I Will Never Do A Water Change

[TigerLotus]

My banks tank receives no water changes. I have talked to a few people working there about the tank and every time I ask I am told that all that is done to the tank is that it is toped off. They usually let the water evaporate to about half a tank then dump new water in.

The women there who takes care the tank tell everyone "just put some water on top and it will be fine" The tank has been run like this for at least two years.

They only thing I know about this tank is that it is about 20 gallons. Has 2 HOB, colored gravel and a few plastic plants. It has some little fish in it, I couldn't tell what kind (I know nothing about really little fish.) there is no use of dechlorintor, that water is just dumped in once it tank gets about half empty.

Is it impossible to run a healthy tank with no water changes? I have read about people who change less then 5 times a year?

 

[kribensis12]

Well, what happens is, the fish get accumsted to the high levels of nitrate, nitrite, and ammonia. Whihc is hwy they arent dead, but it is detrimental to their body. So Beany, any test results? Im very interested.

 

[5teady_2012]

Yea me 2 ^^^^^

 

[Aphotic Phoenix]

A well planted tank that is not over-stocked and/or overfed can maintain low nitrate levels on it's own. Many keepers of well planted tanks don't bother siphoning the bottoms of their tanks because detritus can provide food for the plants. As for the pH, if the water used to top off the tank is particularly hard that can be a factor in preventing pH crashes, because the minerals going in are providing a buffer.

What does not go away so easily however are various natural and man-made chemical contaminants that make their way into the tank. Even if you constantly replaced the carbon in your filters, carbon does not remove all contaminants. This is one of the major reasons that I do frequent water changes.

Personally I've never seen a tank that looks (or smells) good without being properly maintained.

 

[Bigpig]

Don't seem like a troll to me. Just posting his experiences in a nice manner. We may not agree with it but thats life

 

[Mystil]

Don't seem like a troll to me. Just posting his experiences in a nice manner. We may not agree with it but thats life

I agree. He is asking a question that he believes will help him with his fish...nothing wrong with that.

 

[MermaidMel]

The issue I have mostly have with this is if they have got gravel they would be so so surprised if they did a gravel vac at what comes off. Sand is a much cleaner substrate to use because it packs and compresses so that detritus cannot get stuck in between each grain and that way is easier to see the detritus and deal with it accordingly. Then, they should take a look at their filter medium, the sheer amount of gunge that will be clogging that up. Water changes I agree may not be that necessary IF the filter and substrate are kept in tip top condition because I'm not one to do 30% water changes each week, I either do 10% or if I leave it a 2-3 weeks I do a 25% water change. My fish are healthy too, we all lose fish and we all get things wrong from time to time, but never cleaning or changing anything is a bit weird I admit.

 

[CFC]

As already touched on the main problem from not doing water changes is pH crash.

All tap water has a certain ammount of calcium carbonate in it and it is this calcium carbonate (KH) that keeps the pH of the water stable. Dissolved organic solids (thats the end result of the food your fish have eaten) release acids into the water which eat away at the KH reducing the waters ability to keep itself stable, once all the KH is gone the organic acids acidify the water causing the pH to drop drasticly. In a pH below 6 ammonia becomes ammonium which the ammonia eating bacteria in the tank cannot break down so the nitrogen cycle fails, in very acidic tanks you have to use zeolite and carbon to filter the water as the bacteria needed to cycle a tank cannot survive.

Can you test the pH of your tapwater and the pH of the tank to compare the results?

 

[pinkdolphin_113]

i think this guy is planning on doing water changes. he's never done water changes in his life so i think it would be worth mentioning dechlorinating the water round about now, or before he does one.

chlorine is in normal tap water to kill germs so its safe to drink. this is the same chlorine you find in swimming pool but at a much lower concentration. but if you think about it this way, a swimming pool is a billion times bigger than a fish tank, some anyway, and its at quite a low concentration but it still stings your eyes. a fish is about a billion times smaller than human, so imagine what chlorine does to them. their gills burn away after a long period of this and the fish does die.
any chlorine in your tank from the beginning may have been absorbed or whatever so your fish have probably forgotten how to cope with it. adding chlorinated water to your tank would eliminate any "badness" your tank has built up over the 15 years but it would be awful for your fish.

so, if you're not already aware, dechlorinate the water and try get it to roughly the same temperature as your tank water before putting it in your tank.

 

[Esfa]

"In a pH below 6 ammonia becomes ammonium which the ammonia eating bacteria in the tank cannot break down so the nitrogen cycle fails, in very acidic tanks you have to use zeolite and carbon to filter the water as the bacteria needed to cycle a tank cannot survive."

I believe that there isnt a "magic point" where ammonia becomes ammonium. It's constantly in equilibrium. Bignose did a thread on it.

 

[CFC]

You dont get ammonia in water with a pH below 6.

 

[andywg]

You dont get ammonia in water with a pH below 6.

Practically, the above is true

Technically you do, just at a much lower amount. According to the guide in the FAQs about 0.01% of the ammonia/ammonium balance is as ammonia at pH6 and 0.001% at 5. In real terms that is as good as 0.

I seem to recall a hypothesis that different bacteria strains deal with the nitrogenous waste at lower pH, but these are far slower to grow than those strains which live above pH 6.

 

[Esfa]

Yay for my brain giving up.

 

[beany_bot]

Ok guys update. Firstly, what on earth is this troll??? lol.

Couldnt get to the lfs but took the advice of most of you anyway and started with a 5% water change and will build slowly up to 10% and then just do that every week. Will still get the test kit and post results. My substrate is half sand half gravel. Thanks for adivice on de-chlorinating I have a bottle of stuff for that allready. Will keep you guys posted!!

 

[TylerFerretLord]

A troll is someone who posts something to incite an inflammatory remark or to get attention. A good example of a troll would be going to the betta section and saying how much you think bettas should be put in microwaves.

Anyway, I would try to work the water changes up to 20-30% honestly.