water change poll

[Amphiprion]

I'll go as far as to say that these are neither right nor wrong, necessarily. There's plenty of handy rules out there, but none are always custom tailored to your tank. There are plenty of people who perform regular water changes because their tanks need it, while others change it even if the tank doesn't need it. I personally have a rather erratic schedule, usually consisting of larger percentages (30% and up). Works for me, but won't necessarily work for everyone.

 

[ToeJam]

10-15g a week for me....sometimes every 2 weeks if i get very very lazy...which is often =p

 

[<3Oscar]

I suggest basing your water changes on your test results (preferably a liquid test kit as they are way more accurate).

 

[cav]

10% every 8 days (due to shift work). I run Balling light on my tank so 10% weekly is recommended to maintain salinity and avoid a build up of chlorides.

I think basing water changes around test results is a poor choice as there is a lot of elements required by your tank that are not tested for.

I assume that those who base changes around test results are using NO3 and Po4 as guage as to when to perform a change?

 

[RDTigger]

The smaller the tank then the more frequent WC are needed.

 

[TheCanuck]

The smaller the tank then the more frequent WC are needed.

my 10g requires the least amount of WCs......

 

[excuzzzeme]

There is no rule of thumb or even a general rule to guide you. You need to do what is right for you and you only. I have tanks I change 2x a week and can be 30% and the next 70% or maybe 30% weekly. I have other tanks that can go 6 weeks without changing, and another that can go 8 weeks.

The only way of knowing what is right for your tanks is to monitor the water values weekly. You will also need to consider the impact of the food you feed and the frequency. Don't do daily monitoring as you will drive yourself nuts with it but do weekly. Keep a log of what your water does over what period of time. You may even find differences seasonally as well. Review your log to discover what the transition is over what period of time. Any other answer could be a death knell for you while the poster's tanks are superb.

I do things with my tanks I would never tell someone else to do simply because I know what I can and can't (or shouldn't) do with them. That is what you need to learn.