TwoTankAmin36
Fish Maniac
I have never heard. read about or seen that clean water kills fish or even makes them sick. Clean does not mean pure, it means free from harmful things we cannot control. When that is the case we have RO or RO/DI water we can create.
I have been changing 50%+ every week for 25+ years. The most tanks at any time was 28. I also have a private well with excellent water. I do not use dechlor. The only downside to it is it tends to have a fair amount of dissolved CO2. That skews the pH lower but this doesn't last. Before I understood this I thought my water was in the low 6s. In actuality it is basically neutral. Based on rain fall levels it has ranged from about 6.8 to 7.3 over the years and is mostly right at 7.0.
I cannot do harm by changing the water. I can do harm by not doing so. Our tap water contains an assortment of things, most of which should not be awful. Nitrate is one we see often but it can be handled once we are aware of it.
Yes fish pee and poop in out tanks and they also breath. When they "exhale" they pass ammonia out. I am too lazy to write it all out and the AI has got right, so
Freshwater fish create ammonia as a natural byproduct of processing proteins from their food. [1, 2]
How Fish Produce Ammonia
Things the system and fish need to thrive get used up whether they come in with out tap water or we add them if needed. Ferts are a perfect example. So are food and any chemicals we may need. However, not everything that comes in with the water or what we might be adding to it, gets used up or even used at all. A lot of things we don't want do not evaporate.
What our water changes do beside replenish the needed things that have been used up or which are in lower supply than needed is remove the "bad" things we do not want to have remain behind and likely build up over time. Excess nitrate would be an obvious example.
We know if we have to medicate a tank that, when it is done, we need to change water and run carbon. Not everything bad is adsorbed by carbon. So water changes are as important for the things we don't want as they are for the things we do need and want.
Live plants will help with water quality. But they too need care and if you have ever run a high tech planted tank with added CO2 and bright lights know how important weekly water changes are. Often these get fertilized twice a week and what goes into the tank in the form of fertilizer often does not have everything in the fert. be fully depleted or even used at all doe a number of reasons.
So, always fdrink your milk and change your water.
I have been changing 50%+ every week for 25+ years. The most tanks at any time was 28. I also have a private well with excellent water. I do not use dechlor. The only downside to it is it tends to have a fair amount of dissolved CO2. That skews the pH lower but this doesn't last. Before I understood this I thought my water was in the low 6s. In actuality it is basically neutral. Based on rain fall levels it has ranged from about 6.8 to 7.3 over the years and is mostly right at 7.0.
I cannot do harm by changing the water. I can do harm by not doing so. Our tap water contains an assortment of things, most of which should not be awful. Nitrate is one we see often but it can be handled once we are aware of it.
Yes fish pee and poop in out tanks and they also breath. When they "exhale" they pass ammonia out. I am too lazy to write it all out and the AI has got right, so
Freshwater fish create ammonia as a natural byproduct of processing proteins from their food. [1, 2]
How Fish Produce Ammonia
- Body Metabolism: When fish eat and digest food, their bodies break down proteins for energy and growth, which creates ammonia internally. [1, 2]
- Releasing via Gills: The majority of this metabolic ammonia passes directly from the fish's bloodstream out through their gills and straight into the aquarium water. [1, 2]
- Waste Excretion: Fish also excrete smaller amounts of ammonia through their urine and solid waste. [1, 2]
- Decomposition: Uneaten food and decaying fish waste continue to add more ammonia as they break down in the tank. [1, 2]
Things the system and fish need to thrive get used up whether they come in with out tap water or we add them if needed. Ferts are a perfect example. So are food and any chemicals we may need. However, not everything that comes in with the water or what we might be adding to it, gets used up or even used at all. A lot of things we don't want do not evaporate.
What our water changes do beside replenish the needed things that have been used up or which are in lower supply than needed is remove the "bad" things we do not want to have remain behind and likely build up over time. Excess nitrate would be an obvious example.
We know if we have to medicate a tank that, when it is done, we need to change water and run carbon. Not everything bad is adsorbed by carbon. So water changes are as important for the things we don't want as they are for the things we do need and want.
Live plants will help with water quality. But they too need care and if you have ever run a high tech planted tank with added CO2 and bright lights know how important weekly water changes are. Often these get fertilized twice a week and what goes into the tank in the form of fertilizer often does not have everything in the fert. be fully depleted or even used at all doe a number of reasons.
So, always fdrink your milk and change your water.
