steveangela1

Well, I got carried away since I had the mess already going. I had to really do a good cleaning on my fry tank since I had bought a cough cough petsmart plant which was infested w/ eggs.... and had to thin them out..... so I did a good 50 percent change on my 10 gallon (really needed it) couldn't find mr crabs so I got to looking in the filter while I was cleaning it out and guess who came out grabbing my finger!! my 5 year old was never happier.... then did a good cleaning on my 6 gallon tank....
Well... the mess was already made so I did a parameter check on my 55 and the nitrite and nitrates weren't pink on the strip (exactly positive) but they weren't there usual white white either soooo... I went ahead w/ the tank change so it wouldn't end up w/ a pink soon....
My question is how much water and how often do I need to change in the 55 w/ a cichlid tank The strip wasn't even showing up caution or even a positive, but like I said it wasn't showing up the usual white 0 either....

ninilie

I do a weekly 25-30% on all of my tanks. On my african tank i make sure i vacuum the gravel very well because they are very messy eaters. But you have 2 plecos so maybe someone else can advise on this because they are very big waste producers.

Also you will probally get advised to buy a liquid master test kit because the strips are not very reliable. More knowledgable people can tell you what brands are good.

I love your choice on fish btw.

Dino

We do a 50% weekly change on all the tanks here.

It would be hard to do too much/many changes, as long as the water is near the same in temperature and pH.

susitna-flower

Aren't water changes fun, I'm doing that right now, and if I'm not careful I will be mopping my floor again!

I do 50 + each week, depending on the tank, and what I have in it.

The API Master test kit is what I suggest for testing the water. It works reliably, (shake bottle #2 on nitrates just like they say or better!), and it lasts for hundreds of tests, which is cost effective especially if you have several tanks. Being able to distinguish closer on each test can be important.

One of my tanks has Cherry Red Shrimp, which require low nitrates. This tank also has fish, so to maintain the nitrates around 5 I have to do two 50% water changes a week. But since very few people up here have CRS, it is worth the extra work. (just sold 100 yesterday, ounce for ounce they are more profitable than gold! Or so my husband pointed out, and that is the first positive thing he has really said about my tanks!)

Maintaining low nitrates help your fish withstand diseases, it cuts stress, and your fish will live longer. When rearing fry it is especially important. When you read on breeding fish, most raise their fry in tanks with no substrate so they can vacuum the bottom every day, to keep down nitrates.....

steveangela1

Thanks... I am going to do a 25% just for good measure prob fri and then another 50 next tues.. every cichlid book I have preaches water change water change water change... even my fish were looking happier this morning....

I am doing it w/ a bucket right now because we havent invested in a good hose system yet, but that is coming next week when we go out shopping... but hey, carring buckets of water, good exercise won't hurt me for a few days....