The water change - how do you do them?

[Art]

Here is another word of wisdom I'm borrowing:

Water changes replace everything. People who do them are more successful.​

I personally do 50% because I have a smaller tank and it's easy to do but probably wouldn't do that much if I had a larger tank. This is especially true because I use RODI water.

What do you think about water changes? What's your philosophy?

 

[Quagulator]

As long as you are doing at least a half decent % water change every week or two, you are likely in the clear - the more fish, light and nutrients you are adding the greater the need for larger, more frequent water changes.

For simplistic sake, the old faithful 50% 1x per week is still my "standard" even though my high energy tank gets 70% weekly and my low energy tank gets 25-30% weekly.

If you have normal stocking, and a healthy, moderate energy planted tank, 25% weekly is likely fine, or even 50% every other week - you just have to be mindful of how much nutrients / food / minerals you are adding and accumulating over time.

For high light, fast growing tanks, larger water changes are almost always better. Higher the light, higher the need for a clean water column, clean filters and clean substrate.

If you want to be proactive and not reactive, replacing the majority of your water 1x per week is the best move.

RO water is nice, I use it / preach for it, but I'll even admit it's a pain to remineralize, match the tanks temperature, and then have to use a pump instead of your homes water pressure to perform a water change (unless you like slugging buckets).

 

[GreggZ]

The more the better. If you really want to whip a tank into shape, do two large water changes a week for a while. Cures a lot of ills.

I've always believed that you should make water changes as easy as possible. Might take some work up front, but saves a lot of labor over time.

With my 120G I have two 55 gallon drums in the basement to store water. Piping is run up through the wall to just above the tank. Piping from the tank also runs down to a basement drain. There is a pump in the storage drums and one in the tank. One switch to drain, another to fill.

The idea is the easier you make it the more you will do it. And the more you do it the better your tank will be. And like Qaug said above, the higher energy the tank the more important it becomes.

 

[Quagulator]

Everything @GreggZ said I forgot to mention in my post!

A few, massive water changes over a day or two can really whip a tank back into shape - even more if you do good job removing organics during those water changes (gravel vac + filter clean outs).

Making water changes easier is my next move before I set up a larger tank again. The easier the job, the more often I will do it.

I also run 2x water storage containers - 1 for pure RO and 1 for mixing up a batch of water for the tank.

I measure out how much water I'm adding directly into the storage tote and place a mark - lets say @ 30 gallons.

I then drain the storage tote, ensure my display tank is completely full, and siphon tank water into that tote until I hit the 30 gallons mark. I place a small piece of tape on the backside of my tank (least visible side) and mark the level the tank is at. Now I know I have drained 30 gallons from the tank, and I will continue to drain 30 gallons every water change.

I fill the tote to the 30 gallons mark with RO, target dose my nutrients (for 30 gallons of water), add a heater and a powerhead, come back in a few hours, siphon the tank water down the drain until I hit the 30 gallons mark, then pump the new water into the tank.

Takes 15 minutes of prep time in the morning - I go to work, when I'm home the new water is ready to go and it takes an hour for a full water change + algae scrub + plant trimming / replanting.

I found 1 - 2 hours per week can fit into my schedule no issues.

If I have to do a big overhaul, I'll prep my water for a weekend morning, that gives me all day to complete a lot of maintenance.

 

[JPog]

I always look at water changes this way. The more water changes you do the less limited your tank is in terms of the fish and plants you can keep.

 

[Immortal1]

I will admit, Gregg’s dual pump system is easier than mine. But, mine might be one of the easier systems to do a water change on.
In my setup, there is a “stand pipe” under the bigger tank. All drain water goes into the stand pipe with dumps into my sump pit in the crawl space. There is also a floor drain of sorts connected to the stand pipe - if the tank ever leaks into the cabinet, the water puddles up on the aluminum stand tub, then goes down the drain.
For re-filling, I have a R.O. System in the basement that pumps into a holding tank located right under the main aquarium. From there, a pump is used to move water into one of the 3 tanks that I have.
Pretty much an easy affair - drain water out of the tank(s), then start pumping water back in from the holding tank. Pretty easy.

 

[ayman.roshdy]

I usually think that a 50% water change every week is more than enough, and it was ok for me for years now, algae for example was not showing except when I neglect one of the tanks for a few weeks ...

I just posted in the fresh water fish channel a problem that happened to me for the first time after making my weekly 50% water change (you can check and comment on the issue i faced here), after t his issue I am thinking to reduce the amount of water that I change to 30% instead of 50%, at this point of time making huge water changes is not an option for me anymore, I live in an area where we can't depend on how much chlorine they dose into our tap water

 

[RazzVegas]

I do 65G wc on my 135 every Sat morning. Its a bit of a pain for me to do that much wc since I live in a small apartment. No place to store big drums. I have to fill 3 gallon jugs and stack them on both sides of my tank. But out of the 16 months my 135 been running, Ive only missed 1 wc due to a needed vacation.

 

[toofewfish]

What would be better? 50% wc once a week or 30-35% 2 or 3 times a week. I am somewhat limited on space to store RO water, but if larger changes would be better, I'll have to be creative. I'm in the process of setting up a 150g tank and this is one of the last things that I need to sort out.

 

[Immortal1]

30-35% twice per week would likely give you better results.
Of course, it opens other issues...
Many of us have a "target" amount of ferts (macro mostly) that we want to keep in the water column.
You will likely want to use some method to try and keep a somewhat consistent level of ferts.

 

[ayman.roshdy]

What would be better? 50% wc once a week or 30-35% 2 or 3 times a week. I am somewhat limited on space to store RO water, but if larger changes would be better, I'll have to be creative. I'm in the process of setting up a 150g tank and this is one of the last things that I need to sort out.

In my opinion if you keep a high tech tank then 50% once a week should be enough, while if you keep a low tech tank then 30% once a week should be more than enough. But note that this depends mainly on the tank bio-load, so if you have a lot of fish in your tank then they will generate a lot of wastes and accordingly big more frequent water changes will be needed, while if you keep fewer fish then you can decrease the % and frequency of the water changes, noting that the wastes from your bio-load depends mainly on how much you feed your fish

For me 50% once a week is the maximum that we should not exceed by any means, but just take care that this will impact your water parameters a lot, to be on the safe side you can go for a 30% once a week

 

[toofewfish]

30-35% twice per week would likely give you better results.
Of course, it opens other issues...
Many of us have a "target" amount of ferts (macro mostly) that we want to keep in the water column.
You will likely want to use some method to try and keep a somewhat consistent level of ferts.

Yea, the macros will take some thinking thru if I do twice a week wc, but I think it will work better for me. I'm setting things up so that it's pretty much automatic so that it's not a chore.

 

[GreggZ]

For me 50% once a week is the maximum that we should not exceed by any means, but just take care that this will impact your water parameters a lot, to be on the safe side you can go for a 30% once a week

Many high tech tanks change far more than 50% per week. I change 70% usually twice a week. Joe Harvey changes 80% to 90% per week. And I could list off a long list of others who perform VERY large changes as well. Both plants and fish love it.

 

[ayman.roshdy]

Many high tech tanks change far more than 50% per week. I change 70% usually twice a week. Joe Harvey changes 80% to 90% per week. And I could list off a long list of others who perform VERY large changes as well. Both plants and fish love it.

But if we do this aren't we jeopardising the water parameters this way (pH, kH, gH, beneficial bacteria), actually I can't think of a single parameter that won't be impacted, specially in my case where I am using tap water?

 

[Immortal1]

But if we do this aren't we jeopardising the water parameters this way (pH, kH, gH, beneficial bacteria), actually I can't think of a single parameter that won't be impacted, specially in my case where I am using tap water?

Yes, in a way. But, for us RO users (and Joe Harvey uses tap water), we are actually changing the water column in the aquarium "back to" the parameters that we want (pH, KH, GH). If your tap water is consistently the same, then you would be doing the same thing (adjusting back to the parameters you want).

Also, depending on how much water you change (lets say 50%), your really only adjusting the water column by 50% (it was gh-7, your source water is gh-6 and now your tank changed to gh-6.5

As for beneficial bacteria, it does not really live in the water. Beneficial bacteria is in the substrate, on the leaves of the plants and hardscape, and in your bio media of your filter. Also, it is amazing just how fast a well established tank can generate beneficial bacteria (think less than 24 hours).

Matrix without Seachem

*Please jump to post 85 for commencement of testing* After about two days of intermittent research I found a place that is shipping 15 pound sacks of what Seachem calls Matrix in the same piece size for about 30 bucks. I won't mention what this material is as we all know already lol. Equivalent...

www.plantedtank.net

Matrix without Seachem - Questions

Good evening TPT. I know some of you have been following the Matrix without Seachem thread which originally involved proving (or trying to) that Matrix was actually just Pumice. In the end, both products processed an amazing amount of ammonia in a 24 hour period. As a follow up I wanted to test...

www.plantedtank.net

If you are REALLY bored, you can read thru the above threads. Lot of really good info on a crazy experiment dealing with beneficial bacteria.

 

[GreggZ]

But if we do this aren't we jeopardising the water parameters this way (pH, kH, gH, beneficial bacteria), actually I can't think of a single parameter that won't be impacted, specially in my case where I am using tap water?

I'm curious. How does performing a water change affect pH, dKH, dGH, and beneficial bacteria in a negative way?

 

[ayman.roshdy]

I'm curious. How does performing a water change affect pH, dKH, dGH, and beneficial bacteria in a negative way?

It doesn't have to be in a negative way, I am a bit reluctant to change the water parameters and causing a change that might impact my fish, probably my main issue is that my tap water parameters is not reliable, will give you a small example; my tap water TDS used to be in the range of 120 - 140, but now it is in the range of 200 - 240 which is almost the double; this means that now the total dissolved solids in the water column will change dramatically with big water changes, probably this will positively impact the plants but not sure about the fish; something more or less similar to the old tank syndrome when you introduce new fish to an established tank without acclimating them

Having said that I saw many established tanks that are doing just fine with a minimum amount of water changes, one of these was one of my own tanks that remained for months without any water change and its filtration depends on a small hang on back filter; and to my surprise the plants were doing much better than another a tank where I used to make weekly 30% water changes, after 3 months the one with no water changes was excellent with no algae, all it needed was frequent plants' trimming as the stem plants were growing very fast; on the other hand the one with weekly maintenance was invaded by algae in a very ugly way

Probably what works with one person won't work with another, and that's why in our hobby we can't be 100% sure what would be the correct way of doing things, it mainly depends on a lot of experiments that depends on trial and errors and of course that depends on the water in your area, the additives you use ... etc.

 

[JPog]

Having said that I saw many established tanks that are doing just fine with a minimum amount of water changes, one of these was one of my own tanks that remained for months without any water change and its filtration depends on a small hang on back filter; and to my surprise the plants were doing much better than another a tank where I used to make weekly 30% water changes, after 3 months the one with no water changes was excellent with no algae, all it needed was frequent plants' trimming as the stem plants were growing very fast; on the other hand the one with weekly maintenance was invaded by algae in a very ugly way

I don't think you can contribute algae issues with one of your tanks to water changes, unless every other parameter was identical. There are definitely tanks that can get by with less/minimal water changes, but they are almost always restricted/limited in some way in the type of plants you can grow and the amount of livestock you can house.

As you increase light you increase the type of plants that you can grow and many of these rely on a good amount of fertilizer. With generous dosing comes the need to reset the tank every week with large water changes not to mention removing organics that will cause algae issues especially under the strong light they require.

 

[ayman.roshdy]

Ok, I surrender


I am working on setting a new tank, so will change my plan and do this your way, to summarize:

• Lots of fertilisers
• Lots of RGB light (8 hours or more on an automated timer ? )
• CO2 injection of course (1 hour before light start and shut down 1 hour before powering off the light - which will need another timer)
• 70% water change on a weekly basis

@GreggZ @Immortal1 @JPog any other recommendations?

But you will have to help me out in case of issues

 

[GreggZ]

It doesn't have to be in a negative way, I am a bit reluctant to change the water parameters and causing a change that might impact my fish, probably my main issue is that my tap water parameters is not reliable, will give you a small example; my tap water TDS used to be in the range of 120 - 140, but now it is in the range of 200 - 240 which is almost the double; this means that now the total dissolved solids in the water column will change dramatically with big water changes, probably this will positively impact the plants but not sure about the fish; something more or less similar to the old tank syndrome when you introduce new fish to an established tank without acclimating them

If your tap water TDS is changing it's likely mostly differences in dGH, dKH, and nutrients in your source water. If you wanted to really understand what is going on you would measure these as the TDS changes. Then you would know if you may need to add more/less of Ca/Mg or adjust fert dosing due to the NO3/PO4/K in the source water.

But either way 200 - 240 is still in a reasonable range. I can't think of a single plant or fish that would issues at that level. But let's look at what happens when you don't change water. Decaying organics are constantly building up in the water column. This also raises TDS, but in a bad way. When you mention old tank syndrome, what you are referring to is a large build up of organics over time which is caused by not performing water changes. There is a big difference between a tank who's TDS is rising due to lack of water changes, and a tank whose TDS is rising due to more dKH, dGH, and nutrients in the water column.

Having said that I saw many established tanks that are doing just fine with a minimum amount of water changes, one of these was one of my own tanks that remained for months without any water change and its filtration depends on a small hang on back filter; and to my surprise the plants were doing much better than another a tank where I used to make weekly 30% water changes, after 3 months the one with no water changes was excellent with no algae, all it needed was frequent plants' trimming as the stem plants were growing very fast; on the other hand the one with weekly maintenance was invaded by algae in a very ugly way

No doubt there are some tanks that can get by with fewer water changes. In most cases the tank is not being driven hard and has a mix of easy plants. If someone finds a balance doing this then more power to them. A nice low tech tank can be very, very nice. But as you grow in the hobby and start working with harder to grow more sensitive species, water changes become more and more important.

I've seen many people over time extol the virtues of minimal water changes. In most cases when you actually see the tank it is less than desirable. Not to say there aren't exceptions, as there certainty are. But for most people skipping water changes is not a good viable long term strategy. Both for fish and plants. Fish LOVE a large water change. Clean well oxygenated water brings out the best in them and helps keep them healthy and long lived. Old water full of decaying organics does the opposite.

In my experience, particularly with a high tech tank, uber clean conditions make every single other thing easier. I know many of the most successful people in the hobby. The one thing they all have in common is excellent maintenance.

In fact, if you have problems in a tank, one of the best ways to whip it into shape is by performing several large water changes back to back. This is well known in the hobby. Many Dutch scapers use this method before a photo shoot. The tank just blossoms and plants perk up to peak health.

Of course, this is just my opinion based on many years of my own practical experience and interaction with a large number of successful plant growers from around the world. There will always be anomalies out there. But I will say that I have never, ever seen a tank full of algae due to too many water changes. Usually it is completely the opposite. If you drill down on those two tanks I am guessing you can find a different root cause of the algae.