Water changes - how much is too much?

[mikey11]

there is no "set in stone" rule for water changes.....too many variables come into play, every tank is different

my tanks range from 50% every day.....all the way to 25% once a week

 

[Byron]

So basically, @Byron, what you're saying is this salt treatment is more of a placebo and might actually cause harm, and by obsessively vacuuming my substrate I'm creating a "bubble boy" environment?

Adding salt as some sort of tonic (I use this term to distinguish from using salt as the best treatment for parasites like ich, that is very different) only satisfies one person--you, the aquarist. It absolutely does nothing beneficial to the aquarium. But, it can also cause considerable trouble for the fish (and other organisms), depending. I don't know how else I can say it...salt added other than as a specific necessary treatment does nothing beneficial, ever. So there is no point in risking the fish.

Every substance we add to the tank water, from necessary conditioners to plant fertilizers, treatments, whatever...gets into the fish's bloodstream and thus internal organs. Some of these may not kill the fish, but they would be better off without them. So if they are necessary, as conditioner is, use it sparingly (no more than the required amount). Fish physiology and metabolism is a very involved biological process and quite unlike any terrestrial animal. Their intricate relationship to the water they live in is difficult to describe it is so complex.

Go easy on the substrate cleaning. I never touch the sand in most of my tanks.

 

[Fishmanic]

i have 3 tanks..a 10 gal, a 35 gallon hex, and a 29 gallon . I generally deep clean the gravel in the 35 gallon tall hex to suck up uneaten food (I feed algae wafers once a week and that can get into the gravel) and any rotting driftwood that can get buried in the gravel. Lots of junk does come up as seen through the python tube.

On the 29 gallon tank I have pool filter sand and mainly just skim the surface with the python but occasionally go a bit deeper to suck up the diatoms that accumulate and stir up the sand a bit . On the 10 gallon with pf sand I do the same.

On all my moderately stocked tanks I change out 50% of the water every 7-9 days. I change the filter floss about every 2-3 weeks and just squeeze out the filter sponges in tank water to make them more porous. If filter flow slows down noticeably, I do this more often. Filter boxes get cleaned about every 6 weeks or so.

I dose flourish comprehensive twice a week and dose flourish trace twice a week. I stopped using excel as I dripped it on the vinyl floor and it stains it and changes the color of the tile ...if it does that to the floor, I don't want it in my fish and have also read it may be detrimental to them.

Works for me and my fish.

 

[NickAu]

Is there such a thing? Is it really possible to do too many water changes?

Depends on the stocking, when it comes to shrimp the answer is yes.

Read this,
https://www.theshrimpfarm.com/posts/shrimp-tank-water-changes/

I am looking into keeping some high grade shrimp ( Golden Eye Blue Tiger ) and if I am going to spend over $1000 on 12 shrimp I want to do it right.
https://www.sydneydiscusworld.com/golden-eye-blue-tiger-shrimp-2-cm/

 

[seangee]

Arghhh - fish store staff.
Just back from collecting my CPD at LFS. No stock in my usual branch (where I do trust and respect the staff, although I avoid weekends when the students are in). So I used the other branch which is actually slightly closer to home.

Received the advice to keep up with 10-20% changes per week. When I mentioned that I do 50% per week he assured me that was excessive and my fish would be much better off if I reduced it to no more than 10-20%. He also managed a few other gems: e.g. he couldn't tell me the hardness of their water because "if you measure pH you know how hard the water is". Needless to say I won't be going back there.

On the positive side I know the CPD have been there for at least a month because the store I use has been unable to get stock - and all appear healthy.

 

[fluttermoth]

Arghhh - fish store staff.
Just back from collecting my CPD at LFS. No stock in my usual branch (where I do trust and respect the staff, although I avoid weekends when the students are in). So I used the other branch which is actually slightly closer to home.

Received the advice to keep up with 10-20% changes per week. When I mentioned that I do 50% per week he assured me that was excessive and my fish would be much better off if I reduced it to no more than 10-20%. He also managed a few other gems: e.g. he couldn't tell me the hardness of their water because "if you measure pH you know how hard the water is". Needless to say I won't be going back there.

On the positive side I know the CPD have been there for at least a month because the store I use has been unable to get stock - and all appear healthy.

If I refused to use shops that gave dodgy advice, I would have... no shops at all

At least the guys in my local have the decency to look embarrassed when they're selling a 20l tank and three goldies to the person queuing in front of me. And, tbf to them, they're kind of over a barrel, as if they refused the sale, the people would just go to the chain pet store That-Shall-Not-Be-Named at the other side of town, and buy it there instead (although they would have to 'run the tank for three days' before they were allowed the fish), so what can you do?

 

[IHaveADogToo]

Depends on the stocking, when it comes to shrimp the answer is yes.

Read this,
https://www.theshrimpfarm.com/posts/shrimp-tank-water-changes/

I didn't know this. Thanks! You just taught me something.

 

[seangee]

Depends on the stocking, when it comes to shrimp the answer is yes.

Read this,
https://www.theshrimpfarm.com/posts/shrimp-tank-water-changes/

I am looking into keeping some high grade shrimp ( Golden Eye Blue Tiger ) and if I am going to spend over $1000 on 12 shrimp I want to do it right.
https://www.sydneydiscusworld.com/golden-eye-blue-tiger-shrimp-2-cm/

Interesting. The nano is my first foray into the world of shrimp keeping. Fortunately I spent a bit less than you are planning and the ones I got cost about twice as much as the ones sold as "low grade". Still want to do the best I can for the little guys (I never actually realised how cool they are).

Is that a suggestion that I should perhaps start out at 25% per week for this tank. I was planning on 50%, the same as the community tank. I would much prefer to just have a routine than mess about with measuring TDS and using a variable schedule. Too early yet to assess the true impact of my bioload as its only 4 days (and 3 feeds) since it became fully stocked but ammonia, nitrite and nitrate have all remained constant at 0.