Water Changes ?

[JohnBull]

How many times should you actually do a water change on a 175 ltr Tropical tank with community fish ?

The reason I ask is because whenever I go into a LFS or anywhere that sells tropical fish for that matter,I seem to get a different answer each time ? Some say do small water changes on a regular basis,other people I know who keep fish suggest doing a "weekly change" of anything up to 30% ? Only this weekend I was told its best to do a DAILY water change of around 10% because "this keeps the water condition more stable and stresses the fish less "

For the record I usually do a 25-30% water change every 4 or 5 days.


Have I got it right ?

 

[ZoddyZod]

25-30% every 4 to 5 days is a pretty good regime. Most only do that sort of change every week.

Water changing is there to remove the nitrates and also replace the trace elements consumerd by plants and fish. A good way to judge how often and how much you should change is by checking your nitrates before and after the water change. If the water change is bringing them back to to near your tap water levels, then you are probably doing enough!

also, a weekly water change of 25% is NOT going to stress your fish......my fish actively 'enjoy' the water change and actually 'play' in the current produced by the hose.

 

[the_lock_man]

There is no hard-and-fast rule, you need to work out what keeps the balance for you. I personally do 30% weekly, but then I've found that this regime has started to encourage Black Brush Algae, due to the levels of dissolved CO2 in my tapwater. One solution to this is to reduce the frequency of water changes, but I worry that this will allow too great a build up of nitrate, so I have taken other steps to conquer the algae.

If you are finding that nitrate is manageable at your frequency, and aren't experiencing other problems, then it ain't broke, so don't fix it.

 

[JohnBull]

There is no hard-and-fast rule, you need to work out what keeps the balance for you. I personally do 30% weekly, but then I've found that this regime has started to encourage Black Brush Algae, due to the levels of dissolved CO2 in my tapwater. One solution to this is to reduce the frequency of water changes, but I worry that this will allow too great a build up of nitrate, so I have taken other steps to conquer the algae.

If you are finding that nitrate is manageable at your frequency, and aren't experiencing other problems, then it ain't broke, so don't fix it.

That all makes a lot of sense guys,so thanks for that.

BTW,can you do a direct swop for AQUASAFE with something called API STRESSCOATPLUS for regular water changes ? It seems a cheaper way of doing things, but was wondering if anyone else uses API STRESSCOAT for water changes instead of AQUASAFE ?

 

[the_lock_man]

There is no hard-and-fast rule, you need to work out what keeps the balance for you. I personally do 30% weekly, but then I've found that this regime has started to encourage Black Brush Algae, due to the levels of dissolved CO2 in my tapwater. One solution to this is to reduce the frequency of water changes, but I worry that this will allow too great a build up of nitrate, so I have taken other steps to conquer the algae.

If you are finding that nitrate is manageable at your frequency, and aren't experiencing other problems, then it ain't broke, so don't fix it.

That all makes a lot of sense guys,so thanks for that.

BTW,can you do a direct swop for AQUASAFE with something called API STRESSCOATPLUS for regular water changes ? It seems a cheaper way of doing things, but was wondering if anyone else uses API STRESSCOAT for water changes instead of AQUASAFE ?

Not sure about the "PLUS" part, but Stresscoat is a dechlorinator, as is Aquasafe, so yes is the answer to your question.

 

[JohnBull]

Thanks again.

 

[ZoddyZod]

I recommend Seachem Prime......possibly the cheaper option on the market bar pond specific dechlorinator

 

[Zikofski]

BTW,can you do a direct swop for AQUASAFE with something called API STRESSCOATPLUS for regular water changes ? It seems a cheaper way of doing things, but was wondering if anyone else uses API STRESSCOAT for water changes instead of AQUASAFE ?

I use API Stress Coat + and yes it is perfectly fine

 

[Smells a bit fishy]

+1 for seachem prime. By far the cheapest, but you can only buy it online in the UK, try a well known auction site for it.