Is there such a thing as changing aquarium water too much?

Question

Have a debate going,Thanks

Answer 1

if the temperature is the same and your tank has the same water as your tap (no major ph/hardness difference) and you don't want to establish bacteria colonies that convert ammonias and nitrites to nitrates (which you can't really do in a small tank anyway) then change all you want. fresh water is the best way to keep ammonia and nitrites down if you aren't establishing a biological filter and the best way to keep nitrates down if you do.

just do a gravel vacuum with your water change and you are good.

Answer 2

Too many people believe a myth of old water is good. Not true. Water has little or no beneficial bacteria(BB). In healthy aquaria, the only thing "old water" has is nitrAtes. I change 50% a week. If I had the time and money for PRIME(declor), I would change 25% daily. Remember PH and temp need be close(my PH is exact and temp is close by hand). As a small african cichlid and synodontis keeper/breeder for 5 yrs, why is it I can start up a new tank(with seeded filters and substrate/rocks), and put a holding female or fry directly in the tank? No losses or stress or exp. a cycle. Its like a 100% H2O change to the introduced fish. The biggest tank I have done this with was a 125g tank(mostly 10 & 20g) and introduced 25 Lithobates ranging from 2-4"(keep in mind I used proper seed filters,etc). Its the filtration,substrate and everything in the tank(glass eventually) that has the BB, not the water. Tell your debators to change away.

Answer 3

The bacteria lives in the filter, it does not get removed when the water is changed. The only reasons a large water change could harm your fish would be if

1. they are not used to large water changes (if a fish tank is really, really dirty and you change 50% of the water the fish will go into shock. However, you SHOULD be changing 50% weekly, and if you do this constantly your fish will expect clean water!)

2. The temperature of the new water is different from the temperature of the water in the tank.

There is really no reason for the PH or hardness from your faucet to be different from the PH or hardness in your tank, if that's the water you used to fill the tank in the first place.

Answer 4

Okay, I have to get my two cent's worth in. MM is right - The store I work at has a commercial tank system - water is automatically changed at the rate of 2 gallons per hour for a tank of about 200 gallons (that's why fish in pets stores always look overstocked - most have this type of automatic water change system, plus sumps and filtration systems you wouldn't believe!). And yes, in nature water IS "changed" - by flowing streams, currents, tides, boat & animal movement, etc.

As long as the water changes are done with water of the same chemistry and temperature as that in the tank (and is dechlorinated if you're using tap water), it can be changed constantly. The constant removal of waste products, harmful chemicals (ammonia), and parasites will only benefit the fish. Is it practical? Not really - systems to do this are far too expensive for the average fishkeeper. If you had a good quality stream outside your house, with water parameters (pH, hardness, etc.)needed by the fish you wanted to keep, you could build a gravity/water pressure system, but would need a way to keep temperature constant and a good UV sterilization unit - there's a guy in Ohio that did this to raise caddisflies (aquatic insect) in his garage!

Partial water changes of 20-30% a week are far easier and cheaper and will do an adequate job of keeping the fish healthy!

(So who wins the debate?)

Answer 5

Yes because of the fact that water changes cause stress on fish. When you have an aquarium your trying to live up to the fishes natural environment, which will never have a full water change unless there is like an oil spill or some other pollution that occurs but again naturally the water filters itself. In a fish tank its different you can take that body of water out and start with new water wish means your fish have to learn how to adapt causing them stress. Full water changes are never suggested or required, tanks you be cleaned at least every 2 weeks taking out less then 50% of water in the tank. A scrub on the glass and gravel vacuum will be sufficient, if its really dirty you should clean it weekly for up 2 weeks or until it gets clean. Use Stress coat as well that helps alot and try adding some salt but the one that is in a milk carton.

Answer 6

Don't change all the water at once just do a 25-50% water change and vacuum the gravel. Changing the water gets rid of the fish's bacteria and can cause them to get sick also when changing the the water make sure that there isn't a big difference in the water's temperature because it can throw your fish into shock. Make sure to add water conditioner also. Good luck with your fish.

Answer 7

No, absolutely not, assuming you are always using water from the same source and with the same temperature, pH and hardness values. You can have a constant stream of freshwater entering one side of the aquarium and an overflow drain on the otherside to create a constant flow of freshewater into the tank. This type of system is used frequently in commercial fish farming applications.

Now, I wouldn't recommend it for the typical aquarium, but it certainly can be done.

Hope this helps settle the debate. Somebody owes somebody else lunch LOL

MM

Answer 8

Water occurring in nature has all kinds of microbes, it is moving so it is getting oxygenated, too. Fish are animals and need oxygen to survive. A tank is closed and limited. The media filter in a fish tank provides the surface exposure for the microbes to process and balance a limited amount of water that sustain fish in captivity.

There's decades worth of research involved in the balanced environment of filtration system for an indoor aquarium: see those sewage treatment plants in the cities? That's treating OUR poop and refuse so that the water can be reabsorbed into OUR environment. A fish aquarium needs the same thing. Or if you have a septic system, you need to keep the drain field operational: else you get a build up of stink, acid, and bad joo joo.

Like animals in the zoo, your fish depend on the proper balance of food and water in their radically limited, synthetic environment.
It takes about 2 months after setting up an aquarium to achieve this microbial balance, so changing water more than 1/4 tank weekly is going to destroy the microbes that convert fish poop from ammonia to nitrates/nitrites, and then (something) that won't burn/kill the fish gills (lungs) (ammonia is BAD, nitrates are BAD!).

I test the water in my 55 gallon community tank weekly and it can remain stable even without any changes for a whole month or more--I add about 2 gallons a week to offset evaporation. Eventually, the mineral deposits build up and I HAVE to dilute that; else, the media filter takes care of the cycled water.

I'm a proponent of balance/sustained tank biology. Tap water is "sterile" (sort of)...but devoid of the microbes necessary to keep fish healthy. Tap water is full of chemicals that alter even our own microbes. I have a filter system for my drinking water. And I add a couple teaspoons of the "fish protection" stuff available in quality fish stores when I change water in my fishtake to protect the fishes' slime coating from the nasty stuff we have to have in city water. If you have well water, you nonetheless need to check the mineral content (hard water).

Answer 9

No. Tub-to-tub tank methods (100% changes daily) can produce the healthiest fish. If the water temp or ph is really different it can harm the fish, but this doesn't have to do with the amount of water you change.

Answer 10

I wouldn't recommend more than two times a week for maintenance. If your fish are sick, or the tank is really dirty you can change 10 to 25% daily until it's better..