How Often And On What Signs.....waterchange ?

[delkimgreen1]

Ok still only a month into the hobby but seems to be going ok, tank is cycled ph is stable at 7.4 ammonia and nitrite stable at 0 and nitrate hovers around about 4ppm. Plants alive and thriving and no fish deaths for nearly three weeks. My question is how often should i do a 25% water change ? I will be doing one at the weekend anyway as i want to flush the filter medium ( in tank water of course) been told to do this every month or so to keep filter efficient. but is once a month sufficient for water changes being as the test readings are all spot on?
 
delkimgreen
 

 

[Alasse]

The amount is dependant on stock type, amount, feeding regime to name a few
 
I try to change weekly, regardless of test readings (not that i test often if i am honest), though some tanks can go fortnightly before changes.....some are 90% change, some are 50% change

 

[delkimgreen1]

well its a 36 gallon tank and stocked with 4 swords 4 mollies 4 male guppies and 8 neon tetras. I tend to feed once a day in the evenings with flaked food and only as much as they will eat within about 5 minutes. In about a fortnight all being well i intend to buy 4 or 5 rainbows and a fortnight after that complete my stocking with 4 or 5 corys of varying types.

 

[Munroco]

A weekly 25% change is fine I think. IMO you would be better getting 5 corys of the same type.

 

[fluttermoth]

Corydoras should always be kept in groups of at least six, of the same species.
 
As for water changes; weekly is best, with the % varying according to stocking. Aim to keep the nitrate at no more than 20ppm higher than what's in your tap water; there are other reasons for water changing, apart from reducing nitrate, but it's a good guide.

 

[delkimgreen1]

Ok thanks for info will do a weekly 25.% and see how it goes

 

[l_l_l]

I do weekly 25% water changes no mather what.
I noticed that when I do that, my fish are more active and their colors are way more vibrant.

 

[delkimgreen1]

Yes i believe the nutrients and minerals in the water are boosted by regular changes and it only takes about 35 mins from beginning to end so not even very time consuming.

 

[Byron]

No one has yet mentioned the real reason for water changes, and this is something that really cannot be measured with tests.  If you wait for pH to lower, or nitrates to rise, it is already too late, as the fishs' health and the biological system has been compromised.  The goal with water changes is to prevent, not cure, the problem.  Just think of it as comparable to our living a healthy lifestyle...you will be sick much less often if at all.
 
Water changes are the only way to remove all the "stuff" that inhibits fish health and development.  Filtration cannot deal with all this, hence the water change.  Fish expel toxins regularly, whether ammonia, urine, waste, pheromones, and allomones.  Microbial populations need to be reduced.  Some minerals need to be replenished.  Bacterial processes usually do not remove the toxin but only change it into another form that is also toxic.  When you consider that in nature these fish never come into contact with most of this because the ratio of fish to water volume is so enormous, and the water is being carried away or the fish swim away, you can see how important the water change is for an aquarium.  It is also the only way to ensure stability in the water chemistry.
 
Turning to your aquarium and the stocking, I would do a weekly water change of no less than half the tank volume.  Some of the fish mentioned are not small and will have more of an impact on the water quality.  On the filter cleaning, this can be weekly or less often, depending upon the filter and how fast the detritus accumulates.  I rinse my sponge filters every week, the canisters every 2-3 months.  With fairly well planted tanks the filter is only moving the water around and removing particulate matter as the plants are doing your real filtering of the water quality.
 
I rarely test, but periodically I do just to check, and the fact that the pH, GH and nitrate never varies over months and even years is the sort of test result you want to see, assuming of course the numbers are good and where they should be to start with.  Get into the habit of regular substantial water changes, and your fish will be healthy and happy.
 
Byron.

 

[delkimgreen1]

Ok thanks, starting to realise theres more to this fish keeping lark then meets the eye.

 

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Ok thanks, starting to realise theres more to this fish keeping lark then meets the eye.

 

 
 
There is, but the basics are pretty simple.
 
 
Once you have an established bacterial colony (through cycling), the biggest key to having minimal problems is: regular water changes.  All of the biggest issues that arise, arise as a result of poor husbandry (specifically, too small, or too infrequent water changes).  
 
The next biggest issue to watch for is adding new things to your tank.  Generally adding new plants means that you will only be taking the chance of adding snails, but can harbor disease or other 'hitchhikers' on occasion.   Adding fish is the bigger danger, as adding new fish can add diseases to your tank.  So, having a QT can go a long way to eliminating that problem.  Keep the fish in the QT for a month (give or take) and watch them for signs of disease before adding them to your main tank, and you can eliminate adding disease to your tank.  If you don't have a QT, then be VERY careful about the stock you buy... know the store you are buying from.  Be a 'regular' and check on their tanks, even when you are not planning to buy from them to see how the tanks look, how the fish look, when they are stocked, etc. 
 
 
So, really easy:
 
Step 1: Do proper water changes (including vacuuming).
Step 2: Be careful what you add to the tank that could bring in disease or hitchhiker.
Step 3: Continual observation to watch for issues that may arise.

 

[delkimgreen1]

good advice ! thanks