Water changes

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MarkTL

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Mar 29, 2012
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New york
Are weekly water changes really necessary? I have a 180 gal and I have always followed the weekly water change rule until recently. I bought a master test kit a few months back and have learned how to use and accurately read it now. I was wondering, are water changes really a must when you have adequate filtration? Obvioulsy water changes will be done on my tank until I find out some answers. My water is crystal clear and I havent done a water change in three weeks. Nitrites at zero.


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Imo yes especially if you have large fish or heavy stocking Nitrites at 0 good but what are your nitrates after 3 weeks cause nitrates dont filter out and water changes are needed to remove it. Minerals in water are also used up by the fish changing it replaces them. Over time your ph will also drop. Weekly water changes may not be a a must on some setups but with most monsterfish i consider it a must. My tanks with the largest bioloads on them get 2 75% water changes a week

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I don't feel it's always needed weekly for certain stock. If your finding they are not needed weekly do them every two weeks. That's mostly what I do on 2 of my tanks. Sometimes if I have a free moment though I'll swap some water out just if I want to or if I want to clean something out.

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It all depends honestly on the bioload.....for my 4x florida gars my redtail cat hybrid bichir and texas chiclid in a 220 gallon I do a 50% water change every week and siphon crap out every 3 days.... i would do a weekly if I was u it just keeps your fish that much happy and healthy...

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MarkTL said:
Thanks for all the input...testing nitrates as we speak...what do you all believe is a healthy nitrate level?


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For marine nothing above 30.
For freshwater, read an article somewhere say anything below 400 is non toxic to the fishes.
But personally I will not go above 100, algae is the main problem.



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Looks like im at about 40-60 right now...have almost no algae in the tank, could the uv sterilizer have someething to do with that...I know that causes algae growth inside of the filtration unit


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MarkTL said:
Looks like im at about 40-60 right now...have almost no algae in the tank, could the uv sterilizer have someething to do with that...I know that causes algae growth inside of the filtration unit


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If nitrate is at 40-60, your tank is doing great. UV steriliser is a great help in algae control. I'm personally doing 75% weekly, nitrate at around 60-80.


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