Do you have to do a partial water change when the tank is cycling?

Question

If not do you have to top it up because of evaporation

Answer 1

It depends on how you're doing the cycling. If you're using fish, yes, you do need to do water changes. If the ammonia or nitrite levels get too high, this could kill the fish, but you want to have some amount of ammonia and nitrite present to keep the bacteria reproducing. If you're testing the water, do a change when the ammonia or nitrite levels top 0.5 ppm. If not, do a 25% water change once a week, or two 10-15% changes twice a week.

If you're doing a fishless cycle, there's no reason to do a water change - removing the ammonia will slow down the bacterial reproduction and make the cycling process take longer.

In both types you should top off the water so it doesn't get too low - if it gets below the rim of your tank, this makes the filter work harder.

Answer 2

When I'm cycling a tank with fish I normally do a water change every three days, more is the tank is smaller or if the testing of water isn't going well. If it's without fish then I only change the water when the levels in the tank start to level off.

http://www.aquahobby.com/e_articles.php

Take a look at that site to understand what you should be doing a little better.

Also remember that if you have fish (even if you don't but it's still important) you will want to test your water levels every day for the first four weeks of a new tank and then every other day for two weeks after until you get a little better at being able to tell what's happening in the tank. Even people who have been fish keeping for years test every few days in a new tank.

Answer 3

Yes you should - You should be testing for ammonia and nitrites and doing water changes any time they get too high (preferably no more then.5 ammonia or 1 nitrite), to avoid damaging your fish. Some might tell you this will interrupt the cycle, but this is false - it may slow it down a bit, but more imortant is the health of your fish and avoiding poisoning from these toxins.

You do need to top it up every now and then or you'll run out of water!

Answer 4

I have had a tropical tank for many years now and I have never done a water change. My fish are all fine and im breeding lots of different fish.
I do top the water up every 4-5 months but thats it. I also don't add any chemicals.

Answer 5

yes ,you have to do a partial water change.

This very important cycle is the establishment of beneficial bacteria in the aquarium and in the filter media that will help in the conversion of ammonia to nitrite and then the conversion of nitrite to nitrates.

Nitrates are not as harmful to tropical fish as ammonia or nitrites, but nitrate is still harmful in large amounts. The quickest way to rid your aquarium of nitrates is to perform partial water changes. Once your tank is established you will need to monitor your tank water for high nitrate levels and perform partial water changes as necessary.

Answer 6

i just set up a new tank and my amonia levels were off the charts so the fish store owner told me to do 50% water changes to get it on track. it's still in it's cycling process so i guess it's safe. (i also added live bacteria to speed up the process.)