Weekly water changes?

reiverix said:
I disagree. I use a python so it's just as easy to change any amount of water. I do 50% every week. The pH out my tap is around 7.4 and in my tank it is 6.6 with CO2. I refill the tank slowly, taking about 20 minutes. My fish love the water change.
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Yeah well if you had a 180 gallon tank and it was 40F degrees outside that 50% water change in 20 minutes would drop the tempurature by 10-20 degrees and kill your fish. This is just one reason of many why 50% changes can stress and kill fish.

Otherwise if the water is the same then yeah a large water change wont hurt. For most of us though thats like a dream more than reality.
 
i havn't changed my water in about 2weeks now, before every other day, then once a week.

I'm using "EasyBalance" by Tetra Aqua...

"Change 50-75% of your aquariums water at least once ecvery 6 months,provided EasyBalance has been added as recommended adn the aquarium is otherwise properly manitained"

"A properly maintained aquarium is one which contains the correct stocking lever of fish, proper aeration using an airstone. an efficient and regularly maintained filtration....bla bla bla"

anyway since this is new to me, i'm testing my water more than ever to see how this new thing works, so far very good.
 
Yeah well if you had a 180 gallon tank and it was 40F degrees outside that 50% water change in 20 minutes would drop the tempurature by 10-20 degrees and kill your fish. This is just one reason of many why 50% changes can stress and kill fish.
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Why on earth would anyone change water that is 40 degrees outside the tank water temp? As stated earlier - it's not hard to get the tapwater to the correct temp. It's not hard to remove chlorine/chloramime.


Change 50-75% of your aquariums water at least once ecvery 6 months,provided EasyBalance has been added as recommended adn the aquarium is otherwise properly manitained
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Of course they are trying to sell a product as yet another magical solution.
 
Just keeping up a regular schedule is important, depending on many factors changing 10-40 % every week to 2 is the best way to start, but then vacuuming and filter maintenance have to come in also. Even feeding habits are part of the program.

I did a multi stage water change a few weeks ago (had to fix a problem I created)and it worked out to be 85% of my tank volume and all the fish were ok, a little stress to my pleco as he lost his cave for about 4 hours, but everything went great otherwise. I use warm water to change and treat for chlorine and chloramines and added a slime coat conditioner at the same time did a filter maintenance and MAJOR inside glass clean and vacuum. This is something I will consider doing every year or so.
 
Ken said:
"That is untrue if, as stated repeatedly in this thread, the makeup water and the tank water are similar."

Not true. A 50% water change is more stressful on fish than a 10% water change, even if the water is identical. Common sense should tell you this.
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I disagree with this. If the water is identical, the fish will not be stressed IME. I don't even match temps when changing water - the water going in is cooler than the tank water, and my fish do not get stressed whether I change 25% or 50%. Quite the opposite actually, they enjoy it. Some of my fish even like to play in the incoming current of cooler water.
 
A 10% water change is practically like doing nothing to the tank. Read Happychem's tank chemistry atricles.
 
Change 50 to 75% of your water once every six months!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That is the most ridiculous thing I have heard in a very long time. If you wait six months between changes and then change 50% what you'll end up with is a tank full of dead fish, period. I can't believe a product actually tells its customers to do that.
 
I do 50% weekly on my 250 gallon. I have the hot and cold plumbed above and a drain underneath so its easy. To start the siphon I just open 2 taps and it will not drain below 50% unless I plug a tube onto a quick-connect connector. I wrote an article on my tanks plumbing here: http://www.walltanks.com/blog/plumbing-an-in-wall-tank/
 
WOW!! Talk about reviving a thread from the dead!!
 
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