i am being told i need to do water changes in my tank. i have 46 vow front n had it for bout 8 months aand never changed my water i just add when it gets low. Is this ok or should i do water changes and if i should how much water do i change and how often do i change my water???
water changes
- Thread starter cichlidmanjss
- Start date
Of course you need to do water changes!! How much and how often depend on what you have in the tank...
So, whatcha got????
So, whatcha got????
Water changes are necessary to remove Nitrates and replenish trace eliments. Also adding water for evaporated water is bad, water evaporates but the minerals contained in the water do not, so currently your tank has a very heany load of minerals. Plus during water changes you should be vacuuming the gravel in your tank.
Give info on your tank and we can recommend the amount of water changes you should be doing
Tank size--46 gallon
filter type--???
fish type--???
how many fish--???
what do you feed them--???
do you have live plants--???
Give info on your tank and we can recommend the amount of water changes you should be doing
Tank size--46 gallon
filter type--???
fish type--???
how many fish--???
what do you feed them--???
do you have live plants--???
Water changes are used to remove excess nitrates. How much & how often depends greatly on the inhabitants. Even w/out testing, 50% per week won't hurt.Testing your water periodically will give you more info to create a W/C schedule. "T"
I was just thinking that if you haven't done any water changes for 8 months you might want to start slowly because of the possibility of a pH spike.
Wow..8 months and no water change? I'm surprised you have fishes alive and kicking. 
Do yourself a favor and do very small water changes, like 5-10% 3 times a week for about 2 weeks. This way you won't cause a ph shock to any inhabitants you have now. After getting into the habit of that, do at least 2 w/c a week about 25-35% depending on your bioload.
Hell, even betta's in those ridiculous fish bowls gets water changes at least once a week. Also, importantly when you do w/c make sure you use some type of dechlorinator. If you can, use a garbage can (CLEAN) or some type of rubbermaid and fill it with your tap water, add some dechlorinator and if you have an extra heater put it in there and match the temp of your tank.
Let it sit for a couple of days before you fill up your tank. If you have a python or can get one, I'd suggest you do so.
Do yourself a favor and do very small water changes, like 5-10% 3 times a week for about 2 weeks. This way you won't cause a ph shock to any inhabitants you have now. After getting into the habit of that, do at least 2 w/c a week about 25-35% depending on your bioload.
Hell, even betta's in those ridiculous fish bowls gets water changes at least once a week. Also, importantly when you do w/c make sure you use some type of dechlorinator. If you can, use a garbage can (CLEAN) or some type of rubbermaid and fill it with your tap water, add some dechlorinator and if you have an extra heater put it in there and match the temp of your tank.
Let it sit for a couple of days before you fill up your tank. If you have a python or can get one, I'd suggest you do so.