Oldfishlady water change recommendations

[nel3]

very good sticky OFL. it seems like i do water changes a bit more frequently than that in your post. is my water too clean? i do 1 50%wc weekly gravel vac on the 5g cycled. the 3.4gkks and 2.5 get 100wc every 6-7 days and 4-5 days respectively. the sub 5g tanks are IAL water and ive never had much luck keeping IAL water ph levels the same with 50WCs. after the 7 or 5 days the waste is noticalble when the water is removed.

[asukabetta]

Thanks!!!

[NormaCarts]

Hello,

Can you tell me when adding the new water to the tank (based on a 54l tank with a filter) what should be added if anything to the new water going back into the tank?

[Oldfishlady]

Originally Posted by NormaCarts

Hello,

Can you tell me when adding the new water to the tank (based on a 54l tank with a filter) what should be added if anything to the new water going back into the tank?

Dechlorinator

[NormaCarts]

Thank you I did think so but thought I best check

[Greylady]

Thanks OFL! As always, tons of great info! I have learned so much from you.

I was wondering... I've learned that in a cycled tank, one type of good bacteria will "eat" the ammonia and release nitrites, and a second type of good bacteria will "eat" the nitrites and release nitrates. I also know that if these are not available the good bacteria can starve and you will lose your cycle. If this is correct, my question is, how do I know if my tank is producing enough ammonia / nitrites to keep the good bacteria strong? I have live plants which I know will use up some of the ammonia and only one betta, 2 ghost shrimp and some MTS. If I test for ammonia and it's 0 as it should be, how does the bacteria "feed" to produce nitites and then nitrates?

Also I'm still a little confused about using Prime, which I use for my wc's. I know Prime does not really "remove" ammonia but changes it to a non toxic form called ammonium, however this ammonium may still show up on my API Master test kit as ammonia. The water straight from my tap shows .25 ammonia. So when using Prime, how do I know if the ammonia registering on the test after a water change is ammonia or ammonium? Do I need another type of test kit to know if there really is ammonia in the tank?

Also, if Prime only neutralizes the ammonia for 24-48 hours, does that mean that 2 days after my partial water change the ammonium changes back to ammonia? And if so, do I then need to test again and possibly use prime again? And if so, if I keep changing the ammonia to ammonium using the prime, where will the ammonia the good bacteria need to survive come from? Or does the good bacteria also eat ammonium? It seems like such a vicious cycle and I seem to keep confusing myself! Lol

I hope this is OK to ask these questions on this thread, if not, would a moderator please move it to the correct place? Thanks so much.

[Oldfishlady]

Both the BB and plants will/can use the ammonium-the prime neutralizes the ammonia to make it safe for the livestock.

Our testing products only test at a ppm level and you will always have some ammonia and other byproducts in the tank to support the BB.

Generally, what we look for to tell us cycling stage/completeness is the nitrate reading, however, with some species, numbers and growth state of live plants-it can take a long time if ever to see the nitrate reading we generally look for-The cycle is still happening-its silent...

Once you have an established nitrogen cycle/bio-filter any ammonia/ammonium should be taken care of fairly quickly by the bio-filter and since you have live plants-they are taking care of things too.

One of the best water testers IMO/E...Is the fish along with the power of observation-By understanding normal behaviors-we will be able to spot abnormal behaviors quickly so to intervene-Regardless of water test results-when you have abnormal behaviors-the treatment will be the same....Water change.......and by waiting on test results- it might be too late...Test the water-but make the water change while waiting on the results-that is what you will do anyway when you have skewed results....

[Greylady]

OK cool, thanks so much!

[sareena79]

so if I have a 2 gallon, unfiltered with ONE plant (roots only in water, leaves above surface) and I do a 100% water change every monday is that ok???

[Oldfishlady]

Originally Posted by sareena79

so if I have a 2 gallon, unfiltered with ONE plant (roots only in water, leaves above surface) and I do a 100% water change every monday is that ok???

Is this a bamboo plant...if so, yes, however, I would add a 50% water only mid week along with the 90-100% you are doing-unless the plant is growing really good-Then a 1-2 time weekly 50% would be all that is needed....but it need to be growing really good and you see new growth on the plant at least weekly.

Bamboo, peace lily, ivy and what I like to use-cuttings from my weeping willow tree to root out-can help maintain water quality and use excessive nutrients in the water column to help prevent algae problems-But the key word being..active growth-otherwise they can become part of the water quality problem.