How often should I perform water changes?

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T Money

Aquarium Advice Regular
Joined
Apr 17, 2018
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68
I have 125 gallon tank with 9 juvenile cichlids and 2 plecos. I have 2 marineland emperor 400 filters. How often should I perform water changes?
 
Several factors to consider, such as the amount you feed, size of your fish, etc...
You can't go wrong with weekly 50% water changes regardless.
 
IMO, one should change out 50% of the tank water every week. Maybe 2x 30 gal.WC a week, with thorough gravel vacs.
Review threads from BBradbury, AA' s resident water management guru. He has very informative tips regarding water management.
 
Hello T...

Water changes should really be done weekly and half the tank volume in gallons is recommended. Though, more is always better when it comes to changing the tank water. In short here's why: The trace elements in water change the longer it runs through a filtering system. Water when exposed to nitrogen from fish waste and nitrogen in the air reduces oxygen. Fish and plants also use trace elements to stay healthy. The longer water stays in the tank, the more it changes. By removing and replacing most of it weekly, you can maintain the best water chemistry for the fish and plants.

B
 
Hello T...

Water changes should really be done weekly and half the tank volume in gallons is recommended. Though, more is always better when it comes to changing the tank water. In short here's why: The trace elements in water change the longer it runs through a filtering system. Water when exposed to nitrogen from fish waste and nitrogen in the air reduces oxygen. Fish and plants also use trace elements to stay healthy. The longer water stays in the tank, the more it changes. By removing and replacing most of it weekly, you can maintain the best water chemistry for the fish and plants.

B
Thank you for the feedback. Are there certain chemicals I should use during the water change?
 
Hello again T...

You only need to use one of the products that removes chlorine and chloramine and also detoxifies forms of nitrogen like ammonia and nitrite. I use Seachem's "Safe", but there are others. I prefer to treat the tap water before it goes into the tank.

B
 
However, if treating the water beforehand isn’t an option, you can certainly add the total amount of dechlorinator needed to treat the entire tank before you add water. I use a Python water changer, so I’ve always treated the tank before the new water is added.
 
However, if treating the water beforehand isn’t an option, you can certainly add the total amount of dechlorinator needed to treat the entire tank before you add water. I use a Python water changer, so I’ve always treated the tank before the new water is added.
Ok I got it. How do I ensure the added water is the right temperature?
 
I regulate it from the tap before I set the Python pump to the fill position. I also use a digital thermometer and keep an eye out for temp changes while the tank is filling.
 
I have 125 gallon tank with 9 juvenile cichlids and 2 plecos. I have 2 marineland emperor 400 filters. How often should I perform water changes?
Usually partial water changes are done once a week...usually 1/4 at a time. But one of the reasons it's done is to keep down nitrates. Test the nitrate level before your water change. If it's very high, you may have to do it a couple times a week until you get it done. But usually once a week keeps the perameters good.
 
I change a lot of water and agree with B.
Change as much as you can as often as possible.
Too many keepers without think larger tanks are easier..
50% of a larger tank is not easier...
I have a faucet[mixing station] I have plumbed in that I adjust the temperature of my water with.I adjust to close to where I want and never move it unless changing temp. I have a 1/4 turn on/off faucet after the mixing station I can simply turn on and off. At that point I measure temp and have a hose splitter with 2 hoses [1 for each 'fish room'].
I have this after my 1/4 turn faucet to tell temp. Not sure{ I actually painfully remember} how I got by without it.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B077XSVWM8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
The deal with big tanks is you sometimes can't set it and forget it. When I am refilling my second 60g or my 80g or 180 or any tank the hot water heater may run low enough to effect the temp 1/2 way through filling..
This simple tool makes it brainless...I love it..Matching Temps is pretty important IMO..
I use SAFE for my dechlorinator since I change such larger volumes ..
You can buy 5,000 g of prime[500ml] or 200,000g [kilo]of safe for close to the same price..
Doesn't seem like a hard choice, eveyone using prime is paying more [a lot] to ship water..I pre mix my SAFE and have for 4-5 years without issue.I own a chlorine test kit and know regardless of directions or what people say it works and last over a month kept in a bottle that lets no light in.I use a black bicycle water bottle that holds 500ml.I add 1 teaspoon of safe to it with water and have a solution that treats 30g per 15 ml.
Easy peasy and full proof large water changes done all too often..I have over 60 tanks...:nono:
 
Usually partial water changes are done once a week...usually 1/4 at a time. But one of the reasons it's done is to keep down nitrates. Test the nitrate level before your water change. If it's very high, you may have to do it a couple times a week until you get it done. But usually once a week keeps the perameters good.
I wrote before that 1/4 a week is the usual change. My tank is only 55 gal. and lately Ive been changing 1/4 of it every day for 2 weeks, but I had a male blue Gourami that died. I didn't know why until I looked at a dissection of one of his gills under my microscope to find gill flukes. So I treated my tank twice without water changes in between to make sure all parasites were dead. I didn't have to worry about nitrates building up because I have tons of the houseplant Pothos rooted in the back. The tank looks fine from the front, but the Pothos suck up the nitrates and grow like crazy. Here's a pic of the back of my tank.20180413_164625.jpg
 
Water Changes

The problem with smaller water changes is that you leave most of polluted water in the tank. The fish and plants add to that pollution daily and after a few days, you have a higher concentration of nitrogen. If you recall your high school chemistry classes, you'll remember that nitrogen in the water drives off oxygen and this isn't healthy for fish or plants. The more time between water changes, the higher the nitrogen in the water. So, it's really best to change out most of the water weekly, because you remove most of the dissolved fish waste (nitrogen) and what's left in the tank is diluted to a safe level in all the new, treated tap water.

B
 
I wrote before that 1/4 a week is the usual change. My tank is only 55 gal. and lately Ive been changing 1/4 of it every day for 2 weeks, but I had a male blue Gourami that died. I didn't know why until I looked at a dissection of one of his gills under my microscope to find gill flukes. So I treated my tank twice without water changes in between to make sure all parasites were dead. I didn't have to worry about nitrates building up because I have tons of the houseplant Pothos rooted in the back. The tank looks fine from the front, but the Pothos suck up the nitrates and grow like crazy. Here's a pic of the back of my tank.View attachment 308517
One more thing that I forgot to mention about water changes is to always to it while vacuuming the substrate of the aquarium. A lot of fish waste falls to the bottom never making to the filter. You may have already known that, but others also read these postings that may be new to the hobby. In truth, you should do partial water as often as you can.
 
Water Changes

You don't really need to vacuum the bottom material, especially if you keep aquatic plants that need to be rooted in the substrate. This makes vacuuming difficult, because you can damage plant roots. It takes several days for fish waste material to dissolve in the water and everything in the tank dissolves. So, by simply removing and replacing most of the tank water every few days, you remove everything that has dissolved in it and you remove the dissolved waste before it builds up in the water. The large, weekly water change guarantees good water condtions all the time.

B
 
One more thing that I forgot to mention about water changes is to always to it while vacuuming the substrate of the aquarium. A lot of fish waste falls to the bottom never making to the filter. You may have already known that, but others also read these postings that may be new to the hobby. In truth, you should do partial water as often as you can.
I have a sand substrate that I vacuum when I do water changes. I don't push me vacuum hose into the sand. The uneaten food and the fluffy blobs of wish waste pull right off the bottom without disturbing the substrate with the vacuum about 3/4 from the bottom without leaving there to continue to decompose. My nitrates are almost always nil with my water changes and Pothos plants growing out of the back.
 
I have a sand substrate that I vacuum when I do water changes. I don't push me vacuum hose into the sand. The uneaten food and the fluffy blobs of wish waste pull right off the bottom without disturbing the substrate with the vacuum about 3/4 from the bottom without leaving there to continue to decompose. My nitrates are almost always nil with my water changes and Pothos plants growing out of the back.
That's 3/4 inch from the substrate.
 
I vacuum all my planted tanks, just don't do a deep vac around plants with "delicate" roots. To me rotting organics feed algae more than they feed plants... Just my opinion. Heck I even vacuum my MC, HC and glosso carpets... So much junk settles out underneath the "canopy" of the carpet.

With other plants I'll put the siphon over the substrate and swirl it around to kick up mulm and remove it.
 
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