I have 8 discus(eating like crazy) in my 240 currently and i already know that i have to do at least 2 30%-50% water changes every week. My problem is that I ll have to be replacing over 120 gallons a week, i only have a 50 gal drum for aging water, and itll be a grip on the water bill. I dont have enough money for a RO unit just for that tank or one thats fast enough. My main reason for changing the water is because of ammonia and all that other stuff, but Kent marine claims for my bio rocker to get ammonia and nitrites close to 0. I dont know if thats true cause i need to get a test kit badly right now. Any ideas?
Large water changes
- Thread starter NikkO
- Start date
"but Kent marine claims for my bio rocker to get ammonia and nitrites close to 0."
I don't understand what that means. Is the tank cycled already? Because no device is going to keep Ammonia and Nitrites from showing up in a cycling tank.
It's nitrifying bacteria, not any type of filter itself, that gets rid of Ammonia and Nitrites.
You don't have to age your water. All you need to do is get a "Python" for doing water changes and adding a dechlorinator as you are putting in new water with the python.
I don't understand what that means. Is the tank cycled already? Because no device is going to keep Ammonia and Nitrites from showing up in a cycling tank.
It's nitrifying bacteria, not any type of filter itself, that gets rid of Ammonia and Nitrites.
You don't have to age your water. All you need to do is get a "Python" for doing water changes and adding a dechlorinator as you are putting in new water with the python.
Watcher74 said:
It meant that the filter was designed to keep the ammonia and nitrites at a minimum. Yes, it is cycled and has been running for a few months. I'll start investing in all those things soon. I dont mind using buckets to change the water since i kinda like the excersize unless im feeling lazy that day, thats when ill use the phython.
All filters that contain biofilters are designed to push water through. Which means to bring into contact with the beneficial bacteria tank water to get rid of Ammonia and Nitrite.
How big is the aquarium? 120? How much GPH is the filter/filters rated for in total?
How big is the aquarium? 120? How much GPH is the filter/filters rated for in total?
Changing water shouldn't be that big of an impact on your water bill. how much is water per 1000 gallons where you are?
around here it's $6/1,000 gal which means at 120gal/week, you'd be using 480 gal/month. $3/month. might be more expensive there.
around here it's $6/1,000 gal which means at 120gal/week, you'd be using 480 gal/month. $3/month. might be more expensive there.
Some of us do prefer to age our water for both pH equilibration and chlorine off-gassing rather than direct addition to the tank. It is a valid option, and for me, the practice which I prefer.
NikkO said:
There are 2 issues here, one is aging water -- I wonder how different the water is after aging and how different that is from the tank water. When I finally looked into that for my discus, I found that the tap water was pH 7.8 fresh, 7.9 in the tank, and 8.0 aged. So, the aged water was actually no better than fresh at 0.1 difference in pH. I am able to use some tap water and some aged water and not worry about anything other than dechlorinating.
The next issue is the RO -- again, needing an RO will depend on what your water is like and whether you intend to breed the fish. While it is true that there are less bacterial issues in acidic water, using RO is not necessary unless you want to breed. And, trying to collect RO water will mean that you waste that much more water and have that much more storage issues. You may be discarding 3/4 of the water you consume, depending on your tap water, so look for the water bill to skyrocket.
Finally, the filtration issue. [Uh, OK, 3 issues!] The biorocker is supposed to be a great wet/dry, according to the advertisements. I'd certainly invest the $11 for a new Master Test Kit from API to be able to monitor the nitrates as well as the ammonia and nitrites, and I'd spring for a KH test kit also as they have eliminated that in favor of a better ammonia test and the nitrate test in the kit sold by PetSolutions, anyhow.
If that tank is barebottom and/or you are able to keep solids cleaned out well, you may even be able to change less water without trouble. Your current water change ratio is 0.4 based on 8 fish, 30% WC 2x/wk in a 240 gallon tank. In planted tanks with great biofiltration, this ratio is often 0.6, so you seem to be in a great position there. (This ratio is something I'm working on, over at SimplyDiscus and is a work in progress, so take it with a grain of salt)
Last edited: