Water change schedule

[Kats]

Hi guys!  Now that our planted tank has settled, water is perfect (0 readings for ammonia, nitrite and nitrates) what do you suggest is the best practice for water changes?  Do I need to do some or not?  What percentage?  How often?  Can I just top it up?

How about the filter media (I have an Aqua Clear 70 on a 46G tank) with a sponge and a bio circle thingy.  Do I need to replace them or rinse them out?  How often?

Everyone in there seems happy, the angels are laying eggs, the cory's are growing, the plants are growing too... I'd like to keep everyone happy so any suggestions you have would be appreciated!!

Thanks!

[sdivell]

a pretty standard practice for water changes is 10% weekly or 20% every 2 weeks.

I try and stick with 20% water changes weekly as my tank is slightly over stocked and the tank needs it.

Oh and go ahead and rince your media in a bucket of tank water that you pull out during your water changes.

[kennyman]

A good practice is to manage your nitrates. You will find what schedule you need to keep them below 20-30 ppm.

Another thing worth mentioning here is, it is not specifically the nitrates you want to manage, but other compounds that we can not test for. It is widely accepted that these other compounds and nitates tend to accumulate together and you can get a good idea about the levels of one by watching the other.

Also the needs of particular fish influence the water change routine. I know quite a few hobbiests who insist on 50% weekly and will tell you that fresh water fish like fresh water. Changing large amounts like that prevents old tank syndrome where the tank water and change water become incompatible. Larger/more frequent water changes keep your tank similar to your source water.

[bitterman]

I change 1 GPH on my tanks... Drip water change system

[fishycanuck]

Bruce, you big show-off. I usually change 20% weekly, but if I'm away a week, no big deal.

[charlie]

Hi guys!  Now that our planted tank has settled, water is perfect (0 readings for ammonia, nitrite and nitrates) what do you suggest is the best practice for water changes?  Do I need to do some or not?  What percentage?  How often?  Can I just top it up?

How about the filter media (I have an Aqua Clear 70 on a 46G tank) with a sponge and a bio circle thingy.  Do I need to replace them or rinse them out?  How often?

Everyone in there seems happy, the angels are laying eggs, the cory's are growing, the plants are growing too... I'd like to keep everyone happy so any suggestions you have would be appreciated!!

Thanks!

Kats , are you sure about the 0 Nitrates, i would be concerned by that reading, it would appear that either your test kit is out of wack or the plants are consuming the Nitrates in a hurry, if it`s the latter of the two it might be wise to add some Nitrate to the tank, as that is one of the main macro nutrient for plants.

The frequency & qty of water changes will vary for planted tanks depending on how the plants are maintained & your bio load, water changes does not only get rid of the nasties & Nitrate but it also replenshies the minerals the plants need to thrive, if your Nitrates are not getting over the 20 PPM mark , say in i week then you might be good for 20% every 2 weeks, since i don`t believe you are doing CO2 & heavy ferts( this is only a blind suggestion , that may need to be modified).

The cleaning of your filter media , can be done bi weekly or weekly ( depending on the build up), this should be done in some tank water drawn from the tank & then returned to the filter, this is to preserve the ever so important bacteria you have worked so hard to establish 
Hope this helps , along with the other suggestions offered

[Kats]

I change 1 GPH on my tanks... Drip water change system

Wow!  We are far from that!!  The only drip we have are the ones we cause when doing water changes 

since i don`t believe you are doing CO2 & heavy ferts

Nope, just plain fluorite mixed in with the gravel when we started the tank and we will be on our way to BA tonight to buy a couple more fish along with some fert tabs...

I did not know nitrates were important to plants, I thought they were bad all around!!!  Wow, I learned, yet again, something new today!!!

Will the nitrates increase if we increase the load on the tank?  (We have 4 angels, 3 corys, 3 otocats in our 46g tank now)

[charlie]

Wow!  We are far from that!!  The only drip we have are the ones we cause when doing water changes 
Nope, just plain fluorite mixed in with the gravel when we started the tank and we will be on our way to BA tonight to buy a couple more fish along with some fert tabs...

I did not know nitrates were important to plants, I thought they were bad all around!!!  Wow, I learned, yet again, something new today!!!

Will the nitrates increase if we increase the load on the tank?  (We have 4 angels, 3 corys, 3 otocats in our 46g tank now)

If you are heading to Big Als , it would be a good idea to take a water sample & have them test it , then compare the results with your kit.

Bacteria converts ammonia to Nitrite , then a second colony converts the Nitrite to Nitrate, the only way to get rid of the Nitrate is by Plants using it as nutrient or by water changes, Plants need Macro & Micro nutrients , Macro being  Potassium , Phosphate, & Nitrate. The micros are the trace elements .

http://www.rexgrigg.com/ferts.htm
Regards

[Kats]

We did a 20% water change and I rinsed the media out (Wow... found an entire colony of baby snails in there!!)

We also bought some plant fertilizer.  I read your post too late Charlie, we did the water change before heading to BA so I'll do the test with them in a couple of days.

My husband and I think we'll adopt the weekly changes though, the water temperature dropped 3 degrees from the 20% change!!  I'd be afraid of what that drop would be once we hit January!!  We have 2x6g containers that we keep water in for this but it's kept in our basement which, I guess, is a tad bit colder than our 1st floor! 

Lessons learned!  Thanks for all the advice!!

[dan2x38]

Sounds like a great WC plan. I do the weekly 25% in all but 1 tank. Suggestions from Charlie & BD got me on EI dosing from Tom Barr so on that tank is weekly WC 50%.

I mature my water in a 25g bin I heat it & airate it to gas out. I have a 10g bin that is temperate for the CPDs & Mountain Minnows. A 3 degree drop would likely be OK if the water is not a sudden addition. I've read that a change should not be more that 2f per hour.

The WCs, pH, temp. everything needs to be fairly consistant for a healthy tank. Whatever routine you come up with try and stick with it. That's my suggestion.

Oh yeah I rinse my sponge filter when it starts floating pushing the lid off my AC filters... LOL - once a month I rinse them in tank water...

If you just started your tank you want to be careful with to much rinsing like Charlie says those bacteria are most important... Also don't vacuum to deep that flouite is expensive & the gravel also contains healthy bacteria... I think it was Babblefish told me the mulm that collects in the substrate should not all be removed it is also plant food. I use to do deep vacuuming now not to deep at all...

[garnpet]

50% each week in the 108 gallon tank.  I maybe do the sponges every month or so.  I use 72F water straight out of the tap even though the tank is usually around 80F or so.  Doesn't seem to bother the fish that much - the even seem to like it.   

[Brine]

I take 3 x 5G buckets out of my 90G every ...whenever I get around to it. That's just over 15%. About every 10 - 14 days. I rinse out or change the filter media nearly every time I do that. In between I top the tank up once or twice as I get a lot of evaporation.
As for testing the water I do that every never. I have never yet tested my tank water. I am a firm believer that we sometimes mess with the water too much and that there should be changes in temperature and all the other parameters occasionally. Not huge changes mind you but I think it should fluctuate a bit as in nature. This is of course contrary to everything I've learned and shows more of my lack desire to mess with the tank than any firm belief or practise.

[washefuzzy]

I second your opinion Brine. I just do my weekly water changes and my fish seem to be happy. Well most of the times. I found the more I meddled with the water the more fish I lost. My tanks are stable now so I just let them be.