does water change once a year!

once i only topped off for atleast 3 months and my nitrates were pretty close to 0. all my tanks are way understocked. in my 60 theres 5 cories and 3 silverdollar sized angels. my 40 only has a small firemouth and a 6 inch bichir all my tanks are like that. i know its not luck everythings really understocked and i feed very little.

i know someone thats lucky. he has a large silver and a large jardini in a tank that should be way bigger but both fish are perfect and dont ever fight. and they dont even eat the small clown loaches in there.
 
Get proper filtration, stock the tank with a decent cleanup crew, and don't over feed! Yes folks, it's really that simple.
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Uhm, I am going to have to disagree. There really is no substitute for fresh water. without it, pollutants( not just nitrate) build up in the tank water and the fish become sick and die.

As for the saltwater techniques crossing into freshwater, I don't understand. generally, saltwater people change far less water than freshwater people. I saw an article on this guy's 1000-something gallon reef system with a mangrove filter and protien skimmer for nutrient export, a huge AC filter and phosphate absorbing resin filter, I could go on for a while, and he hadn't done a water change in 11 months and everything was fine. however, just about nobody had a freshwater tank with that involved of a filtration system. The live rock adds a lot as well.

Simply put, water changes are the easiest, simplest, cheapest way to keep your fish healthy.

edit:spelling
 
I tend to over do things with my filtration systems and keep my tanks understocked which i should have added to my original post, but that's my method of madness. I've been in the industry for 20+ years and I have seen it all ....trust me. lol Actually, salt water people tend to be a little more crazy about the water changes. The guy with the huge tank....well...he has a huge tank. lol The bigger with better filtration is always going to be better. Plus reef tanks (Which I assume it is) tend to maintain themselves much better if they get a happy little ecosystem running in there.

Simplicity is key with freshwater. Let me clarify....Simplicity does not imply neglect!
 
In FW unplanted tanks, residual pollutants (commonly judged by nitrate - but only because it the one easlly measured) do not go anywhere - they stay in the water and accumulate. I have excellent to outstanding filtration, never overstock, and change 25-50% of the water in all >over two dozen tanks weekly. I've been in the hobby ~50 years, and yes customs and suggestions do change, but water changes are still the single best thing that you can do for your tanks IMO & IME. Water changes are quick, simple, and cheap. Not to do so is kidding yorself. Kid yourself all you want, but don't try to kid the others of us who know better.
 
As for the saltwater techniques crossing into freshwater, I don't understand. generally, saltwater people change far less water than freshwater people.
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I don't know what standard maintenance is on a SW tank, but I do know where I learned that water changes will help my fish. A freind of mine had a book on how to improve/ clean up a failing saltwater tank. It basically ran through drastic steps of waste removal and multiple water changes until the tank pollutants were low enough for things to balance out and stay clean with less work. Since I never was totally satisfied with the condition of my tanks (I occaisionally had a fish death, or an algea bloom), I thought I might try some of those methods on my Freshwater tank. I started out with 25% weekly changes, and increased a little as I learned. I could not be happier with the results. Until I found this board and others like it, I thought I was the only guy in the world that just canged my water a lot. I am an overfiltration fanatic, because it puts a larger quantity of waste in an easy to remove location. Just remember that few filters actually remove anything from you tank system bio and and many chemical filters convert things to less dangerous subtances, but there is still a pollutant of some sort that stays in your water. The only way to keep pollutant levels low, Is to remove them via water changes. My Brother who I mentioned earlier has a severe case of OTS going on, and won't even acknowledge that there is a problem because he doesn't lose too many fish. As far as keeping it simple, it doesn't get much simpler than my tanks. spend 30-60 minutes ( total for all three tanks) a week doing water changes and swapping sponges. Watch my fish swim around happy and healthy the rest of the time.
 
Ancestors of mine worked in coal mines and lived...into their 50's!
 
Originally posted by Aquatick

Simplicity is key with freshwater. Let me clarify....Simplicity does not imply neglect!
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I can't think of anything simpler than doing a water change. You take some out and you put some in. :D
 
I just did a water change. The fish are so happy now. They tend to like to swim in the excess current from the pouring water.
 
Originally posted by Aquatick
I tend to over do things with my filtration systems and keep my tanks understocked...
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As RTR said, this does nothing in the way of removing the toxins that build up in your gradually stale water.

Filtration wasn't made so that you can perform minimal water changes, and this is why I do not put an emphasis on over filtering my water.

My water is just as good as the next guy who spends hundreds on filtration, but only because I do my water changes on a regular basis.
 
Originally posted by RTR
Kid yourself all you want, but don't try to kid the others of us who know better.
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I do my water changes once a month. It isn't just old water out, new water in. Syphoning the gravel etc etc etc, but weekly water changes is excessive and not needed. On smaller tanks, yes...but larger tanks...no. The only time I would do weekly water changes would be in an overstocked tank that recieved new inhabitants weekly. Doing 25% + changes weekly could just as easily stop your tank from finding any stability, but there again, it all depends on how big and what you have. I'm not trying to fool anyone. You can do 100% water changes daily if you like, but don't flame me for having a different and method.
 
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