ricktavious

I've been doing a 40% water change per week recently, but there is still a ton of "crud" floating around in the water (mostly prevelant after a water chance). The water when it comes out, is filled with crud....I get the siphon thing down in the pebble/marble things to get up a good bit of stuff. Seeing the water being dirty after a water change bothers me........so, how many times a week can I do a 20% change without it affecting the fishies? Thanks folks!

COBettaCouple

what's your routine with the filter? we change 25% of the water weekly along with cleaning the filter media in a bowl of tank water and cleaning the tank.

phlox

I do large 40-50% water changes each week. Water changes are always a good thing for fish as long as the new water is the same temp and you use the same water (for eg. if you use tap water don't suddenly use bottled water as the pH and hardness etc will be different and shock the fish). Fish are always their most colorful and active after a water change.
There is always a lot of crud in the bucket after vacuuming. That's a GOOD thing! That means the vac is picking things up and that your fish is pooping. Don't worry about the stuff that flies around after. It will be picked up by the filter and the rest will settle. Don't stir the gravel while vacuuming. Just gently push the nozzle into the gravel about half way down and let it suck up the dirt and then move to another spot. This should reduce the amount of stuff flying around. When you pour fresh water in pour it gently against the side of the tank instead of onto the gravel where it would disturb the dirt still there. You cannot completely remove all the dirt when you vacuum. This is normal and won't harm the fish. The point is to remove as much as you can and give fresh water.
One of the reasons fish seem so much happier after a water change is because the new water contains minerals and trace elements that they need and the old water no longer has because the fish and plants have absorbed them. Carbon in the filters are also absorbing all the good stuff as well as the bad which is why it's not a good idea to use carbon very often and then only for a couple days and remove it.

sirdarksol

phlox is right, more is good, as long as you don't make any sudden chemistry changes. There are people who do five 20% changes in a week.

ricktavious

Thanks for the advice....and glad to hear excess crud is normal. Guess I'm on edge since the little guy has had some fin problems.

Had never heard that about the carbon filter, will take that advice! Also, when I do a water change, my process is siphon the water from the tank into a container.....then siphon the water from the container, back into the tank. Causes about as much water flow in the tank as the filter, and doesn't make a mess, haha.

chickadee

I do 50% water changes one time a week with no problems and vacuum the gravel every time now as this is the way I remove the water from my tank with a homemade "python" made of a funny type of tank vacuum. It helps to keep the tanks clean and makes the carrying of all that water unnecessary. It involves a really long water tubing about 1/2" in diameter that reaches all the way out of my house into my flower garden and a bulb about 4 feet from the tube that goes into the tank that I squeeze to get the thing primed. It works great.

Rose

sirdarksol

You are a genius. This is perfect. I'm going to have to set this up for myself.

chickadee

Aquarium Maintenance & Cleaning: Siphons & Gravel Cleaners: Python Squeeze Siphon Attachment

Pond Plumbing: Flexible Vinyl Tubing 1/2" ID

Siphon Kleen

There are the supplies I used to make it with. I know it is a bit expensive to make and some would say that a regular Python would be cheaper but I do not like the idea of attaching it to my kitchen sink and I do not know about putting chlorinated water from the tap into my tanks. It makes me very squeamish so this was the best solution. I also sealed the places where the joints were with aquarium sealant as the first time I used it, it leaked around the joinings. Now it is fine.

Rose

sirdarksol

The biggest thing for me is that I'm trying to balance keeping fish with my worries about ecology, not to mention the increasingly dry years and lowering of local water supply, and the extra fertilization my plants get from the fish waste. But with four tanks, it's becoming a huge deal to continually drag the buckets outside. This will be awesome.
Besides, it's not all that expensive. I've already got the vacuum head, so I've just got to get the tubing and the siphon starter. And I think 50' of tubing is enough to cover the distance from the bedroom (farthest tank from the door) to the gardens outside.
Thank you again.

chickadee

50 feet is what I used and it is plenty to reach from the back of my house all the way through to the front garden. (through the hall, dining room, living room and across the front porch to the flowers and about 6 feet to spare if I decide to use it in the side garden) I like your idea and I concur about it being good for the environment. My plants have benefited from the use of the fish waste and water.

Rose