no water chenge?

[tanhql]

no water change?

ok, one of my father's friend have a 100 gallon marine tank with no corals, just like 10 fishes and many liverock, dsb of 6" at it's deepest, and protein skimmer(rather useless, as he reduced the amt of bubbles drastically to reduce noise). he claimed he never made any water changes since he started the tank in 2004, just add 'water clarifier cum water cleaner' once in a while and top-off water. the fishes don't look stressed (other than mild scratching for parasites and very slight finrot); the sg looks fine using the swing arm hydrometer, cannot see any algae. is this possible? could it be the liverock and dsb be doing all the job for him? i did not bring my testkits there as it was a last minute decision to go to his house while i and my father were out, but i think the lack of algae is a pretty good sign that nitrate is under control.

 

[Ghost_knife]

finrot and parasites do not indicate a healthy tank. I will say no, It's completely wrong to do that

 

[liv2padl]

the fishes don't look stressed (other than mild scratching for parasites and very slight finrot

i'd suggest that fish with parasites and fin rot are in fact, stressed.

lack of algae is a pretty good sign that nitrate is under control

. not so. lack of algae may also indicate poor water quality ... so poor in fact, that even green algae will not proliferate.

no water changes? there are a variety of dissolved organic substances ;which accumulate in a fish tank. in addition to nitrates there are proteins, amino acids, phenolic compounds, pheromones and other metabolic byproducts which are continuously being discharged into the aquarium water by the fish. If these DOCs are allowed to become concentrated in the water, the health of the fish will suffer.

for example, laboratory studies have shown that high levels of DOC are associated with reduced fish feeding rates, slower growth, decreased reproduction rates, lower immune system activity and blooms of pathogenic bacteria in the water. many fish health problems are the result of high nitrates and DOC levels.

in addition to those organic compounds noted above, inorganic byproducts of the nitrogen cycle in any aquatic environment also buildup in an your water. ammonia and nitrite are taken care of by your biofilter and converted to nitrate. this latter product can only be removed by dilution through water changes. 'topping off' a tank does only one thing .. concentrate the pollutants in a tank.

so while you may be thinking those fish are just fine, even without water changes, in fact they are not. having fish die after 4 years when their natural lifespan is 10 years is not good fish husbandry.

 

[tanhql]

for example, laboratory studies have shown that high levels of DOC are associated with reduced fish feeding rates, slower growth, decreased reproduction rates, lower immune system activity and blooms of pathogenic bacteria in the water. many fish health problems are the result of high nitrates and DOC levels.

not trying to defend my uncle, but ... he fed the fishes while i was there (chopped squid, or something like that) and the fishes finished the food within seconds. also, he said one of the fishes was 1" when he got it a year ago(a year after setting up the tank); it's around 4" now.

and i can see brown spots deep in the dsb(well, from around 1" deep onwards). what does that mean?

i tried to tell him that he must at least change 25% twice a week, but he kept insisting that if something ain't broken, don't fix it. well ... at least he can't see anything broken.

 

[Ghost_knife]

Prolly cyno from lack of Flow, or Diatomic action

 

[fishflaps]

My friend is exactly the same as the uncle in above story. She has 2 tanks.. ones a tall hexagon thing (with 2 BIG goldfish in) & the other looks to me around 30g ish with tropicals in (no idea of sizes without measuring them) She says she never cycled the tank or hasn't done a water change for at least a year & a half :thud: but her fish NEVER show any signs of ill health & are thriving...

I've tried & better tried to make her clean it but she doesn't listen... I even thought of sneakily cleaning it while she was away on holiday while I was feeding them but I wouldn't wanna be accused of being a murderer if they died from a sudden climate change... i.e from dirrrty to clean.

The tanks have been moved upstairs now so I can't get to see them anymore but may ask her if I can just take a peep at them & see if any of them are looking ill.. mind you, the water was so green last time I looked, I shouldn't think i'll be able to see much now

I don't know how people can be so 'airy fairy' about their fish... I get panicky if I miss a WC!

 

[Ghost_knife]

iiiick....thats soooo gross! I cant stand algae

 

[Max]

In this case I would say that water changes are needed if his fish are of a decent size and active. It is true that in lightly stocked tanks you may not need to do one for a long time though. I have a reef tank that for all practicle intents and purposes is fish free. I do a about a 10% water change once per month to replaice trace elements and normal top offs. My nitrates have never been over about 5 ppm unless something happened like a critter passing away or reproducing etc. However except in tanks that either are without fish or very lightly stocked you should change your water on a regular basis.
Cheers
Max

 

[fishcatch22]

My friend is exactly the same as the uncle in above story. She has 2 tanks.. ones a tall hexagon thing (with 2 BIG goldfish in) & the other looks to me around 30g ish with tropicals in (no idea of sizes without measuring them) She says she never cycled the tank or hasn't done a water change for at least a year & a half :thud: but her fish NEVER show any signs of ill health & are thriving...

I've tried & better tried to make her clean it but she doesn't listen... I even thought of sneakily cleaning it while she was away on holiday while I was feeding them but I wouldn't wanna be accused of being a murderer if they died from a sudden climate change... i.e from dirrrty to clean.

The tanks have been moved upstairs now so I can't get to see them anymore but may ask her if I can just take a peep at them & see if any of them are looking ill.. mind you, the water was so green last time I looked, I shouldn't think i'll be able to see much now

I don't know how people can be so 'airy fairy' about their fish... I get panicky if I miss a WC!

I don't understand why some folks are so hard headed about these things.... the only time I go against advice is when I get an equal amount of opposing opinions, and then I do an experiemnt. (such as with my lone oto)

I once argued with a woman for half an hour before she dicdied that she couldn't put a pacu in a 10G tank.:thud:

 

[dwarfgourami7]

What?? Thats the equivalent of some health offical going to an orphanige and going " that child only has a minor form of leprosy, so its ok for now untill it gets worse" I mean WTF. You can't do that. It's totaly wrong. If he can't look after them properly he doesnt deserve the privalige of keeping a wonderful marine tank. I would die for one and take care for it soo much. So why does he get it?