Changing water in smaller increments

[squirley]

Does anyone do their WC in smaller amounts? Such as 5% once a week instead of 20% monthly. I believe it may be better to change out smaller percentages of water in the WC because all of the water parameters recommend small changes to stats like pH and salinity. If this is the case then changing out 20% of the water all at once might increases the range that the water parameters go from high to low or low to higher ratings.

 

[Fishmanic]

It is best to do larger water changes to remove water pollution from fish waste, rotting leaves etc. At minimum, I would change 50% or higher each time. I go about 3 weeks between changes on my 5 gallon tank and then do a 75% water change. I only have 2 tiny ember tetras in the tank so due to low stocking, I can increase time between changes. If I had a fully stocked tank, I would do a large WC every 7 days.

 

[Magnum Man]

I think the idea is that the clean water coming in, is better than the tank water that your fish have been pooping in for a month... in a perfect world, I would change every week... sometimes it goes as long as 3 weeks, and my water charge draw tube is 9 inches long, so I estimate I change between 1/3, and 1/2 the water each change, depending on tank dimensions

 

[Essjay]

The late Byron explained the reason behind regular water changes -

Regular Partial Water Changes

Byron Hosking November, 2010 (rev April 2021) Nothing is more important when it comes to aquarium maintenance than regular partial water changes. The adage “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” certainly applies here. One frequently reads of products that will reduce the need for...

www.fishforums.net

 

[Gertrudae]

That depends – some fish cannot tolerate major changes in water chemistry. For this reason, they are rarely found in stores.

If you change 5% daily instead of 35% weekly, you are effectively changing less water. You can think of it as removing some of the water that you changed the day before and the day before that, and so on. After a week, there is less fresh water in the system than if you had done a single, larger water change of 35%.

I do not carry out regular water changes in almost all of my aquariums. But they are only very moderately stocked and there are lots of plants. This has worked well for decades. Fish faeces are converted into nutrients for the plants, rotting leaves provide welcome humic substances, and I have snails that help break down organic matter.
However, some fish with high demands for fresh, flowing water are not happy with this regime and get the usual water changes.

There are so many ways to go!

 

[Rusty_Shackleford]

I perform weekly water changes faithfully, every Monday. Once every so often it gets pushed till Tuesday, but I never ever miss a water chamge amd think oh I'll just do it next week.
I do however change less water in the winter months and more in the warmer months. This is done for a couple of reasons, first I want to simulate a difference between thr warm wet season and the cooler dry season. I also want to avoid nitrogen bubbles in my water during the cold months where the tap water feels.line ice water .

 

[gwand]

That depends – some fish cannot tolerate major changes in water chemistry. For this reason, they are rarely found in stores.

If you change 5% daily instead of 35% weekly, you are effectively changing less water. You can think of it as removing some of the water that you changed the day before and the day before that, and so on. After a week, there is less fresh water in the system than if you had done a single, larger water change of 35%.

I do not carry out regular water changes in almost all of my aquariums. But they are only very moderately stocked and there are lots of plants. This has worked well for decades. Fish faeces are converted into nutrients for the plants, rotting leaves provide welcome humic substances, and I have snails that help break down organic matter.
However, some fish with high demands for fresh, flowing water are not happy with this regime and get the usual water changes.

There are so many ways to go!

Many of the cognoscenti on the forum frown upon the idea of self sustaining tanks. Out of ignorance I hold no opinion. Give me an example of one of your self sustaining tanks. Tank size, livestock, plant density, substrate and GH etc. What are the important elements that contribute to a successful equilibrium?

 

[FranciscoB]

….such as 5% weekly versus 20% per month…
This is foreign to me. I change between 80-90% weekly in all my tanks. Occasionally, two of my tanks don’t get their change for two weeks. I, and the fish notice the difference and suffer for it.
If water is of similar parameters, it is just not true that some fish don’t take well to larger changes. Or, I see no proof of it, but see proof that skimping on water changes is deleterious.