Do I really need to change 10% water weekly ?

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olegdulin

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Apr 5, 2014
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We had a new tank for two weeks now. We had fish in it for a week.

It is a fully planted tank. At night we run air pump, during the day air pump is off but lights are on. We are pumping co2 24/7.

Every day we do water quality readings. So far, ammonia has been around 0-0.5ppm,no2 at 0, and no3 fluctuates between 0 and 20 ppm. So all safe levels as far as I know.

The only reason I can think of to do a 10% water change this weekend is to vacuum up some plant debris. How can I prepare tap water and dechlorinate it before putting it back in the tank ?

Regards,
Oleg


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We had a new tank for two weeks now. We had fish in it for a week.

It is a fully planted tank. At night we run air pump, during the day air pump is off but lights are on. We are pumping co2 24/7.

Every day we do water quality readings. So far, ammonia has been around 0-0.5ppm,no2 at 0, and no3 fluctuates between 0 and 20 ppm. So all safe levels as far as I know.

The only reason I can think of to do a 10% water change this weekend is to vacuum up some plant debris. How can I prepare tap water and dechlorinate it before putting it back in the tank ?

Regards,
Oleg


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Yes, water changes are the best thing you can do for your tank. Do at least 10% weekly, because it is healthy for your fish, and it keeps your nitrite and nitrate levels down naturally... Especially during the nitro cycle, 10% water changes every other day.
 
I have switched to doing a monthly 50% water change on my 55g planted tank. But I am in a similar situation that my nitrates stay at 0 so the water change is more for keeping a pH crash from happening rather than keeping water levels where they should be. Weekly is ideal but I am a full time student / full time cook so that's just not going to happen.
 
It really depends on your stock and your bioload. I use my nitrates as a guide. Try to keep your nitrates between 0-20ppm at the end of the week. If they are higher than this then you know you need to do higher water changes or Change water more often.

You can keep nitrates lower by adding more plants, maintaining filter media and gravel more often or by reducing the bioload.
 
Fish In Tank Cycling

We had a new tank for two weeks now. We had fish in it for a week.

It is a fully planted tank. At night we run air pump, during the day air pump is off but lights are on. We are pumping co2 24/7.

Every day we do water quality readings. So far, ammonia has been around 0-0.5ppm,no2 at 0, and no3 fluctuates between 0 and 20 ppm. So all safe levels as far as I know.

The only reason I can think of to do a 10% water change this weekend is to vacuum up some plant debris. How can I prepare tap water and dechlorinate it before putting it back in the tank ?

Regards,
Oleg


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Hello Oleg...

Cycling a tank with fish requires daily testing for ammonia and nitrite. These are the toxic forms of nitrogen. They are very harmful to aquarium fish. You should remove 25 percent of the tank water when you have a positive test for either of the above toxins. The change will maintain reasonably safe water conditions for the fish and still allow healthy growth for the microscopic bugs that use the nitrogen for food.

You simply test the water daily and remove a quarter of the tank water when you have a positive test for ammonia or nitrite. When you have several daily tests that show no trace of either of these toxins, the tank is cycled.

The process typically takes a month.

B
 
I just want to pick up on one point from the OP.
IMO Co2 should only be run when the lights are on, stopping at least one hour before lights out. Plants reverse the co2 to oxygen process at night and produce Co2. The air stone at night helps 'knock out' the co2. Adding external night time Co2 is at best useless for plants and at worst potentially harmful to fish.
The added bonus is doubling the life of your Co2 supply.
 
I have a fermentation DYI bottle doing CO2 injection. From what I have read it is nearly impossible to overdoses your tank on co2 from a sugar/yeast process. But I understand your point...


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How big is the tank?
For my smaller tanks (10 gallon and under) I just fill a 3 gallon bucket with temperature matched water and add some water conditioner.

For my larger tanks (20 gallons and up) and use a siphon that attaches to my kitchen sink. Again, I temperature match the water and then dose enough water conditioner to treat the entire tank before adding water.

I do 50% water changes on 5 aquariums each week. In addition to removing toxins (there are others besides ammonia, nitrite and nitrate) it also replaces minerals that the fish need. Takes about an hour if I put my mind to it. Its really not that difficult.
 
+1 - it depends on stocking but I think 25% is a nice minimum to slow down tank water specs changing over time and keep fish used to water changes. Just imo.
 
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