i am looking into getting a 120g tank and am wondering how often ill have to be doing water changes and wut percent change it would be the setup would probly be as follows 1 maybe 2 tiger oscars i doubt 2 though a gold severum a green terror a pictus cat maybe a jaguar cichlid and possibly an arrowana ( if n e thing is wrong with that combination someone let me know) like i said they will be in a 120g tank and ill have 2 fluval 404's running on it and i might have a bunch on freshwater clams in too to keep the nitrate level down so if n e of you could give me an idea on how often and how much id havta change the water n e help would be appreciated
water changes % and how often
- Thread starter philc21
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I wouldn't put that pictus in there with those fish. They will outgrow the pictus and eat him (well they will try) quick. You may want to have one in there for a while to establish the tank. Find the biggest one you can. I speak from experience, I have a 150 with a 23 inch arowana (hell, he might be 24 after todays chow session) and he ate both of my pictus cats. This was months ago when he was about 18 inches. You'll want to get a bigger tank for the arowana, I know I will in about 6-8 months. They get huge. 3-4 foot. You might want to rethink the dual 404's. I have a post going on my 150 now. I'm trading in 1 of my 404's for a penguin 330. You can see the rest of my tank setup at my post. You'll have a lot of nitrate issues with your setup so plan to have lots of plants or do lots of water changes. Look at my post and learn from my mistakes.
FW mussels won't reduce nitrates. Yes, they are filter feeders, but they take organics out of the water and produce waste as well--ammonia, which turns into nitrites and nitrates. FW mussels do not thrive in aquariums, especially ones with a large waste load. They need very clean water, and if they happen to live long enough to reproduce in your tank, the mussel larvae are a fish parasite.
I would do at least 25% weekly, and increase as needed to maintain water quality.
I would do at least 25% weekly, and increase as needed to maintain water quality.
The pictus by himself might be too little as was mentioned. I would drop the arrowana as it will really need its own tank and will get huge (also mentioned). A pictus might be fine withou the arrowana, but otherwise you could have a coomon pleco. They get big (up to 2 feet) and are pretty tough customers. Not bottom feeders but will help keep the algae down (useful in a really deep tank) and are easy enough to find. They do produce a lot of waste though so filtration is an issue.
Your fish choice really needs at least a 25% change weekly as was mentioned. However, test kits are going to be your best friend. Get ammonia, nitrite and nitrate test kits and every week check to see if your water regieme is good enough. If any ammonia or nitrite show up you need to increase the change size. And if nitrates get too high the same thing.
Worst case with the mussels (clams). You walk out to find they have over taken your tank. Or else your fish get sliced open rubbing against them (they can be very sharp).
Your fish choice really needs at least a 25% change weekly as was mentioned. However, test kits are going to be your best friend. Get ammonia, nitrite and nitrate test kits and every week check to see if your water regieme is good enough. If any ammonia or nitrite show up you need to increase the change size. And if nitrates get too high the same thing.
Worst case with the mussels (clams). You walk out to find they have over taken your tank. Or else your fish get sliced open rubbing against them (they can be very sharp).
The jaguar my be too aggressive for your tank. Severums, green terrors(which may have a chance) and oscars (the oscars have a chance though) will most likely be killed. Oscars and severums are generally peaceful with fish of similiar size, while jags and similiar (dovii's, motaguense, midas's, etc) belong in an aggressive cichlid community.
From my experience, south american cichlids don't have the attitude needed to compete with most central americans, so they will be kicked around quite a bit.
From my experience, south american cichlids don't have the attitude needed to compete with most central americans, so they will be kicked around quite a bit.
There is no such thing as a standard amount to change at a water partial. Everybody's tank is different, just as everybody's feeding is different. Measure your nitrate and pick a level at which you are comfortable and do enough changes to keep it there. Nitrate (in unplanted tanks at least) is a good indicator of general pollution, so may be used to scale the water changes needed.
Agree with RTR! Although with the selection you have and the recommendations of others, 25% weekly is a good number. You may be able to go longer if you feed less often. If you're looking to add something to use up nitrates (NOT mussles) like plants, then you need to keep up the frequent water changes to avoid drastic changes in water chemistry. It's a vicious circle, but it all comes back to water changes.
If I were to follow any bit of advice on this subject, this would be it. Well said....and I couldn't agree more.