WC

[Rhinoboy38]

ok this last month has been VERY busy for me and i went 3 weeks without a wc............ now they survived and where ok with no signs of stress and now that im not as busy im gonna be doing it 2 times a week, now my question is this....... what should i do if i have to go a long time between water changes and what should i do when i can do the water change. anything special?

[Cosmo]

Rhino, this is heresay, so keep it between us :p

First, gotta say, I can't imagine going three weeks without a WC... I feel guilty as sin going 3 days, but ... having said that... if I were ever to need to go an extended period of time (which I really can't imagine, but) I'd put multiple bags of Chemi-Pure in a cannister and let it run 24/7... no substitute for a WC, but it will help keep the water quality up much better than carbon or no WC at all.

Actually, when not medicating, I like to keep some Chemi Pure in one of the filters anyway.. keeps the water crystal clear and seems to keep the fish happier ( awwwww :) ) They say it's good for 4 to 6 months, but I don't let it stay in longer than a month tops... just in case :)

Jim

PS... did you sleep during this time period ?? if so, there was plenty of time for a WC :D :D

[RAWesolowski]

Bad, Rhino, bad! LOL...

Sometimes things just get beyond you! Now, to get back to a regular schedule, do not do a massive water change! Do daily water changes of 10 to 20% per day for a week. The smaller water changes will minimize the difference between your water source and aquarium. It will minimize osmotic and pH differences and is less likely to stress your fish.

[Howie_W]

ok this last month has been VERY busy for me and i went 3 weeks without a wc............ now they survived and where ok with no signs of stress and now that im not as busy im gonna be doing it 2 times a week, now my question is this....... what should i do if i have to go a long time between water changes and what should i do when i can do the water change. anything special?

Hi Rhino,

If you are feeding your fish everyday, then they are producing waste everyday as well. Even if your schedule has you pressed for time, you need to practice a regular cleaning regimen...2 times a week doesn't really help if you plan on keeping your fish.

We all have other things to do, including trips, vacations and being away from home. However, if you are going to go long periods without regular water changes then sooner or later the fish are going to suffer.


Howie

[Rhinoboy38]

well i probly could have made time but AL told me and im not tring to be bad discus raiser to get to learn discus and how they act. now this is what happened in the 3 weeks. first after a week the algea boomed and then after a week it faded. now there where no signes of dangerous levels of nitrates, nitrites and ammonia but there was a little rise but when away bye the 3rd week. so i think it could have done more good then bad in the few weeks cause my bio load was strenthened. now i did the water tuesday night and now i will do it today......

[ShinShin]

If there isn't a drastic pH difference between your tank water after 3 weeks of no WC's and the water you are adding, I would change 90% of it. The problem with large volume WC's arises when the pH drops due to the bioload accumulation from no WC's. pH shock is the only problem that would cause your discus any problems.

If you have storage water, adjust the pH accordingly if need be, then go for it. Lay them on their sides if you like. I do it all regularly with no problems. If you run straight from the tap and pH difference is a problem, then 10-20% everyday, as suggested already, for a week or until the pH difference is 0.2 obtained.