Want more tips and tricks to care for your fish? Check out these playlists! Best Fish Keeping Tips Playlist is here: ru-vid.com/group/PLr8ew8o8WXoDLeItfzOiRG8DV-1W9qNX4 Lowering and Controlling Nitrates Playlist is here: ru-vid.com/group/PLr8ew8o8WXoD-pzZaHgtIFqurG9HZn2zz Every Live Stream is Here: ru-vid.com/group/PLr8ew8o8WXoApHjaPfc6rdr7oipfEbZ-k The Water Change Tips & Tricks Playlist is here: ru-vid.com/group/PLr8ew8o8WXoCdEYkD0rQa0OWejFk5-bHD SunSun Canister Filter Playlist is here: ru-vid.com/group/PLr8ew8o8WXoCiMWEpBFJFJGxTqJH_MdMg Fluval Canister Filter Playlist is here: ru-vid.com/group/PLr8ew8o8WXoC8gSuqdG1c4nOzlAMFTmiD
I know Im randomly asking but does anyone know of a method to log back into an Instagram account? I was stupid lost the login password. I love any assistance you can give me.
@Hamza Jaxx Thanks so much for your reply. I found the site through google and Im waiting for the hacking stuff atm. Takes a while so I will reply here later with my results.
I love these types of videos, I’m a total nerd 🤓 and enjoy learning about this subject. Even though I’ve kept fish most of my life I’m still learning something everyday! Great video my friend
Thank you, this is a very enlightening video for me. About four years ago, I discovered that my aquarium crashes were related to low PH. I went through a phase of losing many tanks so I did some research. This is why all my freshwater tanks have sea shells in them. The Only PH crash I had since then was on a tank where the sea shells were almost all dissolved. Our water is pretty soft here, but when I run it through the RV filter, it comes out even softer. The crashes were occurring as quickly as one to two months. Since adding sea shells, my crashes were related to a heater locking in the on position and a bacteria soap-scum on the surface of one of my tanks. Water Changes: I do water changes randomly, and have gone 6 months or more between changes in well established tanks. When I do water changes I do them to vacuum the gravel. I plan the changes to be made when I have low water due to evaporation and I vacuum out about 4 gallons from each of my 20, 30 and 55 gallon tanks. I take about 2+ gallons from my 10 gallon. Except for the 10, it takes 5 gallons or more water to level the tanks back. I also tend to over plant and not over stock fish. Overstocked aquariums tend to need much more gravel cleaning than under stocked tanks. I'm getting lazy in my old age and I'm looking for low-maintenance tanks now. Needless to say, cichlids and other varieties of fish don't do well in my care methods. My method of stocking tanks now, is to set up the tank, read the parameters and then research and choose fish compatible to my tank parameters. Again, I say "Thank you."
New to the hobby. Enjoy your videos. You speak slow and clearly to where I can follow you. Thank you for not screaming and waving your arms around like a fool.
I generally do a 30% water change in my 20gal once every two weeks, adding a tablespoon of aquarium salts every other water change, and my fish are all happy and healthy. I also have a fair number of plants, and an AquaClear filter as well.
Wow, major flashback to chemistry class oh so many decades ago. At least now I care enough to hopefully learn something here. Thank You for all your knowledge and information. Greatly appreciated.
Hi i do water change weekly 30% the drink water here in the Netherlands is just perfect, only problem is algea on the rocks for the rest very good.Keep on posting, iam learning, thanks
Hello Hans! Algae (green algae) is a bad thing since it can add oxygen and reduce nitrates. Of course it can be distracting on the front glass panel and I certainly don't like the brown/black/red varieties of algae. Thank you for watching and commenting.
Your channel has excellent advice that I appreciate because you are honest and share multiple and differing views about nuanced topics like water changes, were a lot of factors have to be weighed carefully against one another. Thanks. I'm really enjoying this channel!
How I do it is, in the beginning, I check the nitrate creep early and often. When they hit 20ppm, I do a water change big enough to get them back down to 0 - 5ppm. I do this until I can determine a routine. Depending on the water volume and stocking, that could mean I'm doing a 20% water change every two weeks or an 80% water change twice a week. Once the stocking is stable and the aquarium is seasoned, I only test if I see a problem.
Thank you for the info Sir .. Btw I really can’t get over of your nice soothing voice maybe I’m a fan of The late Kenny Rogers.. keep safe Sir and God bless 🙏❤️
Thank you Seth. You know I agree. The fish seem to know when it's maintenace time and seem pretty chill when I do it, like they've gotten used to the schedule.
Your plants are doing the work for you. Unfortunately any plants I put in a big African cichlid tank gets turned into a green smoothie within 48 hours.
Hi Ben, great video and topic! I generally do a 50-60% water change on my Malawi fish every 5-6 days and sometimes even more often. Much of it has to do with Nitrate levels and water clarity. I also have time to do it more frequently because as you already knew, I am partially disabled and I am no longer working. I also want to remove excess hormone levels and re-mineralize the water as my water is soft here for Africans and I have to supplement during water changes. For my Tanganyikan fish, it is always recommended that smaller 25-30% water changes are performed weekly, as they cannot tolerate large swings in total water parameters and Nitrates must stay at or below 20ppm. Anyways, I’m picking up two pair of wild caught Tanganyikan Gold Head Compressiceps in just a few days, and I have already gotten a tank ready for them. Thanks very much for sharing 👍.
Denny's Aquatics I should have mentioned the hormone aspect which can trigger a lot with certain fish. Post a video on those gold heads, they sound awesome.
After keeping Marine tanks for years, I have learned that Less is More. Test the water first, otherwise, you could be getting rid of good water for new water, {two different things}. On my 75g fresh, I generally do 10-20% every 1 --2 weeks as needed. After watching your canister filter foam set up video, my tank stays stable for a longer period. My Weather Loach ( Ron Burgandy) tunnels through the sand like a dune worm and keeps debris on top to be swept away quickly. I am glad that many of your viewers have not killed all their fish by doing such drastic water changes (IMHO). As I stated in the beginning, in Marine tanks, large changes kill fish usually. I enjoy the topics of your videos and am learning to chill as you describe your topics in that "Cali" Zen-Master cadence that so many like.
Great point! I find that fresh water guys, like me, have a lot to learn from those who keep saltwater tanks. I was glad to hear from someone who knows what a Dune worm is, LOL! Thank you for watching and commenting!
I still have a lot to learn too like ph of water. I'll never know about this since I didn't have the tool. What shocking your fish? I won't know about that either. What's good and bad water? Nope. Nitrates? Hmm
We have a 75gal and 29gal planted aquariums. We perform water change based on visual cues...detritus removal off black gravel, especially around the base of the plants and the corners. We've done as much as 15%, to as little as 5% water change per week. We have very hard water in our area, but, Chemistry readings have been relatively stable; pH 7.6, NO2 - 0 ppm, NO3 - 0 ppm, NH3/4 - 0 ppm, KH - 7 and GH at a whopping 24! We run an overflow sump (20gal.) in our 75g., with a U/V sterilizer through a 300/560 gph pump. The 29g., uses a Fluval 406 canister.
Hello Ben. That was another excellent video, especially because you shared so many other comments by African Chichlid keepers. I can share a particularly interesting juxtaposition of water change habits between the tanks i care for at home & those i care for at my job. Although i live in Staten Island, NYC, i teach at a large public high school in Brooklyn, NYC & i take care of multiple tanks in both locations(all African Chichlids). At home, for three 40 gallon breeders, i probably do nearly 50% once every 10 days on tanks with very large sponge filters(125 gallon ones) & an aquaclear 70 h.o.b. per tank. Each of those are grow out tanks with anywhere from 20-30 juveniles per tank. I feed each of those around 3 times from afternoon to evening time. I hardly ever test the water & judge them by their colors, activity and whether or not they're eating. On the other hand, at the school where i work in south Brooklyn, we have a 90 gallon(2 hob & a canister), 55 gallon(1 hob & a sponge filter) , 15 gallon(sponge filter) & a 270 gallon tank (with a sump system, large canister and large sponge filter). The 270 is in the lobby of our school & although it looks fantastic in this location, it's a nightmare for water changes because of the proximity to water. In order to do water changes on the 270, i need to use an electric pump to pump the water out of a first floor window about 50 feet away from the tank & then refill it from a hose spicket outside of the window in our garden. During the winter months, the water outside becomes very cold & logistically, due to the school schedule, it becomes hard to schedule a water change sometimes. I can admit, that although i have to add water to the tank at least once per week, it has gone as long as 4-5 months without a large water change. Now, with that being said, the fish in that tank are not fed nearly as much as the ones at home because I'm not there on weekends and i only feed them in the afternoon before i leave. The 270 is a mixture of around 40-50 varying sizes of haps, peacocks and mbunas. The fish keep on feeding, breeding & looking great. Due to occasional budgetary issues in school, i also stopped using any water conditions or treatments & the fish are still fine. Is it just a testament to the true hardiness of the African Cichlids? I don't know. Thanks again for your videos Ben!
Wow, that's amazing. It makes me think that between the sump, canister and sponge filter in that 270 (along with decor and substrate) you have a massive amount of beneficial bacteria working real hard for you. Also, when you had the 270 gal's to the water in the sump, you are no doubt over 300 gal's and that's a lot of water that can dilute ammonia, nitrite and nitrates. The kids must love it. Thanks for the comment!
I also do minimal disturbing of my fish. I vacuum out the debris, waste and excess food every few days. Over filter, use power heads and keep waste and excrement down and you should normally just have to add small amounts of water to keep up your level. 6 cichlids and a pleco, all very happy and active. Another note, I mix in live earthworm feedings whenever it rains out. No floating waste and they really seem to love worm tug of war. Haha
Lots of great advice there are a lot of factors like you mentioned Ben. Bio load, tap water levels, substraight type. And type of fish. Each tank has its own micro biosphere. Each person has to figure out what works well for them. Water change is essential like you said to replace lost minerals and such. The same as a like gets replenished from a rain storm or spring. If you have tropical fish you almost have to become a hydrologist or marine biologist. Again fantastic post Ben always look forward to your videos.
I'm not sure water changes are essential. minerals (salts ) aren't lost from a system (salts remain in the system as water drops the mineral concentration increases, thus when reefers add water they add RO to their systems to reduce the salt concentration) Also generally rain water is very soft and does mineralise water
MARK COPLEY I'm a bit confused on one point, doesn't "soft" mean not mineral rich? But you say "rain water is very soft and does mineralise water". Maybe soft water and hard water have characteristics that I'm not aware of?
You're welcome Matt. I have an understanding of those issues (kh, gh etc) but will be digging in deeper before making a video. Stay tuned, it will be out in a couple weeks or so.
I add to replace evaporated water, which in the winter can be about 10% every week and change 30% of the water every three weeks. My 36 Gallon is heavily planted and under stocked so this has worked for me.
Thank you Ben for the informative information I always appreciated. And thank you also for taking the time to help all of us fish Keeper's, to motivate us Chowan to never give up when I love . We all need to stay close together with the hobby, kind of like a schooling fish, we all should school together LOL. Oh did I forget to mention... You have an extremely captivating smile 😊
Another good video Ben !! My giant sump keeps my nitrates down at the 5.0 between water changes. I do weekly 20% changes ( 200 gallons ), but the nitrates wont drift up even if I have to wait 3 weeks. I totally agree about the minerals.. Also, I had mentioned my catalytic carbon home water filter system.. It does remove chlorine and chloramine and sediment, however I did learn it doesn't remove heavy metals, which caused me some unnecessary fish stress, for a few weeks. So Im still going to add Kordon Novaqua to remove the heavy metals. Fishkeeping isn't just a Hobby, Its a lifestyle !!
Is your tank 200 gal or is your sump 200 gal. If you have a 200 gal sump ... that would be one epic dilution of ppm. No kidding on the lifestyle comment.
Thanks for message back sir.. The 20% water change is 200 gallons.. My sump is 210 gallons total volume, with 2 media towers at 24" x 16" x 16".. I run the sump at 2/3 full ( 140 gallons ).. My tank volume is 1000 gallons. I run a 5000 gph pond pump, for slightly under 5x turnover..
You have the best advice on fish keeping. Especially water chemistry. I use test strips everyday to give me a clue. I don't trust them, but they are a good indicator. If something looks wrong I pull out the test kit. I think water changes over 50% is not useful unless the tank has crashed. Ben, try to get your followers to get rid of those dammed canister filters and use a sump. You have a wonderful video on just that subject I think.
Great vid, Ben! On my 125 African Cichlid tank, I do 25% water changes once every week. Two Sunsuns: 704b and 3000 series. Nitrates tend to stay between 15 and 20 ppm, but will creep up to around 30 if I don’t stay on schedule.
Hey, Ben! I’m truly enjoying it. I like that i can put my UV sterilizer on a schedule and adjust the motor speed to allow for longer water contact with the media, if i choose. Thumbs up for sure!
Is 20 ppm okay for a tropical fish tank? I've been looking and reading all over the internet and I haven't found much, I've tried lowering it but there are nitrates in my tap water from what I saw when I tested up to 5 ppm so if I do a water change of 50 percent then my nitrates go down to 15 ppm
I do 20% weekly and 50-60 once every couple months . filters depends on type hang ons ever other month. in tanks once a month and external every 3-6 months.
I change my tank water twice a week because I have a one gallon tank with a male betta. I do not want ammonia to be a problem. My betta really likes when I do a water change. He swims all over and makes bubble nests. I also have six moss balls in the tank.
I have one experiment tank that I haven’t done a water change on in 11 months. No fish deaths, nitrates always below 20 ppm, it is heavily planted which aids in nitrate control, it’s medium stocked with a sponge filter. I feed well every day. Doesn’t house Africans, just various tropical species. My African cichlid tanks are heavily stocked, I feed every day, and I run 2 SunSun 304-b canister filter on each African tank. I change 50% bi-weekly..
Great video, great topic, yeah here 60% twice a week because nitrate problem, if I do 60% w/c on Monday nitrate goes to 10-20 and by Friday is on 40ppm plus
If my aquarium is clean and nothings out of whack, I'll do a 10% water change by vacuuming the gravel at least once every two weeks. I want to do at least one water change every 15 days that usually ends up to be close to 30% with filter and internal tank environment adjusts before, during, or after the water change. When I do a 50% or more water change, the whole fish population gets moved out of the tank along with all of the plants to either a temporary or permanent replacement fish tank. Transferring much of the fish tank contents to another tank allows me to rejuvenate the whole setup and prevent long term build up of undesirable waste materials in the old tanks that will be cleaned and ready to be the replacement tank next time I refresh the system again. Hopefully my feeding schedule provides small meals more frequently than only giving one or two big meals for the fish while I use a higher capacity filter system that keeps the water clear within minutes of any interruption of the ecosystem. I don't medicate the fish during water changes but do them at least 24 hours after one.
I have two fx6 working in 150 gal tank, I do water changes once a month. I just checked parameters and everything was cero and nitrates 40 ppm. As a matter of fact I’m doing a water change right now. Happy thanksgiving 🦃
Hi Ben love your videos I have a 75g with about 30 juveniles I do 30% water changes every 4 days I use biohome I got from pondguru nitrates always low under 10 tank and fish look great when I was starting with Cichlid your videos were a great help
After a while, your tank is settled and clean, cycled, etc. It's nitrates alone that force weekly water changes...Ben you should do a deep dive video on bio media and anaerobic bacteria which is the only thing that keeps nitrates down...and thus less need for frequent water changes.
I keep planted tanks, with under gravel filtration and have never done a water change with a tank of small fish; otherwise, I will do a 30% if needed with roseline sharks and one large gourami and tetras and a bristle nose pleco. I do check water parameters is I think about it; probably should check weekly to be sure whether or not to do a water change. Don’t wait fir a fish to die!
Sorry for the late reply just watched this. I very rarely do water changes. Maybe once every 6-8 weeks. Big filtration a pothos and lucky bamboo sump, nitrate reduction foam pads that I swap out every 3-4 days. I supplement with aquasabi and never have any issues. I’ll top the tank up a few times between changes. I also have 4 pots ( lg scotch glasses) that I am attempting to grow anaerobic bacteria in. Not sure if it’s working but in my heavy planted, heavy stocked tank I only se a rise in about 15-20ppm over the 6-8 weeks
good video. Don't forget to check chlorine in your tap water. My water company "super charges" the water with chlorine and chloramine at times and the normal amount of dechlorinator will not neutralize all of it. Has caused chlorine burn on my tanks and others who have found the same variability in chlorine with their tap water. I talked to the guys in the lab at the water company and they stated that when their source water has higher than usual e:coli (due to rain, run-off, etc.) that is when they super chlorinate.
Hey John, good points. They've been using chloramine in SoCal for quite some time. Unlike chlorine the chloramine doesn't gas off, so we always have to treat for it. I'm not sure if the super chlorinate around here, especially with rain being so scarce. Regardless, I'm always treating new water with Prime or Safe and both neutralize them.
I'm new to the hobby, I just did my first water change/gravel vac now, I've had the tank going on 3 months, I've got 2 rainbow shark, 1 African dwarf frog and a handful of other glow fish/tetras and a pleco for safe keeping lol, the fish are healthy and happy, adjusting to the new water change.. my question is what is water hardness and can you do a video on it please? Sincerely, -Christian Ayala.
I have a 20 gallon tank with 4 Glofish tetras. I have never kept fish before. The next part of my comment may be upsetting to veteran fish keepers. Read at your own discretion. My tank is brand new and I am trying to get it to cycle. 😭 I have no idea what I'm doing! Literally on a crash course to keep these fish alive. I added live beneficial bacteria 2 days ago and removed a little bit of water so that my filter would make more bubbles. Not dry running my filter, no worries. But the water is a little cloudy and I am seeing something white beginning to grow on the surface of the fake plant bases. A couple of questions. 1. Is alge growth a good thing? 2. Should I be doing frequent, small water changes to dilute the nitrites?
I´ve tried to rebuilt a mostly natural habitat for my fishes. They like 5.5PH and Blackwater. I dimm the lights, heat the water up. Yes, i have just one sort of fish in my tank... i want to see them love their life. I don´t want to watch icebears under a microscope.
I have a 75 gallon planted discus tank. only 2 disucs and 4 cory cats. I use a 4 inch sand bed. I have a fluval 407 and an eheim 2217. the eheim holds more bio media and the fluval has more flow out put. I tried a fluval fx4 it was two strong for the discus. I keep my water temp at 85 degrees, kh-0 gh-90ppms. ph 6.7 I do 3-40% water changes a week using ro water/di water and remineralize with discus mineral from germany. I keep my nitrates at 0. this works for me and I do monthly water changes on my filters.
Twice a month. (25%) Fish enjoy to be let alone. I did some tests and noticed that nitrates don't build up in my fish tank due to appropriate feeding, plants or good bio filtration i dont know. Also every 15 days the dkh drops 0.5 points. I do the water change mainly to recover the dkh. Aquarium setup - 45 litres - Fedding once a day - 7 platy, 1 otocinclus, 1 dwarf gourami
I used to do 50 - 70% but have cut back to around 20 - 25% and notice that the fish don't rub themselves so much on rocks ("flashing") after a WC. Watch for a video that's coming up called "Water Change - Is Less More?"
In my new 110 gallon tank, my substrate is 2 inches of Crushed Coral and I am using an under gravel system of slotted pipes with ceramic barrels between the slotted piping. The pipes are separated from the substrate with sheets of aquarium sponge so that the substrate doesn't clog the slots in the pipes. The under gravel pipe system is split into two separate systems with an FX4 on one half and a Marineland 360 on the other half. The two intakes pull completely just from the under gravel system so All the Water is being sucked through the mineral rich Crushed Coral before hitting the filters and then pumped back in via 2 out puts on opposite sides of the tank. It has great flow. My question is that with the under gravel system and the crushed coral, and the two canister filter overkill, will that keep PH buffering minerals suspended in my tank as long as the Coral holds out, theoretically cutting out the need for water changes?
If i was to use the service port on my fx4 to refill my tank during a water change straight from my garden hose using an adapter, would it harm the beneficial bacteria inside my filter? Would be using prime inside the tank but fill straight from the hose through the service/drain valve.
Thanks for video, good topic. Starting to believe anaerobic bacteria is a myth I have ran many tests with the best filter media available and could not achieve this for up to a year. The best I can get is 3 weeks till my nitrates reach 40ppm then I do a 70% water change. The only thing that can remove nitrates that I know of is plants.
One fellow, I'll provide the link, used biohome and got the nitrates so low he had to start adding it to the aquarium for the plants. Here's the link to his video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-eZM5Lu6p2k0.html Regarding plants, I see a lot of aquaponics showing up in fish rooms, but I hear that it takes a lot of plants to make a dent in the high volumne of waste put out by ACs. Thanks for watching VP!
I do 50% per week religiously, but I have a high light co2 injected planted tank that gets EI dosing. Also, up here in Apple Valley, our water is quite soft! I have to add minerals to keep my plants from getting a calcium deficiency.
Ben Ochart I'm in Apple Valley California, sir. But our water comes from an aquaduct that's fed by a lake that gets the lion's share of its water from rainfall and snow. When I lived in Riverside, it was liquid rock, off the charts hard.
Hey Ben it’s amazing how many people are different on water changes I always say what ever works for you rule of thumb is 20% at least once a month. I never use tap water always filtered change main filters out about 5000 gals and inlet gets changed every 2 months. All my tanks get usually 40-50% every week because of bio load. Nursery tank 2 times a week just suck out poop and add water usually 10-20%. Cleaner water less problems that’s why most salt water tanks use RODI water
Refers use RODI so there’s no other trace elements being added except what they put in from salts or dosing more controlled. I don’t really know where the 20% every month just always heard from other fish keepers does make sense
Using something to buffer the PH like crushed coral or especially aragonite will help keep your PH from crashing. Using this combined with lots of plants I am able to go much longer between water changes and I have never had a tank "crash" and lose a bunch of fish. Floating plants seem to be the best at sucking up nitrates in my experience--get some giant duckweed or frogbit and your tank will be much more stable.
I water change the more densely populated tanks more often, 50% to 75%. The populated tanks once a week or when the water starts to become cloudy. The less populated maybe 50% once a month,
Hi Love your videos i find them very informative and extreamly well presented I just recently set up a 105 gallon tank with a 21 gallon sump with 3 cichlids 1 pleco and 2 Oscars. all small under 2 inches . Been running about 4 days now i know it will take 4 to 6 weeks for bacteria to build up in the sump My question doing water changes & vacuuming how often should i do these and will this slow down my bacteria growth
could you teach other youtubers how to do a video where we get to see something other than the person's face. i really enjoyed watching your beautiful fish for 13 minutes and the info was good too.
Is there a problem with my face? LOL, just kidding. Depending on your editing software you can overlay content so you can keep talking but people see something different over the entire screen or just part of it. VIVA has a good app for those using cell phones to film and there are lots of editing software available for IOS and windows. I'm currently using "VEGAS" on my laptop. They take some time to learn, but it's worth the effort if you are serious about being a youtuber.
I have a 110 gallon tank two huge canister filters pumping close to 600 gallon per hour total 2 large severums, 2 tiger loaches, a parrot fish and Rafael catfish, once a week 40% water change, I have not cleaned any filters over a year, and six months, fish are beautiful, and healthy, I make sure there's no uneaten food
Nitrate research shows nitrate is relatively innocuous to fish. Adult fish can take at least 220 ppm with no long-term effects. Some people have tap water with nitrates of 80 or more and they do just fine. Some people fertilize planted tanks to 80 ppm and the fish in those tanks do just fine. Keeping them under 80 helps to reduce algae.
My 55 gallon has South American Cichlid. I change out water with 15 gallons with a 55 gallon tank. My Nitrites and Nitrates were very high. My Ammonia was 0. Should I add minerals when I do a water change? Minerals out of the tap are low..we are on a well. I am confused as to how I get a balance tank. My PH was 7.6 which I prefer a 7.0 reading. Your help is appreciated.
Ben. Your videos are quite informative and I really envy ur knowledge of cichlid fish keeping. I do siphoning daily. I change around 50 percent every week in my 75g. I have around 15 fishes in there but half of them are around 5 inches plus
I have two tiger Oscars that are both close to a foot and one 7 1/2 to 8 inch striped convict in a 55 gallon aquarium Temporary until I find something bigger It’s hard to keep on schedule for water changes but I try to do atleast two 50% water changes a month I have a 240 gallon cascade canister pump and a 40 gallon hang on the back that I’m not sure of the brand but it kicks ass and is easy to clean
Whatever the potted plants require and whatever the plants that are directly in the tank take evaporation also takes some. All that gets replaced, though nitrates are somewhat elevated I don't know exactly how much I don't have a color chart I only take as much water as I have to as the tap adds ammonia. Most of the time only ammonia but the treatment center does seem to shock the system from time to time with chlorine according to my nose.
The less you mess the better. You can use an algae sponge on the front three panels every week but unless your decor/plants are looking real dirty, I wouldn't mess with them. Just don't do too much at one time since it can upset the balance of the tank and stress out the fish.
Fish also release a growth hormone into the water I will stop growing in a smaller tank they’re not in the wild so we can’t dilute so we are in charge of taking out hormones adding minerals and keeping the cycle good do you sign up for that when you buy a fish
Someone recently mentioned to me that hormones are what work inside the fish and it's actually pheromones' that are released and send signals to other fish, like, "it's too crowded in here." I will always do routine WCs if only because I see the immediate positive change that occurs with the fish after I do one. Thanks for stopping by!
I go heavy with plants and have quite a few of algae eating type fish as well as snails in my 125 so I do a monthly water change of about 25% my goal is to figure it out to where I won't need any water changes and plants and fish will clean up
Good subject Ben, it's important to discuss it. in my 250gal, 32 adult fish (I had 46 sold some of them, a friend suggested me an offer that is hard to refuse lol), I change once a month about 30% It is minimal because in my country water is not abundant, 700 mm per year lol, very clean water pass all the tests, I have a huge sump with lots of good media 10 kilos BioHome Ultra, lots of plants in the tank and also in the sump,
Ben Ochart Yes it does a great job, I have a lot of plants in the middle part it's about 20*25+ inches, there is a plastic mesh above all the media and on it there is gravel and in the gravel are the plants, And of course 10kg of bio home ultra does an excellent job lol, I saw your video a few months ago on this media, you mentioned pondguru, I checked his channel and saw some videos he explains about this media. he sent me a link and I bought 10KG. The shipment was not cheap but after about 5 months that it's in my samp, I can say it's worth it.
I haven't been able to find an answer anywhere...I have a 10 gallon with 8 platies and a few babies (so far). I have a lot of live plants and decor as well. My question is, how do I clean the tank without disrupting everything and sucking up the babies?
I have a one gallon tank with a male betta. I do water change every week. Add stress coat, heater and filter with a digital therm. My question is in a couple of days after doing the cleaning of the tank something is sticking to the heater and digital therm. I do not know what it is. Could it be the aloe vera sticking to the items? Could it be algae? The betta seems fine. Should I do a water change twice a week? Please respond. Thank you.
I watch how it takes the bubbles from the air stone to break after moving across the water top. Also have Java fern for 40 years. Nitrates always zero. Fish usually five years plus.. 20 gallons.
Ben I learned a few things on the water change I did know it helped lower nitrate but was unaware of the change in pH and the affects on the fish such as flashing and stress .I always thought they kinda enjoyed it .I always have nitrate as that's how it comes out the tap but Sunday was my all time low reading after a week before I changed my water was at 15 to 20 and is 10 out the tap usually .thanks love the videos and the group such a awesome job .
Thank yo Bob. It sounds like your tank is really settling in at a nice level. Just watch if you have a jump in the number of fish but it sounds perfect for now.
I think if you want to avoid stressing out your fish you can also do smaller water changes more frequently. Doing a 25% water change doesn't really bother my fish. And vacuuming the sand or rearranging rocks to vacuum under them doesn't bother them too much either if there's still plenty of water in the tank. But vacuuming the sand and under rocks and doing a 75% water change at the same time will really stress my fish out. Also always check under your rocks probably once a week. I was wondering where one of my fish friends went for the longest time. I figured I must have just been miscounting because there was nowhere the missing fish could be. Didn't think of checking under a solid rock. Was completely buried in the sand under that rock.
If it's for nitrates, my understanding is if you use a BCB bag or bags, they will reduce the nitrates to almost zero. And nutrients can be added in other ways. I use city water and have a 120 gallon tank. I use city water. Doing a 25 or 30 percent water change every week and my water bill would be 300 dollars. I have a Eheim Classic 600 on the way that I will be trying these BCB bags in. If they don't work like Novak says they do I'll let everyone I know, know.
I do about 5% everyday. So that average about 30-40% per week. It’s a small community tank, under stocked, in a ten gallon. I am going to upgrade to a 20 gallon here in a few days. I want to add low plants and change the substrate.
A hint to people trying to get their fish to spawn....after a large water change leave the water level a little low... about 5 to 10% from the surface (assuming the tank is normally completely full). For some reason this always makes my fish spawn of they have not in awhile.
Call me crazy, but I do water changes on how my water looks and how much algea I'm growing. I top of alot and always pay attention to my filter flow on hang on and clean them accordingly. My cannister filter is hard to judge so I clean it every 2 weeks usually. I don't have testers and I don't us any water treatment just strait tap out of hose here in San Antonio. I have been keeping fish 15 years never lost a fish due to water quality. I always say do what works for your tank which is always different with feeding and water quality in area and how much fish u stock and filter set up.
Hi I only have one Betta fish in a 10 gallon tank with a filter I'm I hurting my fish because I've een doing a complete water change every 2 weeks but my fish swims around and looks healthy idk anything about checking for nitrate levels etc
