Caryl Posted December 9, 2010 Report Share Posted December 9, 2010 Yep. Especially over summer when the water table is low. If I do water change then I always have a massive algae outbreak. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ismart120 Posted December 9, 2010 Report Share Posted December 9, 2010 yeah, the 10 to 20% rule was told to me too, although in my tank I try to do about 30% ish as my stocking level is reasonably high. I wouldn't think 30% was excessive though, I mean, that still a lot of older water in there, as long as the temps were about equal. If it was over 50% I might be a little cautious. The buffer effect would most likely reduce the pH level change I would have thought too? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the-obstacle Posted December 9, 2010 Report Share Posted December 9, 2010 I just did a 50% water change and my fish are happier than they were beforehand. I'm expecting to find panda cory eggs tomorrow... :roll: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mcculloch Posted December 9, 2010 Report Share Posted December 9, 2010 I too had always heard 10% a week or 20% fortnightly but personally don't do any water changes at all if I can help it :roll: I wonder if it is because today's fishkeepers tend to overstock so need larger water changes more often :-? Aren't there underlying reasons why you can get away with such low water changes. Do you have a lightly stocked tank and or heavily planted tank. To be honest I think its shocking advice for someone asking how many or how much water changes to do. A beginner may read this as an excuse to not do water changes the reality is something needs to get rid of the wastes/Nitrates in the tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted December 10, 2010 Report Share Posted December 10, 2010 There are many many factors affecting the number of water changes a person needs to do. I was not offering it as advice, merely said what I did personally. My tank has been running several years, is heavily planted, lightly stocked, lightly fed fish, and well filtered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit Posted December 10, 2010 Report Share Posted December 10, 2010 There are many many factors affecting the number of water changes a person needs to do. I was not offering it as advice, merely said what I did personally. My tank has been running several years, is heavily planted, lightly stocked, lightly fed fish, and well filtered. It would have helped to mention that to a newbie, as much of this forum is based on peoples "opinions" and so called, considered advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suphew Posted December 10, 2010 Report Share Posted December 10, 2010 Aren't there underlying reasons why you can get away with such low water changes. Do you have a lightly stocked tank and or heavily planted tank. To be honest I think its shocking advice for someone asking how many or how much water changes to do. A beginner may read this as an excuse to not do water changes the reality is something needs to get rid of the wastes/Nitrates in the tank. Just as much as there would be underlying reasons for needing to do large water changes as was suggested early on in this thread. A rule of thumb has to be kept in context, I'd assume Phoenix44 deals with a lot of people over stocking new tanks, something very common to a person new to the hobby, in that context 30% water changes could be necessary and good advice. The tank in this case isn't over stocked and while still newish, should have finished cycling etc by now, so the usual rule as I understand it should apply. There are risks involved in doing large water changes particularly for beginners, and sometimes suggesting water changing your way out of a problem that should be addressed more directly is also not great advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fordayzbro Posted December 10, 2010 Report Share Posted December 10, 2010 Just as much as there would be underlying reasons for needing to do large water changes as was suggested early on in this thread. A rule of thumb has to be kept in context, I'd assume Phoenix44 deals with a lot of people over stocking new tanks, something very common to a person new to the hobby, in that context 30% water changes could be necessary and good advice. The tank in this case isn't over stocked and while still newish, should have finished cycling etc by now, so the usual rule as I understand it should apply. There are risks involved in doing large water changes particularly for beginners, and sometimes suggesting water changing your way out of a problem that should be addressed more directly is also not great advice. Agree with this post. It's down to your setup..... Judge whats required by looking at your fish, algae blooms and general health of your tank. A heavily stocked tank with few plants would most likely need more changes. I started out with 10% changes every second day to rid brown hair algae, now I do 1 50% per week and reset my dosing. Some of the medications people put in tanks are so unnecassary..... It just doesn't happen in nature.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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