Why Is It Necessery To Do A W/c ?

[youngfisher]

Ok, So im at the end of my cycling stage on my 95l (now I have to cycle my other 2 tanks and my dads other one )

I have been told to do a large water change and im just wondering why this needs to be done? Ovbiously I will do one, I just like to know every detail about things.

Thanks alot

 

[shelaghfishface]

cant help as ive never fishless cycled.. but dying to know, did ur dad win that big tank?

 

[youngfisher]

No

I told him not to bid anymore as it would be to much hassle.

It finished at £155 which I thought was a good bargain for a mohogny stand alone! Let alone the 4ft tank, external filter, accessories etc.

 

[shelaghfishface]

hmm seems a bit pricey to me to be honest, ive never paid that much for a second hand tank ( and equipment), my rio 300 was 120 ( 30£ petrol to collect it mind )
something else will come up when ur least expecting it too,, check out gumtree too, lots of bargains to ba had on there

( incase you dont know its a community classifieds site, www.gumtree.co.uk - look for your nearest town/city from the list on the right)


shelaghxxx

 

[youngfisher]

Lol, when you said gumtree i pulled a face and was like what the..? then you explained it

Urgh, tbh I hope he doesn't get a new tank for a while. He's one of them know it all guys and still persists I will fit 8-9 puffers in my 35l and that bacteria is not in the filter sponge it is in the water

one day he will learn one day..

 

[shelaghfishface]

then you know what you have to do............drag him to the forum and let the guys have a freindly chat

on a serious note, if hes been keeping fish for years, hes probably set in his ways, not much you can do, and i wouldnt bother debating with him, if hes happy doing it his way let let him, as long as your happy doing it your way ( u should do a sneaky test in one of his tanks when hes out - chances are theyd be spot on tho)

( 8-9 in a 35L lol...oh dear! )

 

[youngfisher]

Yeah I check his water alot, but because his tank was mature already as he bought it 2nd hand he thinks my tank would be mature yet i brought it brand new.

I dont argue with him anymore, i just "correct" him lol

 

[oswoldy]

As I understand it, you do a big water change to get the NitrAtes down as they can get quite high.

Thats just my understanding though.

Mike

 

[youngfisher]

My nitrates are low though lol

 

[shelaghfishface]

must be a scientific reason, but a wc after the same water has been in there for 4 odd weeks wouldnt hurt, have u looked thru the fishless cycling thread maybe it will explian in there, minx has a link in her siggy, find one of her posts and bobs ur uncle

 

[oswoldy]

I also think that there are minerals in the water that you replace by doing a W/C, so I assume that after the water has been in the tank for a few weeks/months these minerals are non existent in your tank so a W/C replaces them.

Those are the only two reasons I though it was required.

Mike

 

[minxfishy]

Yes you do a large w/c to get down the nitrAtes which should be quite high due to all the ammonia/nitrIte thats been processed over the weeks of a fishless cycle, plus as Oswoldy says, it old water and not much of the right mineral content will be in it anymore.

You dont want to add fish to water thats basically stale (not sure thats the right word but you get the idea).