Water change questions

[echoDreamz]

Unfortunately due to the temps here in TX the water is coming out ~82 - 84F. My tank is 78 - 80F. Is this a major issue? I know the temp needs to be as close as possible, and this is as close as I can get it without leaving water sitting out.

I am also getting mixed messages about how much water and how often. Some say once a week, others say twice a month, others say every other day and on and on.

I personally feel comfortable doing it every 2 - 3 days and doing smaller changes than bigger changes. Is it OK to do a 20% water change every 2 - 3 days?

 

[Zimmanski]

I live in TX also and keep my aquarium at 80. You're supposed to keep the new water in a bucket until it equalizes to room temp/use a heater to get it to 80 then put it in the tank, I do not do that. With bigger tanks who has room or the time to keep 5 buckets around to do water changes?? My water temp in the tank fluctuates +\- 1 or 2 degrees and my fish are perfectly fine, though some people say it stresses them out(my fish like to swim through the new water as I poor it in) and of course every fish is different. I say if you've been doing it and you don't see anything wrong, keep doing it.

As for water changes, you really only have to change the water enough to keep the nitrates below unsafe levels. I, being super picky about my sand not having poop visible on it, vacuum and change water every wed and sun, and I rarely ever really seen much nitrate at all. Your PWC schedule is up to you when and how much, as long as your fish are healthy and safe.

 

[julielover]

You can easily lower the temp of you tap water by putting it in the frig or outside for the evening. In my years of experience with tropical fish the temp of the added water isn't relevent, the fish seem not to care.

 

[echoDreamz]

Who has room in their fridge for a 5 gallon bucket of water? And outside is not really an option, right now it is not too bad, but last few nights have been in the high 80s low 90s.

If there is no issue, I will continue to do this - I figure if I only take 10 - 15 gallons from a 55G tank, the 2 - 4F temp difference wont really register as that is not very much water to make a huge change in water temp.

 

[jetajockey]

It's not that big of a difference so it's no biggie.

 

[BBradbury]

Water Changes

Unfortunately due to the temps here in TX the water is coming out ~82 - 84F. My tank is 78 - 80F. Is this a major issue? I know the temp needs to be as close as possible, and this is as close as I can get it without leaving water sitting out.

I am also getting mixed messages about how much water and how often. Some say once a week, others say twice a month, others say every other day and on and on.

I personally feel comfortable doing it every 2 - 3 days and doing smaller changes than bigger changes. Is it OK to do a 20% water change every 2 - 3 days?

Hello echo...

This time of year, I keep a large fan blowing on the tank. This keeps the water temperature at about 76-78 degrees. Slightly warmer water won't harm your fish, but it will increase their metabolism, so they'll do more business. Keep the feedings to just what they'll eat in a couple of minutes and feed a couple of times a week, a variety of dry and frozen food. Tropical fish are much healthier if you feed sparingly. That way, they're always foraging around the tank, picking up the leftovers. Change half the tank water every week and routinely service the filters and you'll guarantee your fish and plants a stable environment.

B

 

[Samzter]

About the water changes. I feel it depends how stocked you are- say you had a fairly stocked tank. Do about 1 30% water change a week. A very lightly stocked tank, 30% every fortnight. A heavily stocked tank . Either: 50%+ a week , or 2 30% changes a week. Or an overstocked tank: 2-3 30% changes a week.

 

[BBradbury]

Water Changes

About the water changes. I feel it depends how stocked you are- say you had a fairly stocked tank. Do about 1 30% water change a week. A very lightly stocked tank, 30% every fortnight. A heavily stocked tank . Either: 50%+ a week , or 2 30% changes a week. Or an overstocked tank: 2-3 30% changes a week.

Hello Sam...

Every tank runs a little bit differently, so some tanks with just a few fish in them may get by with smaller, less frequent changes. I've had tanks of many sizes and stocked at different levels. I've found if you do large, weekly water changes, then the water isn't in the tank long enough for dissolved wastes to build up and foul the water. I've changed the water so often, I don't need to test the chemistry any longer. I know the properties are always stable.

Just a thought.

B

 

[BigDaddy]

I think the most important things to consider how many fish you have I'm the tank and how much you feed them. Do you have scavengers like shrimp to eat anything that slips past the huddled masses.

I do about 25% every week. I check my water a couple of times a week because I'm anal about water quality and it's always perfect. Then I get the LFS to check it every two weeks just to make sure I'm not an idiot.

That said it may not work for you so I would test your water and look for patterns.

Also I use a python, get the tap water to temperature, vacuum, dose my tank and hit the reverse switch. I know it's not the preferred method but I haven't had any water change issues and haven't read anything about people who have.

 

[BBradbury]

Water Changes

Interesting the differences in the time spent on tank maintenance. After several years in the hobby, I've looked for ways to shorten the time spent on maintaining my tanks, but not sacrificing the health of my fish and plants.

If I'm going to the effort of getting out the equipment to do a water change, it doesn't take but a few more minutes to remove half the water than 20 or 30 percent. In the process, I remove much more toxic water and my fish and plants are healthier, because I took a bit more time.

By flushing a large amount of pure, treated tap water through the tank every week, there are no dissolved wastes that build up in the water. I look at my tanks as unflushed toilets. If I was living in the tank, doing everything in there, I'd sure want a lot of water changed all the time.

Now, I've gone to emersing the roots of land plants in the tank water to purify the water even more. The roots take in all forms of nitrogen from the fish waste and and leaves stay above the water and grow in the room light. You have a balanced tank and the water changes are esstentially no longer necessary. By letting nature do the job it's done forever and I just replace the water lost to evaporation and I don't get creative and mess things up, the plants and fish take care of one another.

B

 

[Rivercats]

I have a 220g tank and do 10 gallon WC's daily (without fail). There is no way I can do a 100 gallon WC once a week. I also have fish like Whiptail cats that don't do well with large WC's. My tank is heavily planted and very healthy. As others have stated each tank is different and each person has their own ideas of what the ideal WC schedule should be.

EchoDreamz a 20% WC every 2-3 days should be just fine unless you are very overstocked. It is not the same as doing 1 huge WC weekly but I feel we all have to do our WC's on a schedule and at an amount that works for us as well as our tanks. If you water readings are all good and your fish healthy then what your doing is fine. As for the hot water problem... we had the same problem in St. Louis for a couple months. There was no such thing as cold, heck even cool, tap water. Your not doing excessive WC's at a time so that temp difference isn't a real issue.

 

[Cichlid Kid]

As said pwc scheduling depends alot on stocking levels both flora and fauna. You'll find whats right for you after you get an idea of how quickly your nitrates fluctuate. Also concerning the temp. of those pwc's +/- a few degrees won't hurt a thing. I've always tried to keep my new water a few degrees cooler than the tank water. I think this reenacts a rainshower in nature which alot of fish love and some even are encouraged to spawn by. But thats just me...

 

[BBradbury]

Weekly Water Changes

I have a 220g tank and do 10 gallon WC's daily (without fail). There is no way I can do a 100 gallon WC once a week. I also have fish like Whiptail cats that don't do well with large WC's. My tank is heavily planted and very healthy. As others have stated each tank is different and each person has their own ideas of what the ideal WC schedule should be.

EchoDreamz a 20% WC every 2-3 days should be just fine unless you are very overstocked. It is not the same as doing 1 huge WC weekly but I feel we all have to do our WC's on a schedule and at an amount that works for us as well as our tanks. If you water readings are all good and your fish healthy then what your doing is fine. As for the hot water problem... we had the same problem in St. Louis for a couple months. There was no such thing as cold, heck even cool, tap water. Your not doing excessive WC's at a time so that temp difference isn't a real issue.

Hello River...

The very large tanks can be relatively easy to change out large amounts of water weekly. The treated replacement water is kept in plastic, 55 gallon drums. A large "python" is used to remove the solid waste and the old water is syphoned into the sink. You can use an electric submersible pump for small ponds to put in the new water. Water change time is probably 2 hours tops. Might be less hassle than removing the 10 gallons a day you're doing now. Cost of the pump, might be a little pricey, but if you can afford to run such a large tank, the cost of the pump might be managable.

The goal of any tank keeper is water stability. If the bulk of the tank water doesn't stay in the tank very long, then there won't be time for wastes to build up. The fish would appreciate a much larger water change regularly and even small, daily water changes aren't nearly as effective in keeping the water chemistry stable as large, weekly changes.

Just a thought.

B

 

[Rivercats]

I actually have a python which has to be run almost the full 50 feet to reach the tank. Problem is I have untreatable rheumatoid arthritis and have to ask for help every week to do big WC's. Did that in the beginning and it turned out to be a real hassle. I have a countertop RO as I need an RO/tap water mix and at least I can do my own WC's. I do PPS-Pro dosing and keep tabs on water parameters. The tank is very heavily planted, I mean from the back of the tank to the front, there is barely any visable substrate. So my nutrients are used. I understand fully the reasoning and advantages of those large WC's but sometimes they just don't work for people. That is what I was trying to explain above. Sometimes people are more likely to do 2 smaller WC's in a week compared to 1 large one, whatever the reason. If people feel overwhelmed doing a large WC a week they are more adapt to let things slide. JMO

 

[Matt68005]

Some people say they take it right out of the tap. I have a hot/cold water line downstairs that runs to the washer and dryer im thinking of add a faucet to the cold line and just doing my water changes. I mean water come out of the tap at 70 in the summer anyways. Keeping tanks at 76 and i mean 70 degree water is probably fine for them. I wouldn't waste the time honestly, just fill them up and dump a teasponful of declorinator in there and call it good. but if your fishroom is kept a certain temperature, why not let the declorinated water sit out for them for a few hours. I use 5 gallon buckets so the water matches their tanks temparture. Too much of a sudden change can stress out weakly fish.