another noob question

[black_bull]

Another noob question:

Is it okay to only change water when the nitrates climb too high? My ammonia and nitrites are both 0 ppm, and my nitrates are about 5. Can I wait until they are almost up to 20 to do a water change and only change water when the nitrates approach 20? Am I wrong in thinking that removing nitrates is usually the only reason to perform water changes? Also, how long will it take the nitrates to go from 0 to 20? A month? Two weeks? I’m looking forward to reading your responses...

 

[qwikimpss]

Ah, it's really not too much work to do it once a week but if u want you can do them once a month....just change a lil more at once, like 50%. If u do them once a week u can get away with 15% a week (better with 25%) For best fish health I would definately reccommend 25% a week.

 

[Squishiebabe]

Lol, I don;t really know as I don't even test my water( kits are too expensive atm, I just get them to test before I buy a new fish at the shop)
But a 20-25% water change once a week, and gravel vac every 2 weeks is what I've read alot of, Of course theres a million variations...whatever works for you and your tank I guess...I'm interested in peoples' replies as well...

 

[black_bull]

I'm currently changing about 1/3 of the water per week. The reason I ask this isn't because I'm lazy (I don't mind water changes) but it just seems like if the only reason to change water is to get rid of high nitrites, and my nitrites aren't high... why do a water change? Please correct me if I'm wrong, because I don't know for sure that nitrates are the only reason for water changes.

EDIT: spelling

 

[qwikimpss]

Ya, everyone has a system that works. Personally I do 25% with a gravel vac every week.

 

[rdd1952]

Personally, I change water once a week on all my tanks. Water changes aren't just to remove nitrates. They are also to vacuum the trash/waste from the bottom, generally clean up and give the fish a cleaner environment to live in. IMO 2 weeks between water changes is the absolute max.

 

[Tolak]

It all depends on the stocking of the tank, and how efficient the filter is at taking care of accumilated waste. I'm not a big one for doing water tests, I can pretty much tell by the fishes' behavior if something isn't right.

I am a water change freak though, as many of my tanks are overstocked. I do have a 10 gallon with 1 nearly dime size angel in it, I haven't changed water in 2 weeks, with a light stocking like that I'm sure it's fine. I also have a couple of 55's, really overstocked with angels, a few plecs, & corys. The really busy tank with bigger plecs & angels gets 50% changed 3 times weekly, the other gets 80% weekly. The rest fall somewhere in between, getting 50% to 75% weekly.

I would do a weekly vac & replace the water lost from that if it keeps the nitrites down below 20. The nitrites may test fine, but debris & associated bacteria will accumilate at the bottom. If you have any bottom dwellers such as corys they won't appreciate the bacteria created from rotting food that you can't test for.

Tolak