No water change tanks?

[Animallover😍]

I'd like to make my tanks 'no water change' tanks.
Could someone please tell me how to do that? I'm trying to do it to save money and time.

 

[Slaphppy7]

Unless you have a plumbing setup that constantly introduces fresh water into your tanks, regular water changes will always be part of responsible fishkeeping, with very few exceptions

 

[Deleted member 149562]

I think you might mean the Walstad method

Walstad Method for Planted Tanks - Ideas & Setup Guide

If you've heard of the Walstad Method of setting up a tank, you might be wondering what that is and how it works. Read this guide to find out!

www.tankarium.com

 

[Slaphppy7]

I think you might mean the Walstad method

Walstad Method for Planted Tanks - Ideas & Setup Guide

If you've heard of the Walstad Method of setting up a tank, you might be wondering what that is and how it works. Read this guide to find out!

www.tankarium.com

One of the "very few" exceptions.....

 

[nik_n]

I'd like to make my tanks 'no water change' tanks.
Could someone please tell me how to do that? I'm trying to do it to save money and time.

You can accomplish this with a lot of plants. And I mean a lot. Fast growing plants are the best choice for this especially stem plants. Low stocking levels are also necessary to accomplish this. The plant mass should heavily outweigh the fish, in fact the tank should be understocked. Balancing the light and nutrient levels are also important for a balanced system because plants need to be healthy and thriving. It is entirely possible and I have done it in the past with low stocking levels.

You would probably need to do top offs unless you have a lid. You should do regular water tests at the start, and later in case you see the tank not thriving

 

[xxBarneyxx]

Honestly unless you have a large tank with a lot of fast growing, well established plants and light stocking levels then it just isn't worth it. You also need to have a LOT of plants with good healthy growth to be successful. That normally means using something like the Walstad method for a low impact approach or dosing ferts. Both are probably more expensive and work intensive to set up then just doing partial water changes.

Honestly if the tanks are taking more time to maintain then you are willing to give the best option is to reduce the amount of tanks you have. I say this from personal experience. When it turns from feeling like a fun hobby into a chore it's time to reevaluate how much you want it.

 

[Slaphppy7]

Honestly unless you have a large tank with a lot of fast growing, well established plants and light stocking levels then it just isn't worth it. You also need to have a LOT of plants with good healthy growth to be successful. That normally means using something like the Walstad method for a low impact approach or dosing ferts. Both are probably more expensive and work intensive to set up then just doing partial water changes.

Honestly if the tanks are taking more time to maintain then you are willing to give the best option is to reduce the amount of tanks you have. I say this from personal experience. When it turns from feeling like a fun hobby into a chore it's time to reevaluate how much you want it.

"Honestly if the tanks are taking more time to maintain then you are willing to give the best option is to reduce the amount of tanks you have. I say this from personal experience. When it turns from feeling like a fun hobby into a chore it's time to reevaluate how much you want it."

Well said, agree 100%

 

[Deleted member 149562]

I understand your wish to cut down the amount of work involved but if you and your family are seriously considering a fish room, then your workload and the time taken doing that work will naturally increase

It is very easy to bite off more than you can chew with fishkeeping and quickly become overwhelmed then its starts becoming a chore which you slowly grow to hate

 

[AbbeysDad]

A really bad idea. Would you keep a small animal in a cage and never expect to clean the cage?!

In nature, fresh water is renewed ALL the time. Many times I have stood at Niagara Falls and marveled at the millions of gallons of water that is CONSTANTLY flowing between the Great Lakes. The output of the Amazon River is so great that fresh water can be collected 12 miles out at sea!

So we have these little glass boxes with living creatures, swimming in what becomes a cesspool of organic waste....unless we do routine, periodic, partial water changes. 'The solution to pollution is dilution' and generally speaking 'there's no such thing as too much fresh, clean water'.

As mentioned, IF we have a LOT of fast growing plants AND very little stock, we might prolong the frequency and/or volume of the necessary partial water change...BUT nothing will ever prevent or replace the partial water change to maintain a high water quality. Regular Partial Water Changes not only dilutes pollution, but replenishes the necessary minerals used by plants and fish. Plants alone can't do this. 'Top offs' can help with this, but top offs do nothing to replace polluted water with fresh, clean water!

If you do not have the time to spend a mere hour or two a week to take care of an aquarium, perhaps another hobby is best for you and your family. Alternatively you might look at how you can make the weekly partial water change and monthly filter maintenance as efficient as possible. There are ways to make Partial Water Changes - Fast and Easy.

I hope you make the right decision.

 

[Colin_T]

@AbbeysDad has covered it pretty well.

You can reduce the frequency of water changes if you only have a small number of fish in the tank, and only add a small amount of food, and you have lots of live plants that are growing well, and you manage the pH, GH and KH of the water. However, if you have a lot of fish or put lots of food in the tank, or don't have many live plants, or let the pH, GH or KH change dramatically, the fish will suffer.

If you are doing weekly water changes, perhaps do them every fortnight instead. Reduce the food going in and get some floating plants if you don't already have some. Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every 2 weeks and see if that gives you more time to spend with the family or doing other things.

 

[Animallover😍]

@AbbeysDad has covered it pretty well.

You can reduce the frequency of water changes if you only have a small number of fish in the tank, and only add a small amount of food, and you have lots of live plants that are growing well, and you manage the pH, GH and KH of the water. However, if you have a lot of fish or put lots of food in the tank, or don't have many live plants, or let the pH, GH or KH change dramatically, the fish will suffer.

If you are doing weekly water changes, perhaps do them every fortnight instead. Reduce the food going in and get some floating plants if you don't already have some. Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every 2 weeks and see if that gives you more time to spend with the family or doing other things.

That's a good idea, I'll do it every fortnight. Thanks for the suggestion!!

 

[I Like Rare Fish]

I have a tank outside that has its own ‘ecosystem’. It’s filled to the brim with Anacharis, coontail, and floating plants. It is stocked extremely lightly, and has quite a bit of snails. I regularly fill the tank up, but I rarely do any water change.

 

[itiwhetu]

You will always need to add fresh water to your aquarium. There is no way to get around that. The big question is how much water you change each week. That is something that you will learn with experience.