NO Aquarium WATER CHANGE? 

Thanks for the video. Common sense goes a long way when keeping an aquarium, and your videos contain heaps of common sense. Take care. I was really please to hear in a recent Aquarium Co-Op video that Cory is looking into working with you all, especially when it comes to higher value stock. To me, it seems like a logical match and I hope you two do find a way to work together.

I haven't changed water in my tanks since 2022. There are no issues with the water. I use a canister filters and have not opened them since then. Plants love fish waste and nitrates are always low. If you need to change water that means you are over feeding the fish or dont have enough plants or the right substrate.

Wow, how refreshing to hear these sensible and well balanced advices! I get so tired of the clickbait videos telling people not to change their water and don’t do testing because all you need is a deep substrate and high nitrate levels are fine. I’ve been in this hobby for 40+ years and I know what’s right and wrong by now. Thanks for the great video.

Thank you Dan, I love the way you lay it out so that anyone with a fair bit of scientific knowledge follow without loosing sight of the reality. Great job, I love nerdy stuff made simple.

Top Notch video! Thank you so much for actually citing research!!!! Lol sorry, im a little excited when youtubers actually use acedemic and scientific logic and reasoning instead of opinions and conjecture. Plus i mean, you could start any video, simply showing you care for thousands of fish sucessfully... it shows your credibility instantly in my mind. Also, great approach... that will help everyone. Im pro-testing as well! I can tell by observation, what MY tanks parameters will be...within reason. But id suggest any new keeper... to check often....and everyone test slightly less often ( if they understand their tanks) haha. Top notch video! Thanks Dan.

good stuff ty

Dan Dan, the science man!!

And oh yeah, next video maybe explain to people that water conditioners may be too stressful for some species to endure, and in high enough concentrations may affect oxygen concentrations and availability in your tank.

Another well done video Dan!

Thanks Dan!

I really like the way you guys did this vid, much appreciation for the way you guys focused on the natural stream vs pond explanation, very cool! I really like the way Dan the fish man explains the science stuff! ✌️

Thanks for the video!

Lovely

Well done Dan!! I have filed this video away. It will be a future share video when I meet newbies to the hobby. Thank you 👍

Love this video! You don't know how long it took me to learn everything in this video on my own. I wish I could have watched this 20+ years ago when I started keeping fish.

Use Zeolite or Purigen and do small (20%-25%) water changes every other week. You only need large water changes if you can't get the nitrates down any other way. I have had tanks that I almost never changed water in and the fish lived a normal lifespan and reproduced. The primary driver of needing large water changes is overstocking.

Great video. Simple easy to understand explanation about the why in water changes. I’ll have to try storing and off gassing water before I add it to my fish tanks.

Thanks for this! In my opinion this is by far the best, most concise and even science based video on the subject. Maybe a mention of treating with a product to make tap water safe (chlorine, chloramine, heavy metals) might have been worthwhile?

Good information. Thanks Dan for sharing.🙏✌️👍💯

Your delivery is tremendous, great job.

Good job Dan!

Very smooth and easy to understand explanation grats Dan i myself apply both methods i measure my larger planted tanks and just routinely change on my smaler tanks 1x every 2 weeks large planted tanks can go atleast in my case even a month or so without water change

Heres an important finding i have discovered regarding about chloramines in city tap water. The part where you said to degass the new tap water is cruicial. I have done tons of water changes straight from the tap and the fish gets stressed due to the reasons you mentioned. Since last year I have bought a food grade 55 gallon blue barrel to do so for $5. Was used for organic lip balm company for glycerin. I have also found out that my local water municipal uses chloramine, so i have to treat it with a dechlorinator such as prime. In doing so it separates into ammonia and chlorine. I was reading 2 ppm ammonia or more from tap water. I have tried just degassing it for a week with dechlorinator and an airstone and it stayed 2 ppm ammonia. I have tried degassing and using zeolite to absorb the ammonia, only to converting it to 2 ppm nitrite after 1 week which is worse as theres no other chemical media removes nitrite in our hobby thats available. And can be expensive in the long run. So after multiple brainstorming ideas,factoring budget, so i tried a cycled sponge filter and that did the job converting ammonia into nitrate in just 3 days. So I have been aging my water with a cycled sponge filter for at least 1 week and refilling my barrel between water changes. I would do about 80% water change every 1 to 2 week in my 75 gallon aquarium. And fish can tell the water is cleaner and they are not stressed at all even at 80%. So test your tap water for ammonia and nitrite also. I use API test kit using tap water, cycled fish water and ro/di water for confirmation of the results. I dont heat the water up in my barrel. I have 5 koi ranging from 8 to 12 incher in size and i feed a lot and they poop alot thats why i change that much and that frequently. I have plants in my sump and canopy to help some. In the summer i use the fish water to store and water my garden in my backyard. I have video for proof @madlos123

Very good information

Great video! I watch fish videos to get me motivated before doing all my water changes! 😊👍🐠

Good explanation for water changes. I have heard that you can't gas-off if you water source is treated with chloramines though. You must use a dechlorinator for chloramines. If chlorine is used in source water gas-off works.

... I'm new to this hobby ... You explained it well bro

My question is how to get the water that's in the container or drum into the fish tank. I love using a python for 75 gallon. I also have several tanks. Lifting 5g jugs gets tough over time.

Are you familiar with the annamox method? Erik Brion posts about this on Facebook and RU-vid and has an article in German language Amazonas issue 105. I have used this on my 335 gallon planted tank and have not changed water since setting it up 4 months ago (just topoffs)

I love the air stone/heater tip the day before a water change. We did this at the zoo where I worked for amphibians. Great tip!!

Beautifully explained…… mic 🎤 drop moment.

I run a lot of tanks so my water change schedule is always, as often as I can! I'm never going to change too much water, so I'd rather know I'm doing my best to keep the water clean, rather than putting it off. I have three groups of tanks so I have a day to fill my water treatment drums and treat/heat the water, then a day to do the changes, and a day off at the end of the week. In reality other things pop up and the schedule doesn't always happen that way but it's usually pretty close and a tank almost never goes as long as 2 weeks without a water change.

Hi Dan. I think you forgot to mention chlorine and especially chloramine! If your municipal water treatment plant uses chloramine to treat water then off-gassing isn't going to remove it. You need to treat your water with an additive to remove the chloramine.

Yay, spangled perch an Aussie fish I have kept, gets a mention! They are perhaps one of the hardiest desert adapted fishes in the country.

Professor Dan, I keep my water param safe but regardless of nitrates, KH, or GH, I see a huge difference when I do a large water change. My ornamental fish seem happier, my puffer's seem pissed off (but very temporarily). So I about once a month I still do it even if there's no nitrate in the water and GH/KH/pH is stable. I believe the build up of dissolved proteins is doing more than we can test with test kits. Also Dr. Novak explains anoxic a little differently. I think only anaerobic bacteria create nitrate gas. I am not sure on this. But as for as reducing nitrate buildup, lavarock in a low-flow part of the tank is all you need.

OK, Dan, the Lord knows I love you but I am going to ask a stupid question. If you age your water as you shown, is it still necessary to add water treatment to it? If you do, is it better to let that treatment "age" into the water (say 24 more hours) so to bring water total chemistry to a stable basis before adding it to the tank?

Would you do water changes if nitrates never go above 10ppm and all other parameters are stable?

👍🏻👍🏻

Aku mengerti sekarang! Terimakasih

Great video!

Sorry to make another post. I love the art work your team produces. But I only keep Neocaridina Shrimp. Is there any way your artist might do up a shrimp design in the same design language/style as your fish designs? I'd love to have some merch with that design. Also, I live in Colorado, but Southern part, and didn't make it to your open house/bar b que last Summer. Any chance you're going to do another one in the future? I'm retired now, and I'm limited in cash for buying fish and fish keeping stuff, and in space to do that, but I do have a shrimp tank, and I watch a lot of Fishkeeping Twitter, and would love to meet you and your team. Plus I haven't been up to Wyoming in a few years and would love an excuse to get back.

Just don't be lazy and do at least a 10% wc a week test and do more as needed there urs 1 size to start

here comes dan if he cant do it nobody can👍👍hard question to answer but you cracked it right now here dan it freezing bad just this morning the lollypop man who takes the kids safely cross roads their warm gear is all white poor old chap got runover with a snow plough 😘😘i catch minnows and sticklebacks for the university in minnow traps no luck too cold but i came up with a cunning plan red paper box of matches in trap works a tret best wishes jj from paisley🤣🤣

Great advice Dan

If you have the budget and space for it, here's another option for doing water changes with safe, clean, clear water: an RO/DI system. Every week, I remove 50% of the water in my tanks and replace it with water that was cleaned by an RO/DI system. In my experience, RO/DI water results in far less algae, better plant growth and improved fish health. There are lots of videos on how to do this, and many systems available for purchase. RO/DI water does have to be remineralized (i.e., you have to add back to the water anything your fish and plants need, such as calcium and magnesium). There are commercially available products for doing this.

I do 100% water changes every hour.

I bet Aquarium Coop is sending Dan and crew their Test strips soon ✌🏽😂

Absolutely true.

100 ppm is sewer water and they still live more than a few minutes in it. This is the most crazy part lol.

I am pro water change! Plants love it, too! I change 50-80% per week.

Water changes are also needed to remove growth regulating hormones.

Water changes are good. Anyone who says otherwise is delusional. I do a 10% water change every week, and that keeps everything nice and fresh

Good lesson. Hit like button guys

All this talk of impurities and toxins reaffirms my insistence that CO2 is worth avoiding. I change water routinely. Keep it Simple. I don’t chase numbers.

Father-Fish

Great video. To be honest I dont think I've ever lost a fish due to a water change or have stressed them. Possibly Cherry shrimp might have been.