Water Changes- To Keep You Successful

[blackteles]

After giving it some thought I felt it might be a good idea for us all to share to others what we need to do to keep our goldfish healthy in the line of water changes. Just add what you need to do to maintain zero levels of nitrites and ammonia in your tanks to ensure your fish keeping success. If this can be of help to our newer members then so much the better!

My tanks- 55 gallon, 20 gallon, 10 gallon.

50% water changes once weekly plus a thorough gravel cleaning keep nitrites and ammonia levels at zero.

[RanchuDressing]

My tanks: 46 gallon bowfront and 29 gallon.

I'm a big water changer -- 75 to 85% weekly keeps everything at 0/0/0 (nitrates will show up if I go longer than a week between water changes, which almost never happens). I never have detactable ammonia or nitrites.

Very thorough gravel vacuuming each and every time. I have two powerful canister filters on the 46 and one on the 29, so they really do take care of a lot of the debris. But as we all know, gravel loves to hold on to that crud too. I siphon till there's no more crud coming up, then siphon some more. I'm a gravel lover, so it's worth it.

[Hidr]

On my oscar and goldfish tanks I do 55 to 75 percent water changes every week. I do not have gravel in my goldfish tank. My planted tanks get small water changes every 2 to 3 weeks.

[Choochoo]

My aquariums 80,40,29,20

All goldfish,no gravel.

I do 50% water changes twice a week

[Trinket]

My tanks :

(Established for 10 years +)

72 gallon-gravel in one quarter- average stocked = 2 x 40 % weekly.

55 gallon- gravel in one quarter- understocked = 1X 70% weekly.

[cometgirl]

My 300 gallon pond is lightly stocked with 4 fish, but in summer I also have lots of tadpoles and dragonfly larvae, plus snails. I change about 30%, once a week if we haven't had any rain. I also clean the filter and vacuum the bottom once a week, rain or no. Once a month I try to empty out at least 75% and vacuum the bottom and sides, clean any leaves out and inspect the pump.

When I bring my telescope in for winter, he will be alone in a 30 gallon tank, no gravel. I change 50% once a week.

My pond comet is almost 3 years old and the other two commons are a year and a half. The telescope is approaching 2 years old.

[ashv20]

At the moment no ammonia or nitrites are turning up or nitrates so I am sticking with a vacum of the substrate which is about 20-30%

[Chrissy_Bee]

In my 55 gallon goldfish tank 50-75% change once a week. I also use a nitrate absorbing resin due to nitrates in my tap water. Filters get cleaned every other week.

For the 20 gallon tropical it's just a 20-25% change every two weeks, but that is a lightly stocked, heavily planted tank. Totally different in every way from the goldfish!

[jhortensius]

One tank, 44 gallons but more like 40 since I don't fill it to the top. One fish about 2 inches long.

The day before the water change, I fill up 14 one gallon water bottles and let them sit overnight. The next day I vacuum the gravel with my python (just a small amount of gravel, only enough to weigh down the plastic plants) and suck out the water until it's between the 25% and 50% water level marks on my tank. Then I add Aquaplus, the 14 water bottles, and Cycle. Oh I forgot to mention that I also remove all the decorations during the water change as well. It takes about 45 minutes to an hour, but it's totally worth it. I know that most members on this forum do way bigger water changes than me, but so far this has worked out well for me and my tank is understocked.

[Deahttub]

One tank, 125 Gallon, 80% or so water change once a week....

[CountryLovah]

Let's see 10 tanks?

55 gallon - 2 ranchu - weekly 50%, once a month 75% and filter cleaning/media cleaning

55 gallon - 4 orandas - 50% one week, 75% next week with filter media rinsing. Alternate back and forth between 50% and 75% changes. Filter cleaning once a month

46 gallon - 4 fish mixed. - 50% one week, 75% next week with filter media rinsing. Alternate back and forth between 50% and 75% changes. Filter cleaning once a month

38 Gallon - 3 telescopes - 50% one week, 75% next week with filter media rinsing. Alternate back and forth between 50% and 75% changes. Filter cleaning once a month

29 Gallon - 2 telescopes - 50% one week, 75% next week with filter media rinsing. Alternate back and forth between 50% and 75% changes. Filter cleaning once a month

10 Gallon - One small telescope eyed comet. Tank is too small so 75%-80% weekly, rinse media every 2 weeks, clean filter once a month.

10 Gallon - One small oranda - 50% one week, 75% next week with filter media rinsing. Alternate back and forth between 50% and 75% changes. Filter cleaning once a month

10 gallon - One oranda - Chase my lil survivor. Used to be water changes daily. Now 50% twice a week. Rinse media once every 2 weeks. Once a month 75% water change with filter cleaning..

5 gallon - One lionhead - Tank is too small but he is "disabled".. Can't get off the bottom. 100% weekly, quick swish of media each week. Once a month filter cleaning..

5 gallon - One fantail - Again tank too small but he was a fish who dropsied at the store I worked was either 5 gallon with me and get good care or who knows. So 100% weekly, quick swish of media each week, once a month filter cleaning.

I used to do 100% changed once a month. I find that as long as i keep up with the really good maintence of the filter and the 75% every other week it's not really needed that often. Once in a while I will do it but not regularly scheduled anymore.. Every since I upped the filter cleanings and got on this new schedule I find that my tanks are virtually free of build up and gunk and the fish are doing really well in general. All my tanks are barebottom. Some have a few scattered gems or river rocks. All of my tanks have minimal decorations.. A few plastic plants, no hollow ornaments. Decorations esp the hollow ones even with proper cleaning caused issues so lately I am all about health of fish and ease of maintence rather than looks of the tank. Although I still think most of my tanks are pretty! :-)

[CometKeeper]

I'm a rather "boring" Goldie keeper. After trying different varieties in aquarium systems up to 300 gallons, I am back to a single, orange metallic, Common Goldie that I love dearly. I share my Wakin with friends who have ponds and my Jikin are now making other friends happy. What can I say? The Common Goldie is my niche. Anyway, "Peach" is kept in a 65 gallon aquarium with a sump. It is filtered out the wazoo - 10X mechanical filtration plus a wet/dry system that moves another 10X of water through well planned, biofiltration - 5 gallons of bioballs, 6 of the large, Aquclear sponges and several pounds of Eheim Biospheres [submerged. There are also Biospheres and two, Biowheels on my mechanical filters. The tank is heavily planted with various anubias nana - lanceolata, nan poetite, nane roundleaf, nana coffefolia, nana congensis...

And I still do, one 50% water change and one or two, 30% water changes a week. Nitrates are always untraceable, but the addition of fresh water has Peach, glowing. She's happy! And I seem to like the work.

[Quasi]

I have a 70 gal bowfronted tank. A big and a small canister filter and the 'old' internal one (will be removed and replaced with a canister one day)

I have 7 commets in it. I see it as average stocked as my fish are all rescues. Godzilla (my biggest) is 7 and should be a foot long, instead she has a body a bit more than 5 inches.

Weekly 40% (and one of the 3 filters), Monthly 65-75% Nitrates are always 15-20 ppm. I have 15-20 ppm nitrates in tab and tank is planted.

[shellbell4ever]

My Twin Tanks; Started sept 09

2 X 20 gallon highs

2 fancy goldfish each

75% w/c 2 x a week if not more

ph 7.8

nitrites -0

ammonia -0

nitrates -0 after adding live plants