Bubble_B0y
Aquarium Advice Addict
Besides nitrate, I was wondering..
is there any other chemicals in the water that can become toxic over time?
is there any other chemicals in the water that can become toxic over time?
Tiffi said:I think he meant not actually changing water, but just add the amount of evaporated water back into the tank. So not taking any old water out.
Jchillin said:Just a little confused about the title and the queation in your post.
Topping off evaported water will not add ammonia, nitrite or nitrate. Depending on how much water you are replacing, you can add dechlorinator to avoid build up of chlorine/chloramines.
malkore said:In addition, hardness will build up , and it doesn't take long.
About 2 months of not changing water, just topping off a 20gallon...I went from tap water hardness of 9dKh and 13dGh to 14dKh and 18dGh. The tetra in the tank were not impressed at all.
Bubble_B0y said:malkore said:In addition, hardness will build up , and it doesn't take long.
About 2 months of not changing water, just topping off a 20gallon...I went from tap water hardness of 9dKh and 13dGh to 14dKh and 18dGh. The tetra in the tank were not impressed at all.
confused - the Hardness stabilises the pH and prevents it from fluctuations.
Isn't this a good thing??
Bubble_B0y said:what are DOC (dissolved organic compounds) and how do they affect the fish?
Jchillin said:I believe that the original question asked was about adding back evaporated water and had nothing at all to do with the member's desire to not do water changes.
Let's try to keep the thread on topic.
malkore said:Bubble_B0y said:malkore said:In addition, hardness will build up , and it doesn't take long.
About 2 months of not changing water, just topping off a 20gallon...I went from tap water hardness of 9dKh and 13dGh to 14dKh and 18dGh. The tetra in the tank were not impressed at all.
confused - the Hardness stabilises the pH and prevents it from fluctuations.
Isn't this a good thing??
Not necessarily. many fish live in soft water. a high carbonate and general hardness won't be to their liking. And carbonate hardness not only stabilizes pH, but also raises pH as it rises...because the carbonate hardness is a measure of alkalinity, and alkaline substances have a pH above 7.0.
Bubble_B0y said:what are DOC (dissolved organic compounds) and how do they affect the fish?
DOC's are the organic substances that do NOT break down in the aquarium...they simply build up.
Ever go to a pond that has no inlet and outlet for water? Notice how it smells kinda funky...and the water isn't very appealing to want to swim in?
Compare that to a small body of water that does have and inlet and outlet. That exports the DOC's out as well as providing fresh water.
if protein skimming worked for freshwater, it would help remove a lot of DOC's so our water changes could be smaller. However, skimming in FW is very inefficient, when it works at all, so we are left with PWC's as our only solution.