Water changes

[TwoTankAmin]

Ammonia can evaporate from water, but nitrite and nitrate cannot do this.

Live plants reduce nitrate in two ways. First, when they use ammonia (as Ammonium) they do not make nitrite and thus, no nitrate either. next, if the plants cannot get all the "food" they need from ammonium, they will use nitrate if it is available. But they do so less efficiently because they have to convert it back to ammonia to use it.

There has to be a cause for there to be nitrates in the container, they do not magically appear. The reality is there are basically two ways. One is they arrive in the tap water. The other would be ammonia arrives along with bacteria or else if the container never completely dries out there are bacteria living in it. That lost one is a stretch however.

It should actually be possible to figure this out. I cannot remember off the top of my head if you said the tank with nitrate issues was planted. If so, as plants grow it results in their using more ammonia, and possibly also nitrate, than they did going back in time. The other thing I know is that the least accurate test we do in our tanks for nitrogen related thing is the one for nitrate. How they usually work is that they convert the nitrate back to nitrite and read that. This is why is makes little sense during a cycle to test for nitrate during the high nitrite phase.

SeaChem's Nitrogen:

Flourish Nitrogen™ is a concentrated (15,000 mg/L) blend of nitrogen sources. It provides nitrogen in both the nitrate form and the plant–preferred ammonium form. However, no free ammonia is released because the ammonium in Flourish Nitrogen™ is complexed and unavailable until utilized by the plants. Ammonium becomes available after conversion of urea (carbamide). Flourish Nitrogen™ also provides nitrate for those plants that can readily utilize nitrate as well.

 

[Ram419]

@TwoTankAmin Yes, the container never completly drying out is a possibility. The tank with high nitrates has some plants, but it's been hard to keep them going in this tank for some reason. Not sure if b/c of corys. I just put a few more plants in it over the past week and the nitrates have stayed low since. Crossing fingers the plants keep.

Oh, one other question if you perhaps know the answer. If I start using API Ammo Lock that should wipe out the ammonia issue right? Do you suggest using that product?

EDIT: I tested the Ammo Lock just now. I had it lying around so why not try right? It dials the ammonia back to 0.25ppm. And, it works as a water conditioner too so might just have to start using it. Not because of the container, but because it's less ammonia hitting the fish during a water change.

 

[angiemike6]

I tend to have my 180l Juwel tank overstocked. However most of my fish are more than 5 years of age, and I only lose fish due to old age. So I must be doing something right. My secret I believe is regular water changes of at least 40% per week. This also includes cleaning all the filter media each week, and the pump internals once a month, ensuring that the surface of my gravel is vacuumed each time as well. I also clean the inside surface of the tank glass each week as well. I completely disagree with advice given to feed fish once or twice a day, as uneaten fish food releases toxic ammonia and nitrite as it decomposes. I feed my fish once, 3 days a week on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Although nitrates should be kept as low as possible that cannot always be maintained. It is far more important to ensure that ammonia and nitrites are zero. Fish can get accustomed to quite high levels of nitrates, but keeping the maintenance regular ensures those levels do not vary dramatically. Unfortunately the level of nitrates in my tap water is anything up to 35 ppm, with the legal maximum in the UK of 40 ppm. This however is measured at source and could be higher by the time it gets to my tap. This means my nitrate level is in excess of 40 ppm. I have considered RO water but that is expensive, and have decided that as I am not losing fish and they all seem happy and well i am not going to worry too much about my nitrate levels.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

There are a few comments I would like to make about water changes.

1. I have never heard of fish dying because their water was too clean. Clean does not mean pure, it means lacking things that would be harmful to the fish or other inhabitants.

2. TDS is actually a made up measurement. Here is how a TDS meter works. The guts of it are actually a traditional conductivity meter. Pure water (something we will never see outside of a lab) is a poor conductor of electricity. As other things build up in water, these things are what cause water to be able to conduct electricity. A conductivity meter sends a small electric current between two probes. The more stuff that is in the water, the greater the conductivity will be. Conductivity in water is normally measured in "Microsiemens Per Centimeter (µS/cm) is a unit in the category of Electric conductivity. It is also known as microsiemens per centimetre, microsiemens/centimeter. Microsiemens Per Centimeter (µS/cm)" A TDS meter uses a fixed formula to convert the conductivity measurement into ppm.

For more info on this read here https://www.supmeaauto.com/training/how-does-a-conductivity-probe-work

3. To prevent the build up of toxic substances is only one half of the reason we do water changes. The other half is that we are replenishng things that have been used up.

I have a variety of tanks. I have denitrification in tanks with no plants by using the massive form of filtration known as the Hamburg Mattenfilter. I also have a few tanks with a ton of live plants as well as shrimp and snails. In these tanks I have to add a bit of SeaChem Equilibrium as well as the normal plant ferts. The reason is between the plants and inverts as well as the fish, there is not enough of of the components of GH to satisfy them all.

Equilibrium™ is specifically designed to establish the ideal mineral content for the planted aquarium. Equilibrium™ contains no sodium or chloride (which can be detrimental to a planted aquarium at elevated levels). Equilibrium™ is ideally suited for use with RO (reverse osmosis) or DI (deionized) water or any mineral deficient water. Equilibrium™ raises the essential mineral/electrolyte content (General Hardness) of the water to balance with and promote stability of the carbonate hardness.

Ingredients

Guaranteed Analysis Amounts per 1 g
Soluble Potash (K2O)	23.0%
Calcium (Ca)	8.06%
Magnesium (Mg)	2.41%
Iron (Fe)	0.11%
Manganese (Mn)	0.06%

If I do not add a bit of Equilibrium with each water change, the plants and inverts begin to show show that they are lacking in the things Equilibrium contains. However, in my less heavily planted and stocked tanks where I may not have many inverts, I do fine without the need to add Equilibrium. My tap water has enough of the things the tank inhabitants need with out my having to add more. I use Tropica ferts in my tanks.

Like I said, there is more to why we change water than just removing any nasty stuff that would accumulate and cause harm. We need to understand that water changes are a process of remove and replensih not just remove. The trick is to reach an understabding of how often and jhow much water we need to change to accomplish this. And in some case like the above, we may need to add more than what out tap water can provide.

 

[Mick Vallis]

How often do people do water changes?
How much do people change?
Ive seen everything from 10% 25% 50%.
I have several tanks and all are fine however I've just got my daughter a small 40l tank with guppies in and at first everything was fine they were breeding and the fry were thriving.
5 months later guppies are dying weekly and I don't know what the problem is.
I do weekly water changes of 10% is that too much? Too little?

I change 75% of my water (55 Gal) every other month (8 weeks). I do use RO water. Tanks been stable for the last 3 years, Fish, Shrimp, Plants & Nerites all doing well.

 

[10 Tanks]

Hello. My tanks can't go more than a week between 50 percent water changes. At least that's what I think. The process of oxidation just changes the water chemistry too quickly for my fish to be their healthiest. Of course, I don't use filters of any sort. The water change does a much better job than those mechanical gizmos. I may be mistaken, but my fish sure live a long time.

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[10 Tanks]

Hello again. So, a bit more on water changes. Optimum water conditions should be a place that has a means of constantly removing and replacing most or all of the fishes' water regularly. So, how does one duplicate that type of an environment in a closed cube like a fish tank? I have my idea, but would like to hear from someone else.

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[Ram419]

I change 75% of my water (55 Gal) every other month (8 weeks). I do use RO water. Tanks been stable for the last 3 years, Fish, Shrimp, Plants & Nerites all doing well.

Interesting. What does your nitrates look like after 8 weeks? Lightly stocked? Do you use a canister filter?

 

[Mick Vallis]

Interesting. What does your nitrates look like after 8 weeks? Lightly stocked? Do you use a canister filter?

Been 10 weeks since last water change (doing this week) Nitrates high 20's, I would say heavy stocked, External Fluval 407 cannister.
By heavy stock I have: 4 large rainbows, 1 large B/N catfish, 11 yellowfin Tetra, 2 Rednose Tetra, 2 Nerite snails & about 6-10 large shrimp.
Almost forgot, 3 med clown loaches.

 

[10 Tanks]

Hello. There are many who believe that the need for a water change is just about the nitrogen that comes from the dissolving fish waste material. This is only half true. The need for a water change is more. The longer the same treated tap water stays in a cube, the more it changes chemically. The plants and fish are constantly using and removing the nutrients in the water and the chemicals that exist in tap water begin to change as soon as the water leaves the pipes and is exposed to oxygen in the air. The dissolving fish waste must be removed and fresh water with all the nutrients must be replenished.

However, if your fish have become accustomed to living in in water with a higher level of nitrogen and few nutrients, it would be unwise to start changing out tank water more often. The shock of all the clean, nutrient rich water would very likely be deadly.

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