Changing out water in your tank...

[Douglas4701]

Do any of you change out a portion of water in your tank each month? I was reading on marineland web site about changing carbon out in an activated carbon filter and they suggest you change 25% of your water out a month? Is it necessary to do this? What about when you have a 50 gallon tank? A fourth of the water? Do you condition it in buckets before?

 

[Jess1ca]

Do any of you change out a portion of water in your tank each month? I was reading on marineland web site about changing carbon out in an activated carbon filter and they suggest you change 25% of your water out a month? Is it necessary to do this? What about when you have a 50 gallon tank? A fourth of the water? Do you condition it in buckets before?

I change like 60% of my water every 3 days

 

[Douglas4701]

Your bong water I assume? Ido t have a bong with a fifty gallon resivor.

 

[Jess1ca]

Your bong water I assume? Ido t have a bong with a fifty gallon resivor.

Bahaha! Actually my 55g gets one every 3 days then my fry tanks ranging from 20-10g and my 29g about every 5 or 6 days, and my 10g Betta/shrimp/snails weekly.

Sounds like water changes aren't really your style... Eh?

 

[Douglas4701]

Not necessarily. I would do it for the aquarium. But why are you changing the water in your 55 gallon tank (60 %) every three days? A friend who got me interested in aquariums does not do it that often. Just curious. Seems like a lot of work to drain 30 gallons and replace it everyday.

 

[Douglas4701]

Correction; every three days. Please advise. Thanks

 

[Jess1ca]

Correction; every three days. Please advise. Thanks

I do it because I need to, to keep the water safe for my fish I have to change the water to remove excessive nitrates, replace minerals, remove waste, etc.

Most people don't have to do it as often, once weekly is pretty much the standard. My 55g Mixed African tank is heavily stocked so I need to do frequent water changes to keep them healthy.

 

[aaronjohn20]

It all depends on your stocking level, planted or not, and filtration. Maybe a few other things to determine how much and often you should do water changes. The only way to answer them 2 questions are with a liquid test kit ie api freshwater master test kit or saltwater kit depending on what you have obviously

 

[Douglas4701]

Fair enough. I personally am in the learning/planning stages and so all info is helpful. I do not intend on having any live plants. I do plan to have multiple filters, bubbles, etc. I know pets mart will test your water for you... Are the kits fairly easy to understand? What kind of filtration sys would you go with on a 50g tank!

 

[Douglas4701]

Also can you give me an idea on stocking level, with no live plants in a 50g? What kind of water changeout are you looking at?

 

[Jess1ca]

Also can you give me an idea on stocking level, with no live plants in a 50g? What kind of water changeout are you looking at?

I would also recommend an API master kit. The majority of us on the forum use it. It's a million times more accurate than strips (and sometimes the lfs), very easy to read & convenient being able to test at home

What kind of fish do you like? Community or Agressive?

Water change schedule relies on your stock but like I said before weekly is pretty standard and about 20-50% as I've read. Your parameters will warrant changes as needed.

I like to over filter my tanks and some fish like Africans need a good filtration system.

Here are a couple links

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f15/guide-to-starting-a-freshwater-aquarium-186089.html

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...guide-and-faq-to-fishless-cycling-148283.html

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/fishin-cycling-step-dark-side

 

[aaronjohn20]

Depends on what kind of fish you are wanting. Just regular old livebearers and such I would shoot for 5x the filtration so 50x5=250. Now for african cichlids I would go for around 10x the filtration. Not sure what people reccomend for new world cichlids, and fish like a betta can't have a strong current cause they need to come to the surface for air. I've got a horribly overstocked 46g bf community tank and I'm doing about 75% pwc once a week. I can list my stock if you would like, but I'm not gonna do it for no reason lol, I'm at work. I've also got a marineland penguin 350 biowheel filter and a marineland maxijet 400 circ pump.

 

[Douglas4701]

In looking at community. Perhaps around ten fish. I would like to have. I would like to have a good amount of snails and perhaps a sucker fish.. Good idea or no? What kind of filters now? The guys at the store showed two week type filters that clean up to 60 gallons... So I should def go with something better? What would you equip a 50 gal with?

 

[Jess1ca]

In looking at community. Perhaps around ten fish. I would like to have. I would like to have a good amount of snails and perhaps a sucker fish.. Good idea or no? What kind of filters now? The guys at the store showed two week type filters that clean up to 60 gallons... So I should def go with something better? What would you equip a 50 gal with?

Well I'm no good at community fish so I will leave that up to someone else just don't do a common Pleco, they get HUGE and require large tanks. Snails are awesome! I have a bunch of Mystery snails, they are pretty cool I also have a bunch if shrimp they are great at keeping the tank clean. Are you contemplating a canister or hob filter?

 

[aaronjohn20]

In looking at community. Perhaps around ten fish. I would like to have. I would like to have a good amount of snails and perhaps a sucker fish.. Good idea or no? What kind of filters now? The guys at the store showed two week type filters that clean up to 60 gallons... So I should def go with something better? What would you equip a 50 gal with?

10 fish wouldn't be bad at all, depending on what you pick out of course. Personally I don't like snail but that's just my own opinion. Id prob just stay away from the plecos and get a school of corey cats, but again, just my own opinion. How many gph were they filters you were shown? That's what you need to be looking at. Depending on what stock you pick out, that 60g filter may be just fine for you. Do you remember what filter it was? Oh and if you do go a school of corey cats, do atleast 6 of them, and no that doesn't count towards your 10 fish you want lol. Please, feel free to ask whatever you may need to ask. There are no stupid questions, remember that!

 

[Douglas4701]

They showed me a typical Aqueon that attaches to the back and said two would work on separate ends to add up to 60 gallons.

 

[aaronjohn20]

Do you know what gallon per hour they were? So each on was good for up to 30, correct?

 

[Douglas4701]

I'd say 30 to 45 GPH if I can remember well enough. I learned a bit more at the fish store. Seems canisters are quite better but are very expensive.

 

[Jess1ca]

I'd say 30 to 45 GPH if I can remember well enough. I learned a bit more at the fish store. Seems canisters are quite better but are very expensive.

AquaClear makes great HOB's.

 

[Douglas4701]

Yeah I saw the hobs and that brand. Is the cleaning process on those when you change the filter quite fun?