I have a 500L custom tank. Had it up and running since September 2009. I constantly read about weekly water changes. 50% 30% 20% which ever. To date, I have not done a single water change on my tank. Once a month I might throw in a bucket or two of top up water but that's it. I have only done a PH test a few times. I keep cichlids and my mangrove jack. He was the last fish in the tank, added at just before Christmas. He has since grown from roughly 5cm to 12cm.
What I basically want to know is. Why people are constantly on about water changes. My water is crystal clear, and all fish are growing and healthy.
Interesting setup
21 posts • Page 1 of 3
-
josmoloco - Posts: 189
- Joined: Thu Mar 20, 2008 11:21 pm
What are the Nitrate levels in your tank? Have you been testing with a liquid test kit or crappy strips? Do you keep allot of plants? on my 125g I had to do a 70% water change every 2 weeks to keep the nitrates down. I had no plants though...
-
joyce123 - Posts: 65
- Joined: Wed Dec 09, 2009 10:15 pm
ive had a 125 gallon tank with chiclids at one point that was up for about 2 years..... now i have it set up with tons of community fish (1 1/2 years) ......and never one did a water change..... water was crystal clear and none of my fish have ever died..... the only treatment i did was the initial declorinate and when i toped if off i add some....... so i have to go with lostlast on this one........
-
GiantDogg - Posts: 65
- Joined: Sat Dec 05, 2009 11:24 pm
Nitrate poisoning is a slow process and can have a myriad of side effects. Your water will remain clear and fish will appear to be healty, then start dying off and you won't know why. It is something you can do twice a month once your nitrates are under control.
-
cmarti - Posts: 9
- Joined: Thu Mar 18, 2010 7:56 pm
Newbie... <--- I'm referring to myself.. :)
I've been lurking around the boards for a few months, but had to create an account to respond to this...
I had a 20 gal that I had setup for a couple of years and only added water to it as the water evaporated. I had two goldfish a zebra danio, a giant danio, a gourami, and a couple of other fish.
When I upgraded early last year to a 55 gal I did the same thing for maintenance. I added water as it evaporated. I never did any water changes. I decided to get a few more fish and put in and noticed two or three days after I added the fish they would die. After a week all of the ten new fish I added were dead. I took the last few dead fish back to the fish store and took a sample of the water.
When they sampled the water and checked for nitrates and phosphates the water in the test tube turned BLACK, not dark blue, black.. The person at the fish store said I pretty much had my fish swimming in turpentine, and that's what killed the new fish. He said the older fish had grown accustomed to the conditions, but they'd probably be dead soon.
Since I was planning on changing out the ugly red rocks I had in the aquarium for tahitian moon sand, I went ahead and changed out all of the water and started over. By this time I knew not to wash the filter or contents so I didn't loose my bacteria colony. All that was about 6 months ago.
Since then, I now do 35%-40% water changes weekly, and now the water is still crystal clear, but my nitrate and phosphate tests are both yellow (good), and the new fish I've added are happy and alive.. I have a 5 and a 6 inch goldfish, a small angel, two catfish, a giant danio, neon tetras, and other fish (about 20 in all) they are all happy. Yes I know I'm not supposed to mix goldfish and tropical fish, but the goldfish were a present a few years ago, but the temp is 79F and they all are happy and my levels are under control.. :)
So if I were you, I'd buy nitrate and phosphate tests (you can buy them in a pack at some lfs). Buy the liquid tests, not the strips. When you test both of these don't be surprised when the water in the test tubes turns black. :) After that I'd start out with a 50% water change, then daily 30%-40% water changes until the levels are back down to normal. Your fish will thank you for it.
I've been lurking around the boards for a few months, but had to create an account to respond to this...
I had a 20 gal that I had setup for a couple of years and only added water to it as the water evaporated. I had two goldfish a zebra danio, a giant danio, a gourami, and a couple of other fish.
When I upgraded early last year to a 55 gal I did the same thing for maintenance. I added water as it evaporated. I never did any water changes. I decided to get a few more fish and put in and noticed two or three days after I added the fish they would die. After a week all of the ten new fish I added were dead. I took the last few dead fish back to the fish store and took a sample of the water.
When they sampled the water and checked for nitrates and phosphates the water in the test tube turned BLACK, not dark blue, black.. The person at the fish store said I pretty much had my fish swimming in turpentine, and that's what killed the new fish. He said the older fish had grown accustomed to the conditions, but they'd probably be dead soon.
Since I was planning on changing out the ugly red rocks I had in the aquarium for tahitian moon sand, I went ahead and changed out all of the water and started over. By this time I knew not to wash the filter or contents so I didn't loose my bacteria colony. All that was about 6 months ago.
Since then, I now do 35%-40% water changes weekly, and now the water is still crystal clear, but my nitrate and phosphate tests are both yellow (good), and the new fish I've added are happy and alive.. I have a 5 and a 6 inch goldfish, a small angel, two catfish, a giant danio, neon tetras, and other fish (about 20 in all) they are all happy. Yes I know I'm not supposed to mix goldfish and tropical fish, but the goldfish were a present a few years ago, but the temp is 79F and they all are happy and my levels are under control.. :)
So if I were you, I'd buy nitrate and phosphate tests (you can buy them in a pack at some lfs). Buy the liquid tests, not the strips. When you test both of these don't be surprised when the water in the test tubes turns black. :) After that I'd start out with a 50% water change, then daily 30%-40% water changes until the levels are back down to normal. Your fish will thank you for it.
Last edited by cmarti on Fri Mar 19, 2010 9:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.
-
stingraysrule - Posts: 271
- Joined: Tue Mar 16, 2010 8:37 pm
If your water is crystal clear, it really only looks that way to you.
Your poor fish are suffocating and are screaming, HELP ME! I AM SUFFOCATING IN MY POOP!
There is no living thing that is maintenance free. You adding a bucket of water or 2 should not be your maintenance.
Your poor fish are suffocating and are screaming, HELP ME! I AM SUFFOCATING IN MY POOP!
There is no living thing that is maintenance free. You adding a bucket of water or 2 should not be your maintenance.
-
Peterkarig3210 - Posts: 1980
- Joined: Wed Oct 24, 2007 3:04 am
It is amazing how long some fish can live with extreamly high nitrates.
It's not good for them, and even a ton of live plants can't eat up enough nitrates to support even a few fish indefinately.
Topping off just concentrates everything over time. Nitrates, salts, minerals, etc.
It's not that much trouble to remove water and replace with fresh once in a while. A bit of a pain, but it's really important.
It's not good for them, and even a ton of live plants can't eat up enough nitrates to support even a few fish indefinately.
Topping off just concentrates everything over time. Nitrates, salts, minerals, etc.
It's not that much trouble to remove water and replace with fresh once in a while. A bit of a pain, but it's really important.