What Water Change Ammount?

[STEWARDSONS]

how much should i be changing weekly with the following stock?

its a 190ltr tank with an aquis 1050 filter

i am currently doing 20 ltrs a week

5 Celebe rainbows,
2 cupid cichlid,
3 kriebnsis,
2 cockatoo cichlids,
7 cardinals,
2 popendetta furcatta
4 denisonii barbs,
2 german rams,
2 electric blue rams,
1 african dwarf frog,
1 bristlenose plec
1 hong kong plec
2 amano shrimp

should i be doing a much bigger change?

 

[mattbleasby]

I do about 40% ever week. on top of that the odd couple of litres here and there for cleaning up after my poo monster.

 

[KittyKat]

Blimey, that's high and weird stock! I would personally prefer to sort the stock out.. but if I had to keep it in that tank, I would do 10-25% twice per week.

 

[STEWARDSONS]

i am aware that i have too many cichlids. i have tried to remove the kribs on more than one occasion but cant catch them.

 

[This Old Spouse]

If you do a really large water change, say 75%, your low water level should make it easier to catch the fish. But if you still can't catch them, I'd do about a 30-40% change every few days. That's a lot of fish!

 

[STEWARDSONS]

thats a good idea, didnt think of that.

i am getting a 60 ltr tank for my girlfriends son in september for his birthday so will most probably be shifting the 3 kribs, 5 celebe rainbows and hong kong plec into his tank.

surely after that my stock will be ok?

 

[kevinjames]

i personally do 50% per week on all my tanks except my discus anf=d fry tanks, they get daily or every other day changes.

 

[Caprichoso]

^ +1

50% no exceptions. You are going to run into issues eventually if you do anything less!

 

[KittyKat]

i am aware that i have too many cichlids. i have tried to remove the kribs on more than one occasion but cant catch them.

Ok, that's understandable. As other person said, drain the tank, then catch them. Large waterchange is good, once in a while.

i am getting a 60 ltr tank for my girlfriends son in september for his birthday so will most probably be shifting the 3 kribs, 5 celebe rainbows and hong kong plec into his tank.

surely after that my stock will be ok?

Yeah, but then the kribs would be in a worse situation: it would lead to a death pretty quickly, if yours have the average temperament. Also, my biggest concern would be that the current tank would be too small for the cupid cichlids and the denisonii, plus the schools are not that large.

^ +1

50% no exceptions. You are going to run into issues eventually if you do anything less!

Disagree, I've been keeping fish for 16 years now and have not had any issues with much smaller water changes.

 

[Caprichoso]

The average person with an over stocked tank will have issues. I would rather advise someone to perform too much of a water change than not enough. Prevention is always the key.

 

[kevinjames]

Disagree, I've been keeping fish for 16 years now and have not had any issues with much smaller water changes.

this is a typical old school v new school fishkeeping argument. i honestly think large changes are the way to go as if you have an emergency and need to change a lot of water your water will be very similar.

the important thing is routine. wether its 10,20,30 or 50% a week its important its regular. prevention is way better than dealing with things when they come.

 

[mattbleasby]

Exactly what i was about too say Kevinjames.

 

[KittyKat]

Disagree, I've been keeping fish for 16 years now and have not had any issues with much smaller water changes.

this is a typical old school v new school fishkeeping argument. i honestly think large changes are the way to go as if you have an emergency and need to change a lot of water your water will be very similar.

And this is a typically incorrect assumption that one's own opinion is worth more than someone else's. Show me scientific proof that what you say is true, and if you can't, then don't complain about other people sharing experiences on a forum.. they are equally valid as your own.

the important thing is routine. wether its 10,20,30 or 50% a week its important its regular. prevention is way better than dealing with things when they come.

Agreed.

 

[kevinjames]

kitty kat we disagree on the amount of water we change but im not saying im right and your wrong. your 16 years of successful fishkeeping shows that your doing it all right. im sorry if you misconstrued what i was saying as a dig on you. i read your posts on here and see you as a very knowledgable forum member

 

[fish48]

i agree with kitty kat