How often to change water

[samvandersteen]

I have a freshwater aquarium, and I have no clue how often to change my water. I've tried to do research online, but every site I go on says something different. Am I supposed to change a percantage of the water once a WEEK or once a MONTH?

Please help

 

[bbecher]

Many different people do it at many different times, but I believe the most commom is bi-weekly.

 

[samvandersteen]

should I leave it for longer this month since my aquarium has only been going for a week?

 

[mfdrookie516]

Alot of it depends on your filter, your water parameters, and the condition of the water. You can change 75% every other day if you want to, but it would be useless unless there is something going on in your water. Most people, including me, do a 30% +/- ever week. Some people only do one bi-weekly. I have heard of people only doing them once a month. I would recommend doing a 20-30% weekly, just do get all of the crud off the substrate. As long as your ammonia, nitrate, and nitrite levels dont get high, you can get away with bi-weekly, but its always best to be safe, not sorry...

 

[samvandersteen]

would it be safe to clean the filter and glass every week and then do a water replacement every 3 weeks - a month?

 

[mfdrookie516]

probably not. it really depends on your tank. it could be ok, but then again, if your ammonia gets the least bit high, you could kill all of your fish. Its all about testing your water. As the excess food and fish waste build up in your substrate, it will produce ammonia. Ammonia is very toxic to fish, and will kill them if it gets high enough. I would not recommend going more than 2 weeks, but then again, jmo

 

[samvandersteen]

can you get one of those things to test ammonia levels, etc from a pet shop? Or do I have to get it from a pool shop/hardware?

 

[mfdrookie516]

Get a test kit that will test ammonia, nitrate, and nitrite. You can get it at any lfs... The API Master FW Test kit is probably the all around best bang for your buck... It tests all the above plus ph and high range ph. Dont get strips, they arent very accurate.

 

[CaptainAhab]

This and your condensation post should be in the freshwater section. You'll get the best advice by posting your questions in the forums that most closely match your tank and topic.

 

[samvandersteen]

ja, i just realised that....

 

[CaptainAhab]

NP Sam... I expect one of the mods may move them to the proper forum eventually

 

[samvandersteen]

thanks for the help - also, cool profile name!

 

[melosu58]

Moved to FW forums

 

[JPKeenan]

It is a personal preference and how the tank is set up... the amount and frequency to change the water.

I have been trying to test the water every 3-4 days and from the results I am starting to get the hang of how much water to take out and about how often I should change.

If the water is stable for the whole week I might only do a 10% or 20% water change and that is basically to suck the food and poop out of the gravel so it doesn't start spike my ammonia levels.

 

[sumpnfishy]

I had tanks for years before I finally figured this out. While everyone has their own ideas, your tank will vary according to bio-load, water parameters, plants, lighting, size, etc. If you have many tanks, the need for water changes can vary between them.

So to figure this out I purchased a master test kit. Then for the next 6 months I recorded everything about my tanks: test results, filter cleaning, temp, and my water change amount and date it was done. What I found with my tanks at the time is that I had low bio-load and good filteration so monthly 20% water change worked fine to keep my tanks in good balance. In my case it was just to lower the nitrate levels to less than 10.

This at least gives you a base. From time to time check yourself by doing random tests and see if you get the results you expect. If you increase the bio-load, change filter types, or make other changes you adjust your maintenance based on that, and run another batch of tests.

So as others said before, go get the master test kit and go from there. It can be confusing based on what others do. The way I did it really made it easy for me and my fish loss is mostly from fish that die from old age. Hope that helps.

 

[JPKeenan]

that is part of it... ask 2 different people and get 3 different answers.

Each tank is a small is it's own small eco-system... as different from yours as fingerprints.

Keep up on the water tests and see what does best for your tanks.

 

[eah]

Also, I don't know which companies will ship to S. Africa, but I've found that ordering the master test kit online is WAY cheaper than buying in a local fish store. For example:
Aquarium Water Testing: Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Freshwater Master Test Kit

 

[mfdrookie516]

yes, unless you find a good deal like i did. i found the api master fw test kit at my lfs for $20.97... no shipping lol

 

[Mystery]

As ong as you change it enough to prevent ammonia building up it doesn't really matter. I prefer to do small changes almost every day to keep the water parameters nice and stable.

 

[JPKeenan]

Even here in the States there can be about a $10-$15 difference in the price of the test kit between the LFS and on line.

Ammonia is the big thing to watch out for. But more and more I have been hearing that the nitrates are not as "harmless" as we all think they are. They maybe a contributing factor to hole in the head disease and some other conditions....

...Not sure if the nitrates in the tank are similar to what is used in processed meat here. There is a group here wanting to put a warning label on hot dogs saying they cause cancer cause of the nitrates in them.

But with everything else in life I think it is mostly genetics, but the environment plays a contributing role.