Water changes?

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Chris-Nicol

Aquarium Advice Freak
Joined
Apr 12, 2011
Messages
341
Location
Scotland
Hey guys! How regularly does anyone recommend to do water changes on a 25g tank! I don't have a skimmer so was just wondering if I should do like a 5g weekly change?

Also I know to keep trates as low as possible but What is an acceptable range to keep them within?
 
In saltwater you aim for 0. Anything over 10-20 is BAD. I think 5g a week should be ok, if you find you are getting higher nitrates though I would either up the frequency or the amount.

Alot depends on what you are keeping too. What fish and stuff do you have? Do you feed daily?
 
I do weekly PWC`s on my 125 gallon reef. Two main purposes are replenishing trace elements that are used up during fish and coral processes. The second is diluting of excessive nutrients that cause nuisance algeas in the tank. I see nothing wrong with 5 gallon weekly changes.
When it comes to nitrates the goal is 0. But when it comes to a reef you can usually get away with 20 or below. But as I said work for 0.
 
I have a 29g. We do a pwc one a week, at the same time vacuming the bottom a little bit. We usually fill a 5g bucket every time. seems to work great
 
Well I am actually over stocked as I knew nothing when I first started the hobby! One of my friends gave me 'advice' that I know now is rubbish! I was just using tap water to top up the salt water without putting anything in it! My tank was a disaster to start with! I think I'm on the right track now tho! When I got the liquid test kits the nitrates were well off the scale but I bought myself an RO/DI unit and done a few large water changes and now they are sitting at about 10-15ish and have been for the last two weeks so I was just thinking that I should maybe increase the amount?

Currently I have:
Two small clowns
A small chalk goby
A firefish goby
Clown goby
2 cleaner shrimp (about to have babies for the second time :))
3 hermits
3 snails (turbo snails I think)

I am currently using a fluvial 305 filter! Is it ok not to have a skimmer?
 
Also although I am over stocked I have had all my fish in the tank for around 9 months
 
I also use a fluval 305, just make sure you keep it well maintained as nitrates can build up in there quite quickly. Your nitrate readings are a tad on the high side but maybe with some more attention to the canister and an extra water change here or there you can get them down even further. :)

It took me months of hard work to get to 0 trates.
 
Yeah I know!! But compared to being over 250 before it doesn't seem so bad! I don't know how my clowns survived as they were all I had to start with! How often do u clean your filter? Do you think I have too much over stocked to the point that I should maybe take fish out?
 
You are not overstocked really in my opinion but if all the fish are getting along and you have no other issues than up to 20ppm nitrates then i think you can keep them all. Unless of course youre looking for an excuse to rehome one. lol

Do we have a full tank shot? pretty pls?
 
No no I just wanted to know if I was doing the fish more harm than good! It's a fowlr tank! I will post a pic tomorrow as I am not at home just now! I'm just waiting to get into my new house so that I can get a new tank! That won't be til next year tho!
 
Here are the pics! Hope the quality is ok! They were took on my phone
 

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melosu58 said:
Looks pretty nice to me. Great job.

Thanks! I'm still having a bit of trouble with hair Algue but hopefully more frequent water changes will fix that! It's a lot better than what it was! My firefish is REALLY shy! He just comes out his cave and darts back in every 30 seconds! He has started staying out a bit longer now though!
 
carey said:
Nice setup!! Looks great!

Thanks! I'm learning a lot now and need to learn more for starting my new tank when I move into my new house next year! I'm going for a 500 ltr which I think is about 130g!! I can't wait
 
carey said:
I also use a fluval 305, just make sure you keep it well maintained as nitrates can build up in there quite quickly. Your nitrate readings are a tad on the high side but maybe with some more attention to the canister and an extra water change here or there you can get them down even further. :)

It took me months of hard work to get to 0 trates.

How often do u clean ur filter and what do u do to clean it? Also how often do u change the carbon?
 
I opened it up every 2 weeks and cleaned it out. It doesnt accumulate alot in 2 weeks but I still do it. I run carbon every other change, it's not needed as much as people say. :) I have filter floss and biomedia in the trays.

Hope that helps
 
carey said:
I opened it up every 2 weeks and cleaned it out. It doesnt accumulate alot in 2 weeks but I still do it. I run carbon every other change, it's not needed as much as people say. :) I have filter floss and biomedia in the trays.

Hope that helps

Yes thanks Carey! I usuall do mine every 3-4 weeks so thats probably where the nitrates are coming from! The guy at my lfs said to change the carbon every 3 months! I am a. **** of a lot happier with my tank now since I bought my RO/DI unit! The poor fish must have hated me before I got it! I suppose that will teach me to jump in two feet first though!! I've had a look at your 125g VERY impressive! So sorry about your losses though :(
 
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