Any Tips For Reducing Water Changes?

[fishtanktenderfoot]

Ok, this might be considered a silly question, but I'm wanting to reduce my water change schedule. I currently vacuum poo most mornings and change 50% water every evening. I want to start doing 50% 6xweek. In other words, I want to have one day every week that I skip the water change, but I will vacuum poo twice that day instead.

I have 7 adult fish (4.5" or bigger) in a 90g with one GBR and 4 cardinals. It is well filtered, and I have been following the daily regimen for the 7 months I've had the tank stocked. All my fish have grown well in that time, and I feel pretty good about the current set up.

Anyway, any input on what I can expect? I will monitor my nitrates, but I don't really expect them to do much in one day a week. Does this equate to a heavier bio load on my filter? Am I missing anything?

I know this may not be a popular decision, but I think they're all big enough now I can do this without compromising their health. Thank you!

Steph

[MendoMan]

Only my opinion but I don't think you'll have a problem. I often skip at least one day a week and see no problems because of it.

[discuspaul]

With 4.5 inch fish, I would expect you can get by nicely with 6 -50% wcs per week, assuming the tank is not heavily over-burdened bio-load-wise. Don't worry about it.

[John_Nicholson]

That schedule will work fine. Just don't overfeed or overstock.

-john

[fishtanktenderfoot]

Thank you for the replies! I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing anything obvious. I plan to make NO changes to my current set up with regard to feedings and bio-load. It is only because I'm starting to feel comfortable with its stability (and their size) that I am willing to back off on WC. If I were to make any adjustments, I'll go back to every day. I know they are happy for the daily changes. I can see them heal fast after they beat each other up (torn fins and missing scales), so as that re-occurs, I would also up the changes. Thanks everyone! Now I have to figure out what to do with my free evening...

[alron2]

"Now I have to figure out what to do with my free evening..." How much time will this change really free up?

Ron

[fishtanktenderfoot]

Ha! That was mainly a joke, but I do spend over an hour on the process. It's pretty automated, so that time is mostly just waiting for the tank to refill or waiting for the aging barrel to refill while I play with the fish. It does mean I don't have to make sure to go home first before I head out for the evening - I can go straight from work to happy hour and not sweat the time!! I'm free! (Ok, that was another joke...)

[oliverk]

I don't do anywhere near 50% water changes 5-6 times per week, but have heavy, heavy filtration. I also do not have a great deal of time with this practice so take what I say with a grain of salt.

I monitor water quality for nitrates, nitrites and ammonia, and now constantly (Ammonia Alert hang in the tank monitor) for harmful ammonia only. I top off the tank with new water (RO or RO reject) when needed. I change water intentionally only when a) some parameter seems to be drifting towards a problem, or b) I want to use aquarium water to water plants (for the nutrient values).

I have a planted tank. Occasionally I'll vac the surface of the gravel/sand. I do have a community tank that has corys, a few tetras and perhaps too many snails.

By heavy filtration I have a sump rated at about 50% larger than my tank would normally require. It is placed in a basin filled with vermiculite and a small area open to hold a pump that feeds the sump. In the vermiculite is piping that takes some of the raw aquarium water at the bottom - so the water goes through the vermiculite that is currently planted with water chestnuts and Chineese arrow heads. Additionally, I have 1 now 2 additional trays that have vermiculite/perlite that receive water directly from the aquarium and are planted with ornamentals, watercress, Chineese Arrowheads, water spinach and the water goes through these trays and is returned to the big basin holding the sump. Water then goes through the normal sump and is returned to the tank.

The tank nets to about 100-110 gallons. Currently I am adding 3-5 gallons of water a day and maybe once or twice a week do about a 10% water change (open a valve to water other garden plants for a few hours - extracts about 4 gallons per hour and add new water at the same time RO usually also created at about 4 gallons per hour). Recently have been adding some RO reject back into the system.

Thinking about adding more trays and lotus directly into the sump.

Think my discus are doing well. Have had two batches of eggs laid - started with 10 2.5-3 juvies to grow out. Granted my practices at the beginning were a little more water changes but my filtration has been developing/maturing and expanding at the same time. Have had many generations of corys and two batches of discus eggs laid and they look like eggs will be laid again soon. The plants in the various areas of the filter, if anything, look like they could use a good feeding.

I set the tank late summer, progressively added wood, corys, tetras and in late October the 10 discus. There is some variety of size in them, but believe that the normal pecking order rather than a water quality issue.

I feed the tank so that the food is gone in 5 mins +/- but when I introduced the discus had a lot more corys than I have now. I started with 6 probably have 15 now but at one point am sure I had 100. Think the discus have been supplementing their diet with small corys.

My Nitrates and Nitrites are always steady at 0 - multiple tests, test kits and etc and ammonia is the only thing that varies a bit. I do note a marked difference recently between total ammonia and not harmful ammonia. I change when total goes above .25 even when harmful is in the safe range, or I just want aquarium water for the garden.

My wife and I eat the watercress, and plan on enjoying the arrowhead, waterchestnuts and water spinach (almost enough now - more comming). The RO reject not used in the tank are producing nice tomatoes for us! Lotus is tasty too! Of course we enjoy the lovely discus in our den and are thinking of adding 2-3 more.

So not at all the normal approach, not at all what other very successful discus keepers do, and I have only a short experience with discus this way, but it does seem to be working and uses a lot less water than 50% 6 times a week.

[Solid]

My Nitrates and Nitrites are always steady at 0 - multiple tests, test kits and etc and ammonia is the only thing that varies a bit.

This is really wierd. I've never had ammonia in any of my planted tank after it's been cycled. Plants should absorb ammonia before they absorb nitrites or nitrates, so it's intresting what is happening in your tank. Also your aqua farming filtration sounds really cool. I've always liked plants in my aquarium to suck up nitrates. I would love to see pictures of your tank and it's filtration.

[MendoMan]

I don't do anywhere near 50% water changes 5-6 times per week, but have heavy, heavy filtration. I also do not have a great deal of time with this practice so take what I say with a grain of salt.

I monitor water quality for nitrates, nitrites and ammonia, and now constantly (Ammonia Alert hang in the tank monitor) for harmful ammonia only. I top off the tank with new water (RO or RO reject) when needed. I change water intentionally only when a) some parameter seems to be drifting towards a problem, or b) I want to use aquarium water to water plants (for the nutrient values).

I have a planted tank. Occasionally I'll vac the surface of the gravel/sand. I do have a community tank that has corys, a few tetras and perhaps too many snails.

By heavy filtration I have a sump rated at about 50% larger than my tank would normally require. It is placed in a basin filled with vermiculite and a small area open to hold a pump that feeds the sump. In the vermiculite is piping that takes some of the raw aquarium water at the bottom - so the water goes through the vermiculite that is currently planted with water chestnuts and Chineese arrow heads. Additionally, I have 1 now 2 additional trays that have vermiculite/perlite that receive water directly from the aquarium and are planted with ornamentals, watercress, Chineese Arrowheads, water spinach and the water goes through these trays and is returned to the big basin holding the sump. Water then goes through the normal sump and is returned to the tank.

The tank nets to about 100-110 gallons. Currently I am adding 3-5 gallons of water a day and maybe once or twice a week do about a 10% water change (open a valve to water other garden plants for a few hours - extracts about 4 gallons per hour and add new water at the same time RO usually also created at about 4 gallons per hour). Recently have been adding some RO reject back into the system.

Thinking about adding more trays and lotus directly into the sump.

Think my discus are doing well. Have had two batches of eggs laid - started with 10 2.5-3 juvies to grow out. Granted my practices at the beginning were a little more water changes but my filtration has been developing/maturing and expanding at the same time. Have had many generations of corys and two batches of discus eggs laid and they look like eggs will be laid again soon. The plants in the various areas of the filter, if anything, look like they could use a good feeding.

I set the tank late summer, progressively added wood, corys, tetras and in late October the 10 discus. There is some variety of size in them, but believe that the normal pecking order rather than a water quality issue.

I feed the tank so that the food is gone in 5 mins +/- but when I introduced the discus had a lot more corys than I have now. I started with 6 probably have 15 now but at one point am sure I had 100. Think the discus have been supplementing their diet with small corys.

My Nitrates and Nitrites are always steady at 0 - multiple tests, test kits and etc and ammonia is the only thing that varies a bit. I do note a marked difference recently between total ammonia and not harmful ammonia. I change when total goes above .25 even when harmful is in the safe range, or I just want aquarium water for the garden.

My wife and I eat the watercress, and plan on enjoying the arrowhead, waterchestnuts and water spinach (almost enough now - more comming). The RO reject not used in the tank are producing nice tomatoes for us! Lotus is tasty too! Of course we enjoy the lovely discus in our den and are thinking of adding 2-3 more.

So not at all the normal approach, not at all what other very successful discus keepers do, and I have only a short experience with discus this way, but it does seem to be working and uses a lot less water than 50% 6 times a week.

I would love to see some pictures of your filter system/sump

[oliverk]

Here are three of the filter

filterclose_DSC_0425.jpg

Some what close of the area - you can see the new tray on the right, clear area just outside the sump with the float that measures water in the system, and the sump - the end you see is the return to the aquarium.

\filtermid_DSC_0428.jpg

Water directed into all three areas and note the right is just recently planted with water spinach - the little green dots. Note the arrowhead in the grey tub behind the sump and in the other tray, also watercress and ornamentals there as well as more spinach.


filterfar_DSC_0430.jpg

An idea of the size of the filter. The left tray has the watercress, some arrowhead ornamentals and water spinach. You can see some of the water chestnuts - spindly spiky green things coming out of the front of the grey bin..... Water chestnuts grow underneath water level kinda like potatoes and have a large well developed dense root system - perfect for water filtering - they also like warm water.

H

[Solid]

Looks like an intresting little aquaponics setup. Not sure if I could do something like that here in Miami as it gets way too warm outside.

I was thinking on why you would have ammonia and no nitrates and the only thing I can think of is that you are keeping the levels so low that you are not growing BB or not cycling. Keep us updated on how it works for you.

[oliverk]

Observing that there is substantial total ammonia native to the water here in Houston and additionally, when breaking chlorine and chloramine ammonia is produced, my thought has been that my ammonia is not from just the cycle but these two sources as well. Also explains the differential I get between total ammonia and non toxic levels I also get.

Don't know about heat, haven't gone through a summer yet here in Houston. That said my understanding is that the watercress may need to be redone next fall, but the arrowhead, waterchestnuts and water spinach are all heat summer loving. Hope so because The whole filter area is in a "Greenhouse" that runs a lot warmer than outside at times. Great in winter, but could be a problem this summer - do have fans in the walls to vacate air when needed, that I can close as well as the door during winter.

[Ken]

I have found that mint is the fastest growing plant around, I have it in my sump
It out grew some of the best/worst water weeds around

[oliverk]

Thanks will look into it. I like edible stuff, and yes I know mint is and an occasional mint julipe (sp) is nice am having trouble with lots of mint uses - maybe a mint honey sauce for smoked lamb.

Thanks again.