Girl Fight At The Lfs!

[The-Wolf]

My wifes Coldwater tank is a little over stocked....okay its grossly over stocked till we build our pond so her tank needs it but I will cut back on mine a bit.

big mick
in your case 10% every 4 days would be what I'd recomend.
whats the matter with you, get out there and start digging that pond

 

[nurglespuss]

I tend to go for 20% water changes every week, thats fine, I think, so long as you are not overstocked and have good filtration.

 

[stackem evs]

The reaction I'd expect from one of the employees at our LFS would be....
"What's a water change?"

I have been amazed by the different oppionions I have received from different staff, but I suppose we are all entitled to our oppinions, but that doesn't help when beginners are trying to get help. Also you don't get to realise till later is the different standards of knowledge different shops have.

Also amazing is the general detest/hatred of websites and bulletin boards they all have ("don't believe what they say. Its lies all lies")!!

 

[andywg]

I learned the hard way that in a non-planted tank the single easiest way to control algae is to keep the nitrates below 20ppm.

Actually, I find keeping lighting levels lower is a far easier and more successful way of controlling algae in a non planted tank. I have almost no algae on any of my FW tanks as I have comparatively little lighting on them. There is enough light to see the fish and that does me. If you believe my nitrate test kits my nitrates are anywhere from 60-160ppm, but there is no algae.

 

[babybell911]

I change as much water as it takes to getall the muck off the bottom on the sand. It used to be about 50% when I had my Gibby but now I've rehomed him it's more like 30-40% cos there's not as much poop to get xx

 

[Miss Wiggle]

i do 30-40%

oscars tank gets v messy so he needs bigger changes, and binky's tanks so small i don't have time to get all the poop up unless i do a 40% change!

 

[CFC]

as an LFS employee, I think I'll bite my tounge on this one and stay out of it.
oh, dear I'm in it already.

unless you are doing an EI tank 50% water changes on a weekly basis is a little OTT
I'd suggest 20% would benifit the fish better.

Thats a bit of a broad statement there Wolf, 20% may be fine for your average community tank but for anyone keeping large predatory catfish or Cichlids then 40% changes are pretty much mandatory to keep dissolved organics down to levels that are safe, and most stingray ray keepers will change 50 to 60% a week minimum by doing two changes a week.

 

[dwarfgourami]

It's about individual needs isn't it? Once again... Some fish, as mentioned above, are going to make a lot of waste and tbh couldn't care less if you take out half the water or more, others (some of the rarer livebearers spring to mind) are really sensitive to fluctuations in water, so you have to approach water changes on a softly-softly basis. I believe if a tank has been neglected long enough it is possible to kill all its inhabitants dead simply by doing what most of us would regard as a perfectly routine water change. But at least let us say in defence of the poor shop girl, that she was trying to the best of her ability, and she did care about what she thought best for the fish. -

 

[raptorrex]

But at least let us say in defence of the poor shop girl, that she was trying to the best of her ability, and she did care about what she thought best for the fish. -

a point well worth making!

 

[big mick]

My wifes Coldwater tank is a little over stocked....okay its grossly over stocked till we build our pond so her tank needs it but I will cut back on mine a bit.

big mick
in your case 10% every 4 days would be what I'd recomend.
whats the matter with you, get out there and start digging that pond

No digging needed, its going to be a water tank from a loft (or at least thats what they are used for normally).

Im going to wood panel round it and bingo......the digging I'll need to do is deep in my pocket

 

[The-Wolf]

Thats a bit of a broad statement there Wolf, 20% may be fine for your average community tank

I thought the OP had an average community tank

point is noted and valid, as always CFC

 

[tropheus addict]

Amazing how theres so many different ways of water changing.Personally i do 35-40% weekly with cold water straight from tap then dechlorinate as im topping up my Tropheus start courting almost immediately some would say this is a definate no no.Would like to have been a fly on the wall at your local lfs.My tapwater does contain some nitrates though and ive got algae everywhere apart from on the plants the tropheus love it.

 

[Gazoo]

Note to self: make the trip across town to the other LFS next time!

Naw, I say go there once a week so we can hear more entertaining stories.

And I actually thought this topic was going to be about something like a few female bettas not getting along in one tank.

 

[GordonTGopher]

Note to self: make the trip across town to the other LFS next time!

Naw, I say go there once a week so we can hear more entertaining stories.

And get the video up on youtube so we can all enjoy it

Gordon

 

[Josiah]

. I do 25% water changes weekly on all my tanks, except my Ram tank, it's a little overstocked so I do 30% with them(the tank also has extra filtration).