Will My Tank Last One More Day?

[MisterSnuffles]

Hey everyone. I have a 4.5 gallon thats been running for about 6.5 months now. I do my water changes every saturday and have been keeping up with them. However yesterday i was really busy and didnt have time. And today I might not be able to either. Would my tank hurt if I were to change the water tomorrow? Or should I try to do it today?

 

[Prevail]

Hey everyone. I have a 4.5 gallon thats been running for about 6.5 months now. I do my water changes every saturday and have been keeping up with them. However yesterday i was really busy and didnt have time. And today I might not be able to either. Would my tank hurt if I were to change the water tomorrow? Or should I try to do it today?

Your tank will be 100% fine. If there is a problem with your tank do it as soon as possible but if this is just routine maintenance you shouldn't worry about it

 

[MisterSnuffles]

Your tank will be 100% fine. If there is a problem with your tank do it as soon as possible but if this is just routine maintenance you shouldn't worry about it

Tysm!

 

[RayClem]

There are lots of different theories on when to do water changed and how much water should be changed each time. Many people on the forum recommend doing a 50% water change once a week. For smaller tanks such as a 4.5 gallon, that is quite reasonable.

I have to use RO water for my water changes and I have to haul jugs of water up a flight of stairs for my 55 gallon aquarium. There is no way I have the strength to carry over 200 pounds of water up the stairs every week. Typically, I change 5 gallons per week (10%) and occasionally more if I see an issue. I do not have issues with my method because I have excellent filtration on my tanks.

Tetra, the world's largest supplier of aquarium supplies, recommends doing a 30% water change every 30 days. That is similar to doing a 10% water change weekly.

For a small tank, doing 50% water changes weekly is ideal. However, if life gets in the way of doing them on schedule, just get back on schedule as soon as possible. You can always do an extra water change if you see something that does not look quite right.

 

[A201]

I changed out water on the 65 gal. & 120 gal. this morning. Two hours & 15 five gallon buckets out & 15 in, got them done.
Been doing the same weekly routine for the past 30 yrs. I can do it in my sleep. Lol.
Got to admit not as easy as it used to be.

 

[RayClem]

I changed out water on the 65 gal. & 120 gal. this morning. Two hours & 15 five gallon buckets out & 15 in, got them done.
Been doing the same weekly routine for the past 30 yrs. I can do it in my sleep. Lol.
Got to admit not as easy as it used to be.

Back when I was younger, hauling a 5 gallon pail of water (about 40 pounds) was no issue. Now that I am well into retirement, there is no way I could lift that much to pour it into the tank. I now carry 2 1/2 gallon jugs that weight 20#. Even at that, carrying the jugs up ta flight of stairs is difficult.

 

[Revan]

Honestly I've been failing to keep up with my water changes for a while. I've just been really busy an haven't had the time, but the tanks does fine. If anything you might just see a bit of algae, but that's just if its prolonged. One or two days is fine.

 

[Stripedbass]

I changed out water on the 65 gal. & 120 gal. this morning. Two hours & 15 five gallon buckets out & 15 in, got them done.
Been doing the same weekly routine for the past 30 yrs. I can do it in my sleep. Lol.
Got to admit not as easy as it used to be.

Is there a reason you don't have a python? I used a bucket for 16 years and always thought of a great invention I could make. one day I realized it was already made (python)!

 

[A201]

My facets won't work for a python + I'm on a septic out here. Don't need a flood of water flowing to it.

 

[Stripedbass]

My facets won't work for a python + I'm on a septic out here. Don't need a flood of water flowing to it.

I understand my old house was close to sea level and if we got a hurricane or a hard rain we had trouble too. It always scares me that I might introduce something in my drain field.

 

[TClare]

I think that the amount of water changed weekly does depend on the size of the tank, filtration, stocking and planting levels. My largest tank is over 152 gallons and I also use buckets. It is heavily planted and apart from 6 angelfish the rest of the fish are small. I only change about 20% each week, occasionally less if I am short of time, and occasionally for one reason or another I go a few days over the week. It would take a long time to do 50% and I don't think t is necessary. My 240l (about 63 gallons) has 5 festivums, a severum and two plecos and fewer plants (though plenty of water lettuce). I usually change 40-50% each week (it also happens to be closer to the sink and garden).... I have a 180l (47 gallons?) tank which at present only has 6 otos and 6 Copella and is planted with strong filtration for the tank size, and I have only been changing one or two 2.5 gallon buckets a week. In another of the same size I have some (only about 20) Laetacara fry growing out, I change about 30% in that one, but as they grow I will change more frequently.

 

[WRWAquarium]

Hey everyone. I have a 4.5 gallon thats been running for about 6.5 months now. I do my water changes every saturday and have been keeping up with them. However yesterday i was really busy and didnt have time. And today I might not be able to either. Would my tank hurt if I were to change the water tomorrow? Or should I try to do it today?

Hi. If you have a water testing kit it would give you peace of mind on when to do water changes

 

[RayClem]

Hi. If you have a water testing kit it would give you peace of mind on when to do water changes

Exactly. Nitrates are a good indicator of when water changes are needed. In a heavily planted tank, you can get away with fewer or smaller water changes as the plants process a lot of potential contaminants in the water.

 

[MisterSnuffles]

Exactly. Nitrates are a good indicator of when water changes are needed. In a heavily planted tank, you can get away with fewer or smaller water changes as the plants process a lot of potential contaminants in the water.

I just tested the water. Results were 5.0 ppm Nitrates after a week and two day since the last water change. Im thinking maybe leaving it and changing the water this coming saturday with a 50% change. Is that a good idea?

 

[RayClem]

5 ppm nitrates is certainly not too high.

There are a lot of factors that enter into the need for water changes: tank size, stocking, feeding, plants, filtration and probably many others as well. You are the only one in a position to observe what is going on in your aquarium, so you are the one best able to determine when water changes are needed. Skipping a water change is unlikely to be a major problem, but if you do it too often, it might become a problem. Small tanks like your 4.5 gallon are seldom as stable a larger tanks, so just do not get complacent in your maintenance routines.