Can too many water changes be harmful? Daily 50% WC’s.

[DustinJWagner]

Hi all! I’m keeping a group of juvenile fancy goldfish in a 55 gallon aquarium with the goal of maximizing show quality color and growth. I’d like to provide them with very pristine water. Due to the higher feedings I’m feeding out to maximize their growth, I had thought about doing 50% WC’s daily. I enjoy changing out the water and find that it’s a nice time for me to unwind and observe the fish, so I wouldn’t consider it a chore. We all know the benefits of water changes, but can any harm result if they are performed too often? Thanks for your thoughts.

Edited May 15, 2022 by DustinJWagner

[Ken Burke]

I’ve heard of discus breeders that do 50-75% daily wc.  
 

not sure how necessary it is, and you would go through a lot of water that way.  Have you thought about testing daily for, say, one week. It would give you a feed for how fast things are changing.  Then you can build a water change regimen that would lead to burnout, but provides the end result you want….

[modified lung]

Unless the basic parameters of the new water is dramatically different than the old water, you should be fine. The momentary stress can push some weak or unhealthy fish over the edge but healthy fish shouldnt have a problem.

[nabokovfan87]

On 5/14/2022 at 6:50 PM, DustinJWagner said:

Hi all! I’m keeping a group of juvenile fancy goldfish in a 55 gallon aquarium with the goal of maximizing show quality color and growth. I’d like to provide them with very pristine water. Due to the higher feedings I’m feeding out to maximize their growth, I had thought about doing 50% WC’s daily. I enjoy changing out the water and find that it’s a nice time for me to unwind and observe the fish, so I wouldn’t consider it a chore. We all know the benefits of water changes, but can any harm result if they are performed too often?

The advice I will say is to test your parameters daily for the first 2 weeks until you find out if there are deficiencies. Some farms do 100% WC daily. The RATE of change might be so slow that the fish can handle it. The goal is to not shock the fish and to ensure that the water itself doesn't crash.  At the rate of what you're talking about, you're basically changing water as your filter in lieu of running a traditional tank. So the filter is basically there for oxygenation for the most part. This is putting it "simply", but hopefully that clarifies a bit about what you're doing.

Check out the Jack Wattley Discuss tour.
 

 

[WhitecloudDynasty]

To maximize their growth I would feed them a few times a day with small amount. You can do 50% waterchange daily..theyll get use to it.

I use to breed alot of Ryukin and kept 100s in a 110 stock tank..they would get 100% water change daily but it was drip in.

Just remember quality food, water quality, high lv dissolved oxygen, and exercise is what you should aim for

[Minanora]

@WhitecloudDynasty has a great point there. Exercise is important! You want them to develop with a strong foundation.

[gardenman]

Just remember that a 50% water change in a 55-gallon tank will use 10,000+ gallons of water per year. That can get a bit pricey if you're buying your water. It can also be a bit wasteful if you live in a part of the country with limited water supplies. Is it bad for the fish? No. Some places use flow through systems where there's a constant influx of fresh water. What you have to decide is what do you "need" to do. If you need to change 50% daily, then go for it. If your fish do fine with 50% once a week, then that's fine also. If they do fine with 10% once a month, that's also fine.

[Jeff]

If you want constant, pristine water; I would suggest an RODI unit. That'll strip the water of everything.