90% weekly water changes

[rebel]

Drip system FTW,

 

[Halley]

Would you get the same benefit of a drip system in a heavily planted tank?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Aqua360]

I used to syphon then refill. But I can tell everyone hates the syphon because as that happens the water level drops and everyone hides / goes very still. I think this stresses them. Then during the refill everyone comes out and plays, sometimes even trying to swim into my hose.

So lately (ppl who disagree with large water changes close your eyes) I have been thinking of attempting a simultaneous syphon / refill with separate hoses. Just like a real life flowing river right?

good theory in practice, but i imagine you'd end up taking out some of the fresher water as well; not changing as much water as you would like.

I usually aim for water changes at just over 50%, to combat climbing nitrates etc. I don't do that in tanks with shrimp though, since those minor fluctuations mentioned above, can easily kill shrimp. An interesting notion on the python water changer (which i used up until recently), is that i only like to put in water from the cold tap; whenever hot water is pumped in it's cloudy and makes me suspicious of the hot water tank or whatever. That's obviously a reason individual to me, but food for thought if you have copper pipes etc and inverts

 

[ian_m]

but food for thought if you have copper pipes etc and inverts

Think about it, the copper pipes cannot dissolve in any significant quantity or else we would all be living in flooded houses where all the copper pipes have dissolved away !!! Yes some copper does dissolve but generally this is due to contamination settling in the pipes and reacting with the copper, especially true of water is allowed to stand in pipes for a long time (years usually). Any flowing water will remove contaminants and any water hardness (or phosphate dosing in soft water areas) will coat the pipes and prevent any chemical access to the copper.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

whenever hot water is pumped in it's cloudy

This is likely to be due to the low solubility of gases in warm water, and is just a fine suspension of CaCO3 particles.

Because carbonate solubility is dependent upon the concentration of CO2 in the water, and gases are less soluble at higher temperatures, warm hard water can hold less CO2, and this means that CaCO3 is precipitated.

Any flowing water will remove contaminants and any water hardness (or phosphate dosing in soft water areas) will coat the pipes and prevent any chemical access to the copper

Ian is right, because the limits on <"EU lead (Pb) are so low">, the water companies use techniques (<"PIMS">, NaOH addition) that eliminate the chance of lead getting into the water supply, and these techniques also reduce the levels of zinc (Zn) and copper (Cu)

cheers Darrel

 

[Aqua360]

Hi all,This is likely to be due to the low solubility of gases in warm water, and is just a fine suspension of CaCO3 particles.

Because carbonate solubility is dependent upon the concentration of CO2 in the water, and gases are less soluble at higher temperatures, warm hard water can hold less CO2, and this means that CaCO3 is precipitated. Ian is right, because the limits on <"EU lead (Pb) are so low">, the water companies use techniques (<"PIMS">, NaOH addition) that eliminate the chance of lead getting into the water supply, and these techniques also reduce the levels of zinc (Zn) and copper (Cu)

cheers Darrel

this is good information

 

[roadmaster]

I think most of what you say is true but..... there is the issue of how the water change is done and how long it takes.
For instance - if Fred carried out a 90% water change in his 300lt tank, after around 80% of the water change, his discus would by lying on their side ..... & for how long?
My point is not about the how much water is changed but the fact that any fish will be left in very little water, in my opinion this will cause them stress!
If Fred had a system that allowed 300lt (or 100%) of treated water to trickle in every 24 hours without the tank level dropping, then that would be great....
I think the more standard 50% is set mainly for the benefit of the fish, if we were discussing a 'plant only tank' then I can see no reason to limit any size water change.

Agree,Can think of no instance where 90 % water change was needed in any of the tank's I have run for year's now.
Maybe accidental spill of fish food container or medication might make me consider it.