I'm sick of changing water weekly

[Scottw68TN]

I dutifully change my water 1 a week but my nitrAtes never go above 10ppm. I'm thinking of moving to every 2 weeks or whenever it hits 20ppm. I would like to get a consensus of everyones thought toward this.

 

[LondonGman]

I bet I am sicker of changing water than you!! However I do not have a water testing kit so I change every Saturday. Because I am busy tomorrow, I did it tonight.

I reckon my fishes can stay alive in my tank for up to a month without a water change but they would not be happy.

The point I am trying to make is that we should change water as often as possible so that it is as close to pure fresh water as opposed to a “ppm” number from the chemistry kit.

However for the record, it would be nice to see the consensus on the ppm.

 

[William]

I change my water religiously once a week.


More often if I'm battling something like an ammonia spike [ which I recently did battle, and win.. by doing 5gal water changes everyday for almost 2 weeks or more ]\



Edit

But really, I guess it depends on your fish. Some fish are extremly sensitive, others will survive like cockroaches.

 

[Crow]

My well water starts with 20 ppm nitrates. So I bought some Nitra-zorb to treat my well water before I put it in the tank. The instructions said that nitrates are *not* harmful to fish, which I thought was really odd considering the only real use of that product is to remove nitrates. It claimed that the nitrate thing was just a myth and that most fish can easily handle over 300ppm. (Who ever heard of a commercial product claiming that, no, you don't really need to use this but here it is if you want to waste 15 bucks.)

Since then I haven't really worried about nitrates too much, but I still do water changes at least every two weeks, usually every Sunday, just beceause I think it's a good idea to keep water fresh. My nitrates rarely get above 40 in that time period, but my bio-load has also just increased, so we'll see. . . All my fish are of the hardy variety anyway.

 

[dralarms]

I let my 55 gal get up to 40ppm and lost 2 female betta's in the process, I will change it around 20ppm from now on.

 

[Allivymar]

Part of the issue with high nitrates is when its combined with lax water changing. Theres 2 interesting articles that talk about nitrates (and one also discusses "old tank syndrome") that I'm posting cause I'm too tired to explain it myself LOL

Nitrate Reduction And How Often Should I Clean My Tank: http://www.tomgriffin.com/aquasource/nitratereduction.shtml

Old Tank Syndrome:
http://www.tomgriffin.com/aquasource/oldtanksyndrome.shtml

I do changes once a week; I find nitrates rarely make 15 ppm on that regimen.

 

[peterp]

I have 3 tanks totaling 168 gals and I don't find it a bother to do weekly 20-25% changes. Also a 150 gal livestock tank overwintering my koi.

And it seems top-ups 2 to 3 times a week are now needed that the weather has gone cold and the furnace has started to kick in.

I look at it as it was not the fishes idea to live in my tanks so I will try to provide the best environment for them I can. It does not take that long with the python, you just have to not get distracted and remember it is re-filling the tank.

Cleaning all the filters, now that is a real chore

 

[Gunnie]

Maybe it's just me, but I feel real guilty when I don't change the water out of my tanks every week. I will tell you though, I might feel less guilty if I didn't have a python to get the job done! Even if your nitrates aren't high, I think your fish thoroughly enjoy the fresh water at least once a week.

 

[Electrobes]

I will definately agree the python is the best buy yet. I recently started buying more hardcore stuff for tanks, like a couple of days ago I ordered the XP3, and soon I hopefully will have my larger tank to accomodate the oscar pair and pleco. I am mega sick of cleaning the tank only becase i have to use a hose attachment instead of the faucet (it doesn't fit). The funny thing is I am a bad starter.. but once started I so get into it (must be OCD). I can't wait till I get the larger tank, and my oscars and pleco start being happy again, plus my oscars can finally start healing right from HITH. But yeah once that bigger tank comes my way to buy this entire household will be happier!

 

[millym]

we always always do ( well not me im usually always having a lie in - but my other half) a 25% ish water change every sunday morning, if we didnt & we had an ammonia spike or some fish died because of it we would feel terrible!!!!! and for the pleasure of having all our finned friends looking happy for the rest of the week its well worth it...... well if you have a dog you have to take it walkies at least every day dont you,.........so once a week maintenance with finned friends is not really a big deal . and all the fish seem to appreciate it & zip around more than usual after the water change - even if the tests are showing everything is ok even before the change.

 

[Guest]

I sit here and tell everyone else to do changes every week, but the truth for me?

50% every two weeks. Done it this way for a long time. (I do better during cycling)

 

[TankGirl]

I personally do mine about once every 3-4 days, but only because I have my tanks pretty heavily stocked. I do not have problems when I change more often; I do have problems when I let it slide, that simple! I think the water changes are never a bad idea, but I have a home business so I am always here with my tanks, messing with them endlessly. If I went off to work every day I might not keep the same schedule!

Also, my cardinals do not appreciate much of a nitrate level at all, so call me "once bitten, twice shy" when it comes to water changes.

 

[Scottw68TN]

I'm going to track it for awhile and change at 20ppm. That seems to be a fair level for the fish and me. Does anyone know if nitrates raise quickly at a certain point or is it a steady rise?

 

[ferret]

I'm trying to get down to a weekly regiment, at least for my two larger tanks. When healthy, I sometimes let them go as long as two weeks if my schedule is super busy. My 75 is currently getting 25% changes every 48 hours to keep ammonia under control, though. I bought one of those python hoses three days ago so I think I'm gonna be a lot better about it. Not having to lug 150+ buckets of water back and forth to the sink makes it a ton easier.

 

[dralarms]

I think it's a steady climb.

 

[Terry]

If anybody want's any practice cleaning out tanks, come to my store. I have 60 that need cleaning every week hahahahaha.
I am a weekly person myself, it isn't much of a hardship. It is part of the hobby, like millym said....

if you have a dog you have to take it walkies at least every day dont you,.........

 

[Scottw68TN]

As far as lugging buckets Heres my plan. I bought 2 rio pumps on ebay for 19.00 a peice and a 25 gallon tub at home depot for 5.00. thats 43.00 total about the cost of a python. I fill the bucket and drop both pumps in one pumps water into the tank the second attaches to the vaccum tube and leads out the door (to the plants that like the nitrates). I just turn them on and it works like a python except no water is wasted. By the way both pumps are in the water because they are submersible even though the one attached to the vacuum goes out the door. and yes I do still lug a 5 gallon bucket to the 25 gallon tub, but find it easier to pour in there and I am in no rush since I haven't started vacuuming. I can also heat the water and add chems to the tub first. I could add a filter to one pump and just filter the water like the magnums do but feel this is kind of a waste of time since water changes are still neccesary.

 

[TankGirl]

That sounds like a great innovation!

About the nitrates, it is generally a very steady climb, but I have experienced spikes when I was too vigorous with the gravel vacuuming and stirred up too much gunk.

 

[Scottw68TN]

I'm full of em! (Doesn't beat the 2 pickle jar vacuum suction pump for innovation).

 

[Fxstb88]

I was using meds so frequently I got in the habit of 2-3 25% water changes a week, but thats easy for me to say because I was only home on the weekend and mom was kind enough to help during the week. In my opinion, 33% change every 2 weeks along with filter cleaning is a must, but I choose to do a change once a week and clean my filters once a month. This schedule allows for me to accidentally skip a week without a problem.