sixtyfou
Aquarium Advice Freak
J, I love how emotional you are getting, but you haven't said a thing of substance.
J, I love how emotional you are getting, but you haven't said a thing of substance.
I would just like to add something.
sixtyfou: you say that NO tank, if properly stocked, etc needs a weekly water change. Most people, I would assume, have differing opinions on what is a proper stock. For example, some people are fine with keeping a betta in a 1g or smaller tank. They think that's proper stocking. Then there's the other aquarists who think 1 singe betta in a 5.5 gallon aquarium is the minimum and that is proper. Both have their reasons, and both think they're right.
No we come to the water change debate. In my opinion, it is very similar to the betta tank size debate. One side thinks water changes must be done once a week, the other side thinks its absurd if water isi changed once a week. I believe it all comes down to personal preference, opinions, and what one thinks 'cold hard evidence' is, and the other does not.
I think this is how it is in almost every aspect if this hobby (fish-in VS fish less cycling for example) and probably most other hobbies as well. Like the Ford VS Chevy debate.
While it is good to voice opinions, I think we have gone a little too far on this thread. It is good to know you are all passionate about this hobby, but you don't need to shove your opinions down others' throats, either. Sometimes you need to know when to stop.
Personally, I change water once a week. My reasons are: to some, I stock on the heavier side, some if my fish are sensitive to the chemicals that build up in the water, and my fish seem to be more active and colorful after the water changes, even though my ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels are all in check. Plus, I enjoy it
I hope this gives a little insight to you guys, and maybe calm things down a bit...
- Sydney, age 14
Well spoken young lady. Not the wisdom of 14 but far beyond your years.
Something I thought interesting was the ugf was -20% and internal filter was 0%. That seemed harsh to me but I assume relates to ease of maintaining? To me it says an ugf should be pulled out since it has a negative impact - I know they aren't great but are they that bad?
The biggest downside to UG filters is that they keep the detritus in the tank. This build up under the plate is a huge source of nitrate build up. Years ago, people tried to solve this problem by using power heads to blow the water down under the plate UP through the gravel (instead of down through the gravel) so that a HOB or canister or wet dry filter could remove it to a removable product to get it out of the water once and for all. The problem then came that it was a major expense that really wasn't necessary once the invention of the wet/ dry filter came to being and tanks were being used with no gravel or sand ( primarily saltwater tanks). When used in freshwater tanks, it was a hassle to get under the plate when doing water changes and we always recommended water be taken through the piping down under the filter plate to get whatever "mulm" you could out of the tank. Since this was not an easy task, that system became obsolete. Just part of the evolution of filters.
Hmm, I see your point. However don't all filters really suffer from this (hence the term nitrate factory for canisters)?. I had ugf's 20 years ago and would never go back to them and I'm assuming each filter type would be well maintained. I guess what I'm asking is if a tank had one would you pull it out ASAP?
Knowing what I know now, I would get some small diameter hose and siphon water out from under the plate(s) THEN I'd remove the plates. This way, you get out most of the "gunk" to reduce the work once you remove the plate.
As for all filters being a nitrate factory, not really. Since the goal is to do regular maintainence on your filters, the source of production should be being reduced with every material change. Nitrifying bacteria live in more places than just the filter. ( Anywhere there is good water flow.) They are just about everywhere except free swimming in the water. This is why you don't want to clean 100% of your gravel when you do gravel cleaning so that you don't do too much damage to the BB bed. Keep in mind that the BB bed is a living growing and ever changing lifeforce. As the need for more bacteria arises, they reproduce more to accomedate. Remove half the bioload and half the BB will also die off from starvation. ( That's a loose example for simplification )
With the wet/ dry filter, there were (are?) matrixes that will actually change the nitrates into a gas that would leave the water and sections of the filter were designed for this action. This was being done using anerobic bacteria which uses lack of oxygen to live. Thus the "refugium" was born. LOL ( I was using this principle back in the 1970s and everybody told me I was crazy. Look who's laughing now .)
Hope this explains things
I know there has been much research into the BB bed but I'm going to simplify this in a non scientific way. This is what we knew and did and worked. Keep in mind that this is based on water that has a PH value of less than 7.0Andy- I'm interested in your remarks about gravel cleaning.
As far as I can tell, the flow of water through gravel when I'm vacuuming the gravel with my syphon is quite similar to the flow of water through filter media.
Why would that remove bb film from gravel, if it doesn't remove it from filter media?
Jeeesh! Jamie I was just reading your post above about what kills BB and realized that I never restarted my filters after feeding the fish yesterday morning. So it's been 24 hrs without flow. Yikes. Looks like I'll be monitoring closely for the next few days.
At 65 yrs my "senile attacks" are occurring more often. When I was younger it was "stupid attacks". lol. I normally don't stop the filters except when I feed them baby brine shrimp. (shaking my head in self-amazement) OS
Jeeesh! Jamie I was just reading your post above about what kills BB and realized that I never restarted my filters after feeding the fish yesterday morning. So it's been 24 hrs without flow. Yikes. Looks like I'll be monitoring closely for the next few days.
At 65 yrs my "senile attacks" are occurring more often. When I was younger it was "stupid attacks". lol. I normally don't stop the filters except when I feed them baby brine shrimp. (shaking my head in self-amazement) OS