Water Changes - the mathematical bit!

[Rbishop]

Whatever you all decide is best, I just wish I could get continuous changes, ( feed and bleed in Navy technical terms), on all my tanks, to more resemble the constantly changing enviroment that YoFish refers to.

Stabilize...Consistent...Maintain.

The color change and activity I see in my tanks with high frequency, large volume changes can captivate me for hours!

 

[dirtydawg10]

You would have to do Approximately 13% water changes every day for 5 days to equal one 50% water change every five days.

 

[joephys]

Totally disagree.

If a 50% water change was so bleeding stressful, then why do the rainbowfish in all my tanks either try to swim up the Python hose while I'm doing it or play in the current? Nobody runs. Nobody hides.

Not to mention the fact that the minute I'm done they start spawning regardless of the time of day?

A waterchange is low lights, champagne, and Barry White to rainbowfish.

I'll take the "stressful" 50% twice a week, thanks

Roan

I agree, all my fish love to swim in the currents of the new water when I add it.

The difference between the nitrate calculations and RTR's article is that nitrates are always increasing, your old water stays old water. That is the difference between figuring out how many nitrates you are removing and how much old water you are removing.

 

[RTR]

I'm not sure that the nitrate production article has been updated to the Puffer Forum or not. But in effect all you need to do is measure the titer post-change and a week later immediately pre-change. After a few weeks, you should have a fair idea of the rough nitrate production per week in your tank.

The above will not be particularly accurate, as hobby test kits are not. You also need to know actual tank volume and volumes removed, and replaced with each change. Complication and inaccuracies can come from nitrate reservoirs such as dirty substrate or dirty filters, but the numbers generated will be close enough for tank-keeping.

One interesting sidebar is that the max nitrate in the tank will be 2x the weekly production if 50% partials are done weekly. Play with the numbers, it does work.

But do keep in mind that nitrate production is not a staedy state thing - fish grow and feeding varies - NO3 prodution varies with those things as well.