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Is there such a thing as too many water changes?

Well doing 70% water changes every day is a bit much. That I know.

Otherwise, not really.


Kim

i have to agree... doing 25% water changes per week is ideal...some to it every other week. while others (like me ) do it 2x a wk.

Hi,
In a sense, the answer is "Yes," and "No."

In nature, if you have fish that normally live in flowing
water, their water is changed constantly, if you tried to
duplicate that, you would have to pipe the flow into one
end of the tank and out the other side (preferably back
into the stream).
In bodies of water such as lakes and ponds, water flowing
into them from streams or rivers, or from rainfall, provide
the water changes.

In your aquarium, it would be hard do duplicate, naturally,
any of these natural replenishment features. Changing the
tank water at a regular interval is the only way to
duplicate nature. When you change out water, the new water
most of the time does not match the old. pH, KH, GH,
and temperatures can be different. Differences, can cause
problems. Different temperatures are one of the main causes
of stress to the fish and the result in many times is an
outbreak of ich. Different pH values can also stress the
fish.
Changing out small amounts say 10% of the tank
capacity, generally weekly, will accomplish the
recharging of the tank.
Larger percentages (up to 50%) are usually reserved for
either trying to stimulate the breeding urge, or for
rectifying problems such as after treating the tank with
medication for some disease.

In the tank, a large change of water, if different in
values from the tank water, can be stressful to the fish.
For instance, if the pH was 6.8 in the tank and your tap
water was 8.0 and you changed over say 20%, that would
increase the tank pH by more than the recomended 0.2.
More frequent changes at a smaller percentage leaving
24 hours between changes is better.

How often you SHOULD change the water depends upon the
tank. How stocked is it, are you over stocked, or under
stocked? Are there live plants in it? How much evaporation
is there in a 24 hour period?
If you are heavily stocked, have few if any plants, or have
alot of evaporation, then you should change the water
more frequently. If more frequently is not practical, then
a larger percentage than 10% might be necessary.
How often we DO change water, for most of us, depends upon
our personal lives and scheduling. I try to do 10% once a
week. During the summer months, that usually drops to 20%
every other week between work, and trips into the
mountains.

Hope that helps...

Frank



Last edited by FRANK at 28-Jul-2005 09:39

Last edited by FRANK at 28-Jul-2005 09:45

-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

There are two schools of thought on water changes. One is that 10 to 20% each week is adequate and the other is that one can never perform too much of a water change or too many water changes.

Proponents of the weekly water change feel that the water change is sufficient and will cause minimal stress to fish. Additionally, they fear a "mini-cycle" if there would be too great a water change and vacuuming of the gravel.

Proponents of the more is better water change feel that the greater the water change, the more stable the water parameters as most aquarists change water with tap water, the stablest water source available. They ignore the concept of a "mini-cycle" as they have never seen one with heavy water changes.

The latest "Skeptical Aquarist" column in the September TFH magazine talks to your question.

I have discus and I like frequent, large water changes for my fish. The fish grow fast, are healthy and I have no maintenance problems. I only treat the water with Prime during the water change. I never worry about pH or hardness as it is always consistent - it's tap water.

The key to water quality is consistency, I get that from my tap water. Quantitatively, If I do 20% water changes every week, the dissolved wastes and by-products in my aquariums will be 8.75 times greater than if I performed 50% water changes evry other day...

Last edited by Bob Wesolowski at 28-Jul-2005 10:02

__________
"To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research."
researched from Steven Wright

well i was wondering what to do because i am cycling a tank and all the tests are too high....i cannot keep mollies alive. it makes me sad.

Our response was based on a cycled tank. Now, what size tank do you have? What are your test results? How many fish are you trying to cycle the tank with?

__________
"To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research."
researched from Steven Wright

Hi,
Please don't count on the pH always being constant.
Many cities draw water from wells, rivers, or lakes.
Frequently they will change, in the case of wells,
from one aquafer to another. In the case of rivers and
lakes, they will draw from shallow ones and then switch
to deeper ones with changes of seasons. In many cases
they do not treat the water's pH to maintain say a 7.0.
The source can and does change with seasons, and with
droughts and with floods.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

Excellent point, Frank. However, I bet that you use your tap water for your regular water changes! And, on a day to day basis, the tap water chemistry is remarkably consistent.

So, the bottom line question is more or less water changes. My vote is more large water changes to make minute daily corrections to an aquarium's chemistry.

Last edited by Bob Wesolowski at 28-Jul-2005 17:29

__________
"To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research."
researched from Steven Wright

hey all,
I have a 29g tank and i am trying to cycle it with(so far)
6 rasboras
2 tetras
2 shrimp
5 molly fry
2 small cories
Last night i had .25 ammonia, sky high nitrite, and 2 nitrate.
I did a water change tonight and have not run tests yet.

You are using too many fish to cycle the tank. For a non planted tank that size I would only use the equivalent to about 3-5 small zebra danios. Reduce the fish load and your numbers will be much better and your fish much healthier throughout the cycling process.


Last edited by trystianity at 29-Jul-2005 02:27

ok if i do that, then the next questin is, can i fit all of them in my old 10g where i have some zebra danios...?
Either that or can some go in my 2 1/2 gallon tank with my betta?
I do have a few plants in there, i do not know the names, (some common frondy ones for the babies...) i thought y'all wre just interested in the fauna, not the flora too...

Last edited by esandbergger at 29-Jul-2005 02:56

ag the growing pains of an inexperienced fishie owner

Shift the zebra danios to the new tank and stuff the other fish into the 10G. The fully cycled 10 should have no problem with the overload if you pay close attention to water changes while the new tank cycles.

__________
"To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research."
researched from Steven Wright