changes once a week at 50%.

 

[hbluehunter]

I also just do 50% a week and i have alot of poop machines in my tank... But if it's too bad there's nothing wrong with cleaning more often..

 

[hunglikeafish3611]

i have a 75 gallon marineland biowheel on my 55 gallon tank....so plenty of water is going throught it but the amount of buildup on the tank floor is outrageous sometimes....

 

[FSM]

That really isn't a lot of filtration for those fish. Is it a penguin 350? You could add another filter to help keep the tank clean. Doing lots of small water changes won't remove as much nitrate as one big one, so large ones are more efficient.

 

[benzjamin13]

With the fish you have, I'd say get some more filteration. A Fluval 405 would be a good addition.

 

[pattycakescichlids]

On all my cichlid tanks I have double the required filtration. My oscar gets a 30 to 40 % water change at least once a week. Sometimes twice a week.

 

[hunglikeafish3611]

yeah its a penguin 350....so you are saying that i need double the filtration and to do 50% water changes weekly? what about daily poop detail taking out about 10% of the water?

 

[piggy67]

I HEARD SOME WHERE ON THIS SITE SOOOO THIS IS A QUOTE....DILUTION IS THE SOLUTION TO POLUTION.....SOUNDED GOOD TO ME ....BUT I TRY TO DO WEEKLY WATER CHANGES.SOMETIMES I GET TOO BUSY AND THEY GET PUT OFF A COUPLE OF DAYES...NOW REMEMBER I LOVE MY FISH...i DON'T THINK A COUPLE OF DAYS OR EVEN A WEEK EXTRA IS GONNA HURT...NO FLAMMING..every one has their own opion,and not just on this subject......sooooo bottom line if it works work it....

 

[tyl089]

def think you need some extra filtration. Oscars and plecos are def. poop machines, and honestly, tried bio-wheel before, and really not impressed at all. If you like hang on the back, I can't recommend Aqua Clear enough. Get a 110 and you probably will be surprised with the results. I also change my water 50-65% everyweek. Large water changes get rid of more nitrates.