Tropical Fish and Aquarium Information

Go Back   Fish Lore Tropical Fish and Aquarium Forum > Freshwater Aquarium Fish Forum > More Freshwater Aquarium Topics > Aquarium Water > Water Changes

 

Online Fish Stores: Drsfostersmith.com | BigAlsOnline.com | PetSmart.com | LiveAquaria.com


Aquarium Forum
General
Welcome To FishLore
Using the Forum
General Discussion
Members Fish Tanks
Photos and Videos
Member Photos
Member Videos
Freshwater Aquarium Forum
Freshwater Beginners
Freshwater Equipment
More Freshwater Topics
Freshwater Fish & Inverts
Ponds
Saltwater Aquarium Forum
Saltwater Beginners
Saltwater Equipment
More Saltwater Topics
Saltwater Fish & Inverts
Member Blogs
Member Blogs
Misc. Topics
Reviews
Aquarium Fish Clubs
Buy, Sell, Trade
Fish Profiles
Freshwater Fish
Saltwater Fish
Fish Forum Archives
Reply
 
Fish Forum Thread Tools
Old April 25th, 2008  
Fish Helper
 
Why change aquarium water?

Just out of curiosity - if the tank has cycled and water chemistry parameters are good (0,0,10) why do a water change? The reason I see most often to change the water is to reduce ammonia, nitrites or nitrates. If those values are good, then why change the water?

Last edited by Ntruder1400; April 25th, 2008 at 01:58 PM.
Ntruder1400 is offline  
Old April 25th, 2008  
Fish Addict
 
Cuz poop builds up and if I were a fish I wouldn't want to swim around in poop...it would stress me out and make me sick..I'm sure there is a more technical answer but that is mine
lalynya is offline  
Old April 25th, 2008  
Fish Master
 
If you don't it will be over come with all the crap and waste...kinda like not flushing your toilet for a week. Yuck.
Allie is offline  
Old April 25th, 2008  
Fish Addict
 
also, eventually, the nitrates will go up, if it isn't cleaned out
Muffymouse is offline  
Old April 25th, 2008  
Fish Helper
 
OK, that makes sense, but doesn't an increase in poop or waste usually manifest itself in increased water parameter readings? I'm not trying to stir up poop, just playing devil's advocate, and trying to understand why we do routine changes when readings are normal.
Ntruder1400 is offline  
Old April 25th, 2008  
Fish Addict
 
after a while it will..you want to avoid that. When I get lazy (which happens more then I would like to admit) and i don't do a weekly water change the nitrates go up...this is what you want to avoid which is why you want to do the changes. it's more of a preventive measure..kind of like how instead of getting hepatitis you go and get vacinated for it..prevention is a lot easier then curing the disease later on.
lalynya is offline  
Old April 25th, 2008  
Fish Addict
 
no worries, =) Aside from keeping your fish happy cause they are no longer living in grossness , we do them regularly so that your readings stay normal. When it gets bad, those parameters go outside the normal range, we want to keep them there so as not to stress out our fish or ourselves. cause stress is not good for any of us =)
Muffymouse is offline  
Old April 27th, 2008  
Master Of Fish Poo!
 
The aquarium is a closed system, so the waste has nowhere to go. Eventually the nitrifying bacteria would get overwhelmed by the ever-accumulating waste and the cycle would collapse.
COBettaCouple is offline  
Old April 27th, 2008  
Moderator
 
Yes the beneficial bacteria will change ammonia into nitrites and Nitrites into the less toxic Nitrates. If you have live plants they will keep the Nitrates down to a tolerable level BUT... total disolved Solids(TDS) will build up and make the tank very unstable and your fish very uncomfortable. Plus it would look bad after awhile with all that Mulm laying all over the substrate.
Carol
Butterfly is offline  
Old April 27th, 2008  
Fish Addict
 
Yeah, pretty much, why wait for your tank to get to where the fish are about to die? If it gets that way, it will also be a lot harder than to just do it regularly with a little bit of ammonia...
Fish Addict is offline  
Old April 27th, 2008  
Fish Mentor
 
Not only are you aiding in the chemistry of your tank its the closeset to giving them a "rainfall" that you can. It is refreshing to the fish in the tank. If you do weekly water changes for your fish, watch your fish the day you do your water changes they are very happy the day you do your change. (I actually at least do 2 waterchanges a week on all of my tanks).
steveangela1 is offline  
Old April 27th, 2008  
Fish Helper
 
I do know of instances where people have developed an ecosystem within their tank that is efficient enough to not need water changes except a couple times a year. The water is clear, the fish are active, and yes, they have a TON of plants. My own tank has been set up for about 2 1/2 months. I have a good number of plants in it and have had steady water readings of 0 ammonia, 7.0-7.2 pH, 0 nitrites and 10 ppm nitrates. If you have live plants in your tank you NEED some nitrates. Still, 5-10 ppm nitrates is very low. API recommends nitrate readings below 40 ppm. I have neons and a yo yo. I know yo yo's can be sensitive to water quality and my little guy has been thriving-and growing so I must be doing something right. I am intrigued by your comment though Steveangela1 so I think I will do a water change and see if my fish 'act happier.' If they do I will definitely change my mind about water changes. I think Aquarium USA had an interesting article on self-sustaining tanks in recent months--the author put their tanks in the window!
mcdonald.kk is offline  
Old April 27th, 2008  
Fish Mentor
 
Another reason to change water is because even with our cute little bubblers, water does become oxygen depleted, which is necessary for the bacteria AND fish to exist. If you limit the oxygen, the cycle will also fail. The lack of oxygen allows anaerobic bacteria to build up, and unless you have a filter set up specifically for changing nitrate to nitrogen and expelling it, you don't want that kind of bacterial buildup. This is the reason to 'stir' your gravel or have MTS snails to keep pockets of nitrogen from building up in your gravel....NEED THAT OXYGEN!

Last edited by susitna-flower; April 27th, 2008 at 10:40 PM.
susitna-flower is offline  
Old April 27th, 2008  
Fish Helper
 
before everyone thinks I'm a completely derelict fish owner I would like to add that I still do daily and weekly upkeep. I remove any uneaten food before it has a chance to decompose, clean the inside glass, remove algae from my heater and filter, top off water from evaporation etc. etc. ...and check water parameters at least twice a week.
mcdonald.kk is offline  
Old April 28th, 2008  
Master Of Fish Poo!
 
Cool. Yea, I know if you can get a hydroponics thing setup just right and have everything in balance, you can turn the closed system into a partially open system.
COBettaCouple is offline  
Old April 28th, 2008  
Fish Keeper
 
Just something to think about, are the minerals that are replaced with each water change being replaced if your not doing water changes?
A lot is added with the food etc, but if you use a low grade food, are the fish getting what they need?
Peterpiper is offline  
Old April 28th, 2008  
Master Of Fish Poo!
 
They may not be, so we get the better quality foods for them.
COBettaCouple is offline  
Old April 28th, 2008  
Fish Mentor
 
There is a guy on another fourm that does do a self sustained fishkeeping method.. and it does work for him... so yes it is possible... however, you should research it before you try it. Make sure you use plenty of plants. That was his method. He also did loads of reasearch and posted his research on that forums page (talking about something that was like a doc degree project! wow! well detailed!)

I have to say this person has done this since the 70's and obviously reading his post, and research.. he has more than high school chem/bio classes or he is just really into studying this stuff!
steveangela1 is offline  
Reply

Fish Forum Thread Tools

Fun Fish and Aquarium Games!
Fish Tycoon
Fish Tycoon
Insaniquarium - Insane Aquarium
Insaniquarium
Insane Aquarium
Jenny's Fish Shop
Jenny's
Fish Shop

Similar Aquarium Fish Forum Threads
Thread Fish Forum
Opinions on how to put the water back in after a water change? Water Changes
how get water change water to temp before adding to tank? Water Changes
Why change aquarium water??? Freshwater Beginners Archive
partial water change and water testing Water Changes
Water Change & Aquarium Maintenance Water Changes



Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.7.1
Copyright ©2000 - 2008, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
LinkBacks Enabled by vBSEO 3.2.0 RC5 © 2008, Crawlability, Inc.
© 2008 FishLore.com - Aquarium Fish Information