water and filter change question

[Fatman40]

i currently have a 29g tank with 5 mickey mouse platys, 2 cory cats, 1 gourami, my filter is a penquin bio wheel filter with a changeble cartridge that has some kind of filter media and charcoal. the filter size i bought is for a 50g tank. no live plant. my current water parameters are
amonia 0
nitrite 0
nitrate 10
ph 8.0
as of today

my guestion is how often should i be changeing water i have been told not to change unless amonia spikes or nitrates get too high but what is too high? i have changed roughly 5g a week and recently(yesterday) changed 10g cause my filter apparently clogged after 3weeks and the bio wheel stopped spinning causeing and amonia spike. also how often should i change filter mateial i have read on here not to change it but im not sure thats correct thanks for any help forgot to mention tank has been up and running for 2 1/2 months

 

[Fishanatic]

I would recommend at least 40% a week, 5 gallons is not enough
If you want the best water quality, 40%-60% of water change is good

 

[Rlavassor86]

i currently have a 29g tank with 5 mickey mouse platys, 2 cory cats, 1 gourami, my filter is a penquin bio wheel filter with a changeble cartridge that has some kind of filter media and charcoal. the filter size i bought is for a 50g tank. no live plant. my current water parameters are
amonia 0
nitrite 0
nitrate 10
ph 8.0
as of today

my guestion is how often should i be changeing water i have been told not to change unless amonia spikes or nitrates get too high but what is too high? i have changed roughly 5g a week and recently(yesterday) changed 10g cause my filter apparently clogged after 3weeks and the bio wheel stopped spinning causeing and amonia spike. also how often should i change filter mateial i have read on here not to change it but im not sure thats correct thanks for any help forgot to mention tank has been up and running for 2 1/2 months

Yea I would do larger changes. Your bio load is pretty low so your nitrates will be easy to control. Pwc not only lower toxins but also help to replace minerals used by your fish. As for your filter swish it around really good in a bucket of old tank water. Replacing it could put you back in a cycle. I only replace mine when it's falling apart and even then ill run the old one with a new one for a couple weeks to seed it.

 

[shellieca]

It is typically recommended to do a 50%+ weekly water change to keep water parameters in check & to replenish minerals. As for the filter media, rinse it in USED tank water weekly or every other week, replace it only if it is falling apart. Personally I quit using filter cartridges because they seemed to either fall apart or clog quickly, I now only use sponge in my HOB filters which last much longer & are easily rinsed when I do a water changes.

EDIT: ammonia/nitrItes should be 0, nitrAtes <20