How do you do a pwc?

[Lady_Alia]

Hi all!

I'm taking a survey! How do You do your weekly water change?

In the past when I do mine I not only drain and replace water but I also vac the gravel or sand....every week!
How do you do yours? Do you vac every week or just once a month?

 

[Fishie]

I mostly do mine every week or if not then if it needs it really bad.

 

[savage]

I do two 50% a week per tank. I might do some light vac on the mid-week ones, but not always. I vac all exposed gravel weekly and vac ALL gravel monthly. But I'm learning that I have a little OCD when it comes to these water changes.

 

[Lady_Alia]

I mostly do mine every week or if not then if it needs it really bad.

But do you just change the water or do you vac the substrate as well?

And if you just change the water, then how often do you vac?

 

[Cornstar]

Since I use sand, I can't put my gravel vacuum too close to the sand or it'll suck out the sand. So I put it about an inch or so away from the sand and do about 20% pwc a week on my 55g. And a 50% on my 10g tank.

 

[Gawang]

I do 20-35% water changes every weekish and don't vac the gravel much as I have a planted substrate and it kicks all kinds of dirt up and it sucks up half the dirt and laterite.

 

[Aspencer]

I test my water for NitrAtes and then set up a schedule..some tanks are 50% water change every four days, some are weekly.

 

[Lengelund]

I do a 25% water change with gravel vac every week. If I feel like I have been feeding a lot, I do a mid- week PWC without the vac. I feed NLS cichlids pellets daily. Omega One Veggie Flake and NLS Freshwater Flake With Garlic as a treat a couple of times per week.

 

[CraigMac]

I do a 25-35% pwc weekly at vacuum the bottom at that time. I don't worry about getting everything I just vacuum the worst areas and get what I can.

 

[joel618]

I do 50% twice a week (on my days off whatever order they may be in).

Ps the metriaclima are growing super fast!

 

[Malawi Freak]

My cichlids have a case of thirsty Thursday's cause that's when my tanks water level starts to evaporate right to the bottom of the rim and drives me nuts. So yeah 50% weekly changes over here.

 

[Hholly]

I do 50% once or twice a week depending on how high nitrates are. I vac half of the tank every other time.

 

[cheeky_monkey]

My 55 I do 60% PWC once a week with thorough gravel vac, heavily planted nitrates never go above 10.

My 10 I do twice weekly 50% PWC and gravel vac, that's my birth tank.

My 15 I do daily 80% PWC (sand substrate) as that's my fry tank and 4 feeds daily mess that tank up easily.

And I have all mollies so very messy fish.

 

[Lady_Alia]

I do 50% twice a week (on my days off whatever order they may be in).

Ps the metriaclima are growing super fast!

YAY!! Glad to hear it! I've been wondering about them. You gotta get some pics posted!!

 

[Lady_Alia]

I do 50% once or twice a week depending on how high nitrates are. I vac half of the tank every other time.

Interesting, why do you vac half the tank every other time? Why not all the gravel at the same time?

 

[joel618]

Interesting, why do you vac half the tank every other time? Why not all the gravel at the same time?

I move half the deco to one side and vac. Then next time move all the deco to tho other side and vac it. Figured may be less stressful for the fish.

 

[Hholly]

Interesting, why do you vac half the tank every other time? Why not all the gravel at the same time?

Because its's not a very old tank and I don't want to remove too much beneficial bacteria. I over-cleaned it before and it went into a mini cycle.

 

[Malawi Freak]

I move half the deco to one side and vac. Then next time move all the deco to tho other side and vac it. Figured may be less stressful for the fish.

That could be a bit stressful on the fish since that means you are moving territories each water change.

 

[joel618]

That could be a bit stressful on the fish since that means you are moving territories each water change.

I agree if it was every water change. I should have clarified that I only move the deco and vac maybe every couple of weeks (depends on nitrate test). Water change twice a week, with these I vac the exposed sand.

 

[Slade]

I do 50% weekly PWC and always gravel vac & clean hob filter. Every 5-6 weeks I also clean the canister filter. Once every 3 months I remove rocks & decorations for a thorough vac and 80% water change, which gives me a chance to redecorate and change territories.