Water Changes too frequent

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Discuss all topics related to freshwater and planted tanks.


spongebob4460
 
Posts: 603
Joined: Fri Jan 25, 2008 8:37 am

Water Changes too frequent

by spongebob4460

My aquarium store salesman told me that too frequent of water changes is bad... even if its only 10% change about twice a week. Anyone else agree or disagree?


Fishboy134534
 
Posts: 4
Joined: Tue Jan 29, 2008 10:55 pm

by Fishboy134534

He was right. I am new to this and I am starting out with a 10 gallon tank. At first I read that I was supposed to change the water every other week, but recently I was told that changing the water too much isn't good. If the tank looks dirty, of course, change the water, but if the fish are doing fine and the water looks clear, maybe you should change the water every 3 weeks. but you must make sure to at least change the water once a month. Hope you find this helpful! check out my tank!


dnimidej
 
Posts: 10
Joined: Thu Jan 24, 2008 4:59 am

by dnimidej

what a conflicting issue, from my understanding of all the books i have read, the more water changes the better,water parameters change the longer you leave the water in the tank, by do water changes you replacing trace elements that have been lost,alkalinity, your ph drops etc. you reup these by doing water changes.remember 10% of ten gal. means you would be taking 1 gallon of water a week,anymore than that you would be chaning to much water wich could have a direct effect on the fish.


grimace4497
 
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Jan 28, 2008 1:35 am

by grimace4497

I think the salesman would be refering to a new setup. As long as your filters are established I dont see a problem with 20% a week, I think you will see an increase in growth rate.


Peterkarig3210
 
Posts: 1980
Joined: Wed Oct 24, 2007 3:04 am

by Peterkarig3210

Dang! I do a 30% water change no more than once a month (probably once every 2) and have rarely ever had a problem with dying fish or algae. It's just in my last tank, (100 gallons) that I think I need to do it no less than once a month. I have 4-5 times the filtration capacity for my tanks because I don't want to have to do so many water or filter changes. I've got a 175 gallon capacity canister for my 20 gallon, and maybe 400 capacity for my 100 gallon. The one thing about water changes is that you need to know what the water you're putting in your tank is like. My water is extremely alkaline and full of phosphates and I hear that that's not uncommon. I now use bags of Phosguard in my filters to control that. When I lived in upstate NY we had real artesian water coming out of the ground and there was no need for dechlorinators. In addition to over filtering I have tonnes of plants now which absorb toxins/byproducts and I can't be bothered to change the water as much as some of you guys/gals say you do. More than once every 2 weeks seems excessive for even discus in my opinion.


freshwaterpleco
 
Posts: 131
Joined: Sun Feb 10, 2008 5:56 pm

by freshwaterpleco

In a 10 gallon you should change 2.8 gallons of water every 2 weeks.


bangme33
 
Posts: 25
Joined: Sun May 03, 2009 6:53 pm

by bangme33

every 2 wks to a month and a 20% water change but then it depends on stocking levals as well high stocking more water changes due to amonia and nitrite build up
but 20% 2wks to a month should be fine


stingraysrule
 
Posts: 271
Joined: Tue Mar 16, 2010 8:37 pm

by stingraysrule

I do water changes every other day. 18G in my 55, and 18G in my 80G.
All my tanks are established tho. I do the water changes to get rid of the excess nutrients in my planted tanks and I believe, because of this.... I do not struggle with an algae issue which planted tanks are easily prone to. Most of my other tanks I do 50% water change once a week, unless I have a heavy load of fish in a tank, and then I do it 2x a week.
Am I to say that my way is right? No. But it works for my fish and my tanks, and I have fish that are 7 years old.
I am a total non believer of "topping" off water.


natalie265
Site Admin
 
Posts: 746
Joined: Sat Nov 01, 2008 9:48 pm

by natalie265

Absolutely disagree. How can water changes be a bad thing? Did the person give you any explanation? You could do water changes every day if you wanted, though if you have a filter it would certainly be over kill. Water changes are not bad. If you are cycling a new tank, frequent water changes are actually even MORE important than in an established tanks. The frequency of water changes you need will depend on your stocking level and filtration. As a general guidline, i would say do a 50% water change every two weeks.


stingraysrule
 
Posts: 271
Joined: Tue Mar 16, 2010 8:37 pm

by stingraysrule

I kind of agree with you, but then again, I cycled my 6G Fluval edge by adding 3 fish, 2 cherry shrimp, and doing 50% water changes every other day, then 50% every 2 days, and slowly tapering off to 50% water change 1 x a week. All the fish made it. I also fed them sparingly. I take a lot of water out of my stingray tank every other day..... about 80G a week. So, if you think about it, that would be all the water in the tank. The tank has been set up for 2 years, and no problems.

Water Changes too frequent

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