Water Changes

[WingsOfSound]

Not sure if this should go here but I recently got a new Betta fish and I haven't owned one in a long while. He's currently in a 5.5 gallon tank with a filter, and heater. I read that most people do a 25% water change per week but when are you supposed to do a 100% water change if ever? I read somewhere once a month but I'm not sure. 

 

[attibones]

I routinely do 50% once a week in my community tank and about 10% in my betta tank (which is planted). I only do 100% a couple of times a year depending on the stock in the community tank. Really it all depends on your water parameters and how your fish is behaving. If he's looking a little ill, larger water changes never hurt. If you've got some algae that needs to be scraped, go ahead and take out as much water as you need. I do not recommend doing 100% water changes more than once a month though.

 

[Mamashack]

to TFF, Wings!
Don't think I've ever done 100% water change except when changing a tank completely. Maybe 90% when issues arise but generally speaking, I do 35-50% every couple of weeks in all my tanks. I know people who advocate 25% weekly, 50% monthly and 100% every 6 months, but to me that would mean having to remove the fish to a different container, which would be quite stressful in itself.

 

[Alasse]

I do 75% WC's on my goldies tank every 4 or so WC's and sometime i leave just enough water to keep the fish wet (90% or so). Though only in summer do i do the really big changes as the temp difference is too much in winter. So winter its 25% mostly with the odd 50%

 

[WingsOfSound]

Thank you guys for the answers! It's definitely appreciated c: 

 

[elmo666]

Can't really see the need for any 100% water changes unless you overfeed, have extremely poor water parameters or a filthy tank. Unless you are also armed with an array of test kits, a minimum being ph,kh and nitrate there's no way of knowing if you can match the new water to that in the tank. That in itself is enough to shock your fish. The next problem is adding alot of silicates, phosphates etc so diatoms and brown algae could be an issue if you also damage your filter colony. Don't overlook the fact that mature tank water has beneficial elements in its own right. For healthy fish, above all else, the most important thing is stability. This comes from maintenance, cleanliness, regular partial water changes with correctly conditioned water. I myself keep discus, so I have to be careful to match ph, kh and temperature during water changes. I've experimented, and found that my fish are at their happiest with small regular water changes, I do mine 15% every 5 days. I also clean my filters every 2 weeks, alternatively, as these can often be the source of increased nitrates and phosphates if detrius, decaying matter, food drawn in etc isn't flushed out regularly. To sum up, create a regime you can stick to to give your fish stability. 90-100% water changes are at odds with this.

 

[Alasse]

I do large WC's and I don't overfeed, have poor water params or have a filthy tank...............
 
Tank water holds nothing of value, if you have a healthy filter, keep you substrate wet, doing a large chance wont affect anything or much at all I would do 75%-90% WC every week on my goldie tank if I could, and as stated once summer rolls back around I will start doing them that way. Same with my fry tanks, they definitely benefit from large WC's, get better fry growth for a start.
 
Works for me and mine.

 

[elmo666]

Tank water does have a benefit......your fish are accustomed to it. I'm going to assume that those talking of such large changes must have fairly small volumes involved. I've got around 310 ltrs, so my 15% change involves 45ltrs. I have to heat and correct my ro overnight to match the ph and kh to the tank, using three 25 ltr buckets. Any bigger changes would prove impractical, but more so unnecessary as the regime I maintain keeps my fish and, just as importantly, my plants happy. To a large extent my system is supported by a nitrate reactor, phosphate resins and twice the filtration that it probably requires. The filtration is "tuned' back and split into a number of returns, for good circulation at all levels, and through a uv.
I'm not saying my system is best, just a regime I know I can stick to and still enjoy what I'm doing. Yeah, its alot of work, went to considerable expense to get things right from the start the an RO unit and triple pod tap water filter for small amounts of tap water I use. As said earlier, the main thing I strive for is a consistent, stable environment. The good thing about discus is with their rapid colour change and display of stress bars you very quickly know when you've upset them lol. I still feel regular partial changes are better than very large ones, especially knowing just how much water supply's can fluctuate. It can be quite alarming to run a full set of tests on it. Prior to having an ro unit, there were times when I held off changes due to very high nitrates and phosphates in the incoming supply....a water change would have done more harm than good.
If you do go down the 90-100% change route, just be sure your tap water is up to the job. Enjoy the hobby, its very rewarding

 

[Alasse]

No not small volumes at all. The goldie tank is just under 300litres, The angel tank is 350litres, then they go down in sizes from there
 
When you do large WC weekly the fish should not have to get used to much at all to be honest, and there really isnt much difference between the tank and what comes outta the tap, other than temp and maybe some nitrates (which they need to be removed from the tank anyway). 
 
I dont use RO water, i use what comes out of the tap. As i stated summer is no issue as what is coming out of the tap is warm and very close to tank temp anyway, so i fill by hose. Winter is an issue, only that i need to mix the water (hot and cold) in 10litre buckets and fill the tanks by hand....
 
After todays effort i will be going back to 90%WC on the goldie tank, they need it or problems arise. Tried the 2 times per week smaller changes, it is just not doing the job i need it too.. Goldies are filthy beasts and require large changes to cope with that.
The fry tanks are coping with 2 smaller changes a week, but come summer all tanks will go back to 50-90%WC
 
I also add fertz to many of my tanks, so large water changes are needed on them too

 

[TwoTankAmin]

elmo- wondering what you think about this then?
 
[media]https/www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWMnPZKJWaE[/media]
 
This may also be of interest. Note one of the largest discus operations in the states uses only tap water:
[media]https/www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrIwMs8S494[/media]