water changes...how often

Fresh silicone sealant releases acetic acid and similar material, not ammonia.

The fact that you did not know about the nitrogen cycle in tanks has nothing to do with whether or not it happened. But what you do not know can hurt you, and it can kill your fish.
 
Well Thank you RTR for your totally honest and blunt opinion. As I said I wasnt advised on the cycle information. This was 15 years ago and as I did mention I learnt that lesson the harsh way early on. The point I was trying to make was that it was useful to get that information from a source such as this when it is obvious you cant always rely on Pet stores. They are there to sell fish and most can be reputable but not all are. Alot of pet stores employ people on their age {wages} not their experience. Alot bull ****e their way through a sale. The fact that nearly all the petshops in my town dont supply nitrite and ammonia kit doesnt make me an idiot. Alot I've managed is from trial and error. Unfortunately thats all you can manage when thats all thats available. But hey I'm on the other side of the planet in a country town and the lack of products that you obviously have in the states is my own personal fault.As to the silicone, your probably right. That was just what I was told when a local dealer repaired a tank that I accidently cracked in transit to a new home. He said the new silicone released ammonia and to let the tank cure for a number of days. Maybe he meant something else when he said ammonia but that was what he told me. Thank you for your correcting me on that aspect.

dunluce
 
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Hi Dunluce,
I live in Aus aswell (adelaide) and i buy the majority of my big hardware from these guys http://www.ageofaquariums.com.au/ they are cheap and have very fast freight.. Only really buy stuff like filter media, food etc from my LFS (as much as i want to support them a 100% price difference is a bit hard to take)
Question regarding the shops in wagga are they 'Petshops' or Aquarium Shops? I've noticed that the ppl in petshops know SFA in regards to fish & how to keep them (although I have got some very cheap fish cos the owner obviously didnt know what they were and how much every one else wasy selling them for). If you go to a true aquarium store there will be ATLEAST one shelf/rack with testing kits & equipment. IMHO shops that dont know about the testing/cycling shouldnt be selling these living animals..
On a brighter note atleast your trying to do the right thing now and there is obviously something going on in your tank and would definatly suggest getting the Ammonia and Nitrite test kits asap so all of us here can help you out and get things back on track for you.
And I agree what others have said the more water changes the better. In my community tank I do a 30% water change once a week (its a little bit over stocked) and in my oscar tank I do a 50% change every other day....
Hope this helps ya out.
Cheers,
Kym
 
I was recently researching construction silicone SCS1200, and the GE site states:

“The sealants release ammonia (for Silicone II) or acetic acid (for Silicone Rubber) as they cure.” And “That's why the shrinkage of a silicone caulk is minimal – from 1 to 3 percent.”

Now, I know for aquarium safe silicone, you’re supposed to use Silicone I (not II and not the kitchen & bathroom stuff), so if the guy sold you one that released ammonia, it was the wrong one to begin with.
 
Hi All,
Thanks for help. I am hoping to get the other kits i need shortly. Am continuing with the more frequent water changes. Havent had any dramas with the smaller tank with the white clouds and the danio. I did lose the sick platy though and now have one lonely pregnant platy. The angel is fighting fit. I think its enjoying better conditions than it was, even given the unstable health in my tank. The barbs seem healthy enough with only two showing the occasional flashing. my seven year old son is at this very moment having a big laugh at the msytery snail that has managed to dislodge the thermometer and is in his words "having a fully sick boat ride" on it. Thanks for the advice on the web site for Oz, I will stick in my favorites list. Thanks also Kaveeti, I only passed on what i was told.That can be the problem with friendly advice, it can be honest and well meaning but not always correct. I am the first to admit I dont know everything and am very trusting in what people tell me. In regards to the pet stores , they are exactly that pet stores stocking fish, not aquarium stores specializing in fish. Have friends that moved to adelaide. They said its a top spot.

Dunluce
 
Hey Kym, thanks for the goods on that website. I'm in shock. Are they Aust $ prices cause if thats correct i can cerianly see why your shopping online. Like you said all that gear would cost 600% more in a pet store. Thats makes a better system sooooo much more attainable. I'd spread that word to all fish folk in Australia. Thank again
Dunluce
 
wondering

Hi I always do a 50 percent water change in my tanks every week seems to work fine but I have always wondered if I should treat the water with water conditioner before I add this water or treat the water after its added to the tank.I always use sipton hose to clean and add the water from the faucet so I have been just treating the water after its in the tank.Like in my 90 gallon I just put enough conditioner in for the whole tank,I hope its not to much
 
I have two fifteen litre buckets, that does about a 50% water change. I siphon out the two buckets then i use a thermometer to get the tap water to close to 24`C then fill both buckets. Then I condition with a dechlorinator. Then I add the water to the tank. With the goldfish i used to have, it was straight from tap to bucket then dechlorinate, never worried about the temp. they seemed to enjoy it. Chasing each other like they were spawning. Sorry about the metric measurements but I have no experience with gallons and `F.

Make sure you turn everything off first, I didnt once way back when I started and while I was at the sink the heater went red hot and when I put the water in it cracked and went bang. Glad I didnt have my hands in the tank. Didnt seem to worry the fish any. Didnt lose any. I wonder if they can get electricuted by the circuit through the water? Also in Wagga we have Fluoride added into the tap water. Does anyone know the impact of that on fish and how i can remove it. I dont have access to rain water collection. Are there any cons to using rainwater. ie no minerals?

Dunluce
 
Water changes

I think a few factors need to be considered when deciding how often and how much. I have a 6 gallon eclipse and I change 2 gallons of it out once a month. Since gravel fills up a fair bit of space, it is about a 35 to 40% change. That seems to be less than most of you, but I think it is justified.

I've had the tank for 5 years, so my chemistry is very stable. I never have nitirite spikes or anything, despite it being slightly overstocked (not hard with 6 gallons). It is well planted.

The "if its not broke, don't fix it" approach isn't bad, but it can only go so far. I would not stretch it more than a month since I need to vaccuum my gravel out and I like to change the water after scraping the algae off my glass to help get rid of the resulting sediment.

Since it is such a small tank, water chemistry can change easily and hurt the fishes. I dare not change more than 35 to 40%.

My local water is very hard. Any more and it would be brakish. I use bottled water and treat it with powder to remove chloramines and other bad stuff and settle the pH.

This method is not up to the weekly 50% changes some have mentioned here, but I hardly ever lose fishes to something other than old age. I have some tetras that are 3 or more years old still. Grew them from tiny little things to full size. The only thing I have troulbe with is keeping my plants alive in the low light conditions and black algae!

But now I am starting a new 15 or 20 gallon tank, so I bet I will need to do larger changes more often till it stabilizes. Sheesh-Thats a lot of spring water jugs to keep around the apartment. Getting them a 50 cents a gallons still beats those pricey osmosis filters though.

Ed
 
when doing a water change, does the temp need to be at or similar temp to that of the current aquirium water?
for example my tap water comes out at about 16-17 degrees C, now i keep my tank at about 26C, usually if i leave the water sitting overnight it goes to about 20 degrees, should i add a heater?
 
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