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Hi, all! I have so many questions that I don't even know how to start. (Warning, this is a very long post with a lot of questions). I've been in this hobby for a year and a half now, yet I still fail to understand one of the most important aspects of it.
When I first started, I saw many people saying that water changes were absolutely necessary and that you should never go for more than two weeks without one, saying the water chemistry would start to collapse and parameters would become unstable (Ammonia, nitrates, and algae would start to rise).
But in the past months of having my tanks, I cannot fathom for the life of me how they get it to do that. Not once have I ever seen algae or even nitrates in my tank, never ammonia, and parameters never change unless I purposefully put something in the tank.
I used to do 15% water changes once a week in the very beginning over a year ago, but now that's gone down to just once every two months on average. I would frequently test parameters, thinking I would wake up one day and see a huge ammonia spike, or I would see that my ph has gone up to 9.0 or something. But my ammonia hasn't gone past 0.25 in over a year, and I have never seen a trace of nitrates at all. But the thing that has really got me confused is that I've had things die in my tank before and I didn't take them out, yet I checked for ammonia and it's still 0. What?? Fish, shrimp, snails, I've never taken them out of the tank when they die, yet no changes in parameters (I dosed Prime at the time, but that doesn't get rid of the actual ammonia?). I read on so many forums and websites that ammonia would spike, the water would start smelling bad, all this stuff. But it never happens with me? I would blame it on the cycle, but I still haven't seen any nitrates/nitrites.
And the algae. I heard that no water changes cause the chemistry to decline and algae could form. Even when my tank was at its absolute lowest, I have never seen a trace of algae. It was at one point I was actually trying to purposefully get it in there by making an unbalance of nutrients, and it still didn't work. I don't know how people get it in there on accident.
And the nitrates. Where are the nitrates?? I obsessed over that for the longest time because I thought my cycle wasn't complete, or that I had somehow reversed it or never even actually started it.
Kind of my main reason for this is so I could ask why we even need water changes. I mean, I've gone so long without one, but still there are others can't.
Another thing I had been wondering about is what makes aquariums different from
enclosed ecosystems.
Enclosed ecosystems that I have seen people make from rivers and lakes are sealed shut, and never get their water changed and never have all these filters and equipment, yet I've seen people document theirs that have lasted years with many living organisms. If that's the case for that, then what makes our aquariums so different? Why do some people's aquariums crash when they don't change the water every few days? Why is mine perfectly fine, going on 3 months without a change (no dosing or top offs). The only thing I have going- in all of them- is a small sponge filter for aeration.
Why did my 5 gallon, which had been going for 5 months without a water change, no dosing of anything, live so long before I got rid of it? The parameters never changed, many snails died in it (from low calcium) but no ammonia, but no nitrates either. There were so many other organisms living in it too. The fish in it were also perfectly fine, vibrant, ate readily, no diseases, no fighting.
Please note that when I'm saying all this, I am not trying to doubt or downplay the information I've recieved or words of others. I am not trying to brag or anything thing else with ill intent, I am just genuinely curious and want to know the meaning behind my observations. I can't stand not knowing how and why things work they do, and comparing my experiences to all of the information I have required this past year is driving me up the walls. Any thoughts or input would be appreciated!
When I first started, I saw many people saying that water changes were absolutely necessary and that you should never go for more than two weeks without one, saying the water chemistry would start to collapse and parameters would become unstable (Ammonia, nitrates, and algae would start to rise).
But in the past months of having my tanks, I cannot fathom for the life of me how they get it to do that. Not once have I ever seen algae or even nitrates in my tank, never ammonia, and parameters never change unless I purposefully put something in the tank.
I used to do 15% water changes once a week in the very beginning over a year ago, but now that's gone down to just once every two months on average. I would frequently test parameters, thinking I would wake up one day and see a huge ammonia spike, or I would see that my ph has gone up to 9.0 or something. But my ammonia hasn't gone past 0.25 in over a year, and I have never seen a trace of nitrates at all. But the thing that has really got me confused is that I've had things die in my tank before and I didn't take them out, yet I checked for ammonia and it's still 0. What?? Fish, shrimp, snails, I've never taken them out of the tank when they die, yet no changes in parameters (I dosed Prime at the time, but that doesn't get rid of the actual ammonia?). I read on so many forums and websites that ammonia would spike, the water would start smelling bad, all this stuff. But it never happens with me? I would blame it on the cycle, but I still haven't seen any nitrates/nitrites.
And the algae. I heard that no water changes cause the chemistry to decline and algae could form. Even when my tank was at its absolute lowest, I have never seen a trace of algae. It was at one point I was actually trying to purposefully get it in there by making an unbalance of nutrients, and it still didn't work. I don't know how people get it in there on accident.
And the nitrates. Where are the nitrates?? I obsessed over that for the longest time because I thought my cycle wasn't complete, or that I had somehow reversed it or never even actually started it.
Kind of my main reason for this is so I could ask why we even need water changes. I mean, I've gone so long without one, but still there are others can't.
Another thing I had been wondering about is what makes aquariums different from
enclosed ecosystems.
Enclosed ecosystems that I have seen people make from rivers and lakes are sealed shut, and never get their water changed and never have all these filters and equipment, yet I've seen people document theirs that have lasted years with many living organisms. If that's the case for that, then what makes our aquariums so different? Why do some people's aquariums crash when they don't change the water every few days? Why is mine perfectly fine, going on 3 months without a change (no dosing or top offs). The only thing I have going- in all of them- is a small sponge filter for aeration.
Why did my 5 gallon, which had been going for 5 months without a water change, no dosing of anything, live so long before I got rid of it? The parameters never changed, many snails died in it (from low calcium) but no ammonia, but no nitrates either. There were so many other organisms living in it too. The fish in it were also perfectly fine, vibrant, ate readily, no diseases, no fighting.
Please note that when I'm saying all this, I am not trying to doubt or downplay the information I've recieved or words of others. I am not trying to brag or anything thing else with ill intent, I am just genuinely curious and want to know the meaning behind my observations. I can't stand not knowing how and why things work they do, and comparing my experiences to all of the information I have required this past year is driving me up the walls. Any thoughts or input would be appreciated!
