How often should i do a partial water change in a 5 gallon tank?

Question

I have 1 fish in there..theres also a filter and heater...no live plants..

I was wondering as to how often i should be doing a partial water change and approx how much of a water change should i be doing?? 25 % or 50% and after how long like every week or every 2 weeks

All suggestions are most welcome
thanks in advance.

no i never even heard of the website aquariacentral.com....

also another reponse to I_want_a_kitty_cat!!!
Just beacuse theres another question on the website like mine doesnt neccesarily mean i asked it...im sure this is a very common question that lots of newbies ask in the beginning...also even if i did ask this quesiton on whatever website u mentioned..its really none of YOUR business...we're here to answer questions...not ask each other about our question HISTORY!

Answer 1

you only need to do a water change about every six month with a filter. Too many water changes gets rid of the beneficial bacteria in you tank. 25% is good and every 3rd change or so do like a 65% change but never more than that.

Answer 2

Can you give the goldfish away or something? Unless you have hundreds of dollars to buy a 75 gallon tank. For me with fish and proper food and everything for a 29 gallon tank, it was a couple hundred dollars, and you need much more for a bigger tank like the minimum for goldfish which is 75 gallons. Unless you can upgrade as it grows. You should start out with a 20 gallon and upgrade from there. But if you aren't going to get a 55 at least, then you should give him away to a proper home. For now, do 50% water changes every 3 or 4 days. EDIT: You really should give away the goldfish. But, hermit crabs require tank sizes 5-10+ gallons. It depends on which hermit crab. Land hermit crabs need 10+ gallon tanks, but you should get 20+ to have a group of about 3 or 4 hermit crabs. In a 10 gallon you can only get 2 which is fine, but it's really small. And I only know of saltwater underwater hermit crabs, which need about 5 or more gallons. Something for a 1.5 gallon tank is a snail, thats about it. Oh and shrimp. But if you want a fish, can you get a 5 gallon tank and heater and filter and stuff and buy a betta.

Answer 3

In a small tank the water parameters can fluctuate more quickly than a larger tank. The water will get polluted quicker therefore you will need to do more frequent water changes. For good tank maintenance, you should change 20% of the water weekly in a larger tank (what I do for my 30g and 20g). With a 5 gallon tank, I'd do a 20% change twice a week. You could even change a little more if you want. The beneficial bacteria lives in the gravel and on the filter media so unless you disrupt that you will not have a problem. Remember to dechlorinate any new water you add. You can get a test kit for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. Your ammonia and nitrite should both be 0, and the nitrate should be below 40ppm. If any of those numbers are off, you need to do more frequent or larger water changes. Smaller, more frequent changes are better for fish than large, infrequent changes.

Answer 4

Never more than 25% unless you want to really upset the bacteria balance in your tank. It's a very small tank so every 3 weeks should be more than enough.

Answer 5

You should change about 50-75% every three weeks. Be sure not to feed your fish too much because it will cause this white fungus thingy to form. It will also cause the fish to poop a lot and you'll have to clean the tank more. Hope that helps!

Answer 6

About one third to a half of the of the water, every 3 weeks. If you get more fish, change it every 2 weeks.

Answer 7

every 2 weeks about 25% because you have no plants. Plants help cycle tanks and also create microorganisms that your fish will eat.

Answer 8

Do you do aquariacentral.com cuz I saw a question EXACTLY like that there... please answer that.

I'd say 25-35% every two weeks. DON'T CLEAN IT EVERY 6 MONTHS LIKE SOMEONE ELSE SAID! That will kill your fish!