Water changes???

[TallTexan]

Yes I know. I'd still consider that not enough filtration. Aquaclear 70 is pretty cheap and will be plenty enough filtration. I think nickintex was selling one fairly priced.

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[mnemenoi]

The best manner to determine your water change schedule is to test your parameters daily until you achieve your highest allowed Nitrate level. Many allow for 40ppm, though 30ppm is my preference. At this point perform a 50-75% WC and begin testing again. When it once again achieves that number (whether it be 2 days or 15 days or whenever) that is now your water change schedule to maintain those numbers. It is usually a good guideline to test annually again just to keep better track of your numbers, should anything drastically change in the tank, or if anything seems out of balance.

[KhmerStyle]

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Nice you should be good with filtration now!

[troy tucker]

The best manner to determine your water change schedule is to test your parameters daily until you achieve your highest allowed Nitrate level. Many allow for 40ppm, though 30ppm is my preference. At this point perform a 50-75% WC and begin testing again. When it once again achieves that number (whether it be 2 days or 15 days or whenever) that is now your water change schedule to maintain those numbers. It is usually a good guideline to test annually again just to keep better track of your numbers, should anything drastically change in the tank, or if anything seems out of balance.

+1 Roy said this so well. this is what a text kit is for.

[jeb102385]

I have had tanks for pretty much my whole life. I have never tested my water. I do 30% water change weekly and have never had a problem

[mistahoo]

I have had tanks for pretty much my whole life. I have never tested my water. I do 30% water change weekly and have never had a problem

It's just good practice. Especially for someone new to the hobby. I've only tested my water a few times just because I was curious what the numbers were.

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[mistahoo]

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Looks good! Just keep the sponge and biomax. Carbon is outdated, ditch it and get a bag of purigen or another bag of biomax.

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[mnemenoi]

I just wanted to explain how to determine your water change schedule. Each tank and its inhabitants will be different and there are certainly good general guidelines that can be applied to most tanks. It seems many just break down when applied to the extremes. Certain fish demand higher water quality, while others do not. Heavily planted tanks can uptake Nitrate with a low enough bioload and only ever require top offs and ferts. I am not certain as to his exact stocking and desired parameters, so I though he might appreciate a break down on how to determine his water change schedule and where those general guidelines came from originally.

[aquabee]

Agreed! My planted nano is always at zero for all nitrogen containing compounds cuz it's high light and the plants are very metabolically active. That's why I love having plants in my tanks even though they sometimes get annoying. They're nitrogen sinks!

[CharlesTheG]

I do 25% every 2 weeks to my 20gal