adviseable to do a 50% water change every week, make sure you clean the substrate at the bottom and lift up and clean under any ornaments you might have, there are loads of videos on how to clean that with a siphon on youtube, when cleaning filter medium, its good to clean it in the withdrawn water prior to throwing it away! as it holds the BB (Beneficial Bacteria) and you dont wash it away.My 36 gallon tank has been running about a month it’s cycledand has 6 danios, 6 barbs and three cory’s. When should I start cleaning and removing water then replacing it?
If its been a month and cycled before hand I would do one now, water changes wont hurt, if in doubt do a water change is a popular motto round hereTy for the info but what I’m really asking is when should I start to clean? Is that where the test kit comes in?
Ummm, never in my life of 50 years of fishkeeping (except once for a salt water aquarium crash with bad liverock) have I ever done a 50% change or more in a week. 20% weekly is recommended, 30% if you missed a week. I might do a 20%+20% in a breeding tank during a week's time, but let's not get crazy. Over-population will certainly increase this amount, a nicely planted and maintained tank with a decent 'clean-up' crew can slightly decrease this amount. I say the above with the assumption that you are always in control of your water parameters and they don't drift due to insufficient buffers, etc.adviseable to do a 50% water change every week
As you explain sitting in a house with air conditioning on for months is not healthy for you, air conditioner may be filtering the air but it's not adding fresh air to the home. Same goes for a fish tank where you do not add fresh water by doing regular water changes. The water in the tank becomes stagnant-not moving, not moving as in you are not refreshing it with new water so the nutrients in the water are being used up. This is why it rains in nature water should be changed in the fish tank that's not old school that's just common sense. But again like you said we can agree to disagree that's why this hobby is great because not everyone sees everything the same way.stagnant- ‘forming a pool of standing water’, from the verb stagnare, from stagnum ‘pool’.
And sometimes your filtered air is much better than the outside, because it is 'conditioned'. Perfect example is a post that I just commented on where the person's tap water introduces more nitrates than the standing and conditioned tank water. More to it than that - but sometimes you make it worse by trying to make it better. Some times, you got to trust your parameters and leave it go. I currently only have 4 tanks, had many more in the distant past - but if I had to do extreme water changes on every tank, I would be a slave to my tanks and the fish wouldn't be any more happier than they are currently now - "change whatever amount you wish, God bless the fish". This is supposed to be a relaxing hobby and that is why it has evovled to a more hands-off approach with the advances of filtration (mechanical, biological, environmental and chemical). Time to sit back and enjoy the hobby instead of break your back. Just to note - I've never tried to keep fish that require much more in water conditioning than my tap water is already good for. African Cichlids have always been a no-go for me as it would require way too much pre-treatment of my current water supply. Again, too much work, not enough time to enjoy the hobby.As you explain sitting in a house with air conditioning on for months is not healthy for you, air conditioner may be filtering the air but it's not adding fresh air to the home. Same goes for a fish tank where you do not add fresh water by doing regular water changes. The water in the tank becomes stagnant-not moving, not moving as in you are not refreshing it with new water so the nutrients in the water are being used up. This is why it rains in nature water should be changed in the fish tank that's not old school that's just common sense. But again like you said we can agree to disagree that's why this hobby is great because not everyone sees everything the same way.
Changing 50% is not back breaking nor time consuming. You just drain it outside with a hose then fill it from a tap (temperature matched) through a hose, the dechlorinator is added to the tank and mixes in the flow.And sometimes your filtered air is much better than the outside, because it is 'conditioned'. Perfect example is a post that I just commented on where the person's tap water introduces more nitrates than the standing and conditioned tank water. More to it than that - but sometimes you make it worse by trying to make it better. Some times, you got to trust your parameters and leave it go. I currently only have 4 tanks, had many more in the distant past - but if I had to do extreme water changes on every tank, I would be a slave to my tanks and the fish wouldn't be any more happier than they are currently now - "change whatever amount you wish, God bless the fish". This is supposed to be a relaxing hobby and that is why it has evovled to a more hands-off approach with the advances of filtration (mechanical, biological, environmental and chemical). Time to sit back and enjoy the hobby instead of break your back. Just to note - I've never tried to keep fish that require much more in water conditioning than my tap water is already good for. African Cichlids have always been a no-go for me as it would require way too much pre-treatment of my current water supply. Again, too much work, not enough time to enjoy the hobby.
Ty for the response that is exactly what I meant. I was not sure if I should wait longer or do the water changes etc now.What exactly do you mean by "clean"? All you should be doing is a weekly partial water change of 50% or more of the tank volume, and do a vacuum of the substrate during that process. Rinse the filter media at each water change (it can go longer, but it won't hurt and you will get into a good habit). The inside glass surfaces, especially the front glass, should be cleaned with a sponge-type scraper whether or not you see anything; algae can begin to grow in the biofilm that covers all surfaces under water, and doing this each week ensures it will never become a problem (on the glass). Then add the fresh water, dechlorinated, ensuring it is close to the same temperature (a tad cooler is better than warmer).
I personally would not lift up chunks of rock or wood to clean under them; these areas are part of a healthy biological system, provided the fish load/tank volume/water changes/feeding are all balanced.
My 36 gallon tank has been running about a month
When doing a fish-in cycle, test kits are important as a water change should be done whenever ammonia or nitrite read above zero. Once a tank is cycled, water changes should be done weekly even if ammonia and nitrite are zero, and nitrate is low. There are more things build up in the water besides those three, things we can't test for.what I’m really asking is when should I start to clean? Is that where the test kit comes in?
Ummm, never in my life of 50 years of fishkeeping (except once for a salt water aquarium crash with bad liverock) have I ever done a 50% change or more in a week. 20% weekly is recommended, 30% if you missed a week. I might do a 20%+20% in a breeding tank during a week's time, but let's not get crazy. Over-population will certainly increase this amount, a nicely planted and maintained tank with a decent 'clean-up' crew can slightly decrease this amount. I say the above with the assumption that you are always in control of your water parameters and they don't drift due to insufficient buffers, etc.