View Full Version : Water Changes
Lithomunky
04-08-2008, 9:08 PM
How good should I suck everything out of the rocks before bacteria have developed?
Should I just suck the poop off the top?
Should I just worry about the water?
I have a 55gal and the ammonia is really high, so I'm gonna do like a 75% water change.
Suck it as clean as you can get it. The bacteria attach themselves very firmly to the rocks. The more waste that you remove the better the results will be. Be sure to vacuum as much stuff out of the gravel as you can. With the fish that you have in your tank you should do this every water change.
jm1212
04-08-2008, 9:30 PM
do you have a gravel vac? if not, you should get one.
go through the gravel, sycking up all of the junk, at least once every week with the water change.
Sarge_857
04-08-2008, 9:31 PM
How good should I suck everything out of the rocks before bacteria have developed?
Should I just suck the poop off the top?
Should I just worry about the water?
I have a 55gal and the ammonia is really high, so I'm gonna do like a 75% water change.
75 percent to me sounds like ALOT! my friend does a 35-50% water change on his 55g tank once a week. if your worried about killin or taking the bacteria out, only vac about half or more of the gravel at a time.
doreenjoy
04-08-2008, 9:36 PM
If the ammonia is high, get as much poop out as you can.
sillypony
04-08-2008, 9:42 PM
With ammonia high, i agree, 75% is good this time. Just plunge into the rocks with the gravel vac/siphon, the rocks will get sucked up a bit, and the dirt will leave, while the rocks sink.
My 55 has lots of decor, so it takes a long time to get all the poo out (espec. with 2 plecos). Thus I often end up doing a 25-75% every week. It has never disrupted my cycle, no ammonia or nitrite spikes.
Good Luck
LeeAnna
Radar
04-08-2008, 10:24 PM
I would be very aggressive with the gravel vacs and do back to back water changes to get the ammonia as close to zero as you can.
So I assume this tank is not cycled. In that case keep doing water changes until the ammonia is at a max of 1 ppm, preferably lower than that.
Hooked Newbie
04-09-2008, 11:37 AM
If you're fishy cycling, the more and more often (75% is good IMO) you do gravel vacs and water changes the better. The bacteria will reside primarily within the filter media and the only thing you're removing with a water change is wastes. Ammonia & Nitrite should be < .25 before it's considered "safe" and a stable zero is the target.
SchizotypalVamp
04-09-2008, 11:51 AM
I've heard if you use Amquel Plus it detoxifies the ammonia so that it doesn't burn the fish but the cycle continues. It also makes ammonia test kits give false readings, however.
Prime apparently does as well. Though it doesn't detoxify nitrites (I think). Still, water changes are the best way to go. Fresh water is always a good idea.
Hooked Newbie
04-09-2008, 1:29 PM
Prime apparently does as well. Though it doesn't detoxify nitrites (I think). Still, water changes are the best way to go. Fresh water is always a good idea.
I swear by Prime. It Removes Chlorine, Chloramine, & Ammonia and detoxifies Nitrite & Nitrate.