Water Changes Necessary?

[AquariumNoob]

Hello everyone!

I have a 55G that is about 2 months old. It is decently planted and not overly stocked. This is my first go with live plants! I love plants in general but never really realized I could have live plants in my aquarium until more recently. 

My question is: I see a lot of people doing water changes once a week or once every few weeks. Are water changes necessary?

I check my water parameters about once a week now because typically, they are stable. I check mostly to see if I am fertilizing too much or not enough. 

I lose some water through evaporation so I do top-offs pretty frequently. Do I still need to remove water if parameters are normal and plants/fish seem to be doing well?

Thanks!

[face]

Imo yes I stopped for like a month on my current tank because like you my water was fine according to tests but honestly it seems to do better with them there’s so much we aren’t testing for it’s worth the hassle to do at least small ones every one in a while 

[lefty o]

there are those that never do a water change. thats not for a novice, nor most long time people. are weekly water changes needed, no not really. each tank is an individual, and many things go into why/when a water change is needed. a nice well balanced out long established tank can go incredibly long times without a water change. if you are new to the hobby, i myself would suggest a bi-weekly water change of 20-30%. as your tank gets some more time on it, and you get more comfortable with it, you can try stretching it out a week or more at a time. ive been doing this a long time, and usually do a water change every two to three months in my tanks, and have pushed my large tank over a year before.

[mynameisnobody]

I never do water changes on my shrimp only tanks, however everything else gets a 50% once per week. My rainbows and goldfish loooooooooooove it.

[AquariumNoob]

On 8/25/2024 at 11:28 AM, lefty o said:

there are those that never do a water change. thats not for a novice, nor most long time people. are weekly water changes needed, no not really. each tank is an individual, and many things go into why/when a water change is needed. a nice well balanced out long established tank can go incredibly long times without a water change. if you are new to the hobby, i myself would suggest a bi-weekly water change of 20-30%. as your tank gets some more time on it, and you get more comfortable with it, you can try stretching it out a week or more at a time. ive been doing this a long time, and usually do a water change every two to three months in my tanks, and have pushed my large tank over a year before.

Thanks! Appreciate the input. I have had freshwater aquariums in the past, this is just my first larger one with live plants. We have a 15 G that has been up and running well over a year and that one, I perform water changes every 2 weeks. But didn't know what the consensus was for larger tanks

On 8/25/2024 at 11:35 AM, mynameisnobody said:

I never do water changes on my shrimp only tanks, however everything else gets a 50% once per week. My rainbows and goldfish loooooooooooove it.

Thank you!! I do have amano shrimp in this tank too, but they don't seem to be as fussy as some of the others that I've had in the past. I will probably do some water changing then. 

On 8/25/2024 at 11:17 AM, face said:

Imo yes I stopped for like a month on my current tank because like you my water was fine according to tests but honestly it seems to do better with them there’s so much we aren’t testing for it’s worth the hassle to do at least small ones every one in a while 

Thanks! I will probably start doing some then!

[Lennie]

I agree that fish and plants love it, and mostly it leads to a healthier tank overall.

Unless you have very off parameters that either stays at extreme readings of gh/ph /kh, or you face issues when you use tap likely due to readings we cannot even test at a home environment, or contains stuff like ammonia nitrite or super high nitrate, I would say do the changes.

 

 

[AquariumNoob]

On 8/25/2024 at 11:59 AM, Lennie said:

I agree that fish and plants love it, and mostly it leads to a healthier tank overall.

Unless you have very off parameters that either stays at extreme readings of gh/ph /kh, or you face issues when you use tap likely due to readings we cannot even test at a home environment, or contains stuff like ammonia nitrite or super high nitrate, I would say do the changes.

 

 

Do you vacuum your gravel with plants? Or just siphon out water? 

[Tony s]

What we can test for is not all that is going on. Organic load. Hormone load. And lots of other things there are no tests for. Water changes help to bring your water back down to a normal level. And for plants can bring in some trace minerals as well 

[Solstice_Lacer]

On 8/25/2024 at 12:03 PM, AquariumNoob said:

Do you vacuum your gravel with plants? Or just siphon out water? 

I only siphon the gravel once a mulm layer has formed on top, otherwise it's plant food.

[Lennie]

On 8/25/2024 at 7:03 PM, AquariumNoob said:

Do you vacuum your gravel with plants? Or just siphon out water? 

Currently no because my tanks are just aquasoil and sand now and I use HOBs.

When I used sponge filter, I pretty much had to. The amount of gunk stays gradually is insane. But that's not an every day type of stuff.

I no longer have to use sponge filters at this point as I took most of my fishroom down, and all remaining tanks have HOB. I also have extra 2 HOBs on hand so for an emergency setup I can use any directly with some media taken from other tanks. HOBs are much better at helping mechanical cleaning and lessen your job significantly.

 

I have never used gravel-HOB combination exactly, but I used gravel like substare, JBL Manado, for a couple years back in the days, and even with HOB and one sponge filter running together, lots of gunk stayed in it. So I believe the gravel like structure tends to have this issue. So pretty much yes, I did and would do siphoning but not every water change, once a month is usually OK and if the fish are extremely messy like BN breeding tank, more often is needed for sure.

[AquariumNoob]

On 8/25/2024 at 12:08 PM, Tony s said:

What we can test for is not all that is going on. Organic load. Hormone load. And lots of other things there are no tests for. Water changes help to bring your water back down to a normal level. And for plants can bring in some trace minerals as well 

Makes sense, thank you!

On 8/25/2024 at 12:16 PM, Solstice_Lacer said:

I only siphon the gravel once a mulm layer has formed on top, otherwise it's plant food.

Okay, thank you! I have some some bottom feeders and shrimp that have helped with that as well.

On 8/25/2024 at 12:16 PM, Lennie said:

Currently no because my tanks are just aquasoil and sand now and I use HOBs.

When I used sponge filter, I pretty much had to. The amount of gunk stays gradually is insane. But that's not an every day type of stuff.

I no longer have to use sponge filters at this point as I took most of my fishroom down, and all remaining tanks have HOB. I also have extra 2 HOBs on hand so for an emergency setup I can use any directly with some media taken from other tanks. HOBs are much better at helping mechanical cleaning and lessen your job significantly.

 

I have never used gravel-HOB combination exactly, but I used gravel like substare, JBL Manado, for a couple years back in the days, and even with HOB and one sponge filter running together, lots of gunk stayed in it. So I believe the gravel like structure tends to have this issue. So pretty much yes, I did and would do siphoning but not every water change, once a month is usually OK and if the fish are extremely messy like BN breeding tank, more often is needed for sure.

Okay thanks! I have a canister filter running, no sponge filter currently. I do use a turkey baster to spot clean some extra food buildup areas.

[Pepere]

On 8/25/2024 at 10:59 AM, AquariumNoob said:

I lose some water through evaporation so I do top-offs pretty frequently. Do I still need to remove water if parameters are normal and plants/fish seem to be doing well?

It depends….

I started with no CO2 injection and struggled with algae for a long time.  My nitrates were low. With the plant mass I had, I was having to add ferts weekly as itrates wer running out… ph, gh, kh were fine.  I wasnt changing water , just topping off…

 

I got co2 and algae decreased but did not go away…. I learned awhole lot more about plant husbandry, increased ferts a lot and went with high light, high co2 high vibrant plant growth weekly big water changes…. Water changes are helpful in fighting algae in co2 enriched tanks…

 

I still have two tanks I maintain this way, but I have two other with no co2 enrichment and I have low fertilizer amounts, much less light, and only do a 25% water change every 6 weeks or so in order to lower the water level in order to prune, replant etc…. Lowering water level to work in tank without sloshing water over the side.  I suppose I could pour that water back in, but I opt for new water…  These two tanks get minimal maintenance and are staying algae free as well..

 

A new or young tank seems to benefit from more water changes until it stabilizes.

If you start battling algae, keep in mind weekly water changes and substrate cleaning can be a helpful in getting it under control along with a whole host of other measures you can take.

[Lennie]

On 8/25/2024 at 7:26 PM, AquariumNoob said:

Okay thanks! I have a canister filter running, no sponge filter currently. I do use a turkey baster to spot clean some extra food buildup areas.

Yw

 

Food shouldn't build up on the substrate really. If you are having any sort of struggle, me and others here may try to assist you do have a healthier feeding style. If you wanna share what sort of a build up you are facing

[AquariumNoob]

On 8/25/2024 at 12:57 PM, Pepere said:

It depends….

I started with no CO2 injection and struggled with algae for a long time.  My nitrates were low. With the plant mass I had, I was having to add ferts weekly as itrates wer running out… ph, gh, kh were fine.  I wasnt changing water , just topping off…

 

I got co2 and algae decreased but did not go away…. I learned awhole lot more about plant husbandry, increased ferts a lot and went with high light, high co2 high vibrant plant growth weekly big water changes…. Water changes are helpful in fighting algae in co2 enriched tanks…

 

I still have two tanks I maintain this way, but I have two other with no co2 enrichment and I have low fertilizer amounts, much less light, and only do a 25% water change every 6 weeks or so in order to lower the water level in order to prune, replant etc…. Lowering water level to work in tank without sloshing water over the side.  I suppose I could pour that water back in, but I opt for new water…  These two tanks get minimal maintenance and are staying algae free as well..

 

A new or young tank seems to benefit from more water changes until it stabilizes.

If you start battling algae, keep in mind weekly water changes and substrate cleaning can be a helpful in getting it under control along with a whole host of other measures you can take.

Does the CO2 injection help with algae prevention?!

I did struggle with algae for the first 5 weeks or so- the tank is in a room with bright sunlight most of the day and my plants were still relatively small and young. I ended up getting a canister filter with built in UV that I run about 4 hours a day and that has helped tremendously with the algae, as well as floating plants. I was utilizing liquid CO2 booster, but after further research, I read that it can be bad for snails and shrimp- so I stopped that. I'm curious to know though, if I turn off my UV light completely, if the algae will come back or if my tank is more balanced now. I struggle with wanting to fertilize the plants and provide nutrients but also become worried that i'll have more algae blooms.

On 8/25/2024 at 1:03 PM, Lennie said:

Yw

 

Food shouldn't build up on the substrate really. If you are having any sort of struggle, me and others here may try to assist you do have a healthier feeding style. If you wanna share what sort of a build up you are facing

Thank you! It is mostly from repashy and snello that i put in the tanks, so when the fish eat it or the snails are eating, it creates a small pile of "crumbs" around the actual piece of food!

[Pepere]

On 8/25/2024 at 1:34 PM, AquariumNoob said:

Does the CO2 injection help with algae prevention?!

CO2 allows the plants to grow faster and hence outcompete the Algae…. Assuming everything else  is amenable to the plants….  Thats the key…   I really cant praise the 2 hr Aquarist website enough for learning how to control algae.

https://www.2hraquarist.com/blogs/algae-control

 

CO2 can be a useful tool in the toolbox, but it is not a magic bullet… I dont think there are any magic bullets.  You have to have a suitable fertilizer regimen, calcium, magnesium, appropriate lighting etc… and then once you settle on a setup, work at keeping it very stable…   Plants optimize themselves for current conditions….  Change the conditions and plants expend time and energy reprogramming for new leaves.  They tend to stop defending old leaves if conditions change and the old leaves will leak organics from the margins and algae will love that.. by and large, leaves infested with algae tend not to recover…

I have some Easy Carbon on hand, but rarely use it .  I might use some after a whole tank hydrogen peroxide treatment as a 1, 2 punch…  I never really was too impressed with daily use of it to knock back algae…

 

[Lennie]

On 8/25/2024 at 8:34 PM, AquariumNoob said:

Thank you! It is mostly from repashy and snello that i put in the tanks, so when the fish eat it or the snails are eating, it creates a small pile of "crumbs" around the actual piece of food!

you can try feeding snellos and bottom dweller tabs on a feeding dish. 

You can check bigger size shrimp feeder dishes or stuff like @Chick-In-Of-TheSea use below

 

[MrGibson]

I guess I don't have I can add that hasn't been said, but what I've found is that it really depends on how the tank is set up and run, and who the aquarist is.  I personally don't do water changes super frequently but I've set my tanks up to be able to do that with a very heavy plant load and relatively light stocking. Often when I do water changes it's because I want to work on a tank and not because it's in dire need of one.  I'd say in most cases water changes are generally good as long as you're not doing anything unusual or extreme. As has already been said I think water changes are much more important when it comes to fresh hobbyists.  That said over my time in the hobby I've settled into an unscheduled loose structure of doing a water change when I want to, or because I see something that indicates I should either through observation or testing. I think that many hobbyists follow a similar path and have great success, and others maintain a strictly regimented schedule and also have much success.  I largely think that there's multiple ways to do pretty much everything in the hobby, and I am hesitant to buy into anyone saying there's exactly one correct way to do something, water changes included.

[Luciferkrist]

I think we all have an answer, and nobody agrees 100% as we can see.

There are obvious advantages to doing frequent, occasional, sporadic, or no water changes. The biggest factor in if you can go farther between changes is going to be the bioload to filtration. Plants will count toward your filtration, and your flow rate will affect the overall effectiveness too.

My fish breed and plants grow better in tanks I change less frequently, but my fish are more active and outgoing in tanks I change more frequently - but this could just be based on the species kept in each. 

I usually only do major water changes if I have a mass die-off or outbreak, or notice some water coloration changes, as the parameters rarely change appreciably. 

I clean/clear my filtration more than I change water. Don't replace the media, just rinse it out and remove debris.

Honestly... my shrimp are my best indicators, as I have them in all my tanks. If I see them out and about cleaning hardscape or glass - everything is going fine. If I don't see them, or they are huddling in groups and harassing my fish - time for a 10%-25% change.

[TheBlueBeetle]

I'll sometimes go 3 weeks at most on my larger tanks if the parameters are good. In that case, I just to it to replenish depleted minerals.

[Beach Cruiser]

Certain livestock may necessitate frequent water changes.  I've never seen a successful Discus tank that didn't.