water changes

[StevieM]

i know water changes are the best thing going for a tank. I try and change my water in my tanks 3 times a week, but does it have any effect on a lightly planted tank that is cycling? I know that bacteria can only consume a certain amount as they grow and anything else is excess right? If you maintain something of a daily schedule and avoid letting the "food" build up are you in any way stunting the bac. populations? Could anyone clarify things for me??? Thanks a bunch!

steve

[Cichlid Woman]

Three times a week?! Usual water changes are once a week or once every two weeks, as far as I know. More than that, and you could be disturbing the progress of the bio filter, especially in a cycling tank. I think.

-- Pat

[StevieM]

sorry, let me clarify a little....to make a long story short , I had a problem with putting in wayy to much de-chlor recently and it in turn through a series of reactions dropped my pH super low on top of not too long ago having to add meds which wrecked my bac. pop in what was my newly cycled tank. Whew!! Since about a month and a half ago , I've been on the mini-cycle trip. First with the meds and last week the de-chlor incident. I've finally got things straightened out and was instructed that for about a week or so do frequent water changes to help get rid of the sulfurous odor by products I had from the reactions in my tank. Sorry I didn't clarify, but I normally have a weekly 25% schedule. I know any ammonia is bad for fish and if you are even mini-cycling , or cycling with fish wouldn't it be more adventageous to keep the ammo levels as low as possible?? At the expense of your colonies?? This is what I need help with....thanks all

steve

[jpsracing]

I vac about 40% of the water from my tanks with gravel cleaning, and only do it once a month. I over-filter so the water quality stays good, and the fish seem to like the less frequent cleanings.

I know everyone says to do it more but I don't like to mess with the water parameters too much . . .

JPS :)

[StevieM]

i thought about getting an extra filter for my tank for that specific reason , not to be lazy ...but I thought the better the water quality the better off the fish would be. The filter I have now is adequate for the fish I keep , it cycles the water approx. 10 times an hour and keeps the water quite clear. So I am debating is their a need for it and is it worth the money? Probably not. I guess the answer I am really searching for here is what do fwc's do to a growing bacteria population while cycling? I always like to compare others' keeping methods of course, so please if you have an opinion , post! thanks

steve

[famman]

If you have to water change out ammo, your bacteria colony isn't doing it's job anyway.
If you change out water that has no ammo in it, you may be 'slowing down' your bacteria colony but not doing any serious harm to it.
Frequent water changes, say 3 X a week do not harm your bacteria colony significantly.
During your water changes, be sure to de-chlorinate your change water according to instructions, just don't overdo it.
good luck
:)

[StevieM]

that's basically what i was looking for famman...i know more or less with the problems I had and the test results I've gotten over the last 2 weeks I am starting from scratch again concerning the bac. populations. What was most important at the time was getting rid of that SO2 Sulfur stinky blah-yuck odor from my tank and filter media. The water changes helped and I lowered the water level to increase splash...smell was gone in 2-3 days! I guess I'll sit back, be patient and let the cycle do its thing for a while and resume my 25% weekly schedule. Thanks for your input all....this board rocks!

steve :)

[ROLLIN]

I change 20 - 30% of my water twice each week, except the 2 gallon hex and 1 gallon bowl, they usually get some water changed every other day.

[RTR]

Frequent water changes do absolutely nothing to disturb the biofilters if the replacement water is treated for chlorine or chloramine as required. Daily changes are ideal IMHO, but who has the time, energy, or that many auto-changers.

[jafo]

The only problem I can see you may have is the plants. You didn't mention anything about fertilizing them and I'm sure you don't have much in nitrates doing 3 changes a week. I'd suggest you either do daily or after waterchange fertilizing.