water changes....

[justagal30]

I have a question about water changes....

Are weekly water changes mandatory?...I am due to do a water change, but I tested my water and all is perfect...

Thanks for all the help...this site is great for newbies like me

 

[Zagz]

Water changes aren't mandatory but your fish will appreciate it if you do them. I do biweekly water changes on my smaller (15gal) tank and weekly on my 29 gal tank. That is due to the stocking that I have in each tank. I am cycling a 125 gal tank and expect to do water changes no more than biweekly on that one.

 

[justagal30]

ok..i have a 100gal tank and the water is great now. I just finished my cycling about a week ago, so maybe I will do the water changes bi-weekly.

Thanks for the advice

 

[rich311k]

I would think bi-weekly would be fine in that large a tank.

 

[QTOFFER]

David Boruchowitz, the editor of Tropical Fish Hobbyist Magazine, visited the NY Greater City Aquarium Society a few months ago. He gave a thought-provoking presentation in which he advocated 100% water changes daily. That's right...100%...daily. His arguments made scientific sense, but even he conceded that this extreme schedule is often impractical and too expensive for most aquarists.

I do 50% water changes once a week. Obviously, more often would be better, but this is what works best for me and my schedule.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

I do them weekly, even if they are not needed. In my opinion, Nitrates can't ever be too low. As long as you're not wiping out the bacterial colonies by messing with the filter, you can do them as often as you want. IMO, fish are happier in less Nitrates. It's easier to maintain low nitrates than have to battle high readings.

 

[krap101]

if you have plants i dont even think you need to do water changes? you can siphon out food if it looks bad, but the plants should take care of the nitrates and the bacteria the ammonia and nitrites

 

[greenmaji]

but I tested my water and all is perfect...

I was wondering what was "perfect"
could you elaborate?
I would assume that NH3 and NO2 are 0
but what are your NO3 and PO4?

I do agree that very large water changes daily would be best but generally not practical. weekly is almost nessisary unless you have a large percentage of plant mass in the tank. You still need water changes in this case but not to remove NO3.. its to remove DOC's, proteins, hormones, mineral buildup and other wastes that are not so measurable..
http://www.bestfish.com/oldtank.html
www.tomgriffin.com/aquasource/oldtanksyndrome.shtml+aquasource+tomgriffin+Old+Tank+Syndrome&hl=en&lr=&strip=1]Tomgriffins take on OTS[/url]

 

[talloulou]

if you have plants i dont even think you need to do water changes? you can siphon out food if it looks bad, but the plants should take care of the nitrates and the bacteria the ammonia and nitrites

Even planted tanks need water changes.