Bad Water Change

[Chinnery]

Well i spose the stats are its about 17 inch deep with a light green colour to the water. 3 goldies an a plac. I have 2 powerheads and 2 fluval 4 pulses. I have a castle, an air driven treasure chest and a diver and some plastic plants. 25% every week would freak my fish out i think, seems a bit over the top. I dont use any of that NitrAte stuff, its quite a simple setup.I havent lost any fish using this setup. Oh apart from that black hoar but he had swim boulder problems

 

[kat and james]

you are more likely to cause damage and stress to your fish by NOT changing 25% of the water each week, as ammonia and nitrites will get up in the tank, and this can lead to all manner of problems. and you really should buy a water test kit to check your ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH, that way if you really really can't be bothered to change the water EVERY week, you could still monitor it every day, or every other day, and change it when things start to change a little..

 

[Fella]

 

[jimbooo]

type "the nitrogen cycle" into google and read.

then buy a nitrAte test kit and post the results on here. that will 100% tell you wether you need to do more frequent water changes.

nitrAte is the end product of the cycle and is poisonous to fish above a certain level. the only way to reduce the level is to change the water.

active fish does not mean happy fish!

type "the nitrogen cycle" into google and read.

then buy a nitrAte test kit and post the results on here. that will 100% tell you wether you need to do more frequent water changes.

nitrAte is the end product of the cycle and is poisonous to fish above a certain level. the only way to reduce the level is to change the water.

active fish does not mean happy fish!

 

[Chinnery]

I jus dont want to complicate things thas all. Im not home that much either so times short. I think if u could see fatty an the gang and their lovely tank ud agree that they are in good condition. And I will take a pic when it clears up.I dont really want to get into nitrAtes and nitrogen cycles etc, seems v complicated and I jus havent got the space for all the bottles an stuff in my small room. Thanks for the advice tho

 

[Diane]

If you have little or no time for your fish then why did you take them in the first place.

Fish are pets too and they deserve all the care and attention that you would give to any other pet.

Please for the sake of your fish and there well being, listen to people's advise.

 

[jimbooo]

putting 5ml of tank water, 14 drops of one liquid, 7 drops of another and a tiny spoon of powder into a test tube, leaving it for 5 mins then checking the colour is not a huge inconvenience at all.

if you care about your fish at all you should buy a test kit. i can guarantee the levels will be too high in your tank.

put it this way imagine an old prison with poo bucket instead of a flushing toilet.

the bucket is emptied every weekend and is almost full on changing.

then imagine the schedule changed to being emptied every 3 months. there would be poo and pee every where, and the person would be living in it.

thats your fish tank!

the fish are swimming around in more wee than water. you cant see it and cant smell it and unless you test it will never know but sure as hell your fish will suffer.

simple nitrogen cycle:

wee/poo turns to ammonia, turns to nitrite, turns to and stays as nitrate

ammonia - Very Very toxic
Nitrite - Very toxic
nitrAte - toxic at levels above 80 ppm (when this level is reached you need a water change)

the filter bacteria is what changes the various chemicals to the next stage hence why it is so important

make sence?

 

[mrJ]

i'm sorry but all you people are going over the top with all this nitrate and water changing stuff, i've had my tank for a few years and i only add water when the old stuff evaporates, i rarely lose any fish i was told that if you leave the water for a few months its sets up an natural eco system, (you have to stick with its though, during the first few months the water can get very merky, but in time it will self clean).

so mr.chinnery if you really care for your fish keep those nasty chemicals out of your tank, go green your fish will thank you for it...

 

[Chinnery]

I have a lot of filtration in there an lots of water flow, no fancy chemical stuff but it works ok. I posted here because of my last disastrous water change, not health probs. The last thing fatty and his m8s want is me sucking them up every week!Waterchanges never seem to go to well, especially with my cat that jus makes the whole thing a nightmare! Theres clearly somethin wrong with him cause as soon as i open the lid of the tank its like hes possessed!!

 

[jungle king]

Maybe making sure your cat isn't in the room and the door is shut may help when you change the water. i.e. cat not in room so you can concentrate on the job at hand.

 

[jimbooo]

so mr.chinnery if you really care for your fish keep those nasty chemicals out of your tank, go green your fish will thank you for it...

you dont add the chemicals to the tank, you remove 5ml of tank water and add the chemicals to the test tube.

never mind.

look at my sig pic, do you really think i dont know what i'm talking about? click the photo album for further confirmation.

i'm fed up with this now so sorry mr fanny goldfish your on your own.

 

[mrJ]

jimbooo, nice tank but where are all the fish...

i supose all those chemicals are great for plant growth, but no so good for keeping fish...

 

[jungle king]

this topic is turning into a clash of the old school vs the new school.

I'm trying to stay nutural here. Basically think back to the beginnings of fish keeping there was no water test, Filters were virtually none existant.

Live plants can be used to control the Nitrates. Think how you would keep a coldwater tank going if you had no electricity and you water was shut off?

 

[jimbooo]

jimbooo, nice tank but where are all the fish...

i supose all those chemicals are great for plant growth, but no so good for keeping fish...

thanks mrJ

theres 42 fish in there,

6 Zebra Danio, 11 Cardinal Tetras, 1 Neon Tetra, 6 white cloud mountain minnows, 1 Boesmani Rainbow, 4 Blue Rainbow, 4 Sterbai Corys, 1 Sailfin Plec, 1 Flying Fox, 1 Angelfish, 6 ottos, ramshorn & trumpet snails

i am not making myself clear, i'm not asking him to put chemicals in the tank at all. i totally agree the natural approach is the best by far (hence my tanks are full of plants). what i am asking is for him to buy a test kit so he can work out the levels of nitrAte in his tank.

Every fish tank on the planet has some level of nitrate in it. the difference between a healthy tank and an unhealthy one is the ammount of nitrAte in the water.

without the test kit he cant tell if his water is okay or not.

nitrate will never leave the water no matter how long you leave it. i repeat, this is the END product of the nitrogen cycle. it has nowhere to go so will build up and build up until it is diluted by a water change.

i'm not having a go, honestly i'm just trying to educate him on how to keep his fish healthy and happy.

 

[mrJ]

thanks for the advise jimbooo,

but as you can see my fish are fine and dandy...