Water Changes

[Lezlee]

Hi All, I have been reading the forums and I would like to ask some advice. Is it really necessary to do water changes and if so, how much and how frequent. I have a small tank with about 30 Guppy Fry and a Large Tank with, Guppies, Platys, Suckers, Sharks, cory's & Tetra's
Any advice would be most helpful, Thank you
Lee

 

[Xebadir]

Well it depends if your tank is cycled or not. Cycling tanks should have 10-15% changes weekly when they are fish cycling(only with bacterial additives). Cycled Tanks seem to do well with Bi-weekly to monthly water changes around 20%. Fry Tanks must be changed regularly as fry are rather antsy about good water quality. Id suggest 2 water changes 10-20% weekly this is especially a perrogative if you are using a sponge filter or have little water circulation, 20% weekly as a minimum. This will make your fry happy and more healthy.

Hope this answers your question

 

[bettawen]

i do a 25-30% water change every week on my tanks, my bettas are every other day

 

[Annastasia]

Cycled Tanks seem to do well with Bi-weekly to monthly water changes around 20%.

Tanks need to be changed more often then that, unless you are VERY understocked and have good filtration. Even then it's iffy. If you're going to do it every two weeks, I'd go 50%. 25-30% weekly is best though.

What are your water params at now?

 

[Spader]

lmao thanks guys u reminded me to do a water change

 

[Xebadir]

hehe...i run 10% changes weekly or 25% biweekly mainly because of my filtration: hes the funny why: Filter: 125G/hr(even if down on fuctionality 100L/hr). My tank is 16 gallons effective: so effectively turning over my water 8 times per hour. What can i say, my water is crystal clear.

 

[Annastasia]

Water changes aren't about making the water crystal clear, it's about taking out the toxins in the water. You can't see ammonia, nitrite, or nitrate.

I've got a 250gph running on my 20g, so the water is circulating over 10 times per hour. The stats can still build up quickly.