Too Many Water Changes?

[karin15]

I heard that if you do to many water changes useing a gravel vacume you will suck out all the bacteria colonies in your gravel and you could trigger a new running peroid/ or at least have nitrite or nitrates spikes,
I vacume out my gravel twice a week changeing 10-30 percent of my water, or if my nitrate gose to 10

so then can you do to many water changes or is that just a mith?

 

[BigIan]

In a tank with an under gravel filter or with no filter yes...

if you have internal or external filters then no i`ve never had a problem with a mini cycle after water changes no atter how well i clean the substrate

 

[karin15]

In a tank with an under gravel filter or with no filter yes...

if you have internal or external filters then no i`ve never had a problem with a mini cycle after water changes no atter how well i clean the substrate

cool x_X because there was a time when i did water changes almost every day in my 20 gallon

 

[Miss Wiggle]

there is some bacteria colony in your substrate and you will loose some of it when you vac. But if you've a mature enough adequatly filtered tank there will be plenty enough in the filter to stop it cycling.

 

[RadioHitandRun]

I read an article in Aquarium Fish Hobbyist few months ago..

As long as you are adding treated water your fish will love it.

 

[Inchworm]

Hi karin15

Beneficial bacteria live on the surfaces in your tank, and very few will be free floating at any given time. Most of them will be found in the filter, but some are on (not in) the top 3/4" to 1" of the gravel, the glass, plants and on other surfaces.

When you vacuum the gravel, it removes uneaten food and waste particles that harmful bacteria feed on. IMHO, frequent cleanings will do much more good than harm.

 

[nmonks]

Provided you get no nitrite or ammonium within a day or two of your water changes and gravel cleaning, then that answers your question. So instead of getting too worried over the theory, just do a nitrite test and see!

The only time big water changes are bad is if they also involved changes in temperature, pH, and hardness. Some fish (e.g., brackish water fish) couldn't care less about these having evolved to deal with them, but other fish (e.g., discus and halfbeaks) will literally keel over and die if the pH and hardness change is substantial.

If you're doing weekly water changes, and replacing the water in the tank with water from the tap/faucet (with dechlorinator added, of course) then it's unlikely you'll have to worry about pH or hardness changes. Most municipal water supplies are pretty consistent in terms of water chemistry (e.g., in London, very hard and alkaline!). Temperature changes can be fixed most easily by letting the water sit overnight so it reaches room temperature but many fish (especially things like Asian barbs, danios, and subtropical Corydoras) actually like the odd splash of cool water in the tank.

Cheers,

Neale

 

[karin15]

Provided you get no nitrite or ammonium within a day or two of your water changes and gravel cleaning, then that answers your question. So instead of getting too worried over the theory, just do a nitrite test and see!

The only time big water changes are bad is if they also involved changes in temperature, pH, and hardness. Some fish (e.g., brackish water fish) couldn't care less about these having evolved to deal with them, but other fish (e.g., discus and halfbeaks) will literally keel over and die if the pH and hardness change is substantial.

If you're doing weekly water changes, and replacing the water in the tank with water from the tap/faucet (with dechlorinator added, of course) then it's unlikely you'll have to worry about pH or hardness changes. Most municipal water supplies are pretty consistent in terms of water chemistry (e.g., in London, very hard and alkaline!). Temperature changes can be fixed most easily by letting the water sit overnight so it reaches room temperature but many fish (especially things like Asian barbs, danios, and subtropical Corydoras) actually like the odd splash of cool water in the tank.

Cheers,

Neale

my water is full of chlorine but soft and acidy, my fish realy like it my pet store likes the money i spend on the chlorine remover

Hi karin15

Beneficial bacteria live on the surfaces in your tank, and very few will be free floating at any given time. Most of them will be found in the filter, but some are on (not in) the top 3/4" to 1" of the gravel, the glass, plants and on other surfaces.

When you vacuum the gravel, it removes uneaten food and waste particles that harmful bacteria feed on. IMHO, frequent cleanings will do much more good than harm.

yay

 

[nmonks]

Be careful with soft water. It has little capacity to buffer changes in pH, and tends to become more acidic over time. I use (mostly) rainwater in my aquaria, and been surprised by how suddenly the pH can drop and the fish start gasping. So, be sure and do regular water changes, as these will remove the acidifying chemicals, leveling things out. Failing that, add some pH buffer (6.5 or 7.0 usually does the trick nicely).

Cheers, Neale

 

[karin15]

Be careful with soft water. It has little capacity to buffer changes in pH, and tends to become more acidic over time. I use (mostly) rainwater in my aquaria, and been surprised by how suddenly the pH can drop and the fish start gasping. So, be sure and do regular water changes, as these will remove the acidifying chemicals, leveling things out. Failing that, add some pH buffer (6.5 or 7.0 usually does the trick nicely).

Cheers, Neale

is it true that rotting drift wood is a ph buffer?

 

[highfire]

Interesting topic, and one I'd like to dip into if I may.
I have sand substrate, and as you can see I also have a goldfish, although he is being re-homed in the spring, in a pond.
Now we all know that goldfish are messy, and I really hate to see all the waste sitting around on top of my sand. I clean the sand when I do my fortnightly water change, stirring it up to disturb it a bit before actually setting the syphon to work.
Is the fortnightly sand-clean sufficient, or should I be cleaning the sand in between water changes?
It seems that no sooner have I finished cleaning and re-filling my tank, then literally a couple of hours later it doesn't look as though I've done anything because all the waste seems to be back on the substrate.
Thanks for any advice.

 

[nmonks]

What you're describing is pretty normal in sand substrate aquaria. I get the same thing with my Panaque in my community tank. Since she eats a lot of wood and vegetables, there's a lot of poop to clean up!

Two suggestions: First, slope the sand so that there is a depression in one corner. Second, angle the filter to that it pushes the poop about, and it will eventually settle in the depression. It's then a lot easier to siphon out the poop without having to clean the entire sand bed.

Cheers, Neale

 

[highfire]

Thanks alot for the reply, Neale - I shall certainly try your suggestions.
Cheers!

 

[raptorrex]

Interesting? there seems to be no doubt that Gravel/sand changing can cause a mini cycle. but its not quite as cut and dry as that. Bacteria settles on all surfaces in a tank, so in theory removing and cleaning anything, is reducing the bacteria count. opinion is divided, when you consult Forum posts, but less so if you research further! the majority of technical items state that, large changes of any type can cause a mini cycle.

So why the difference? I wish i could find out!!! but logic says that, if the gravel/sand, is thoroughly, cleaned on a regular basis, any bacteria will be removed! so if the gravel/sand, is cleaned only sparingly, doing only the top 1/4 inch, and leaving the rest of the bottom undisturbed, this will allow bacteria colony's, to establish.
Could it be that it depends on you cleaning regime, as to the amount of bacteria your gravel/sand holds.?

It is without argument that, if you empty a tank, keeping the water, remove and clean everything except the filter. then refill the tank, you will get a mini cycle. so it is self evident, that you need more than just mature filter media to cycle a tank.

lol it is academic, of course, if your tank is well filtered, or indeed, over filtered. because you will have more than enough bacteria to cover you in all eventuality's

 

[Miss Wiggle]

Interesting? there seems to be no doubt that Gravel/sand changing can cause a mini cycle. but its not quite as cut and dry as that. Bacteria settles on all surfaces in a tank, so in theory removing and cleaning anything, is reducing the bacteria count. opinion is divided, when you consult Forum posts, but less so if you research further! the majority of technical items state that, large changes of any type can cause a mini cycle.

So why the difference? I wish i could find out!!! but logic says that, if the gravel/sand, is thoroughly, cleaned on a regular basis, any bacteria will be removed! so if the gravel/sand, is cleaned only sparingly, doing only the top 1/4 inch, and leaving the rest of the bottom undisturbed, this will allow bacteria colony's, to establish.
Could it be that it depends on you cleaning regime, as to the amount of bacteria your gravel/sand holds.?

sand you only clean the top anyway, cos the poo floats on the top you should be able to suck it up without disturbing the sand, then you need to stir the sand every so often to stop anerobic (think that's the right word?!) pockets building up. so if the colony is living *in* the sand cleaning it shouldn't destroy it at all, dunno about stirring it, it'd just land somewhere else surley pretty much intact? if the colony is living *on* the sand however you might end up sucking it all up.

I think so definately. I've heard plenty of people have changed they're substrate and it's caused a mini cycle, but i've changed mine in a few tanks and never had the same problem. but we tend to keep our tanks pretty well cleaned and over filtered so I guess that gives you enough margin for error.

just yet another thing to add to the argument for understocked overfiltered tanks