First Water Change

Torred1771 · Feb 24, 2012

So after finding put my ph is too high at 8, ive done my first water change. Seems to have immediatly brought down my ph to 7.75 or just under and removed loads of tannins at the same time. Tank looks alot more clear and the fish loved the bubbles that were made when the pouring water was going in.

gforce17 · Feb 26, 2012

Tanks looks very attractive!!

denzil1nil · Feb 26, 2012

nice tank i like it im just starting a new project myself

Torred1771 · Feb 26, 2012

Thanks guys, ive added some friends for my rasboras today, got eight black phantom tetras!

Torred1771 · Feb 28, 2012

So, I hope to do 10% Bi-weekly water changes, if that is enough, if not I can do it once weekly I just worry about the water harming the fish. Once weekly seems like alot because it seems to me as though just as soon as the fish get used to the water, I go and change it again.

Also, when should I clean the filter for the first time. With the tank being relatively new, it would be a shame to wipe out all the media.

Akasha72 · Feb 28, 2012

Hi Torred, looks like we live in the same town! Harrogate water is quite soft and has a fairly neutral PH so I'm guessing the high PH in your tank is due to some bogwood doing it's thing - either that or there's something else in there that's pushing it up. Water changes should bring it down but be careful not to bring it down too quickly or the fish will suffer. Several small one's is better to bring it down slowly.

Once the PH stabilizes once weekly water changes will be fine. I do about 20-30% and the fish love the fresh water so don't worry about it harming them.

As for your media, just rinse it in the old tank water that you've syphoned off and put it back. How long has your tank been set up? My new one was set up at xmas and I've rinsed my sponges just once in that time, mostly because I'd added my old media from my old filter to seed it though and was trying to avoid a mini cycle.

soybean · Feb 28, 2012

Tannins leaching from bogwood will lower ph, not raise it.

Do you know what your tap water ph is? Leave a glass of tap water sat for 24 hours and then test it. It will probably be lower than when immediately out of the tap, giving you an idea of what your tank ph is going to be in between changes.

Fish don't like swings of ph so it's better to have one constant higher one than one dipping up and down. It's better to work with the ph you have rather than fight it so don't be tempted by ph buffers etc.

Don't change your filter sponges. Just give one a rinse in used tank water when you think it's getting a bit clogged. Never all of them at the same time.

I think I've done mine once in six months.

Akasha72 · Feb 28, 2012

Sorry, my mistake Soybean is right. Bogwood lowers the ph ... doh ... it's been a long day. It's coral that pushes it up isn't it? :unsure:

soybean · Feb 28, 2012

Yes, stuff like that

Easy mistake!

Torred1771 · Feb 28, 2012

It was too high because my LFS told me it was too low and told me to buffer it up so thats what I did. It was up at 8 and since I changed the water it has came down to 7.5. My tank has been set up since 5th Feb 2012 and have only done one water change last Friday.

Akasha72 · Feb 28, 2012

which lfs are you using Torred?

Aim for a 20% water change once a week as regular maintenance. More if you start having ammonia/nitrite troubles

balajake · Feb 28, 2012

you should do about 30%-40% water change every week with dechlorinated water that is a similar temp to your tank water. you should also suck out poop from your gravel with a vac or your water syphon

Aqua Tom · Feb 28, 2012

Water Changes are benificial for your fish not harmfull. The more often you can do them & the more water you change the better. Personaly I do a 50% water change every single week. Sometimes I will do a 70% if I have time.

Tom

Torred1771 · Feb 28, 2012

Akasha72 said:
which lfs are you using Torred?

Aim for a 20% water change once a week as regular maintenance. More if you start having ammonia/nitrite troubles

I used to mostly use Harrogate Aquatics on Forest Moor Road near Knaresborough, but I have found that Cascade on Ripon road is much better. What about you?

Aqua Tom said:
Water Changes are benificial for your fish not harmfull. The more often you can do them & the more water you change the better. Personaly I do a 50% water change every single week. Sometimes I will do a 70% if I have time.

50% sounds like a lot to do weekly to be fair. My tank is 90L and the first water change I did was about 12-13 Liters and I planned to do that once weekly, probably every sunday.

Tom

Akasha72 · Feb 28, 2012

I stick with the guys at Forest moor. I had a bad experience with Cascade. I got a baby peppered cory there a couple of weeks ago and it turned out to be poorly. It had lost it's whiskers (and a bit of it's tail), which is either because it was kept on a rough substrate or a very dirty substrate. It also kept allowing itself to float to the surface and just lie there. I tried to get it to eat but it wouldn't and in the end I netted it out as the other fish were trying to eat it alive. It died with in 48 hours of bringing it home and I've now vowed never to go back. I also find that everytime I go in nearly all their fish are fully grown, if I want fish I want them nice and young so I can see them grow up.

I've now got a good relationship going with Moorlands (the one on forest moor) I took them some of my baby platies last week and got huge praise for how healthy they looked :lol: