Frequency For Water Changes...

[WillyRBeek]

I have 2 25 gallon tanks, and my current water changing cycle is 20% every 4-5 days in each tank. From what i've been told this is very good, but there is a problem looming on the horizon.
I'm in the process of enlisting in the armed forces(Navy to be exact). My paperwork is all handed in and is being processed and in the next couple of months i'm going to be off to Basic Training for about 3 months. I've talked it over with my mother and she said she'll feed and do the water changes in the tanks while i'm gone, but she isn't going to be doing them as often as I do them.

So my 1st question is: How often and how much % of the water should she changing while i'm away to keep things running smoothly?

Now after i'm done Basic i'll be attending a school to complete my trade training for the military in British Columbia, from anywhere between 1-2 years, and i'm thinking about requesting to be posted there when i'm finished(Which will require me shipping my fish clear across the country, as i'm in Nova Scotia). Eventually when I have some more money and am set up in my new place, I plan on upgrading to a significantly larger tank(Thinking 55+ gallons). Now, being in the Navy, I can expect to be away from home for many months at a time. I shouldn't have a problem finding someone willing to come in every day or 2 and feed the fish, but again, there's the issue of water changes. I've been told that the larger a tank is, the more self sufficient it is, and can go for much longer periods of time without water changes.

So my 2nd question is: If I got a tank that was anywhere from about 55-80 gallons, how often would I need to have someone come in and do water changes while i'm away? And roughly how large would the water changes have to be?

 

[RedeyesUK]

As to your first question, it depends on how stocked your tank is. If it's a reasonable load (ie not overstocked/lots of messy fish), then I'd say 30% every couple of weeks should be sufficient, although obviously the more the better.

It might be a good idea to try leaving your tanks for a couple of weeks and check your nitrate levels to see how they build up over the two weeks. If there's not a huge rise, then that's probably as good an indicator as you're likely to get. If it does rise quite a bit, then more, smaller changes would be better.

 

[WillyRBeek]

As to your first question, it depends on how stocked your tank is. If it's a reasonable load (ie not overstocked/lots of messy fish), then I'd say 30% every couple of weeks should be sufficient, although obviously the more the better.

It might be a good idea to try leaving your tanks for a couple of weeks and check your nitrate levels to see how they build up over the two weeks. If there's not a huge rise, then that's probably as good an indicator as you're likely to get. If it does rise quite a bit, then more, smaller changes would be better.

Well their current stocking is:

Community Tank - 5 black neon tetras, 2 platys, 6 Corydora Catfish, 1 BN pleco, 2 Dalmation Mollies, 1 Dwarf Gourami

Angelfish Tank - 3 Angelfish(1 about 3-4 inches, 1 about 1 1/2-2 inches, 1 very about 1 inch), 3 Corydora Catfish, 3 BN Plecs

 

[Truck]

IMO you would be fine to do 30% every 2 weeks

 

[foley69]

ideally i do 15% a week that way there no chance of some nasties builing up over the fornight

 

[Truck]

since his tanks are lightly stocked, they will be fine without a WC for two weeks at a time, providing a larger WC is done

 

[treefella83]

i used to be in the army and had a fishtank in my room and finding somebody to look after the tank while i was away was easy because every one wanted to feed the fish.
the trouble was nobody understood why we do water changes so it was rarely done or not done at all.
if you are going to ship your fish to a new location are you sure about the quality of the tap water.
what im trying to say is if your fish are not compatible with the water at the new location you might have to use chemicals to buffer the water which if not done can cause problems.
i know what im saying sounds silly but i went to africa for 6 weeks and when i came back i found out that the lights had been left on for the full 6 weeks no water changes or filters cleaned and all the food gone and not many fish left alive.
i hope you have better luck than me.
if you have a larger tank it does not mean you can relax a bit with your water quality the same percentage of water changed in a 25 gallon tank should be the same as a 55 gallon.
i have always done a 25 percent water change in all my tanks since i left the army 13 years ago and cannot remember the last time i purchased any medications for sick fish.
keep in contact with the forum and let us know how you get on.
good luck for the future

 

[WillyRBeek]

Thanks for all the help folks! You've helped put my mind at ease a little bit. I'd really hate the thought of having to give up my little fishes because of my career.