@KGTropicals Thank you so much for this video. This answered SOOOOOO Many of my questions such as when to add conditioner, maintaining temperature etc.... As a first time fish keeper I have been looking for these answers for a while now online, and I think you are one of the first to address it. So, Thank you!
@KGTropicals is it OK to never do a water change if your parameters stay perfect? It's lightly stocked, and heavily planted with extra filtration, and has been reading zero nitrates for 2 years now..... (100 gallons with about 30 small-medium fish, mainly live bearers). My only hesitantion is that I have had issues with parasites, but that might have happened with water changes anyway.
Finally a voice of reason in the water change discussion. My family bred fish in the 1940's supply local pet shops. Less was known about the nitrogen cycle, etc. We did water changes when the water began to smell stale, when it became cloudy, or when we noticed the fish were more or less active than normal. We used water from the tap doing them "as needed", testing with litmus strips for acidity, and, our fish thrived and bred easily. Now the water change mania dominates the industry, and the work to maintain tanks has become such a burden, that many abandon the hobby. Sad!
As for why water changes encourage breeding, I read somewhere that water changes will convince the fish that its the rainy season which is a good time to raise fry because of the abundance of water.
I do too! I have a long hose with my gravel vac that I run out the door to my flower bed, my ferns seem to love it. My big tank is by the door so it is easy. My 40 gallon is in the dining room so I have to carry the buckets outside to the flowers. Sometimes I cheat and pour it down the sink if I’m too tired.
This was great. My fish LOVE their fresh water and play in the stream of bubbles; so I do small changes every weekend (5-10% because my tanks are heavily planted); and top-offs in the middle of the week. I'm in this hobby because I enjoy it, water changes are not work for me.
I've got heavily planted tanks and "topping off" daily is all I do. There's a huge difference between planted tanks that have been going for 2+ years and new tanks with no natural plants/substrate.
I was thinking this. I have a new tank so testing my water every couple of days, just to be safe. What if I did a small amount of water change more regularly rather than a bigger amount in one hit. Surly this would be less stressful for the fish.
@@snapdragon2441 I agree. I am also a great believer in "don't skimp on the substrate!" I bought Seachem's Fluorite Black, which cost $$$, BUT my plants grow like crazy, resulting in a healthier overall tank. I think it got to a point that my tanks got to a better balanced biome (cool phrase) because I used the Seachem. Whenever I hear "how do I start a tank but have a budget" the first thing people recommend is playground and as a cheap substrate. Um, if I were building a house, the last thing I'm going to skimp on is the foundation. The substrate is the foundation. It saves money on dead plants, Co2 systems, and plant fertilizers. Plant the plants, let it roll, and it will be the healthier tank.
@@Jeswald1 Thank you Melissa, I am a new fish keeper so need all the advice I can get. I have a 15 gallon, planted tank with a little betta, 4 shrimps and a couple of uninvited snails, but they are cool so can stay. I only have gravel substrate unfortunately, but use fertiliser and co2 liquid. My plants look very healthy and growing like mad. Did not quite realise how much science was involved in this hobby but I loved science at school so it’s nice to use this knowledge again as I get older. What fish do you keep.
In the tropics when it rains the change in temp sets off spawning behaviour, even though the rain is usually cooler that the river or lake it's raining on....that's why I have never really worried about getting the water temp right during water changes.....love your channel by the way....
We spend so much time trying to fix what ain't broke ,I believe if we're consistent with how we're treating our water, how often we do our water changes and keeping parameters in check then your good
Thanks for the reminder. It helps my overprotective instincts not be quite so anxious about water changes. I don't do them as often as I should (twice a month, needs more plants). But hearing that I don't need to get the perfect temperature and that I don't need to let the water settle/mix with the water conditioner helps the brain weasels quiet down a little.
"Don't disturb the fish" was funny to me... my fish LOVE it when I do maintenance that involves a tool in the water! It's a community tank, and they all gather wherever the tool is. They'd get bored if I didn't provide them with a bit of existential challenge like that, kind of like never allowing your child to climb a tree or ride a roller-coaster!
You guys make me feel so much more confident about my fish keeping. I have a 40 Gallon cycling right now for an Oranda and a Black Moor, and I also just bought a 10 gallon and I’m going to get a Betta and 6(ish) Cardinal Tetras for it. You guys are awesome, you have a fan for life here!!
NO LIE PROBABLY ONE OF MY FAVORITE VIDEOS ON RU-vid EVER!!!!!!!! SERIOUSLY! I TRY MY HARDEST TO DO VIDEOS FOR THE BEGINNER HOBBYIST AND PUTTING OUT VIDEOS THAT WON'T SCARE THEM OUT OF KEEPING FISH. AND I TRULY BELIEVE THAT THIS ONE IS A MUST SEE. I APPRECIATE YOU GUYS NOT COMPLICATING THING ALL TO HECK SO THAT BEGINNERS CAN FEEL LIKE THEY CAN DO WHAT WE DO TOO. KEEP UP THE THE GOOD WORK JOHN AND LISA I BELIEVE THAT THIS CHANNEL WILL ONE DAY BE NUMBER ONE AND IM NOT JUST SAYING THAT BECAUSE WE COOL IM 4-REALZZZZZ
You don't understand how much I needed this video. I started the hobby only about 2 years ago, and watching this video today has unearthed so many myths and lies that I was told and readily accepted. I have been doing 25% water changes every week on Sunday since I had this tank established. And I feel like I have wasted so much time doing water changes when I probably did not need to do them as much. You guys keep saving my life with every video. Thank you so much! 💙
I like this new format! I have been binge watching your channel for the past 5 days and I got every question right! I've learned so much from this channel, thanks John and Lisa!
Great vid. What's funny is much of your video is how I approach my 40gal, which I worked hard to reach equilibrium. Granted that "work" was more about paying close attention the tank as a whole, and far less about strict clean/change schedules.
I have learned so much since I have watching you channel. I have a 37 gallon bow front tank with a Convict, two Jewel Cichlids and a Pleco in it. I had not done a water change in a couple of years I was just adding water as it evaporated. I have a Fluvol 306 canister filter and I thought cleaning it and changing the media in the filter religiously would be enough. Then I started watching you channel and realized how wrong I was. I started by getting a master test kit and tested for nitrates and the sample was off the scale it was so dark red. So I bought a huge jug of water conditioner and stress coat and a Python type water change system with a 50 foot hose on it. I don't hook it to the sink to drain the water, I remember you saying how good a fertilizer dirty fish water is so I run the line out to various places in my front ward and drain the water there. When I do fill the tank I use a thermometer to get the temp as close as I can before turning the valve and filling the tank. It took FIVE 50% plus water changes with gravel suction to get my nitrates down between 10 and 15 ppm. My Jewels went from bland colorless fish to bright red and the fish are a lot more active. I will never let my water conditions get out of control again. Thanks for educating me.
Them and then Corey from aquarium co op are some of the best fish RU-vidrs you can find! So glad to hear you are getting started and hopefully you find as much joy in it as the rest of us do!
I live in Orlando, FL and the time-of-day per time-of-year dictates when I decide to do water changes: Winter and Spring = late-day changes (gives the water in the pipes time to absorb more radiant heat), and Summer and Fall = late morning water changes (before it gets in the high 90s Fahrenheit).
Great video! This is my absolute favorite topic in all of the aquarium hobby, fresh water and marine. “you need to do water changes… When you need to do water changes” is quite apt. Why so many hobbyist’s find it so confusing and challenging, is because it’s based off the individual chemistry and the biology specific to your system. There is no one right answer for all systems, nor is there in nature. The chemistry of your water, and the biological interactions that directly effect that water, are what determine how often you need to change it. Changing it more often is simply a more approachable tactic for many. My own system has gone months between changes while remaining in healthy parameters. How do I now that? I test it. Why do I bother? because I hate the chore of water changes. Can you do regular water changes instead? Sure! But I prefer not to. This is the important part: A hobbyist who understands the factors which enable them to go longer between water changes, ultimately means you have a more informed hobbyist who more regularly monitors the quality of their home aquariums. Why do I love this topic and get wrapped around the axel about it? I'm a biology nerd. Digging into the hard science of the water, substrate, plant, algae, and micro fauna is more fun for me than keeping the fish.
This video helped me stop stressing out over the fact that we haven't changed a massive amount of water in our tank for water changes for a long time and I was worried we were doing something wrong. We test our water ever week, and only take at most 10% of the water and that's only because we are trying to clean up the gravel (which we also do every week) and the little bit we lose from cleaning the mechanical filter media from the canister filter we use. All of the people I'd asked around me said that we were slowly killing our fish because even though the tests said our water was very good, we "needed" to do 50% water change "every two weeks" (So said one of my friends before 'joking' that she would come and steal our fish to 'save' them). Thank you so much for this video.
Love this subject it will help so many people understand the water change process so much better. Keep up the great work! Has Lisa watch this yet John lol
Although I’m late to this party, this video is quite helpful for me. After moving to a new apartment & getting unpacked in the new place, I plan to start an aquarium for the first time in 40 years & am doing my research to learn what my fish will need. There is so much new knowledge in the field & so many new “absolutes” that have popped up. Your videos are really helpful.
I’m a new subscriber and I enjoy what I see and hear. I’m very particular about my small hobby and it’s nice to know things don’t have to be perfect to take care of these little guys. I have a 130 gal. and a 25 gal., so it’s nice that we don’t have to panic if we can’t to our scheduled water change. I find since I have been giving my fish their vitamins and garlic their real beauty has proven success. I’ve had two spawning batches of Acara’s with this feeding program and the colours, size and health have been amazing. The buyers are more than impressed with these little guys. I look forward hearing more about your awesome tips. KEEP THEM COMING. 🐠🐟
I have my Python connected to the outdoor water spigot and do water changes year-round from it in Western PA. I treat while filling and I only do 10% (55 and 90 gallons) during winter every other week and fill slowly so that the temp doesn't change more than 4 degrees. During the Summer I do 40% bi-weekly and follow the same approach, treat and fill slowly. I keep F1 Frontosa and Tropheus.
Great Video and I just did my Weekly Water 💦 Change Thinking 🤔 that I was supposed to, But with the OverStocked Tank that I have and the upgrade to A FX4 this week I will Probably cut it back to maybe 1 1/2 weeks. I’m glad you and Lisa did this Video to dispel some of the myths out here on the internet 😎😎😊Keep up the good work 😎
Thanks heaps for this! Just found this channel and am finding it really helpful! I only just got my first two tanks set up and had jumped into the hobby knowing very little. When I started looking for videos to help most seem really daunting and intimidating. You guys make it all seem more approachable! Thanks again!
John’s comment about the bottle of wine was the best part of the video 😂 I’m new to the hobby and find all your videos really informative and simple to follow. The touch of slapstick humour thrown in is an added bonus.
This video is so important. When I got into the hobby about a year and a half ago I was doing multiple water changes a week and couldn’t understand why I was never cycled properly. Now I let the filters and plants handle it mostly. No water chemistry issues. Maybe change water every 2-4 weeks depending on the tank
I am glad you broached these subjects. I’m afraid to mention on a site, a fish site, that I don’t vacuum my tank every week or that I just top off my tanks most of the time. Because I’ll get yelled at! LOL I’ve been keeping fish for many, many years.
Thanks for putting this out there. I feel less like a bad fish mom. I haven’t done a water change on my 150 in 2 weeks. It’s a heavily planted community tank that is lightly stocked. When I tested the water this weekend it was 0 across the board and I don’t think it really needs a water change. I’ll probably vac it a bit this weekend and then top it off!
I love how positive and helpful you always are! As a relative novice to anything except snails, I love these short form videos, and how nice you are about people getting into the hobby when they're not experts yet. It's made me brave enough to try keep a fish. Singular, but we'll see how it goes.
ROFLOL Best line in the video and gesture "kinda like a Friday night after Lisa had a bottle of wine" ** Wiggles Eyebrows** I busted up laughing. good one
Loving the return to the green screen! Perfect form guys. It's actually better for Water to be cooler when changing. A heater can warm it but can't cool down water that is too warm. Also fish are more comfortable acclimating to cool water than warmer.
Thank you for this. I think on average we've gotten beyond ridiculous about water changes for our aquariums. We've taken what specialty and show breeders do as law for what the average hobbyist should do and it's just not true. It is a balance between stocking levels, feeding, whether there are live plants or not. I think keeping an eye on nitrates can be a decent indicator of when we need to do water changes. I think water sustainability needs to be something we seriously consider as hobbyists. I also think it's important to condition our fish to NOT need constant water changes and exact precise tank parameters or they just die. Our fish should be a joy to keep, not a ridiculous hassle requiring constant, intensive management.
Thank you! This really helps! I really admire you two & your enthusiasm for this hobby! 😊 I hope to be in a relationship like you guys! Also, please keep up the good work! I look forward for your next video!
I've heard that just topping up for compensating for the evaporation concentrates the minerals/metals/hard products, in a way that it might be an issue after a certain time. So the advice was instead of just topping up, replace a certain amount of water to de-concentrate these minerals… What is your opinion about this ? Thanks
For 2 years I’ve been doing weekly WC because the majority of “experts” tell you that’s the golden number. This video has been so informative and so helpful. I’ve been doing WC every 7 days unnecessarily. My tanks are not overstocked and my fish are small, guppies, Cory cats, koi. If life gets in the way and I go past 7 days, I start to stress. Now I can stop stressing if I don’t do a WC until day 10. Thank you for making my life easier.
Thank you for this information, i really needed it. By the way i LOVE your little puffer fish you have, he is ADORABLE and just looks so happy, i wish i was skilled enough and had a tank big enough to keep one or two.
I have well water and I've always used water conditioner for that reason! I live surrounded by corn/bean fields (literally across the road lol) and I usually have some nitrates in my tap water.
great info & i love the “true or false” gimmick… i really feel that the different water ph or temperature forces them to spawn for the sake of their survival. thanks & you guys rock🤟
Best RU-vid clip I've seen describing water changes people seem obsessed with doing this. I'm running a 120 gallon heavily planted with a moderate stocking of fish including a good clean up crew. Only top up once a week and treat only the amount of water I'm adding my nitrates normally 0.5 to 10. I will refer this video clip to my fishkeeping friends. Thanks from Norfolk England 👍👍👍
Great video!!! I wish this video had of been out when I first started in the hobby, I was the person keeping spare tanks of water when in actuality I could of had more beautiful tanks set up in their place! Live and learn...atleast until I found Lisa and this channel!! Lol
This kinda made me feel better about my horrible gravel vac skills. Knowing that i don't have too go crazy every time wont be the end of the world if i don't get it all done in one shot.
Assuming you don't over feed and/or have more fish in the tank than you should. As they mentioned, do a water parameter test both ways, to get an accurate result.
Some say water changes replicate rain season for fish .in wild when it rains it floods food and nutrients into water ways fish love breeding in these conditions
You guys are the Best! I learn so much from your videos and your simple, easy-going approach to fishkeeping. And, I love your website/store! I can tell you have a long-term marriage that works well with your business, and you seem to have a lot of fun together. Thanks!
Bottom line is keep a filter than can handle double or triple the water in your tank and you’ll save yourself a bunch of time and money. Filtration will keep your water quality and quality of your fishes in top fin shape longer ..
Great video but I have to take issue with the water conditioner point. I live in a very small Rocky Mountain town in BC, Canada. Yesterday I measured a TDS of 29ppm out of the tap. According to the water report issued by the local authorities our water contains about 25ppm of carbonates and everything else combined is only 2-4ppm depending on the time of year. We use so little chlorine that by the time it comes out of the tap it is not measurable. I am a breeder and have many tanks from 3g to 300g and I have never had to treat my water! I realize that this is likely a very rare case but if your tap or well water is clean of problem ions then no conditioner is needed. I do 90% water changes on my 300g koi growout system with no issues.
This was an awesome video thank you so much! It's difficult enough as it is getting good, reliable information about fish keeping without having people jump down others' throats for this or that. Water changes always seem to be a particularly touchy subject. This has helped me tremendously! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!!!
This is fantastic information and exactly what I have been looking for. Started using live plants 2 months ago and setup my 2nd tank, too. Having tons of fun getting into the hobby. Thank you thank you thank you. Subscribed 😁
Yes I eased up. You tube said no problem so I did smaller water changes about 2 gallons midweek and 4 gallons & siphon on Sunday and always pretreat the water. When I finally tested the nitrate was blood red. And I have algae issues if I don’t change more volume. Perhaps I need more change not less. There are 10 ember tetras, 6 ottocats and 4 nerites in a 20 gallon long. My fish store says my feeding seems okay. Several years of testing has shown zero on all parameters. This nitrate result was scary. Thoughts? Thank you for sharing. The videos are wonderful and the fish are WOW.
When you said all of them were going to die I literally thought they were going to die until he said if you don't subscribe I'm like phew I'm subscribed already Also love your guys content
Back in the 70s we did quarterly complete water changes. We boiled the gravel in a pressure cooker. Our fish never had any problems. We had a 55-gallon tank with two angelfish, one fire mouth, one black shark. and two catfish. We would scrub the whisper filter with backing soda. We kept those fish for 7 years. I think our saving grace was that we used a fresh water alga that looked like a plant that grew in Roanoke River and in ponds here in Virginia. We didn't know anything about the nitrogen cycle back then. So, using those algae kept the nitrogen bacteria in balance! I got a 30 gallon long wild Virginia tank. With two sunfish and three madtoms. I use a whisper filter and have those algae planted in the tank. My substrate is fine gravel and sand from the river. I do a 30% water change twice a month. It's a lot easier than tearing down the entire aquarium pressure-cooking the substrate, scrubbing the aquarium with backing soda, and scrubbing the filter with backing soda four times a year.
8:50 I'm so glad to have seen this. I have a 40 gallon tank (upgraded from a 10g) that has water evaporate very quickly and so I'd just top it off. The water is pristine. It's too easy of a system. Totally different from my 10 gallon
I usually put my conditioners in right when i start to refill. I made a mistake and waited about 10 minutes. It was a 55 gal that wasn't even back up halfway (i usually do large water changes without an issue) However my sensitive catfish. A pictus and a synodontis cat both went into shock before i noticed i hadn't put my conditioner in when i normally do. Also learned well water with high concentrations of gases. Caused gas bubble disease in a few of my fish but killed half my stock pretty much instantly. This is due to a temporary living situation. But now i can only refill by bucket by letting the gases escape. Or to refill with my python hose, i have to take all my fish out, refill, let the gases escape from the tank by waiting almost 30 min. Then i can re add the fish. Due to this i have only been doing about 50% water changes, refilled by bucket every 2-4 weeks. When i had City water. I would do almost 100% water changes, leave fish in and refill. As long as i added my water conditioner right away i was always good. Did that also once every 2-4 weeks
really like this video - one thing to mention about the "if your nitrates are still low you don't need to do a water change" though is fish do let out hormones that should be changed out from time to time so it's good to do one every so often even if the nitrates aren't getting up there. and also if you're just topping off and your water has any hardness to it it'll slowly increase that hardness unless you're doing water changes as well as topping off, which can be just fine, but if you've got fish that are sensitive to that, it's good to be aware of.
I love that you keep talking about Florida. I live here and it makes me laugh whenever you make fun of us. I'm just trying to keep my betta happy and ya'll just make me chuckle while I'm learning.
I have a 200 litre tropical tank. After watching this, i went from weekly water changes to a fortnightly change. After two weeks i had a silver shark die. Upon checking my numbers, my Ph, Ammonia and nitrates were very high although the numbers were perfect upon the last change. I also replaced the water with cold water and observed my larger Gourami's and silver sharks along with a bosemani huddled together in a corner not moving. I then topped up with warm water and the fish swam off.
I add warm water when I change out my discus tank and they love it. They are usually pretty mellow and relax but when I add the warmer water they just dart around and swim all around the tank, they love it but then again they prefer warmer water. I am not adding scalding hot water it's just warmer than what I would normally do for the other fish