How Often Would I Have To Do Water Changes?

[GoldfishAttentionSpan]

Ok, its kind of a long story, but I have been considering getting out of the fish scence for awhile and getting rid of my tanks. I don't really know why, but my tanks no longer really interest me, and the water changes are a complete PITA, especially with my situation (I have bad water, I have to get really clean coolers and go out to my relatives house and get water, and to do this I have to stay and chat with them awhile or it seems rude, and I don't actually like these relatives, so this is especially painful). I think a big part of me not liking my tanks anymore is that my favorite fish, my pleco Mr. Angry Eye died, so all I am left with are the fish I honestly don't care much for.

Anyway, the only fishtank I have that still has fish in it is my 26 gallon. My 10 gallon is set up, but it has no fish and I have been meaning to break it down. I am been considering selling my 26 gallon and say good riddance to the freaking water changes, but I am somewhat reluctant to do so.

If I got rid of the giant danios (sorry, but they really aren't doing much for me these days, in all honesty) but left the remaining cories (in all honesty, I don't want them, either, but they would be impossible to catch without tearing the tank apart) and added a male betta, how often would I have to do water changes? I think the only cories I have left are 2 emerald cories and one peppered. I know they would be happier in a larger group, but I really don't want them, but I don't think I can catch them. If I were able to catch the peppered cory and rehome him, but left the 2 emeralds because I kind of like them, would that be ok, or would the emeralds still need a larger group?

Basically, how often would I need to do water changes to a 26 gallon tank with one betta, 2 emerald cories, and one peppered cory? If I am able to get rid of the cories, how often would I have to do water changes for the spoiled betta?

btw, I plan on getting the ugliest, most sickly looking betta and make him a king, the most spoiled betta in the entire town, if not state. I will name him Mr Magical Liopluradon.

 

[three-fingers]

One last fishkeeping chore before you can decide how often you need to change the water....check your nitrate reading. So long as the nitrate level doesn't get too much higher than it is when it comes out the tap (say allow for a 40ppm difference, provided it's not much above 100, just to be safe), you don't need to do a water change.

If the tank has a light, chuck in some java fern stuck to something like a piece of wood/rock and some floating plants like duckweed or frogbit, and you may only ever have to top up the water as it evaporates . With such a low bioload, easy fast growing floating plants (that are close to the light) and easy slow growing java fern can pretty much maintain water quality for you, you basically just need to top the water up when the water level gets too low.

But remember to test the water first to make sure your tanks suitable for this.

Nice betta name .

 

[benniebru]

well it depends ppl say to do 25% a week but if u have a test kit then once the tank is fully cycled just do a water change when ur nitrates start to go up thats when i do them if its one week and the nitrates are at like 10 chances are that u can wait another week just keep an eye of ur water and go from there but a safe bet is to do 15%-25% a week IMO

 

[PRW1988]

Doesn't matter how many fish are in the tank, generally speaking there should be a 15-20% wate change done atleast once a week.

 

[GoldfishAttentionSpan]

Doesn't matter how many fish are in the tank, generally speaking there should be a 15-20% wate change done atleast once a week.

Maybe I misunderstand something, but I believe that it does. I know that when people want to stock heavily, sometimes they are advised that its ok to overstock some, as long as they keep up with water changes, or do larger/more frequent water changes because of the high waste load. I would think that the reverse would apply as well- fewer fish in a larger volume of water would mean that waste would accumulate slower, so not as many water changes would be needed.

I will soon do a complete testing of the water and see where we are at, thanks.

 

[cuticom]

I have a 20g tank with just a single betta planted with a java fern, some wisteria, a bit of java moss and a peace lily and I keep a close eye on water params and so far everything has stayed pretty perfect, nitrate still hasn't gone over 5. I don't actually bother with water changes for this tank (bad me) now and then, say everything 3 months it'll get a water change, but I test it twice a week to make sure every things hunky dory. It does get top offs though, and nutrients added for the plants, but it works pretty well. You could probably do something similar with your tank, just with more plants.

Have a look at the Diana Walstad method of keeping tanks, that'd be perfect for you.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Doesn't matter how many fish are in the tank, generally speaking there should be a 15-20% wate change done atleast once a week.

Maybe I misunderstand something, but I believe that it does. I know that when people want to stock heavily, sometimes they are advised that its ok to overstock some, as long as they keep up with water changes, or do larger/more frequent water changes because of the high waste load. I would think that the reverse would apply as well- fewer fish in a larger volume of water would mean that waste would accumulate slower, so not as many water changes would be needed.

I will soon do a complete testing of the water and see where we are at, thanks.

Thats not taking into consideration factors like evaporation though- if you don't do water changes on the tank for ages, more and more water will evaporate of it, causing minerals and stuff to become more condensed in the water, which can change the ph of the tank a great deal over time. Not just that but diseases can build up in the tank if its not been cleaned on a regular basis, namely columnaris which often starts off life in decaying matter in aquariums and is more common in tanks which are not cleaned regularly.
So basically, even if you don't have a lot of fish, you should still do water changes on the tank- with that few fish you could probably get away with doing water changes once a fortnight if the tank has very good filtration and does not suffer a lot of evaporation. However if you're really not interested in the corys and don't really want to do water changes on the tank, why not just downgrade the tank and rehome the corys and just get the betta a smaller and more easy to look after tank?

 

[shroob]

Don't know if this will apply to you, but would an RO unit work? You said you had bad water, an RO unit may work depending on what it is that makes your water bad.

 

[invader]

I will name him Mr Magical Liopluradon.

And he will bring joy and... joyness....


I agree with the RO unit. It will save you a lot of trouble.