Changing too much water?

[Revenantwing]

Seems like my tank is going no where in terms of cycling. I change the water everday about 1/3 of it regardless of parameters. Good or bad?
PH 7.2
Ammonia 0
Nitrites 0
Nitrates 0

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

Let's back up a step...

Have you added anything to the tank to generate ammonia, like a cocktail shrimp, fish food, pure ammonia, or die-off from live rock? You need an ammonia source to start the cycle.

If you've got an ammonia source, then no... don't do water changes. You want the ammonia to build up to generate the bacteria. The only reason to do a water change during a cycle is if you have live animals in there and you need to keep the ammonia levels down. But even then, you need ammonia to cycle.

 

[Revenantwing]

yes i have live animals. A betta and an apple snail. So your saying i should wait till my ammonia gets to a certain level then start doing the Water Changes?

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

Oh... this is a freshwater tank.

I haven't a clue, really. You're posting in the "Saltwater & Reef" section. Might want to go over to the Freshwater section of the forum and ask there.

Regardless... to cycle, you need measurable ammonia. But measurable ammonia is toxic to fish/snails. That's why cycling without live critters in the tank is recommended. With fish/snails, you need to do water changes to keep the ammonia levels low, but that prolongs the cycle - so your fish are in the toxic conditions even longer. Kind of a viscous cycle.

 

[Bettababe1011]

Yup come over to us in freshwater. We will be happy to help you. You can either start a new thread or pm a moderator to have this switched over.

 

[Revenantwing]

OHH didnt notice D: my bad!

 

[Bettababe1011]

No problem.

 

[Revenantwing]

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f15/too-much-water-changes-148340.html#post1299607