Water changes

[Craig]

Hi all,

Being a newbie, please excuse all the idiot questions but here goes.

I have a very small tank (One of those Starter Kits - I've only had it for a week) and i am just starting to think about water changes. I plan to use a gravel cleaner to clean up the gravel and remove water at the same time.

Q1. how often should I change water (I guess I'll be doing 20% changes) ?

Q2. Will cleaning the gravel disturb any useful bacteria that may be gathering at the bottom of the tank ?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Regards,

Craig.

 

[Great Lakes]

Graig, moving this from the newbie forum to the tropical chit chat forum. Also, here is a long thread done recently on water changes. Water Changes I used the Search option, a good feature for all. If you still have questions after reading this link, feel free to ask,,

 

[Alien Anna]

I think this is a "how long is a piece of string?" question. I have done everything from 50% per day to 15% per week, depending on what is going on with my tanks and water. Once I had to do a total strip down and effectively a 100% change.

Once a tank is established, you don't worry too much about damaging the bacterial colony as most of it is in the gravel and filter anyway.

 

[Craig]

Thanks Anna, I have been reading some of the other posts on the site and I see what you mean. There are so many people changing water at different rates that I guess I will have to go with the "Trial and Error" method.

 

[Great Lakes]

Craig, it seems the bigger the tank, the more lattitude one has. This is usually true because of the costlier filtration on larger tanks. An external filter on a 10 or 20 gallon tank isn't cost effective. But on a larger tank, the investment in super quality filtration is worth it..IMO,IME..

 

[Davy Reynolds]

Criag, the thing I recomend to new comers is a 20% water change every two weels. This can be changed at a later date once you have the hang of it and know what your tank needs.

As for the gravel. once every two weeks is fine. Dont worry about the bacteria in the gravel. The filter bacteria is more importaint :laugh:

 

[Craig]

Did my first water change this weekend, tried for 20% but ended up with about 35% as I had a job getting the hang of the the syphon.

I managed to get most of the uneaten food from the bottom so the tank now looks clean and the water is clear. I'm also feeding less to the fish and all looks well at the moment.

 

[wetwetwet]

don't know if it was in the other thread but regular testing of the water along with how 'happy' the fish look will be your best guide as to how things are going.

When you've been in the hobby for a while how the fish are behaving will soon indicate if there is a possible problem.

 

[Rose]

My fish get very nasty with eachother if I don't do weekly water changes, their colors also aren't that colorfull or vibrant. I use a python for all my water changing needs. Greatest thing in the world.

 

[Great Lakes]

I use a python for all my water changing needs.  Greatest thing in the world.

Only cause you haven't met me yet... :laugh:

 

[Rose]

Sick minds a pure evil don't mix very well...there's always the exception now isn't there :hehe: :laugh:

 

[Great Lakes]

We could have a kid and name him Adolf, but that's been done already... 8)

 

[Rose]

lmao...how bout Stalin? done that one already.

 

[friendtothefish420]

python???

 

[friendtothefish420]

python