Water Change Question?

[newcomer]

Well everything I read on this posting is about water changes , well some people say once a week, other twice a month . Lastly there are some who say once a month, well witch is it? How ofter do you do your water changes? Also How long do you leave your tank before a first round?

 

[Terry]

Hiya newcomer
Well what can i say, everybody has there own opinion on this subject. I would tell you that when your first set up an aquarium, you should leave it for six weeks. During that time checking your water perameters as you go. When the aquarium is mature well what ever i say someone will tell you differant. Just wait for the answers to come in and see.

 

[silvi-p]

hi,
just look here: not only personal habits, stocking and tap water characteristics are important as well:
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=7428

you can start doing water changes in the second week. you won't disturb the "cycling" of a tank, and you can practice handling the tubes, water, towels etc.

-s.

 

[tkos]

Don't leave your tank for 6 weeks unless you are doing a fishless cycle. The water quality would get real bad during that time when cycling if there was fish involved. Remeber that when you see ammonia and nitrites on tests that means there is more than the current bacteria load can hanlde so removing them won't kill the bacteria.

silvi-p is right. It all depends on your tank. If you have a 20 gallon with lots of plants and 5 neons then you could probably go for a month without worry. But if you have a single oscar in a 55 gallon then you need to clean that every week.

 

[Terry]

When i said about a 6 week maturing time it was a fishless cycle, This is another subject everyone can talk about also, should we use fish to mature our tanks. About 60%+ of people would probably say yes.

 

[newcomer]

well thanks guy's I have just posted another question about decoration's but this is cool. I waited 4 week's and I used the cycle Suppliment. and then two week's later I added a betta and then two week's later I added 4 more fish ( Platy Guppy, Tetra, algea eater) then vacumedand cleaned all the filter matter, How often should I buy new matter? I'm new at this stuff and well planning on getting a 55 gallon when I get a bigger place, but for now I have a 10 gallon, with a mini filter, working on a air pump, and well heater in the winter, cause well I live in Canada. Any thought's on this???

 

[HOLLIEO]

Yea. I will have to say cleaning your tank (once mature/cycled), would depend a lot on what you are keeping in there.
For example..
I have a 20 gallon that has some small tropical community fish. I clean that tank once a week. When I say clean it, I just vac the gravel while replacing 20% tank water. Once a month I take all the decorations out, clean or replace (I like to change it around), replace like 50% of water, replace filter cartridges.
Now, on my 50 gallon ..... I have to clean that sucker out like every three days.
The reason for that is because I have 4 large goldfish and a southern painted water turtle in it. All very messy animals and I still don't have an adequate filter on that tank yet.
I hope this helps a bit

 

[newcomer]

it will I hope i will do it this after noon thanks for your help
?

 

[tkos]

If you are running a filter with an air pump that probably isn't enough for a 10 gallon tank. I would suggest get an AC Mini HOB for your tank. Easy to use and clean and very reliable. Not too expensive either. You say you have an algae eater. Do you know what type? There are a lot of algae eaters that will not be able to live in a 10 gallon aquarium for too long and many are very messy.

As for how often to change media in the filter, I never do. I just rinse it out to remove excess gunk in it. If you do remove some media it should be done a little at a time. That is why I always add extra floss or sponges to the filter. That way you never get rid of all the good bacteria if you need to replace some of the media.

 

[Allivymar]

My water changes also depend on the tank. I gravel vac/water change a minimum of ~20% once a week, but I test a couple times a week. If my nitrates start climbing, I do a small water change (doesn't happen often). Really, those tests are your guide to water changes. ANY ammonia or nitrites, higher levels of nitrates, is a sign that a water change is needed. Doesn't mean if none shows up, don't change the water; rather means changes aren't needed as frequently. But keep in mind, anything that goes into the tank STAYS in the tank unless YOU remove it. Hence my weekly gravel vacs/water changes.

Since I run 2 bio-wheels, I do change my filter media when its really clogged. There reaches a point where rinsing simply cannot remove the fine debris stuck in the spaces, and it decreases the effectiveness of the filter media. I went out and bought some plan old filter media instead of the expensive pre made filters. Works just as well and is cheaper.

As for tank set-ups and initial water changes, again I follow test results and not a set rule. I've been fortunate to either have Bio-Spira or mature filter media to kick start my tanks, but even then was doing regular water changes from the get go. Ammonia and nitrites are deadly to fish; I see no reason to subject the fish to em, so I dilute with the water changes.

 

[newcomer]

i guess i have to go and buy one of these test kit's.. Had the tank running for two month's and nothing yet.. no death's other then the betta accident.. but I don't know what is a good test kit? How much Canadian?

 

[Cherry Barb]

What you want is Fresh Water Master Test Kit. I use this one with the glass tubes and drops, etc. Its cheaper than strips and I think more accurate. As for water changes, well like several of us have said, it depends on fish, environment and test results. I personally have a 20 gal community tank and I do at least a 10% water change a week. I only vaccuum half the gravel at time even though I run a bio-wheel filter. Every other week, I will take out 1/2 of my decorations and clean them and I rinse my carbon pack in used tank water.

Since you are running a smaller tank you may need to work a little harder to keep your bio-load in check. Perform your tests and see where your parameters fall. Then you can decide from there how often to clean/water change your tank. I would also suggest you test often as you learn more about your hobby. That is how I learned and am still learning to recognize signs of differences or potential problems in my tanks.