# Water Change Frequency/Amount



## mclaren880 (May 20, 2012)

I was over at a local breeders the other day and he suggested I was changing too much water and that he thought it was stressing my fish out. I have a heavily stocked 75G tank running an FX5 and an Emperor 400. For about the first year i had my mixed malawi tank i did about 50% every 2 weeks. The last couple of months I upped it to 50% every week. I feed on the heavier side as I've heard it can help with aggression (not sure if it's true or not, but so far it seems like it helps?)

Other threads I've seen tend to be more "what do you guys think I should do?" and I'm more interested in what exactly all you cichlid folk do with your own tanks. There's also a million different suggestions out there, so i feel like listening to what others do and making my own judgement call is probably my best course of action.

So, how often do you guys change your water, and how much do you change at a time?

Thanks in advance!


----------



## shelbynjakesdad (Mar 13, 2013)

40-50% per week.


----------



## schak (Apr 27, 2012)

75% per 1.5 week, 100gal tank. What's wrong with your fish? If they seem happy and healthy then keep doing what you are doing.


----------



## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

What are your nitrates before you do your water changes?


----------



## Allan01230 (May 23, 2013)

50% weekly---- Jack Waitley (famous Discus breeder) changes 100% of the water on some of his breeder tanks every day. You can never do too many water changes IMO.


----------



## b3w4r3 (Dec 14, 2012)

Also 50% every week. As long as the water you are adding has the same ph and temp as your tank water I can't see that it would stress the fish out. Cichlids are pretty curious fish and mine go about their normal behavior during a water change, or they attack my hand and nibble on my arm looking for food.

Is there some problem you are having that prompted your friend to make this assertion?


----------



## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

50% weekly or more.


----------



## cichlid-gal (Apr 27, 2012)

50% every 5-6 days depending on tank size


----------



## brinkles (Jan 30, 2011)

50% on the big tank, 80% on the fry/growout tanks weekly. The breeders I've seen here in Florida fill the vats with floating plants to keep the nitrates very low, and you wouldn't believe how the fish in there look!


----------



## notchback65 (Apr 3, 2013)

60% per week on my 90 gallon


----------



## mclaren880 (May 20, 2012)

Thanks everyone! I'm not having issues at all with it, it was just a suggestion from him. If anything, i've noticed my Flavescent peacock REALLY started to color up pretty much exactly when i started doing increased water changes. So if anything, i think it's helping. But this guy is way more experienced than me so i figured i should at least consider what he's saying. However, based on what you guys are saying, i think i'll be sticking with what i'm doing.

Thanks again!


----------



## gverde (Mar 3, 2010)

75% once a week on a 220G. Around 20 fish ranging in size of 4-14".


----------



## Bowfront (Jun 3, 2013)

I do 50% water changes every other day as I have a drain and fill setup on my tanks.

I simply turn 2 valves to do water changes.


----------



## mclaren880 (May 20, 2012)

Bowfront said:


> I do 50% water changes every other day as I have a drain and fill setup on my tanks.
> 
> I simply turn 2 valves to do water changes.


I've thought about doing something like this... Could i ask how you've done this?


----------



## Mr2Good (May 9, 2013)

90 GALLON 30+ MBUNA... 60-80% WATER CHANGE EVERY WEEK.... SOMETIMES TWICE A WEEK I WATCH MY NITRATES CLOSELY...


----------



## letsgoflyers6387 (Jul 19, 2010)

Does anyone have a problem with flashing after a water change -- despite replacing the water with the same pH, hardness, and temperature? I used to do 50% weekly changes on my 55 and this is what I ran into. Perhaps it was related to the Prime conditioner or perhaps 55 gallons is just too small of a volume to do that large of a water change. I've since backed it off to 25% and the fish seem to be less irritated right after a water change.


----------



## amcvettec (May 11, 2012)

I do 2/3 of the tank so 66% every week. It brings nitrates down to 5ppm. I've never had an issue with flashing but the males go crazy courting females after the change. I use Prime as well.


----------



## Bowfront (Jun 3, 2013)

mclaren880 said:


> Bowfront said:
> 
> 
> > I do 50% water changes every other day as I have a drain and fill setup on my tanks.
> ...


I sent you a pm.
.


----------



## Yasir saeed (Jan 28, 2013)

25-30 percent after 2 weeks


----------



## GoofBoy (Jul 3, 2007)

letsgoflyers6387 said:


> Does anyone have a problem with flashing after a water change -- despite replacing the water with the same pH, hardness, and temperature? I used to do 50% weekly changes on my 55 and this is what I ran into. Perhaps it was related to the Prime conditioner or perhaps 55 gallons is just too small of a volume to do that large of a water change. I've since backed it off to 25% and the fish seem to be less irritated right after a water change.


How much prime are you using? I double dose the volume of the tank and don't ever see an issue.

I change 80%+ on all of my tanks (including 10 gallons when they are set up) and I notice brightening of colors and flashing that I attribute to dominance displays as breeding generally occurs at water change time.


----------



## letsgoflyers6387 (Jul 19, 2010)

GoofBoy said:


> letsgoflyers6387 said:
> 
> 
> > Does anyone have a problem with flashing after a water change -- despite replacing the water with the same pH, hardness, and temperature? I used to do 50% weekly changes on my 55 and this is what I ran into. Perhaps it was related to the Prime conditioner or perhaps 55 gallons is just too small of a volume to do that large of a water change. I've since backed it off to 25% and the fish seem to be less irritated right after a water change.
> ...


I'm dosing 5 mL for 50 gallons. Maybe I'll try a double dose?


----------



## GoofBoy (Jul 3, 2007)

letsgoflyers6387 said:


> GoofBoy said:
> 
> 
> > letsgoflyers6387 said:
> ...


Really can't hurt to try. Good Luck.


----------



## notchback65 (Apr 3, 2013)

notchback65 said:


> 60% per week on my 90 gallon


I do water changes every Wednesday and Saturday

This is my tank with 30 gallons drained.


----------

