Are Water Changes Actually Necessary?

[johnlarson66]

Chef, I don't think you are meaning to be offensive, but I find your comments offensive. I don't think my statement is laughable. Making it larger and red does not make it laughable or responding with large purple laughs for that matter.

While using WC water to water plants is a very good thing. I don't think sending it down the drain is. For you to dismiss that as laughable is an insult.

I think there has been some good points made in this thread. I think when the ritual of WC is questioned, it makes some people uneasy. I think there is lots to learn in this hobby.

I hope one day there will be a filter and conditioning system that will make it so WC are no longer necessary.

 

[mel_20_20]

I just looked at this thread today...
I read through the whole thing....:thud:every single post.........

I wish I had looked sooner, I would have loved to have been in on the discussion, but I think the thread itself is exhausted, and I'm soooo tired from reading all that. I don't think I could add more than has already been said except to say:

I do weekly water changes, about 40-60% in my 40 gallon, and around 50-75% in my 10; monitor the params once a week, or more if I just have a feeling...

Wonderfully informative thread, despite some of the aggravation.

There have been some very exceptional posts by many very knowledgeable fishkeepers in this thread; very educational information that I think every noobie should see, if you weed out the nonsense.

I"ve copied and pasted, creating a document, as I went through the thread, sifting out the ridiculous, and unnecessary, but keeping the posts that present the facts regarding the intricacies of the environment and chemistry of the freshwater aquarium, and the fishkeepers role in maintaining the healthy freshwater aquarium. (The thread did have some mention of saltwater aquariums, but mostly the discussion was regarding freshwater.)

I created a trimmed down version for my own files, but I think many that want to learn more about fishkeeping would be very intersted in the information presented in this thread, and I think it would be helpful to many, both noobies and not so noobies.

A trimmed down version would make a great "Sticky" in the Newbie forum.

 

[dundadundun]

:thumbsdown: I live in bridgeport... darn... well i will never drink water from the tap again and neither will my fish.

because of bubbles? are you serious? do you know what those bubbles are? did you notice they were contained within that immediate area? sewage doesn't always create bubbles. brine shrimp do though and we feed them to our fish. also if it's coming out of that plant it has to (by law) be safe for the environment it's dumped into. i'll bet the water dumped back in is cleaner than what's taken out of that river. research your water. research bottled water. research r/o water. research the processes used in treatment plants from waste treatment facilities to tapping into a river or ocean. do the research and think for yourself. do NOT let a simple google maps image sway you into wasting your money and polluting the waterways more. all those plastic bottles go somewhere... forever. they found that somewhere in the middle of the ocean and it's growing.

look it up!

 

[chefjamesscott]

I am sorry if you take it as an insult but it is indeed laughable to say that used water from aquaria is dangerous for the planet pure and simple.

I agree with mel though this thread needs to be put to sleep now as I personally am done with it myself have a good nite

 

[johnlarson66]

Is sending dirty tank water down the drain the best thing for our planet?

I am sorry if you take it as an insult but it is indeed laughable to say that used water from aquaria is dangerous for the planet pure and simple.

I agree with mel though this thread needs to be put to sleep now as I personally am done with it myself have a good nite

That has to be the most backhanded apology I have ever seen. At least it was not in big purple letters.

I never said it was dangerous for the planet. I quoted what I said so you could read it again. There is nothing wrong with the idea of conserving water. The thought that is laughable and your lack of respect for other peoples thoughts and ideas is disappointing.

 

[johnlarson66]

How about this filter (as advertised on AC) -

http://www.aquaripure.com/index.htm

Here is some of what is says -

The Next Generation in Aquarium Filtration TM
Save Time and Money, Eliminate Nitrates, Control Algae, and Reduce Maintenance all at once!
An Aquaripure Nitrate Filter will greatly reduce the need for water changes in your fish tanks, saving you time, money, and reducing the stress on your aquarium fish.
What is an Aquaripure Filter?
The Aquaripure filter is a comprehensive biological filter which will completely remove all organic matter and nitrates in an Aquarium. This type of filter is also known as a denitrator, denitrifier, biodenitrator, anaerobic biological filter, or simply a nitrate filter. Other biological filters only convert organic matter into nitrates which then accumulate in the aquarium, physical filters only remove larger particulate matter, and skimmers do not remove any nitrates. The Aquaripure uses beneficial bacteria to break down invisible organic matter and nitrates completely into Nitrogen gas which then escapes into the atmosphere. This same process is even used by some water treatment plants to make wastewater safe for human consumption and to clean polluted water. The Aquaripure does this in an extremely safe and controlled environment and after the water from the Aquaripure is aerated there is nothing left but pure, clean, crystal clear water. Don't just take our word for it, read some of our customers actual testimonials.

Maybe I should start a differnt thread...

 

[Fishfriend1]

I just picked up a free 7.5 gallon tank that looks like it's from the '80s, and has all the junk of 30 years of neglect too. Should I rinse before filling or will it stress out the fish that it isn't as filthy as it could be? :help: please!

Depends on the fish. I would rise in out and put the old water back in and slowly take out the old water about 10-20% at a time. Good Luck

 

[Fishfriend1]

ahahhahahahhahah
THAT IS THE MOST LAUGHABLE ? I HAVE EVER SEEN POSED

It is an absolute fact that the water changed out from a fish tank causes fantastic growth in plants and such.

To prove this, I happen to have a palm that I was recently given by a university student that was well nigh dried arrangement status. I have begun to water it as I do water changes with the water that goes down and the drain and guess what it has begun to flourish.

What of my philedendron at home that I have placed the trailers from into a tank hmmm the nutrients have brought great life to this plant . :werd:

But then the nutrients that people dump down the drain go into rivers and lakes and kill everthing in them. If eveyone did this ur way there would be no problems but most people just dump it down the drain

 

[Fishfriend1]

as in this lake that got tons of nutrients and had an algae bloom that killed everything in it :
http://www.sea-way.org/blog/chaohu1.JPG

 

[Canuck]

Dirty fish water isn't going to pose a serious problem for waste water treatment plants or the rivers it flows into. And while water conservation is laudable alot of people can easily reuse this "grey water" for plants, yards and gardens even washing cars etc. The real problem that needs to be dealt with are the prescription drugs, solvents and who knows what else that some people put down their drains.

Excess nutrients are a problem when proper waste water treatment plants are not in place. I'd be willing to wager that fish tank water is probably diluting what's being dumped.