Water Changes

[Kirsty]

I have read that i should avoid doing water changes while cycling my tank unless the fish appear to be struggling.
Is this right? If not, how many times should i do one while the tank is cycling?

 

[foty89]

As for doing water changes, you can't always tell if your fish are struggling or not, so I don't think that is a good rule to follow.

As for how many, each tank cycles differently in terms of levels and times, so my best advice is to read through the threads on cycling a tank with fish to get a better grip on what to do and when.

 

[steelhealr]

Hi..I can help you. It is true that doing water changes during cycling may slow the cycle period down but if you get really high spikes in either ammonia or nitrite, it may help your fish. I did a few during my cycle. I did a fish cycle since the book I read didn't really advocate doing a fishless cycle. If you think your ammonia is very high and you note changes in the fish (and, agreed above, it may not be very apparent). I would do a 10% water change. The fish love it..it replaces minerals and briefly lowers the bad stuff. Hope this helped. SH

 

[leafs]

I've read that doing water changes might slow down the cycle a bit, but if you have any ammonia it's worth changing some of the water. If your cycling with fish it should lessen the effects of ammonia on them. I would test the water frequently to make sure levels don't get too high for the fish.