matt6765

Hi..... I change 1 third of the water in my tank each month...is this to enogh water?

Lucy

What are your readings right before the water change?
If your nitrates are high, you should change it more often.
When you do water changes you not only remove nitrates but replenish the oxygen and minerals.

jdhef

It's hard to say. The main reason for regular partial waterchages is to keep your nitrates below 20-40ppm. Depending on how stocked you are, and whether you have live plants or not, that may or may not be enough. Your nitrates test results should be your guide.

I personally do about 30% every week and even at that, over time my nitrates will creep up and I will need to do larger, more frequent waterchanges.

matt6765

I have another thread that is asking why I dont have ammonia, nitrite and nitrate

Blethly

well your aquarium info is kind of contradictiory. is your tank planted or not? if it is planted that could be the reason y your not getting a nitrate reading. plants use nitrate as food. its a good thing that you don't have any ammoina and nitrite. that means your cycled also is there a reason your using salt? corys are very sensitive to salt and i would personaly discontinue it.

i agree with lucy. test your tank before you do a water change. if the nirates are to high then you should do a wc more often. i do 25% wc once a week. every three days for my 29g. and i test at least once a week. Good luck!!!

matt6765

my tank has plant bulbs and 1 has sprouted..... when I test my water it has 0 PPM of everything. I use a API master test kit. I use salt because it is good for the fishes slime coat and as for my cories.... they have lived in salted water for a year

aquarist48

Water changes also help to maintain a stable pH. There actually isn't such a thing as a stable pH. It will fluctuate from day to day. The best we can do is try to keep it within certain ranges by doing water changes. Depending on what your readings are will help you determine how much water change should be done. Over a period of time you'll learn what is needed, you won't have to test so often and it will all become second nature. My tanks is over 8 years old...I do water changes every 10 days to keep my readings where I want them and where they need to be for my fish So by the end of the month I have actually changed a little over 1/3 of the tank.

matt6765

ok thank you.....on your info it says you have a 155 gallon tank.... how much water do you have to change out of that?

aquarist48

I change 22 to 26 gallons every 10 days without fail.

matt6765

wow that is how many gallons are in my tank

Blethly

okay now i understand. i was confused becasue you mentioned fake plants, but then said it was planted lol. when do you test your water? before or after a water change? also make sure you shake really well and maybe even smack the bottom of the bottle of the nitrate test liquid on a table or something. it will often separate and that can cause low readings. what species of corys do you have? some are more talerant of salted water then others but in general its not good for them and can cause long term issues. its also not good for most live plants. there are other ways to help the slime coat on your other fish without harming your corys and your plants. just a suggestion.

aquarist48

I have a 26g also....I change 4 or 5 gallons every 10 days and it keeps my tank where it needs to be. I will state also that I have well water and not city water so I don't have chlorine or any other additive issues.

matt6765

I test it every other day and it still has 0ppm of ammonia, nitrite and nitrate

matt6765

What other ways?