Tank cleaning

[Naughts]

Tap water doesn't change much during the year so as long as you do regular water changes, your tank water chemistry (pH, GH & KH) should be similar to the tap water chemistry.

Then you just need to make sure the new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.

Agreed.
I suspect that people who believe in only 20-25% water changes would have parameter problems if they occasionally did a big water change, which perpetuates the myth.

If you routinely and frequently do 50-75%, your parameters are stable as they cannot drift away from the source water parameters.
As well as being healthier many ways (see Byron's article!!!), this is a real advantage in emergencies (eg. ammonia/ nitrite presence, toxins like hand gels or insecticides, disease outbreak, parasites...) because you do a large water change and instantly are on the road to recovery.

Put simply, as AbbeysDad says, "the solution to pollution is dilution".

 

[AbbeysDad]

There IS such a thing as too much filtration, but there is NO SUCH THING as too much fresh, clean water. If we look at nature we see that fresh water is constantly renewed by rains and snow melt. Just look at all the creeks, streams, and rivers that flow constantly. I've stood at Niagara Falls and marveled at the volume of water that flows in the Niagara river between all of the Great Lakes. The water that exits the Amazon river is so great that fresh water can be collected 12 miles out at sea.
So in our tiny, confined little aquariums, our livestock is forced to live in varying degrees of polluted water. So don't be skimpy. As Byron points out in his article(s), routine, periodic, partial water changes are crucial to the health and well being of aquarium inhabitants. And if/when you do a water change, whats a bit more water?
See Water Quality.

 

[FloridaChick]

Each week you should do the following.
Wipe the inside of the glass down with a clean fish sponge.

Do a 50-75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every week. However, if you get an ammonia or nitrite reading above 0ppm, or a nitrate reading above 20ppm then do a 75% water change every day until its 0ppm.
Use a basic model gravel cleaner like the one in the following link to drain and gravel clean the substrate.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it is added to the tank.

Aquarium Cleaning Made Easy

Aquarium cleaning should take 30 minutes every two weeks. Learn how the professionals do it in 18 easy steps.

www.about-goldfish.com

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You should clean the filter at least once a month. However, if the filter is less than 6 weeks old, do not clean it. Wash the filter materials/ media in a bucket of tank water and re-use them. Tip the bucket of dirty water on the garden/ lawn. Cleaning the filter means less gunk and cleaner water with fewer pathogens.

Great information ? Thanks!

 

[Hayden9261]

Hi all
Some people are saying 75% some 20% is there any true figure or just what has worked from your personal experience? I don’t use tap water I buy the water from the fish shop btw thanks

 

[PlasticGalaxy]

Hi all
Some people are saying 75% some 20% is there any true figure or just what has worked from your personal experience? I don’t use tap water I buy the water from the fish shop btw thanks

You can use tap water as long as you use a dechlorinator... Who told you that you need to get water from the fish shop? Sounds expensive and like way too much effort.

 

[Byron]

Hi all
Some people are saying 75% some 20% is there any true figure or just what has worked from your personal experience? I don’t use tap water I buy the water from the fish shop btw thanks

Read my article and you will understand the benefit of changing more water. @AbbeysDad in post #17 says the same. As does the scientific evidence. Then decide. When I do my weekly water change, taking out 60% or 70% instead of 25% is obviously going to be of more benefit to the fish, so why would I do less?

 

[Essjay]

You can use tap water as long as you use a dechlorinator... Who told you that you need to get water from the fish shop? Sounds expensive and like way too much effort.

When tap water is hard and someone wants to keep soft water fish; or tap water has nitrate right on the upper allowed limit which is too high for fish, RO water bought from a fish shop (or made at home) is the way to overcome these.
But unless there is something about the tap water which makes it unsuitable for the fish, it is a lot easier to use tap water with water conditioner added.

 

[FloridaChick]

Read my article and you will understand the benefit of changing more water. @AbbeysDad in post #17 says the same. As does the scientific evidence. Then decide. When I do my weekly water change, taking out 60% or 70% instead of 25% is obviously going to be of more benefit to the fish, so why would I do less?

Such great feedbackl! I did a 75% water change this morning and the water is so much better and the fish and ugh, my gold mystery snails ? are happier. I am embarrassed to say I didn't realize how dirty my betta tank was (the one with my male Butterfly Betta and 3 kuhli loaches) also, moving the snails will help.. How can snails ?release so much nasty funk yet look so pretty? I relied too much on the filter for sure! Should I do a 50% water change tonight or tomorrow? ?
"We don't know what we don't know!" ?

 

[PheonixKingZ]

I have to be honest, I have only been changing out 25%-40% of my water each week. After reading this thread (and @Byron’s/@AbbeysDad’s articles) I will now perform 75% water changes weekly!

 

[Colin_T]

Hi all
Some people are saying 75% some 20% is there any true figure or just what has worked from your personal experience? I don’t use tap water I buy the water from the fish shop btw thanks

See post #7
It is from my personal experience working in pet shops, fish importers, quarantine facilities, and keeping fish for 30 years.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Cleaning filters,

How often do you recommend we clean our filters? (As in a deep clean - taking the whole thing apart)

 

[FloridaChick]

Each week you should do the following.
Wipe the inside of the glass down with a clean fish sponge.

Do a 50-75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every week. However, if you get an ammonia or nitrite reading above 0ppm, or a nitrate reading above 20ppm then do a 75% water change every day until its 0ppm.
Use a basic model gravel cleaner like the one in the following link to drain and gravel clean the substrate.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it is added to the tank.

Aquarium Cleaning Made Easy

Aquarium cleaning should take 30 minutes every two weeks. Learn how the professionals do it in 18 easy steps.

www.about-goldfish.com

-----------------
You should clean the filter at least once a month. However, if the filter is less than 6 weeks old, do not clean it. Wash the filter materials/ media in a bucket of tank water and re-use them. Tip the bucket of dirty water on the garden/ lawn. Cleaning the filter means less gunk and cleaner water with fewer pathogens.

Why not clean the filter for 6 weeks? Seems like a good thing ?

 

[FloridaChick]

See post #7
It is from my personal experience working in pet shops, fish importers, quarantine facilities, and keeping fish for 30 years.

Hi all
Some people are saying 75% some 20% is there any true figure or just what has worked from your personal experience? I don’t use tap water I buy the water from the fish shop btw thanks

...while us peasants have to use tap water? ???

 

[itiwhetu]

I do 25% water changes as I like my tanks to be set up at a certain pH. I prefer all my tanks to be slightly acidic, this means any ammonia is turned to ammonium. It also means that I can keep a wider range of fish. 75% water changes and keeping your tanks close to the source water is fine but limits the variety of fish you can keep. By doing 25% water changes on any system the parameters will remain constant in the tank. I have run african cichlid tanks to Discus tanks all off the same source water, using the 25% water change method.

 

[Colin_T]

How often do you recommend we clean our filters? (As in a deep clean - taking the whole thing apart)

Why not clean the filter for 6 weeks? Seems like a good thing ?

Established filters should be cleaned at least once a month. That means taking the media out and washing it in a bucket of tank water, and washing the filter case and impellor assembly under tap water.

New filters should not be cleaned until 2 weeks after the tank has cycled (usually 6-8 weeks). This allows the filter bacteria a chance to stick to the filter media. It takes time for the bacteria to develop a decent biofilm on the filter media and this stops it being washed off when you clean the media.