# Water Changes...



## monisaab (Jan 12, 2011)

I just want to ask if it is OK if I do 10 - 15% water change every day or every other day???

or should I stick with the 50 - 60% water change every week???


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## BelieveInBlue (Jul 17, 2011)

I know people who keep discus that do lik 70% every like 3 days haha 

With that said though, I'd still stick to once a week, unless your tank is really dirty or something.


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## GTZ (Apr 21, 2010)

I don't think there's any downside to doing smaller more frequent water changes as opposed to larger and less frequent.
The only possible negative I can think of would be increased stress to the fish, depending on how long they take and what methods you use.


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## clgkag (Mar 22, 2008)

There are many people with large tanks that have them on a drip system. Meaning they have a drain on the tank that constantly removes old water and a source of new water replacing the old. If fish are ok with that I don't small daily changes will be an issue at all. Just make sure you are treating water every time.


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## TheFishGuy (Apr 21, 2005)

My personal feeling is frequent small water changes are better than a large change once per week.

If all you're going to to is drop a tube in one corner of the tank and siphon then have at it. THe fish will eventually get used to you doing it on a daily basis. The stress will go away.


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## bernie comeau (Feb 19, 2007)

monisaab said:


> I just want to ask if it is OK if I do 10 - 15% water change every day or every other day???
> 
> or should I stick with the 50 - 60% water change every week???


If you switch to small and numerous changes, you'd be wise to check your nitrate levels frequently. You might be suprised to find that your system begins to gain N and that the small frequent changes do not keep up. What is often not considered, is that with small frequent changes, a certain amount is always 'new' water, so the change is smaller then you think.
Just for example, compare a 50% water cahnge to five 10% water changes. Five 10% water changes is 10% + 9% + 8.1% + 7.3% + 6.5%= 41% .......significantly less then one large 50% water change.

When I use to run a drip system at 1 1/2 gal.per hour (36 gal. a day) on a system of 300 gal (180 gal, 100 gal and sump), my nitrates rose to 40-50 ppm. My gravel was filthy. My solution was to resume doing weekly water changes again :lol:, in addition to the drip system.


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## monisaab (Jan 12, 2011)

thanks guys for the valuable inputs and advice...

Yes I just want to do quick water changes every day or every other day through quickly siphoning out the required quantity of water and putting in the replacement...

5 minutes at the most...


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Bare bottom tank? If you have substrate, how would it get vacuumed?


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## monisaab (Jan 12, 2011)

ooops sorry DJR... I didn't mean to say no vacuuming of the substrate...

I meant to say I want to do the changes by doing siphoning/vacuuming the water from different places, thereby vacuuming the whole substrate over a period of a week or 10 days...

Day one left front, day three centre of the front side, day five right side of the front and the same way back of the tank completing the circle...


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## fmueller (Jan 11, 2004)

DJRansome said:


> Bare bottom tank? If you have substrate, how would it get vacuumed?


On my 240G I am running an automatic drip system that replaces about 10% of the water per day. I also have a UGJ system on that tank with 20 something jets. The substrate is T-grade 3M Color Quartz. I have not vacuumed the substrate in years. That's not out of laziness, but when I move the substrate about - the fish always pile it up near the front glass, and I have to push it back towards the rear of the tank - there is hardly any dirt in the substrate. It hardly makes the water cloudy, and vacuuming it would seem like a waste of time.

I wouldn't have expected that when I set up the tank, and I regularly vacuum all of my other setups. Most look filthy if I don't do it every few weeks. But with the 240G it's simply not necessary.

Each setup is different, and you just gotta do what works in each particular case.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I imagine the UGJ help. :thumb:


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## TheFishGuy (Apr 21, 2005)

DJRansome said:


> I imagine the UGJ help. :thumb:


They certainly do...
My three display tanks (1200, 240 & 185) have the same set up as Franks...


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## fmueller (Jan 11, 2004)

Yes, they do. Their downside is that you can always see some part of it somewhere that the fish have excavated. Since you can see absolutely no other technology in my 240G, that is a little annoying. Another issue is that they eat up a lot of pump power. I run two MagDrive 18s on that tank, and the current is very low - just right for my Frontosa, but nothing like I'd want for Tropheus or Mbuna. That all said, the UGJs are sure doing their job.


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## monisaab (Jan 12, 2011)

Thanks for the gr8 input guys...

Look as if I'll have to try my hand on some DIY UGJs...


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