Is too many water changes bad for Tropheus?

[Chris Derrick]

Is there or do you see any ill efects of doing say a 50%-75% water change a day? I have had the ability and time last few days to do this and fish seem to really love it. Just interested in everyones opinions. Also what does most everyone run there water temp at? I had mine set few weeks ago and it was only heating to 77 so I changed it one degree now its all the way up to 81 this change happend over period of few days but still Is 81 ok or should I lower er down? Thanks CD

[Zulaab]

The best water change you can do is simply running carbon filtered water constantly into the tank at the desired temp and have a overflow box that drains right into the drain 24/7/365. 50-75% a day and your fish will LOVE you :)

24/7/365 then the fish names their first born after you :)

[supadave]

I'm sure you can change your water everyday if you like without any issues. I know some Discus keepers who say that they perform water changes daily. But my question to you is "Why?" Can you honestly say for a fact that your fish are happier with daily water changes as opposed to weekly or twice weekly? Are the fish breeding like rats? Are the fish growing right before your eyes? If you answered "No" to the majority of these questions.... then I say "What's the purpose"? Also, if you were to change your water daily, then when you test your water you should be zero across the board. Now if I change my water every three or four days and test it and get zero across the board, that leads me to ask the question again "What's the purpose"? This is just my opinion, but I think that sometimes, in our quest to make our fish "happy", we tend to unnecessarily complicate and over-do things. I personally, would rather be watching and enjoying my fish , rather than making a chore out of fish keeping.

[76dragon]

I have been wondering about this also. Are there any ill effects to doing water changes every day or should we let the water settle A day or so

[wesleydnunder]

The best water change you can do is simply running carbon filtered water constantly into the tank at the desired temp and have a overflow box that drains right into the drain 24/7/365. 50-75% a day and your fish will LOVE you :)

24/7/365 then the fish names their first born after you :)

+1

Mark

[Chris Derrick]

Good points! If its a chore I will lay off and do twice a week. If I am board, no one home and listening to tv or talk radio I like to do water change its almost calming to me. If some one could tell me this was bad for the fish then i would stop. Thanks. CD

[TaTeR ToT]

hey man, whatever floats your boat,lol

wow i just sounded like my dad there, scary,lol
anywho, i dont see anything wrong with it.
i am with you, if i have nothing else going on and am bymyself and nothing to do but play videogames or watch tv, then i usually do a wc.
its calming to me, oh, and i usually scrub the glass aswell.
its relaxing, at ultimate fish when i worked there, i was the only one who ENJOYED algae scrubbing and doing wc's,
everyone else was like "this is a drugdery".

it does get old after 9 months though.

[PhishPhreek]

If your purpose is to maintain low Nitrate levels then mesure the nitrate levels.....
If it's not low enough, do more frequent or larger water changes.
If it's below what you consider the maximum then keep on keepin on.

IMHO Continuous water change would be better than batch changes as it would provide stable levels.

Back to the orignal question - will water changes hurt you fish ? If the water you use is not suitable and is not properly treated - you bet
If the water you put in is better than the water you take out - thats a good thing. But if you don't test, you never know.

If it's bad water, then 1 change may be too many.

[geoff_tropheus]

Do as many as you like as long as your doing it the same way, meaning if your buffering or not buffering etc... consistant conditions.

Otherwsie waterchange away...dont let your hobby become your job!

[TaTeR ToT]

dont let your hobby become your job!

this is why i left ultimate fish.

[FrontosaurusRex]

I used to do 50% water changes like 3 or 4 times a week and my tank was ALWAYS cloudy. Somebody on here advised me to only change once or twice a week because my tank was constantly trying to cycle. I was getting rid of all the "good" bacteria. Now, i only do a 50% water change once a week and my tank is crystal clear. I also clean my Aquaclear 110's every 3 or 4 days. I keep my tank at a constant 80 degrees and my fish seem to be ok. Hope some of the advice helps. Like Geoff said, dont let it become a job or a chore.

[wesleydnunder]

I used to do 50% water changes like 3 or 4 times a week and my tank was ALWAYS cloudy. Somebody on here advised me to only change once or twice a week because my tank was constantly trying to cycle. I was getting rid of all the "good" bacteria. Now, i only do a 50% water change once a week and my tank is crystal clear. I also clean my Aquaclear 110's every 3 or 4 days. I keep my tank at a constant 80 degrees and my fish seem to be ok. Hope some of the advice helps. Like Geoff said, dont let it become a job or a chore.

Nitrifying bacteria live on surfaces. Changing water, even continuously, will not cause your tank to cycle or stall an ongoing cycle. Since the bacteria aren't free-swimming removing water doesn't remove bacteria.

Mark

[FrontosaurusRex]

Nitrifying bacteria live on surfaces. Changing water, even continuously, will not cause your tank to cycle or stall an ongoing cycle. Since the bacteria aren't free-swimming removing water doesn't remove bacteria.

Mark

Hmm. I did not know that. I remember asking a similar question about water changes when i couldnt get my tank to clear up and if i'm not mistaken, EK was the one that suggested i slow down on water changes and it worked. I have no idea about the science behind it though. Thanks for the info

[Cesar]

Hmm. I did not know that. I remember asking a similar question about water changes when i couldnt get my tank to clear up and if i'm not mistaken, EK was the one that suggested i slow down on water changes and it worked. I have no idea about the science behind it though. Thanks for the info

how long was the tank setup, did you add a few more fish to it during that time frame? All those can cause you tank to have a mini cycle

[Lawsman]

IMO, it depends. Like someone else said..if nitrates are 0 what's the point? I would argue too frequent water changes could be worse due to the potential of varying tap water conditions and change in water temp. that can occur with large water changes. If you have super filtration and good O2-low nitrates and steady PH,I'd say it is safer to limit water changes.

If you are under filtrated and/or overstocked, then more regular Water changes make sense to me.

My experience is to do things slow and easy, but steady and regular at the same time. Too much of anything can be bad(except filtration and water testing) You can look at the fish and tell if they are doing well overall.

Let's face it-the fish tend to stress during the act of an water change/cleaning of the tank. Once they realize this hand is not there to feed them, but to mess with their substrae and rocks (their homes)they strss.,scatter and hide. Forget it. If you like doing wC's then do smalller/quicker ones-less stress,less risk of Temp change,etc. This is/was the general thoughts of most people who had reef and SW tanks. I think the same should apply for freshwater too.

Just my thoughts............Everyone has their opinions, for me it comes down to trying to apply some common sense.