Philly33
Aquarium Advice Freak
- Joined
- Mar 10, 2011
- Messages
- 468
How much should I change weekly? I've had people tell me 10gal some say 30-40%. Please advise and why?
I never change less than 30% a week even with a low bioload... mostly because the live plants need trace minerals replaced.
That's tough with a 90gal. I'm doing 30gal 33% weekly. I have an RO/DI filter but 45gal weekly is a lot.
My larger tanks get a 25% change, the small tanks (less than 3 gallons) get 50 - 75% depending on how quick I can cut off the siphon.
Philly33 said:That's tough with a 90gal. I'm doing 30gal 33% weekly. I have an RO/DI filter but 45gal weekly is a lot.
Hello Philly...
If you're going to the trouble of hauling out your water change equipment, then IMO, you need to make it worth the effort.
I change 60 to 70 percent of the tank water every 6 to 7 days in my large, planted tanks. Trust me on this one. The more water you replace and the more often you replace it, the better.
Large, frequent water changes accomplish two things: You don't need to overfilter your tanks, because the filters are just filtering water that's already clean.
The other benefit is, you never have to test the water conditions, because by following this routine religiously, there's no time for pollutants to build up before the next large water change. By flushing a lot of pure, treated tap water through the tank, you're guaranteed the tank water is stable and this is the most important thing for your fish and plants.
B
also what you could do is mix the ro/di water with the tap to make it saferMy tap water is terrible. Yes, I am buffering my RO water. I will try to increase to 45gal 50% WC. It's tough because I have my RO system in the basement and that's a lot of water to lug up stairs. I guess by summer I'll have huge calves. Lol
All of the your input makes sense. I'll give it a go. Just hope they make 45gal garbage cans. Wifey would kill me if I used multiple cans.