Water Change Opinion?

M

merlin4260

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Apr 19, 2003
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Purdue University
Okay, seeking some opinions. I've had a 55 gallon freshwater tank going for about 8 months with moderate success.

I say moderate because I haven't had any major die-off, made any major blunders, and my centerpiece fish (Angels) have lived and grown. But I don't think I have made it a month without at least one fish kickin the bucket.

I've gone through quite a few tetras, some guppy's, and a few other small fish. And with a few exceptions, none of these deaths have had any obvious cause. Water quality (Ammonia, etc.) has never been a problem. I have had very little disease.

So the thing that I have begun to wonder about lately has been my water changes. My routine since I set up the tank has been once a week, 20 gallons at a time. I have some 5 gallon buckets that I fill and let the water sit in for the week before the change. I treat the water just before I put it in the tank.

But the one thing I am unable to do due to money/space restrictions is to heat the water going into the tank. So my tank temp usually dropped from about 78 down to 72~74. Recently I started putting a bit of hot water into the change water about 10 minutes before I put it into the tank to try and match temps a bit closer (tank is about 78, change water before heating is 68~70).

So all of that is intro to my question:rolleyes: . Is there any benefit to doing my water changes 20 gallons at a time, or would I be just as good/better off doing four 5 gallon changes spaced throughout the week (which if I was only doing 5 gal. at a time I could heat to match tank temp)

Also if you have any opinion as to my constant slow die-off, I'd be interested to hear.

Thanks for the help.
 
That is quite a temperature shock if you are adding 20 gallons that is 8-10 degrees lower than your tank. I think if you add in 5 gallon increments the temp shock would be a lot less. When you change the water do you gravel vacuum as well?
 
First, 20 gallons is a lot to change weekly on a 55 gallon tank IMO. Unless you've got some real waste producers and no plants, I would think you could cut that down to more like a 20% change of around 10-13 gallons.

The change in temp, while not horrific or lethal to all fish, could be enough to stress out a fish who's already on the edge. Cutting the amount of water you change in half should go a long way towards keeping the temps even.

If you're adding water treatment why not just use warm tap water to try and match temps? AFAIK, most folks who let water age do so in an attmept the let the water "gas off" so they don't need to add chemical treatments. If you don't mind using treatments you can just fill your buckets with temperature adjusted tap water, add treatment and do a water change with almost no temp chang in the tank.

My previous apartment had a metal problem with the water lines that prohibited me from using hot water for the tanks (it would poison the inverts) so I had to fill buckets with cold water and leave them to adjust to room temperature. Now that my new place has no water problems, I just fill the buckets with warm tap water matched to the touch (erring on the cold side), treat it, and change the water.

Tom
 
It is a fairly well known fact that a lot of water that is heated before it comes out of your faucet contains lead. This is due to lead being in the hot water heater.

If you do a google search on this, it will confirm that. Doctors and health professionals advise against drinking water that comes out of your faucet hot and to definetely not use it to make baby formula with.(I've got a six month old)

So I'd check on that before you put any of that in your tank.

I think it depends on what type of hot water heater you have.
 
I would think that 2, 10g water changes a week would be fine, even better than a once a week change and would reduce your temp swings.

I have to disagree with Tomm with the amount you change. The more you change, the better for your fish.

The temperature shock might be pushing the tetras to their limits, depending on the species, but shouldn't be bothing the guppies. I would look perhaps at the source where you get your tetras and guppies from and maybe swich sources.

I used to lose a fish a month, but since my LFS started getting higher quality fish, I hardly ever lose one now.
 
Originally posted by PumaWard
I would think that 2, 10g water changes a week would be fine, even better than a once a week change and would reduce your temp swings.

I have to disagree with Tomm with the amount you change. The more you change, the better for your fish.
Click to expand...

Just went back and re-read my post and realized it looks like I'm saying 20 gallons a week was too much. That isn't what I meant :shake:

My point was only that you don't HAVE to change that much if you are diligent about weekly changes and that changing that much water without matching temps is where the troubles could arise.

Fresher water is of course better. Sorry for the confusion.

:D

Tom
 
Part of the reason I leave the water sit out is to gas off, but that does not remove chloramines, just the various gases that are in the water (mostly nitrogen I believe). But the main reason I HAVE to leave the water sit is all the iron in my water. at the end of the week so much iron has settled out that the paper towel I use to wipe out the bucket comes out orange. So not letting the water sit out is not an option cuz I don't want all that crud in my tank.
 
Oh okay, lol :D.
 
Originally posted by merlin4260
Part of the reason I leave the water sit out is to gas off, but that does not remove chloramines, just the various gases that are in the water (mostly nitrogen I believe). But the main reason I HAVE to leave the water sit is all the iron in my water. at the end of the week so much iron has settled out that the paper towel I use to wipe out the bucket comes out orange. So not letting the water sit out is not an option cuz I don't want all that crud in my tank.
Click to expand...

Wow, that stinks. I'm not sure about how to get rid of all that iron. do you think its from the pipes or the water supply itself? When I had the problem of metal in the lines I started running the cold water for a few minutes before filling up the buckets so I could be as certain as possible that the water was as clean as I could get it. If the problem is the water supply though, that won't help much.

In answer to you're original question specifically, I don't see a downside to changing 5 gallons 4 times a week versus 20 gallons once a week aside from your time commitments. You're still changing the same amount of water which is the key and if anything, you'd be keeping the water quality more consistent. Also, even if there's a 10 degree difference in temperature between the bucket and the tank, a five gallon change shouldn't lower the tank temps enough to shock the fish.

Tom
 
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