magenta Posted August 17, 2006 Report Share Posted August 17, 2006 I noticed a bit of a build up in our 4ft from the Royal - he's a bit of a sawdust machine :oops: The water in that tank was also kinda dark with tannins, but all other parameters were good, no nitrates to speak of, fish happy and plants all growing wildly. So I thought I could do a series of water changes to get rid of the gunk - paying some real attention around the driftwood. I've done 20%ish the last two nights, and the water is much clearer and cleaner. No-one seems to be sufering from the extra water change, so my question is: How often is too often? I'm on christchurch water, so no issues with chlorine... If I did a 10-20% each day for 3 or 4 days in a row (or longer even), would that damage the filter in any way? Logic tells me no, but I'd like some advice from more experienced aquarists Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted August 17, 2006 Report Share Posted August 17, 2006 No worries. Discus keepers often do daily water changes of this size all the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wok Posted August 17, 2006 Report Share Posted August 17, 2006 Just make sure you are using aged water to do so many water changes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magenta Posted August 17, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 17, 2006 Aged water shouldnt be an issue with Chch water thought right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke* Posted August 17, 2006 Report Share Posted August 17, 2006 How often do fish get water changes in the wild? 100% all the time! So no worries at all, more the better provided there's no pH swings or temperature swings. I do 80-90% daily water changes on my discus tanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magenta Posted August 17, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 17, 2006 80-90%!!!!! OMG I hope you have it plumbed in or automated in some way? How big is your tank? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted August 17, 2006 Report Share Posted August 17, 2006 LOL didn't he say tankS? Im sure its more than one.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted August 17, 2006 Report Share Posted August 17, 2006 If you are growing plants you will need to retain some nutrient for them. I am in Christchurch also but only change water enough to avoid a build up of excessive nutrient that may cause algae problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke* Posted August 17, 2006 Report Share Posted August 17, 2006 Yep I do it daily with 2 tanks I'm preparing some pics to document the process so others can easily follow in this great thing for our fish/insanity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharn Posted August 17, 2006 Report Share Posted August 17, 2006 some discus breeders in singapore etc are doing over 200% daily water changes (lucky guys have warm, unchlorinated water so its easy). as said above, if its close to the same temp and ph (i think .2 is classed as the 'acceptable' range) it wont be a problem at all, you'll probably see your fish perk up with the extra ones Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted August 17, 2006 Report Share Posted August 17, 2006 Discus breeders want to keep nutrient levels down. I bought some plants (Cryptocoryne) from a discus breeder in Christchurch who had them in a bare tank and doing 50% water changes daily and the 3 most recent leaves were white. When planted in my tank they returned to normal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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