WC every few weeks?

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zburtle

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Jul 30, 2013
Messages
29
Location
Illinois USA
At the end of this week ill be heading back to school. Unfortunately my 40 gallon and my 30 gallon won't fit in my dorm so I'm leaving them at home. My sister will be feeding them everyday. I don't go to school far from home (about 100 miles) and will be home every 2-3 weeks. The tanks are cycled so do you think it will be ok to only do water changes every 2-3 weeks?
 
What is your nitrate lvls at every week? If you dont have a heavy load of fish I think you will be okay. I only say this if your lvls are low. Can you sister do even a small amount of PWC? Even 10g twice a week?
 
Hello z...

Water changes really should be done at least every two weeks and you need to change out half the tank water when you do them. If you instruct your sister to feed just a little a couple of times a week, you might be able to get by with 50 percent water changes every 3 weeks. It would be good to add a small HOB filter to the tanks to keep the water a bit cleaner.

B
 
I say once a month changes should be fine.

From the time I started with aquariums in 1960 (age 12) until 1997, I kept lots of tanks going all the time. So for 37 years ..... I kept tanks going fine with clear water and no diseases with monthly 20-25% water changes and gravel siphons. And NO test kits ...... you only took action if you got a disease, water was cloudy, or algae overtook your tank.

So I retired and moved from KS to FL in Nov 2010 and started back with the hobby with a 38 gallon tank with 6 fantail goldfish + pleco, 300gph HOB filter, and monthly 25% water changes. Water always clear, no odor, and tested fine per cheap walmart Jungle test strips.

Fast forward to August 2013 and I switch the tank over to tropicals. Before doing so, I took out the plants, did a complete gravel vacuum along with a 25% water change. Next day, I took acq water to petland who did the "liquid testing" and my water was "pristine."

I then stocked the aquarium with fish. I go to forums and aqadvisor.com only to find out I'm overstocked and I should be doing WEEKLY 30% water changes.

WHAT ?????? So I do the aqadvisor.com thing on a retro basis only to find that even without the pleco, I should have been doing 78% PER WEEK water changes with the goldfish .... yet I was doing 20-25% per month with no problems. So why did my water test perfect at PetSmart after only a 25% change ?????????? ---- So what do people think happenned in the last 15 years that made water changes more frequent with BETTER filtering mechanisms (probably three to four times the GPH flow of yesteryear's inferior undergravel filters)? [All this when similar advances in car engines and synthetic motor oil let the oil change interval increase from 3,000 to 10,000 miles.]

I have to use bottled spring water due to poor qualtiy tap water supply so changes are expensive. I plan to do biweekly 20% changes in my "overstocked" tank at most. I did just order the API Master test kit ..... but I think monthly 25% monthly changes for a non-overstocked tank should be fine. If my test results come back bad when I get my kits, I'll eat crow and I'll just suck up the extra $10-$20 a month for more frequent changes !!

Note: pics of my aquarium & list of my fish are in my profile. (39 fish now ......... added two more albino corys)
 
Hello Paul...

Great! Another, old school water keeper. The days of the small, monthly water changes are long gone. Maybe the new fish aren't as hardy as they used to be. Anyway, I keep large tanks and they're all overstocked. But, I'm a water change fanatic. I change half the tank water at least every 2 weeks. This guarantees pure water conditions, because there's no time for wastes to build up before the next, large change. I don't need to test the tank water, because I know it's clean.

Actually, if one would change that much water every couple of days, you could toss your filtration system. It wouldn't be needed, because it would just be moving water that was clean in the first place.

Goldfish are waste machines, so I see the need for larger water changes. The standard fish don't need that much water changed. Half the tank volume about every 2 weeks is fine.

Most aquarium fish are very adaptable and will tolerate most public water supplies. I don't see why you couldn't use the water out of your tap and simply treat it to remove the chlorine and chloramine.

Maybe the two of us can talk more about the old school approach to water keeping, sometime.

B
 
I don't understand how hobbyist get by doing water changes once a month; that just kills me. As of late, I've being doing 75% weekly water changes on all my tanks, and for some reason I feel like I should be doing 90%! The fish love it, but I think I get more pleasure out of it than they do.

I particularly enjoy relaxing on my couch every evening and seeing my fish enjoy the environment I've created for them. That, I cannot do, if my fish were swimming in their own waste for a month, with depleted mineral levels and a boatload of natural pheromones, only to look forward to an osmotic shock when they get clean water.

Old Tank Syndrome is very real, folks...

David
 
I agree David. Water changes are simple. Especially with a Python. It seems stupid to not do them weekly. Gravel Vaccuming is a bit more hands on, and takes longer, especially in large tanks. But I still do that weekly as well.
 
Further explanation ... I know you may be right

As to the OP, he needs to invest $20 in an API master test kit. He said 2 to 3 week water changes ..... geez ...... test it at two weeks. If bad, change a larger percentage. If good ..... let it go three weeks and see.

As to what I said ..... pure speculation. I did not just order both the API mater test kit AND the API GH and KH test kits so I could stick with "old school." I plan on basing my water exchanges on test kit results and keep the tank at optimum parameters. I based what I said on the fact my tank has been crystal clear and almost odorless for two years. Maybe I spoke too soon, but I'll keep you posted as to test kit results. The kits won't be here until next week.

[Tap Water does not work here .. period: When I lived in Kansas City, tap water was fine. As to my water supply now in FL (Miday 32563) ....... when I first set up the tank ...... the cloudy plume would not go away even after three months and treatments with every water conditioner available. Finally, when I had the water tested at Petland Pensacola 32504 (different water supply) ..... the guy told me ........ "everybody knows if you're on Midway water ....... you need at least 50% water from another source and most people use either gallon jugs of spring water or 5 gallon containers of drinking water." Desperate, I went and bought 20 gallons of Spring Water ..... did a 50% exchange ..... and the tank was crystal clear in 3 days. Our tap water smells and tastes so bad that even the dog and cat won't drink it !!!!!! It tastes and smells like sewage mixed with Clorox bleach and thus we rely on a Brita filter pitcher.]
 
Does your sister have experience feeding the fish? Fish can be masters at conning a novice into overfeeding which would exacerbate water quality issues.

If you decide to go with the less frequent water changes, you may still want to have a back-up plan in case you can't make it home. College can be demanding, not to mention the social activities, and you may find trips home less frequent than planned.
 
I plan on basing my water exchanges on test kit results and keep the tank at optimum parameters. I based what I said on the fact my tank has been crystal clear and almost odorless for two years. Maybe I spoke too soon, but I'll keep you posted as to test kit results. The kits won't be here until next week.

***************
Test results today ... it's been two weeks since a 20% water change:

ph: 7.2
Ammonia: 0 - 0.25 ppm (closer to 0)
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 40ppm

After reading the nitrate level, I just did a 25% water change and added a 100ml "biobag" of seachem puriden to my HOB filter. I'll test again in a week !!!!!!!

Thanks guys.
 
Large, Frequent Water Changes

Those API people are smart ones. They're banking on the fact that many tank keepers won't have the time nor make the effort to change half the tank water every week. So, there's need to test the water to make sure the chemistry is safe for their fish.

However, if you have the time and want to go to the effort, changing half the tank water every week, will guarantee stable water conditions for your fish and plants. Since most aquarium fish and plants adapt to most public water supplies, all we need to do is change out half the water. Even half every two weeks would likely free you from ever having to test the water. You'll always know the water is pure. You can test the water and find out. I ran this test a couple of years ago and found it to be true. That's been quite a while ago and frankly, I've forgotten how the testing procedure works. I'm sure my fish appreciate this water change routine, though they've never said.

Just a thought.

B
 
Paul,
You and I are exactly the same age LOL. I started the hobby at 12 in 1960 also. As you know, the knowledge and equipment improvements over the years have been tremendous. As far as WC's I let my nitrates be my guide. Every tank is unique in bioload, plant uptake, size and even temperature. I test with a API master kit and test the nitrates about every 4 days. When the test shows 20ppm or > I do a 50% WC the next day. In my lightly stocked 16g I usually go 12 days before it hits the 20ppm>. On my heavier stocked 29g it will get to 20ppm> about day 8. If I change anything drastically the interval may change. Just let your nitrates be your guide. Of course I'm refering to an established tank. I check all the parameters of the test kit once a month just to be safe or unless I suspect some type of upset to the balance. You're right that some peeps are obsessive about WC's but if they like doing them they sure can't hurt. They just don't need to judge others against their personal standards. LOL
On a side note, my dad was retired Navy. My mom and him lived in Pensacola for 27 yrs till he past away. They lived in the Beach Haven addition off the Gulf Beach Highway. I have many great memories of the area and miss going to the seafood festival each year there at Gulf Beach. Good to meet another "Old Timer". Regards, OS.
 
I am in the exact same situation! My dad only changes the water once a month if I'm lucky. Make sure you communicate that under feeding is better than over feeding, and maybe even only feed every other day, and as long as your tanks are not overstocked and you don't have overly sensitive fish you should be fine. Just do WCs last thing before you go and first thing when you get home :)
 
Yes ...... more frequent changes than I was doing anyway.

Should have done a 50% WC. 25% is only going to get Nitrates down to 30 PPM based off your readings. I believe you should step up WC to every week. At least 40-50%.

***************
Part of my high nitrates may have been due to temporary overfeeding due to change in food from tetra min to API community fish flakes The new food was junk ..... the fish did not like it and it was so fine grained most of it fell to the bottom or went into the filter if it was running. When I did the gravel vacuum the other day, LOTS of uneaten food was sucked up through the siphon. I switched the food to Spectrum flakes and the fish love it ... and the little that hits the bottom is eaten by the corys.

I will be doing another 25% water change on Monday to complete the "fill" of my new 29 gallon when my new Fluval C3 arrives. (50% new water, 50% from current setup).

Thanks for giving me a wake up call everyone. BTW: My Aqua-Tech 30-60 HOB on my 38 gallon is now fully stuffed with media including aquatic life non woven 100 micron filter pad, Acurel nitrate reducing pad, and Seachem Purigen.
 
Test nitrate before your 2-3 week WC.

If you're at 40 ppm nitrates, then do a 75%WC it will result 10ppm nitrates if your tap is 0 ppm of nitrates. That's a rule of three (mathematics).

But the best will really be to change less water more often. Nitrates are not so much toxic for the fish, but can result algea bloom (green water), algea, or other problems if you don't care about it...

Don't know what are your fish, but you might try to feed them the less possible?

I'm currently using Fluval C3 on a 29 gal. It is a VERY GOOD filter if you don't inject CO2.

But it won't drop nitrates levels... Nitrates directly vary with the amount of food you put in the tank.

I hope you learned something if you weren't knowing already all this.
 
One thing I learned on my own tanks is that nitrates can mount up quicker once your filter gets so dirty. I got lazy and skipped a filter cleaning once because my trates weren't very high at WC day. Next weeks WC, my trates were double what they usually were. Started cleaning the filter on schedule and it never happened again. I learned a lesson. Luckily no fish were lost. OS.
 
Nitrates way down - More than just water changes

Update: It's been 6 days since my 40 ppm niitrate reading on the 22nd. Since then, I've done two 25% water changes and my reading today my API Master Test Kit reading is between 5 and 10 ppm.

Obviously it wasn't just the water changes that made such a dramatic change .... the additional factors were:

1) Adding Seachem Purigen to my HOB filter (the added aquatic life non woven 100 micron filter pad and Acurel nitrate reducing pad may have helped, too)

2) No more decaying food. I threw away my API community flakes much of which the fish were not eating - resulting in some going to bottom and/or in the filter. I swithed to NLS and the fish love it and goble it all up ...... no waste.


So, thanks everyone ..... I'll be doubling my monthly change interval and doing whatever quantity is necessary to keep nitrates under about 20-30 ppm.

Remember ...... tap here is unusable and I now have a 29 gallon that is finishing "cycling" in addition to the 38 gallon. If I could use tap, i'd keep the nitrates even lower ...... but at $1 a gallon for bottled spring water ..... it does get pricey !!!!! My tank water is super crystal clear with no odor, fish are bright colored and healthy ... so I can't be doing too bad !

(Oh, and as to the OP, I bet if he'd add some Purigen to his filter he could get away with 3-4 week water changes of 50%.)
 
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