I’M Still Not Too Sure..

[Marto666]

I am currently doing about 30% (80 litres) water change once a week – could I get away with doing this every 2 weeks or is this about right?

Thanks

 

[nurglespuss]

Is this for your current setup:

"Tank: Rena 350L

Fish (60 in total): Black Widow Tetra x1, Bleeding Heart Tetra x6, Neon Tetra x4, Penguin Tetra x10, Rummynose Tetra x6, Sunset Platy x2, Guppies x4, Bristlenose Pleco x1, Hatches x2, Blue Siamese Fighter x1, Female Siamese Fighter x3, Blue Gourami x3, Dwarf Gourami x2, Moonlight Gourami x2, Pearl Gourami x2, Siamese Flying Fox x2, Bottom feeders x2, Mollies x5 and Silver Sharks x2 "

Personally I would say yes except for the rummy noses, they might suffer.

What you could do though, is cut down on the ammount you change.

I do 10% everyweek and all my test results are 0, so long as your filter is established, it should be fine, especially considering the tank volume.

 

[micko]

You could try it and the second week test the water.

 

[KittyKat]

I would recommend against cutting frequency of water changes. In short, the water at point of water change would be more different from tank water, if you didn't do water changes as often. Longer version is "think about the concentrations and the changes in water chemistry of the water in the tank". In an established tank, water changes have little to do with the water readings you actually measure.

15-30% weekly works well for me, 5% daily works better. It's ok to leave the tank without water changes for a few weeks if you're on holiday, but things are more likely to go wrong then.

There are methods of maintaining aquariums without any water changes, but they're complicated and you should do a LOT of research before even considering them as an option.

 

[Marto666]

Yes, that is my current set-up.

Sounds like a plan, I will cut down to 15% weekly and keep checking the water. Things seem to be fine in the tank so it would be foolish to change my current maintenance arrangements too much, no harm in tinkering a bit though.

The novelty of running backwards and forwards to the sink soon disappears!

Thanks

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Benefits of once weekly water changes;

1. Cuts down on background levels of diseases or parasites.
2. Cuts down on waste which may feed certain bacterial diseases like columnaris.
3. Helps prevent high levels of nitrates (in low numbers they're not a problem, but in excessive levels they can be bad for fish)
4. Long term helps prevent PH Crash or build up of undesolvable materials in the water etc.
5. Partial water changes can used to lower ammonia or nitrite levels, remove old meds from the water or encourage spawning/breeding conditions in the aquarium etc.

Really cleaning your fishes tank once a week is the only work you have to do when it comes to keeping fish. And if you look at pretty much any other animal, the majority of animals need their environment cleaning once a week. A 30% water change is a good average percentage, some tanks may need more or can get away with less though. You would probably be able to get away with doing fortnightly water changes for a long time but it isn't advisable. Its the regularity of water changes not so much the size of them thats the most important

Don't be lazy, your fish will live out their whole lives in that tank so kept it clean for them .

I do 10% everyweek and all my test results are 0, so long as your filter is established, it should be fine, especially considering the tank volume.

If you have 0 nitrates i would be a bit concerned. Nitrates are the end product of the nitrogen cycle and unless your tank is incredibly planted you should have a reading between 1-40.

 

[Marto666]

Thanks Tokis-Phoenix.

Maybe I should just continue as I’m doing then as ‘If it isn’t broke, don’t fix it’. I have a routine so I guess it would be a bit lazy to break it.

I just wanted to check I wasn’t ‘over doing it’ with the water changes and creating unnecessary work for myself.

Thanks

 

[KittyKat]

Maybe I should just continue as I’m doing then as ‘If it isn’t broke, don’t fix it’. I have a routine so I guess it would be a bit lazy to break it.

I just wanted to check I wasn’t ‘over doing it’ with the water changes and creating unnecessary work for myself.

It would be quite difficult to overdo on water changes.

..and 24 litres per week? That's only two trips, it's nothing! My biggest tank is 420 litres and I do all of my water changes by hand >.<

 

[Marto666]

No, 80-100 litres per week. My tank is 350L..

About 20 trips to and from the sink juggling with two 10L buckets.

"I do all of my water changes by hand.."
Instead of scooping the water out by hand, I suggest you use a bucket

 

[nurglespuss]

Hi there, the tank is planted, and is trongly filtered.

I also use much more sensitive testing equipment than the commerically available stuff.

Its all a matter of stability really.

 

[KittyKat]

No, 80-100 litres per week. My tank is 350L..

About 20 trips to and from the sink juggling with two 10L buckets.

That's a lot of buckets in one go, ever consider using a hose?

"I do all of my water changes by hand.."
Instead of scooping the water out by hand, I suggest you use a bucket

hur hur

 

[Marto666]

Yes I have but I prefer to treat my water beforehand – what’s your reason for not using one?

 

[kevinjames]

where is the tank located? could you not syphon straight outside to save time? also do you have an electric shower?


agree about nitrates, they should never be zero

 

[elisew]

Water changes can benefit the fish in so many different ways as has been said and if there was an easy way to keep fish without all of the necessary maintenance then I`m sure we`d all love to know about it

I have 2 X 380L tanks and do 50% weekly water changes, sometimes the Malawi setup gets 2 water changes in a week. I found it very difficult to lug buckets full of water (I`m only 5' 2" and slim build) so I looked through the DIY section and made the DIY python, I can`t tell you how easy it is to do my water changes now, I just attach it to the end of my kitchen mixer tap....it`s great and I enjoy spending the time on the tanks a lot more now

 

[KittyKat]

Yes I have but I prefer to treat my water beforehand – what’s your reason for not using one?

I can't find a hose big enough to fit over the shower hose >.< and the taps are even bigger.