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  • water changes

    hello everyone, im new to the site and just had a couple questions about water changes. i have a 2 3" oscars. a 3" pacu, a 2" frontosa, a 2" green terror and a   2" jack dempsey. these guys are housed in a 55 gallon but will be moved into a 240 gallon with in the next 2 months. in the mean time how often should i do water changes? i was at petsmart the other day getting my water tested and the employee told me that changing my water once a week was to much and would probably kill my fish. then he told me that water changes should be done every 2 months which i find very hard to believe. for filtration i  have an emperor 400, a whisper 60, an undergravel filter with two powerheads. how often and how much of a water change should i do? thanks for any feedback

  • #2
    Re: water changes

    With that heavy of a stocking in such a small tank I would do it once a week about 30-50% water change. Make sure you have no impurities in your tap water if that is where you are getting your water and it would not hurt to gravel vac once and a while....with the UGF it accumulates lots of waste in the gravel so removing it will help better your water quality.


    Welcome to the box!
    700g Mini-Monster tank

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    • #3
      Re: water changes

      Welcome to the box bpseoe :)
      I am going to agree with Ek here and say that 30% once a week would be good.   The only thing I am going to add to this, which you maybe already aware of is the Frontosa might not be happy alone when getting a little older.  It is a colony fish and thrive best with about 10-12 of its closets friends being of the same kind.  Beyond that you are going to be looking good moving them all to the 240G..

      What fish do Jesper have
      180 WC T. Moorii Chilambo +1 Petro trewavasae.
      110
      Cyps, WC Xeno Spilopterus Kipili WC/F1/F2 T. sp red Kiku
      58 S. Decorus

      "The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money." -Margaret Thatcher

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      • #4
        Re: water changes

        Singletons work but like Zululab stated the Frontosa by nature are colonial fish and also a bit timid compared to the others.
        700g Mini-Monster tank

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        • #5
          Re: water changes

          Howdy,

          I think the water change issue is covered sufficiently, now about those numbskulls at the major chain pet store employees...what are we going to do about them......... :)

          Welcome
          Truth is the cement that holds the bricks and stones of a sane and civilized society together. Remove the former and the latter will crumble.

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          • #6
            Re: water changes

            the only thing is that my tank has been running for about 2 and a half months now. the first month i cycled it with 8 rosy reds. all but 2 survived. so i just let the other six stay in the tank for an extra monthbefore i added any other fish. like two weeks ago i added the two oscars and the pacu and this past weekend i added the green terror, the jack dempsey and the frontosa. is it safe doing the water changes since i just added fish this weekend or should i wait a little. i check my water every two days just to make sure everything is alright and evrything is good so far. my water is crystal clear except for some brown algea towards the bottom of the tank which gets wipped off everytime i see some come up.

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            • #7
              Re: water changes

              We can start with Tiapan.....
              700g Mini-Monster tank

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              • #8
                Re: water changes

                David works at Petsmart, but he does not run the fish department (by the grace of ....)  Could you see him telling people what to do with their fish ?

                What fish do Jesper have
                180 WC T. Moorii Chilambo +1 Petro trewavasae.
                110
                Cyps, WC Xeno Spilopterus Kipili WC/F1/F2 T. sp red Kiku
                58 S. Decorus

                "The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money." -Margaret Thatcher

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: water changes

                  We can still haze david.....

                  on topic....


                  what are your readings when you test your water params? or is petsmart doing that for you?

                  Ammonia
                  Nitrite
                  Nitrate
                  pH
                  Hardness

                  I would think that you could possibly be in the middle of a cycle right now since 8 rosy reds have no impact on the bio-load as would a 1/4 of your one oscar would more less all the fish combined.....I would be careful and watch them all cause it could be disastrous. I would probably do the water change but not gravel vac the tank....your nitrites if even started yet will probably be high which is lethal to the fish....the frontosa will probably go first since they require much better water quality then the others.

                  If possible post your water params and if available to you get a bag of bio-spira or even seeded filter material for the tank.
                  700g Mini-Monster tank

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                  • #10
                    Re: water changes

                    i just got it checked at petco and everything was in the neutral area, i didnt get specific readings but was told that everything was testing good.

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                    • #11
                      Re: water changes

                      Testing good for some is not good for others.....the test are suppose to be specific.....also there is not much of a neutral area unless you are referring to pH.

                      I would go out and get a small test kit of some sort and test your water params. Cheaper to buy a test kit then replace all those fish.


                      It's funny how most places test water and just tell you "your good".....your good could be good for discus but not good for african cichlids or good that most "Big Chain" stores will quote that Nitrates anywhere under 100ppms is good but yet it doesn't register on their test kit. I also heard some say that .5nitrite is ok but everywhere I have read that is almost lethal to fish.
                      700g Mini-Monster tank

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                      • #12
                        Re: water changes

                        ok- I'm going to run with some assumptions and you guys / girls can jump in and correct me any time.

                        AExcess fish food and fish wastes breakdown into ammonia.  tank with new water is bad for my fish bedause it has no bugs to limit the ammonia in the water and too much ammonia will dammage there gills.  

                        If I have a large amount of ammonia, the micro-bugs which like ammonia will multiply and turn the ammonia into nitrates.  Nitrites are also bad for my fish.

                        If I have a large amount of ammonia, other micro-bugs that like nitrites will multiply and convert all the nitrites into Nitrates.  Nitrates are not bad for fish and are good for plants.  

                        Other than the plants absorbing nitrates, the only way to get rid of them is to do partial water changes.  Fresh water does not add any bad things and the water removed takes some of the nitrates with it.   Old fish water is good for your yard plants or algie pond.

                        Other than reduceing algie growth in the tank is there any reason to do water changes after you finish the 1st cycle. ???  pH ??? hardness ???
                        'Dear Lord,' the minister began, with arms extended toward heaven and a rapturous look on his upturned face. 'Without you, we are but dust ...'
                        He would have continued but at that moment my very obedient daughter who was listening leaned over to me and asked quite audibly in her shrill little four-year old girl voice, 'Mom, what is butt dust?'

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                        • #13
                          Re: water changes

                          bpseoe - A strong suggestion here is to goto your LFS and pick up one of the API Freshwater Master test Kits.   They will run you between $25-30.
                          You can do all of your test with it and get very good results.
                          I am not 100% sure how Petco/Petsmart tests your water, but IMHO you really need to get the numbers so you know what is going on in your tank.

                          I also strongly recommend that you read the post by PhishPhreek called the Nitrogen Cycle  this will help understand the cycle better and will explain to you why you are going through another cycle now, with all the extra fish added in.

                          What fish do Jesper have
                          180 WC T. Moorii Chilambo +1 Petro trewavasae.
                          110
                          Cyps, WC Xeno Spilopterus Kipili WC/F1/F2 T. sp red Kiku
                          58 S. Decorus

                          "The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money." -Margaret Thatcher

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: water changes

                            welcome to the box bpseoe....these are by far the most knowledgeable fishkeepers you'll ever want to meet or take advice from i'll tell ya that much....



                            fishlady

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                            • #15
                              Re: water changes

                              Nitrates is also harmful at high levels which usually leads to "old tank syndrome".

                              Ammonia(lethal) is converted into Nitrites(lethal) then converted into Nitrate(less lethal).

                              bacteria converts throughout the nitrogen cycle and there are seperate bacteria to do the different stages.

                              Beneficial bacteria is hosted on porous media whether it be on the tanks glass, substrate or in the filter itself....water in the tank holds little to no beneficial bacteria. Also water has minerals and such which need to be replenished through water changes since they are soaked up or used by the fish to maintain their health or to grow just like how plants need fertilizers and such. Plant absorb nitrates but also need other nutrients like phosphates and iron which come from fish, water changs, fish food and of course ferts but once the plants absorb it all then it needs to be supplemented again.

                              New water has no beneficial bacteria but that is already in the tank also it has no ammonia unless your tap water is that bad so it will in turn not harm the fish's gills or anything. pH and hardness is effected by old water as well and depending on the initial readings of the replacement water it could help it or worsen it depending on the situation which is why there are medias and additives made by manufactures out there.
                              700g Mini-Monster tank

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