Mighty Prawn Posted December 21, 2005 Report Share Posted December 21, 2005 What do you guys reccomend is best for keeping a tank? I get conflicting answers. What % of water changes and how frequent, how frequently, if ever, should you clean a filter? I clean the intake tube off every second day or so, but what about the inside? Should I clean my biomax bag? It has brown stuff on it. What about vacuuming gravel? With water changes, or less frequent? What about replanting plants? Some of my stuff grows fast, and I trim it off halfway and replant to create a more dense growth. Saves money, too ;-) What do you guys reccomend? I keep 3 dojos and some platies, going to add maybe a few rainbows, and some shrimp. -Hideo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vallisneria Posted December 21, 2005 Report Share Posted December 21, 2005 This is my schedual. I do a gravel vac with each water change. I use a python so its not hard to do. 90g african- 30%(or more) weekly due to it being a bit over stocked. I clean the filters about once a month and rinse the sponges 58g planted- 30% every 2 weeks. I clean the filters about WC since they get pretty gunked up on this tank. I also rinse the sponges. I dont' have many plants that need to be replanted(i keep crypts,java fern adn swords) So i dont' do much plant maintnance, besides pruning the odd leaf. My smaller tanks get weekly 30% water changes and my fry tanks get 20-30% every couple days. The smaller tanks filters usually dont' have to be cleaned out too often, as they dont' get too dirty but i rinse the sponges about 1-2 times a month depending how they look. So thats my schedual Some people do their water changes based on Nitrate numbers but i prefer to stay ahead of the game by doing weekly maintnance. I barely ever measure my nitrates but did so last week and they measure >10ppm in my over stocked 90g. So my schedual must be working. Your water change schedual will depend on your tank size, stocking levels and plants. You might get away will doing WCs less frequently or you might have to do them more often. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronrca Posted December 21, 2005 Report Share Posted December 21, 2005 (edited) lol! Im quite sure that you always will get conflicting answers. In reality, there is no right or wrong answer....well except perhaps doing no maintaince. There are a lot of factors involving the tank maintaince like species, feeding, etc. The best indicator will be your water parameters and the fish themselves. It is important to keep a tank 'clean' however to what point becomes the question. Does this mean daily cleanings? Bi-weekly? Weekly? Monthly? Again, depends on your tank and what your putting in like food. If you tend to feed a lot, you will need more maintaince as there is more uneaten food perhaps and more fish waste aka pooh! % of wc? Again, dependant on your water parameters and feedings. Naturally, there are many factors but it comes down to your responsibilty and decision. Some ppl are 'hardcore' fish keepers that keep their tanks immaculatly clean and will strongly suggest you must do the same. While tank maintainance is a very important part of keeping fish, you dont want it to become a boring, time consuming chore that becomes a pita. Since I raise discus, my wcs are 50-75% daily and cleaning the bottoms/filters (not bio filters however) daily as well. In my 90G planted, its weekly to every 2 weeks with a 40% wc plus vacuuming and cleaning mechanical filters. Edited December 21, 2005 by ronrca Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toirtis Posted December 21, 2005 Report Share Posted December 21, 2005 Water changes should be about 30% every 5-10 days, depending on type of fish kept, bioload, filtration, etc.....filter media (including biomax) should be rinsed every water change or every second one. Vacuuming gravel should occur with water changes, but is pretty much moot if you have a heavily-planted tank. Frequent water-changes keep certain dissolved chemicals (like nitrates) at low levels, which goes to healthier plants and fish (very frequent water changes equal quick growth in young fish). Replanting/trimming plants like that is just fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thefishdude Posted December 21, 2005 Report Share Posted December 21, 2005 90g african- 30%(or more) weekly due to it being a bit over stocked. I clean the filters about once a month and rinse the sponges I do basically the same with a Fluval 403 and a AC500 for filtration Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanker Posted December 21, 2005 Report Share Posted December 21, 2005 45G planted (heavily): w'c 25% bi-weekly, XP2 foam rinsed out weekly, vacumming never picks up much, save for the last 'pleco string' or two. 33G cichlid: I have had this for two weeks now, and have done one w/c of about 10% just enough to clean the mess up. Today they'll get a 20-30%, depending on what the nitrates are at. This tank has my only "insert" filter media, with four pads. Two of the pads will be changed every two weeks as per the manufacturer's instructions until I can gather up enough experience with it to know if I can get away with going longer. All other tanks with sand bottoms: 20% w/c w/ vacuuming weekly, all on sponge filters. Betta tanks are the exception, w/c every two weeks at 75% (no filters, just snails for clean up) All other tanks with bare bottoms: 50% w/c weekly, scrub the bottom previous to the vacuuming, rinse sponge filters. These are fry and grow-out tanks so they are kept to a slightly higher level of clean. My personal rule of thumb is if I think it needs a water change... test it. If there is higher nitrates than you think there ought to be... do a w/c. If you're happy with the levels, then go watch TV. I also let algae tell me what is happening in the tank... unless it's planted it can be kind of a good 'visual' indicator. What filter are you running? 'biomax' is for Rena isn't it? That should be changed monthly, and rinsing the bag will not do much for you (after the first while, it becomes little more than a bag of useless rocks). I do not run anything in my Rena except foam pads and floss... and it rocks. SO much cheaper, too. For vacuuming, after the first couple of times, you'll quickly learn where the current makes 'deposits' and where the plants will 'use' them... for example, the only places I have to vacuum my planted tank is the one corner under the intake. The rest of the tank is completely covered either by driftwood or pygmy chain swords and they cannot be vacuumed without tearing them up. The pleco's 'cave' is quite close to the filter intake and the current pulls the 'rope' under the driftwood and coils it neatly in the corner. Quite handy! One swoop in there and I'm done... nothing else to do than stand there waiting for enough water to drain out before flipping the Python valve. (Why did I EVER use buckets??? Every new fish tank 'kit' should come with a Python.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted December 21, 2005 Report Share Posted December 21, 2005 Just a question... when you rinse your sponges, do you do so in tap water, or old aquarium water? I've heard that tap water is OK; but I've also heard that it's a total no-no. I usually do so in a bucket of tank water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanker Posted December 21, 2005 Report Share Posted December 21, 2005 I'll usually use two buckets of treated tap water. I fill them first, while setting the temp for the Python, and let them settle. Then After filling everyone's tanks back up, I rinse out the foams in a two-step process with the most sensitive tanks first and finishing up with the Rena pads. By the time all are done the first bucket is gross, while the second is actually pretty good... considering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vallisneria Posted December 21, 2005 Report Share Posted December 21, 2005 I try to do it in tankwater but i mostly end up rinsing it under the tap since its quicker. It probably isn't the best but i've never had problems from it. In my smaller tanks and fry tanks i make sure to rinse in tank water since hurting the bio filter in a smaller tank would have a bigger impact.I also dont' want to risk any fry. But mostly i just rinse my 90g and 58g's sponges under the tap. Dont' water changes remove more then just nitrates? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanker Posted December 21, 2005 Report Share Posted December 21, 2005 Dont' water changes remove more then just nitrates? Sure, but they are a good guide IMO. The more ammonia/nitrite processed, results in more nitrate, right? Of course, I could be completely off my rocker, here, too... My theory is that a high load will cause nitrates to rise faster, which indicates to me that a w/c and maintenance would be required more often... a lighter load (or balanced with flora, etc) would lead me to leave the w/c a little longer without worrying as much. eg. a planted tank of decent size and light fish load may increase it's nitrate by say 5ppm per week, whereas a similar sized tank with similar load of fish without plants may rise 10ppm per week... so if I only had time to do one w/c, I'd obviously head to the tank where production is higher. The numbers will vary widely from tank to tank based on set up and stock, but by using nitrates as a rough guide, the tank may not be 'ideal' but will not go 'neglected'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albert_dao Posted December 23, 2005 Report Share Posted December 23, 2005 (edited) Here's my schedule on all tanks regardless of size or contents. Once evern two weeks: 40-50% water change via vacuum. Retain some of the water in a bucket. Rinse out all media in the aforementioned bucket. Change media as necessary. Replace media into the filter. Scub tank with a pad or razorblade where necessary. Add conditioner to the tank. Top off with water that is the same temp or slightly warmer than the tank water. Wipe outside surfaces of the tank, using a razorblade where necessary. No debating about nitrates and bioloads, just do it. You will be left with water that is sparkling and a stable biofilter. I love fat chicks. Love them hard. Most of you do too. Edited December 23, 2005 by albert_dao Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mighty Prawn Posted December 23, 2005 Author Report Share Posted December 23, 2005 Hahahaha, that last touch was magic. -Hideo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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