Water changes - Poll

[OwlnTigger]

Okay, so I got this pleco about two weeks ago, and he has been the laziest! Then, all of a sudden, I almost cooked my Convict, had creepy water conditions, and stressed the heck out of the pleco when I drained the tank to the top of his back...

...then yesterday he swam all over the tank and sucked on every green leaf he could find, and pulled the fake grass I had poked through a little hole on a rock and seems like a new fish.

Two things happened: I killed my sister's JD and joined this forum.

So I'm thinking I MUST have a guardian angel--but more likely, I removed most of his food source when I drained the tank. Something I need to learn more about--PROPER WATER CHANGES. Anyone have a tried (have done this for at least a year with good results) and true (your fish are healthier and happier for it) method they would like to share?

 

[cbourg746]

I do 50% once a week on all my tanks. Currently I have a sick ebjd but all other fish are happy and healthy as far as I can tell.

 

[Mrc8858]

You can really turn it into a science. Take a nitrate reading daily for a week and see how your tank trends over that span (you have to keep a strict feeding schedule for this to work) how ever high you are at the end of the week will determine amount and frequency you need to do water changes. Every tank and its Bioload is unique so what works for one person won't work for another. With that being said the best thing you can do is learn your tank and its trends to appropriately maintain it.

 

[Aski247]

Helps to know the stock and size of your tank before we can give a good regimen on water changes. Current water parameters would help. Ie- ammonia, nitrate, nitrite.

Is the tank planted?

Also what kind of dechlorinator/stress coat solution are you using.

Water changes are pretty basic and shouldnt be anything to fear of doing wrong. So once we know a little more about your tank we can give better advise.

 

[shellieca]

Okay, so I got this pleco about two weeks ago, and he has been the laziest! Then, all of a sudden, I almost cooked my Convict, had creepy water conditions, and stressed the heck out of the pleco when I drained the tank to the top of his back...

...then yesterday he swam all over the tank and sucked on every green leaf he could find, and pulled the fake grass I had poked through a little hole on a rock and seems like a new fish.

Two things happened: I killed my sister's JD and joined this forum.

So I'm thinking I MUST have a guardian angel--but more likely, I removed most of his food source when I drained the tank. Something I need to learn more about--PROPER WATER CHANGES. Anyone have a tried (have done this for at least a year with good results) and true (your fish are healthier and happier for it) method they would like to share?

Oh the adventures of fish keeping! not sure what you're looking for all I do is drain 50% of the water, do a good vac while draining, add my Prime & then refill my 46g & I do this weekly. My 10g tanks I do by bucket & again just do 50%. I have 2 Chinese algae eaters, 4 mystery snails all seem happy & healthy; I feed them veggies & algae wafers which they love. My other fish are Bettas who are also happy & healthy. I haven't quite been doing this a year but close.

 

[5x5]

I'm part of the 50% weekly camp. It's well more than needed for my bioload readings, but clean water never hurts.

 

[Aski247]

I'm part of the 50% weekly camp. It's well more than needed for my bioload readings, but clean water never hurts.

It really is the way to go, I can't remember the last time I did LESS then 50%. Long as your somewhat matching temps and adding dechlorinator you will be fine. Oh, and vacuuming the substrate.

 

[bamadude91]

I personally think it's ridiculous to change 50% of the water every week. Heck, even 25% for that matter. I don't fool with all the chemicals and junk either. I top off my tanks once or twice each week as needed. I haven't lost a fish yet, and I did the fish-in cycling.
When I got my first tank earlier this year, I did weekly water changes because that's all you hear about is water changes, water changes and my water stayed messed up. I finally decided to leave the tank alone and let the filter and BB do their job. Not a single problem.
My fish eat well and are highly active and show no signs of stress. I'm not convinced water changes are necessary. Sorry.
I can already imagine the comments below when my post is read lol, and I just know somebody is going to mention I must have been doing something wrong for my water to be messed up. I haven't done a water change in months, and everything's been much better for me.

 

[k.mascher86]

I do water changes 50% every saturday, light feedings every day and as advised by hukit, no feeding on sundays to let digestive track kick in. Bloodworms once every 2 weeks as a treat.

 

[Aski247]

I'd love to hear what you parameters are. You do understand their poop/food waste turn to ammonia. Water changers are ABSOLUTLY necessary. To even suggest they are not is irresponsible on your part, seeing how this is a advice forum.

 

[5x5]

I personally think it's ridiculous to change 50% of the water every week. Heck, even 25% for that matter. I don't fool with all the chemicals and junk either. I top off my tanks once or twice each week as needed. I haven't lost a fish yet, and I did the fish-in cycling.
When I got my first tank earlier this year, I did weekly water changes because that's all you hear about is water changes, water changes and my water stayed messed up. I finally decided to leave the tank alone and let the filter and BB do their job. Not a single problem.
My fish eat well and are highly active and show no signs of stress. I'm not convinced water changes are necessary. Sorry.
I can already imagine the comments below when my post is read lol, and I just know somebody is going to mention I must have been doing something wrong for my water to be messed up. I haven't done a water change in months, and everything's been much better for me.

You are either trolling or very naive. There is a chemical process going on in every tank that requires human intervention to keep in check. You can get away with ignoring this for a few months, but your going to devastate your stock in the next few months.

What is your scientific reasoning for why the PWC is not necessary?

 

[HUKIT]

I did weekly water changes because that's all you hear about is water changes, water changes and my water stayed messed up.

I'd love to hear how weekly water changes messed up anything with regards to water quality.

The nitrogen cycles ends in the production of nitrates which are not nearly as lethal as ammonia and nitrite but they are still harmful to fish. High levels of nitrates can have all sorts of effects of long term exposure leading to death. Some examples include:

It decreases the o2 levels in the aquarium...BAD
It decreases the ablility for reproduction...BAD
It decreases the antibody production which help fight disease...BAD
It causes long term damage to spleen, liver, and kidneys...BAD
It causes the blood cells which regulates health such as clotting...BAD
It leads to damage of eyes causing blindness...yep you guessed it BAD.

I could go on and on but I'll stop there since I'm sure most people get the point. These things start to effect fish at levels of 80-100ppm, at levels in excess of 200ppm can lead to death within a few weeks.

So yes I'm in the kool-aid drinking crowd doing weekly water changes in excess of 60%, sometimes even bi-weekly...Oh Yeahh!!

So in conclusion I'd love to hear some positive effects of long term exposure to high nitrates and lack of weekly water changes.

 

[Matt68005]

The smaller the tank and the more fish and the more you feed the more you got to change the water. I don't think 50% is really necessary, maybe more like 33% or 1 third of the water once a week, and use prime and don't overdo it on the decholrinator.

 

[Mrc8858]

The smaller the tank and the more fish and the more you feed the more you got to change the water. I don't think 50% is really necessary, maybe more like 33% or 1 third of the water once a week, and use prime and don't overdo it on the decholrinator.

True but something to think about. Most people consider a 50% wc to be when they hit halfway down the tank but the top half holds more then the bottom half so really (depending on substrate and decor obviously) when you hit the halfway mark your probably closer to 65-70% of the water

 

[OwlnTigger]

You can really turn it into a science. Take a nitrate reading daily for a week and see how your tank trends over that span (you have to keep a strict feeding schedule for this to work) how ever high you are at the end of the week will determine amount and frequency you need to do water changes. Every tank and its Bioload is unique so what works for one person won't work for another. With that being said the best thing you can do is learn your tank and its trends to appropriately maintain it.

This makes the most sense. It is scientific, and that would enable me to really know what is going on in the tank. Thank you! I got my API teat kit in, and it showed high pH, 8.6, high ammonia, about 6-8 ppm, and normal nitrites and nitrates. So if I am correct, the tank still doesn't have enough bb, and I did a 50% WC. I will test the water again when I get home from work. I also feed at the same times every day. Usually spirulina brine, then flake in-between. I'll update the test levels tonight. I also only removed water and didn't mess with the gravel etc.

 

[Mrc8858]

With ammo that high you'll need to do a few back to back water changes since anything over .25 will begin burning gills and doing permanent damage. Fish in cycle can be a little tricky since its a balancing act of keeping enough ammo and trites to establish a good BB colony but keeping them low enough to keep healthy fish. Fishless cycles are the way to go

 

[OwlnTigger]

Helps to know the stock and size of your tank before we can give a good regimen on water changes. Current water parameters would help. Ie- ammonia, nitrate, nitrite.

Is the tank planted?

Also what kind of dechlorinator/stress coat solution are you using.

Water changes are pretty basic and shouldnt be anything to fear of doing wrong. So once we know a little more about your tank we can give better advise.

It is a 40 gallon half hexagon with natural gravel/rock as substrate and white rock. The plants are a mixture of plastic and some sort of fabric. The Convict is 7years old and 4-5 inches, and the plecostamus is new and is about 5inches long. Bought a new Fluval C4 filter, one central airstone. I have frozen silversides that I can feed, but was thinking it was causing the white milky scum, not sure. Mainly I feed frozen brine, brine with spirulina, and tropical flakes.

 

[OwlnTigger]

Helps to know the stock and size of your tank before we can give a good regimen on water changes. Current water parameters would help. Ie- ammonia, nitrate, nitrite.

Is the tank planted?

Also what kind of dechlorinator/stress coat solution are you using.

Water changes are pretty basic and shouldnt be anything to fear of doing wrong. So once we know a little more about your tank we can give better advise.

Oh, and I use prime during wc's.

 

[OwlnTigger]

With ammo that high you'll need to do a few back to back water changes since anything over .25 will begin burning gills and doing permanent damage. Fish in cycle can be a little tricky since its a balancing act of keeping enough ammo and trites to establish a good BB colony but keeping them low enough to keep healthy fish. Fishless cycles are the way to go

Is it safe to do them daily until the ammo levels are down, and how much?

 

[Convict2161]

Is it safe to do them daily until the ammo levels are down, and how much?

Just to add. When I was doing a fish in cycle I did 1-2 water changed a day and tested so much I ran out of my lot in a month!

Water changes back to back are fine.

I have a thread here somewhere probably last year, I was water changing every day for about 2 weeks. My fish loved them!

You need to do what you need to do to help you and your fish.