Is it okay to do a 100% water change every day?

[MuseBetta]

Tank size: 2.5 (planning on getting a larger tank soon)
So I was researching about cycling the tank and was wondering if I did a 100% water change every 24 hours would the tank have to be re-cycled?

[shellieca]

Are you running a filter on the 2.5g? When cycling a tank you don't do 100% water changes & you don't do them once a tank is cycled. I have (2) 2.5g tanks, no filters, I do 60%+ water changes twice a week with a 100% every 2-3 wks.

[MuseBetta]

Originally Posted by shellieca

Are you running a filter on the 2.5g? When cycling a tank you don't do 100% water changes & you don't do them once a tank is cycled. I have (2) 2.5g tanks, no filters, I do 60%+ water changes twice a week with a 100% every 2-3 wks.

I have a sponge filter and a 7.5 W heater. Is it okay to do a 75% water change daily? Or a 50%. Would I be changing the water too much?

[shellieca]

I would get a liquid test kit to see how often the water needed to be changed. Cycling a tank that size is extremely difficult & its not something I do.

[mld02004]

I do one 90% and one 50% each week for my non-cycled, unfiltered 2.5 gallon tanks.

IMO you don't need daily changes for a 2.5 gallon.

[MuseBetta]

Originally Posted by shellieca

I would get a liquid test kit to see how often the water needed to be changed. Cycling a tank that size is extremely difficult & its not something I do.

Oh I see. I'll definitely get a liquid test kit and does this mean the tank doesn't have to be cycled? I was worried it would be crucial for my Betta's survival

[shellieca]

If the tank were bigger I'd say its better to have it filtered/cycled BUT on a 2.5g I don't bother with filters. I'd take out the filter & just do 2 water changes each week. That's just my opinion others may think differently. What's important for your Bettas survival is warm, clean, conditioned water with good nutrition.

[juju]

I have a 2.5 G tank and I do a 50% change 3 times a week. 100% changes can be really stressful for fish and might do more harm than good. If you want your tank to be really clean, a gravel vacuum would help.

[LittleBettaFish]

You can do 100% water changes every day if you wanted. I used to do them every second day on a couple of my tanks and it never did my betta any harm.

Personally, I would also recommend the purchase of at least an ammonia and nitrite test kit. Especially if you are looking at cycling your tank. Ammonia and nitrite can stress and kill fish at only very small amounts and the only way to detect them is by testing your water.

It is possible to cycle a small tank such as this. However, many of the tanks under 5 gallons I have seen that manage to successfully hold a cycle are either overfiltered or have a lot of fast growing plants. Most tend to have both.

[callistra]

Small tanks/bowls without filters really NEED that weekly 100% change no matter how many small changes a week you do because you just can't get all the gunk/ammonia causing debris out any other way. Eventually you will be left with daily spikes of ammonia and your fish will suffer.

Actually 100% water changes aren't that stressful to fish, if you do it properly.. You should never use a net. That is stressful. You should gently scoop your betta up in a plastic solo type cup while you rinse the bowl and decor. You should use their in tank thermometer to match the old tank water to match the exact temp of the new water (running tap) and you should add conditioner and stir it up a bit. An acclimation period of an hour, while the fish floats in the cup inside the bowl and you add a couple tablespoons of new water every 10 minutes will completely remove any possibility of too fast water parameter changes. As long as the cup is opaque, stress from being in the cup is very minimal... certainly a lot less than the ammonia they would have to endure otherwise.

If you are running a filter, you never do a 100% change. It is very difficult if not impossible to try to cycle a tank under 5g. You can try, but it may never fully establish..

Cycling takes up to 2 months and during this time you should be testing daily for ammonia and nitrite and doing an extra 50% change any time either show up. In addition to this a regular 50% weekly change with siphon/turkey baster is needed. First you will see ammonia spike, then you will see nitrites. Eventually, even after a week of no water changes ammonia will stay at 0, then finally nitrites. At this point you should be left with only nitrates, which should be kept <20ppm and the lower the betta by a twice weekly 50% change with siphon/turkey baster. However, you may continually see ammonia show up despite these changes and while the filter will help breed some bb, it may just never be enough to completely eradicate all ammonia.