Chris123

How often do you guys do water changes on your guys tanks?


Just Curious

CB

bubblynutter

I do about 30% weekly, unless I have an issue with test readings. In which case I do 25% daily until things are back to normal.

Why do you ask?

Chris123

Out of curiousity

Lucy

25% every week to 2 weeks.
My tanks are lightly stocked.

Borisbbadd

25% every week.

aquarist48

Good morning,

For my 265g tank I change 25g's every 5 days so almost half the tank is changed every month. (I have large fish)

For my Goldies, 26g tank I change 5 gallons every 10 days, a little over 1/2 the tank for the month.

For Wriggley, 6.6g tank, I change 2g's every 10 days so his tank is completely changed, every month.

Ken

freak78

I change 75% weekly.

Tigerfishy

about 25-30% weekly. In case I forget, but even then it's no longer than 10 days between cleanings. I did 2 tanks last night, the rest are under meds and cannot be changed until tomorrow and Sat respectively. Oh how it's fun dragging a bucket up and down the stairs every week!

harpua2002

50% weekly for me on the FW display tanks, but I'm sure I'll be changing the breeding tanks more often.

jglove276

mine are about 25% weekly

ray_sj

40-50% weekly for me.

bubblynutter

I think it is important to specify how much load is on your filtration system, as someone with a 55g and 10 tetras is not going to do 40% weekly changes....

Just asking for a figure doesn't give you a very clear picture. (Just a thought)

marina3

I think it is important to specify how much load is on your filtration system, as someone with a 55g and 10 tetras is not going to do 40% weekly changes....
Just asking for a figure doesn't give you a very clear picture. (Just a thought)[/quote] Quoting bublynutter and also another member called Stathol:"let your water quemistry dictate your maintenance schedule not the other way around"... I ask about my 10gl tnak with 4 Neon Tetras and 3 Bleeding Hearts.... How often should I change the water when even with good water parameters my fish still dying This tank is been cycling since Jan.13th. Not knowing about fishless cycling I have had several fish dying thru out the cycling process. Water levels have been under control for more than 4 weeks, yet, in 2 different instances 2 sets of 3 Bleeding Hearts have "suddenly" dying within 2 -3 days each time. The store where I got the fish do not "replace" the fish you loose, but they have done an exception and a couple of days ago when I appeared at the store with a ziploc bag containing 2 dead fish and a container with a sample of the water, they gave me 3 more bleeding hearts...They also advised me that I maybe "overdoing it" due to the fact that although, I am doing "all the right things", is obvious that is not working, so to relax and maybe consider to change thw water once at month!!! Any suggestions...I am very confused !!!

harpua2002

Sounds to me like they are blaming fish deaths on an aggressive water change schedule rather than them selling you sick fish.

Is it necessary for me to change 50% of my water every week? No, I don't think it is. But when I started doing it, I immediately noticed more activity and better growth and coloration in my fish. That's why I continue to do it, because it works for me.

They may have a point if you are cleaning the filter (or media) too often, or rinsing anything in tap water; anything that could cause a mini cycle that would happen during a water change. But clean water in and of itself is not causing your problems, I'd be willing to bet.

aquarist48

+2 Harpua....water changes are the best thing that you can do for your fish. I've done this for so many years, I feel guilty if I'm a day late.

Ken

bubblefish

+3. I totally agree with Harpua. I change 25% every 4 days on all my tanks because the fish seem more active, better color, etc. Also, i want to make sure that pH remains as consistant as possible.

Jaysee

I change 50% each week. When doing water changes with a python, the difference between changing say 25% and 50% is sitting on the floor watching it drain/fill for an extra few minutes. No biggie.

In all but the most extreme cases, you can't change too much water. Many of the fish we keep get new water like every other second, and I've never seen anything to suggest that the fish don't enjoy water changes. Even my most shy fish are out and about during a WC.

HOWsMom

6g tank : 30-50% once a week. Eclipse filter w/ DIY media instead of the filter pad.

5g tank : 30-50% once a week. Small HOB filter w/DIY media.

10g tank : 30-50% every 1 to 2 days (it's in a mini-cycle). Small HOB filter w/DIY media.

marina3

T H A N K Y O U GUYS!!! I really don't know what am I doing wrong then...I feel that weekly water changes are necessary too...and Harpua 2002, no, I don't change the media is just the water, I take and replace 2 gl out every Saturday treating the water with Prime...What could have gone wrong? They kept asking me if I use Windex to clean the outside of the tank...NO NO NO!!! Of course not!!! Well, the water parameters are still good...Amm 0, PH 7.6 and Nitrates 10... I just don't know....

LyndaB

If no issues or illness in tanks, 50% change a week, because I feel comfortable with that schedule. I have health issues and some weekends I'm not up to doing it..... so a weekend gets skipped here and there. But mostly 50%.


My husband used to do 75% weekly and he ended up with sick fish, some died. We were told that it was actually unhealthy to introduce that much new water on a weekly basis. Don't know if that's true. Are your readings good?

marina3

Yeah, between 0 and 0.25, PH 7.6 and Nitrates 10. Even the store tested it and they told me that it was good. i asked if maybe is me overfeeding ( I know that I really don't) but they told me no, that if I was the Nitrates will show high....

ray_sj

There were some articles about water changes in TFH (Tropical Fish Hobbyist), Nov and Dec 2009 issues, that really convinced me that larger frequent water changes were necessary. If you do 25% water change, it means you put in 25% clean water. BUT, 75% of the dirty water remains. And this remaining pollution level grows cumulatively over weeks and months until it reaches a steady value.

ammonia/nitrite/nitrate readings are only 3 compounds we can measure out of possibly hundreds in the water. I could maintain nitrates below 20ppm while I was changing 25% of the water every other week. 0/0/20 is supposed to be good, right? Yet, I was having recurring issues. Fin rot, bacterial infections, and other strange symptoms not specific to any particular disease.

Since I've changed to a 50% weekly water change schedule, I have not had any of those problems. Can I change less water? Maybe. But as Jaysee said, the difference between 25% and 50% water change is really minimal with a Python, so there's little reason for me not to go with 50%.