# Changing water in aquarium



## theblitz (Nov 2, 2011)

From what I saw elsewhere it is advised that if u have a lot of fish you should be replacing water at the rate of approx 50% a week. 
That seem like an aweful lot of water in a 30 Gal aquarium.

When replacing the water, does the new water need to be pre-filtered?
I just replaced 1/2 my water and ran all the new water through the filtration system into the aquarium rather than just pouring it in.
Is that necessary?


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Not needed. All that is needed is that you put enough water traetment (dechlor) in the tank for the new water. It is not necessary to treat prior. Just put it in the tank before you add the new water.

For me, 50% for a 30g would be easy. It's abut 12-13g. I have been doing it a while though. I do 50-70% weekly on all my tanks. You'll get used to it.


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## theblitz (Nov 2, 2011)

Do I have to add the dechlor straight into the water? Is the 4-part filter not enough?


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Dechlor needs to added. Your filter will not remove chlorine. If you're pouring untreated water into your filter the chlorine will kill the beneficial bacteria that is trying to grow there. Not a good thing to do and especially bad if your tank is still cycling.


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## holly12 (Apr 21, 2011)

Not to mention that the chlorine will kill the fish too.


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## Summer (Oct 3, 2011)

I have a 29 gal and a syphon makes it so much easier to change out the water.


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

I change out 50% of my water as well.I dont pre filter it,but I do add dechlorinator to make it safe for the fish.Otherwise theres a chance the fish may die from the chlorine in the tap.


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## HFGGHG (Aug 28, 2011)

You can fill a few plastic gallon milk containers with water. Let them sit for 24 to 48 hours and this gets rid of the chlorine. I change about 15% of my water weekly in the 29 gallon tank and vacuum. I then pour 5 to 6 gallon containers of water in the tank then treat the entire tank with H20 conditioner, Stress Coat and Stress Zyme. I pour in a couple tsps. of 
FloraPride too, for the plants !


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## theblitz (Nov 2, 2011)

I talked to the guy in the shop yesterday and he claimed that a 10% change every week is plenty. I think this is partly due to the power filter I have.

Did a 50% change Saturday cos I hadn't done one at all.
Yesterday I did an ammonia check and got a zero level.
I'll see what happens if I make 10-15% changes for the next few weeks.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

theblitz said:


> I talked to the guy in the shop yesterday and he claimed that a 10% change every week is plenty. I think this is partly due to the power filter I have.
> 
> Did a 50% change Saturday cos I hadn't done one at all.
> Yesterday I did an ammonia check and got a zero level.
> I'll see what happens if I make 10-15% changes for the next few weeks.


The next thing you need to do is stop listening to the workers in the store. Out of all the ones I have dealt with, only one had ever owned a tank before. Very few have the experience to give you advice and mostly are there to sell you chemicals you don't need and more than enoiugh fish to fill your tank. Eventually you'll learn.


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## HFGGHG (Aug 28, 2011)

After reading these posts, I'm going to start changing out 50% of the H20
in my 29 gallon weekly. I've been doing 15%. I would like to see a lower ammonia level, although the fish are doing fine. It just makes sense, considering they live in the water 24/7. Thanks !!


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## HFGGHG (Aug 28, 2011)

I'm thinking of adding an additional filter to my 29 gallon. Currently I have a Top Fin 30. I'm wondering if it's doing enough. The ammonia level remains high and after I vacuum, the water clouds up.
Should I add another filter for a 30 gallon and put it on the opposite side
of the tank from the existing one or just get a bigger filter ?
Thanks for any suggestions !


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## TypeYourTextHere (Apr 20, 2011)

HFGGHG said:


> I'm thinking of adding an additional filter to my 29 gallon. Currently I have a Top Fin 30. I'm wondering if it's doing enough. The ammonia level remains high and after I vacuum, the water clouds up.
> Should I add another filter for a 30 gallon and put it on the opposite side
> of the tank from the existing one or just get a bigger filter ?
> Thanks for any suggestions !


I would suggest adding another filter to your tank. When I was running my 29 gallon I had 2 AC 50s running. You can't really over filter a tank.


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## theblitz (Nov 2, 2011)

What type of filters are we talking about?
I have a massive pump filter. 
I assume that that is enough.

BTW - the guy in the shop was definitely not trying to oversell.
He actually refused to sell me more fish until I show him a pic of all the fish I now have.


Another point connected to this. Most of the dirt (droppings) are obviously at the bottom in the pebbles.
I assume that the filter doesn't clean that out and changing water doesn't seem to be a way of cleaning those out either.

What else do I need?


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## BBradbury (Apr 22, 2011)

HFGGHG said:


> I'm thinking of adding an additional filter to my 29 gallon. Currently I have a Top Fin 30. I'm wondering if it's doing enough. The ammonia level remains high and after I vacuum, the water clouds up.
> Should I add another filter for a 30 gallon and put it on the opposite side
> of the tank from the existing one or just get a bigger filter ?
> Thanks for any suggestions !


Good morning HF...

Your current filter is sufficient, but only if you're changing a minimum of half the tank water every week. If you're not, then you should be. I'm afraid I'm guilty of under filtering my large tanks, but I change out at least half the water weekly, so there's no time for toxins to build up in the water before the next water change.

I recently read that a good "rule of thumb" for filtration is to have a filter with a gph (gallons per hour) rating at least 6 times the volume of your tank. 

B


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## HFGGHG (Aug 28, 2011)

Yes, I've decided that the 50% H20 change out is the way to go. I'll start doing it this week instead of buying another filter. (Save some $ !)
Thanks for the tip everyone !


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## jeff5347 (Aug 15, 2011)

jrman83 said:


> Not needed. All that is needed is that you put enough water traetment (dechlor) in the tank for the new water. It is not necessary to treat prior. Just put it in the tank before you add the new water.
> 
> For me, 50% for a 30g would be easy. It's abut 12-13g. I have been doing it a while though. I do 50-70% weekly on all my tanks. You'll get used to it.


Ben, you do 50-70% changes a week? Man i am so wondering on what i should be doing here. Was doing thr 50% 2x a week, then i havent changed it now for 1.5 weeks and have just been topping off. I was gonna do 1 every 2 weeks and see how that goes at 25%. But now im just wondering if i should just do like you..50 % once a week. Any of the ways ive changed it up i havent noticed any ill effects. Also curious if changing more frequently like once per week at 50% and having a decent amount of plants is counterproductive as the plants help clean water and id be removing nutrients the plants need?


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

jeff5347 said:


> Ben, you do 50-70% changes a week? Man i am so wondering on what i should be doing here. Was doing thr 50% 2x a week, then i havent changed it now for 1.5 weeks and have just been topping off. I was gonna do 1 every 2 weeks and see how that goes at 25%. But now im just wondering if i should just do like you..50 % once a week. Any of the ways ive changed it up i havent noticed any ill effects. Also curious if changing more frequently like once per week at 50% and having a decent amount of plants is counterproductive as the plants help clean water and id be removing nutrients the plants need?


I think you should find the routine that works for you. I would do at least 25% and let your stocking level determine if you go any higher. The closer you are to heavy stocked the closer to 50% you should be, IMO. Whatever you decide on, do it every week without fail. 

EI dosing ferts makes it necessary to do at least 50% for me. I usually do a little extra because I tend to overfeed and this causes my nitrates and phosphates to climb a little. Plus, in my 75g I'm heavily stocked. There is nothing counterproductive to plants that I am aware of doing big water changes. A large portion of planted tank enthusiats do it, especially the hi-tech group.


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

sorry I can't help you.

I don't do water changes.



Geee does that actually help?



my .02


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## jeff5347 (Aug 15, 2011)

^^^ yea i gotta look up your build soon. Looking to do planted tank witha few fish and was looking into the el natural way so i gotta see what yours is made up of


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## HFGGHG (Aug 28, 2011)

When I'm doing my next w/c and have 1/2 the H20 out of my 29 gallon, I'll take the opportunity to plant some of the overgrown hornwort from my 20 gallon. That plant grows in front of your eyes ! No kidding !


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## SuckMyCichlids (Nov 5, 2011)

BBradbury said:


> I recently read that a good "rule of thumb" for filtration is to have a filter with a gph (gallons per hour) rating at least 6 times the volume of your tank.
> 
> B



im pretty sure just doubling it would be more than sufficant, otherwise you might add a filter thats too big and puts out too hard of a current for your fish


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## BBradbury (Apr 22, 2011)

SuckMyCichlids said:


> im pretty sure just doubling it would be more than sufficant, otherwise you might add a filter thats too big and puts out too hard of a current for your fish


Good morning S...

I understand. I have large tanks of Fancy Guppies and keep the filtration lower than normal. But, I'm a water change fanatic and figure any added filtration would just be filtering water that's already clean, so I generally use smaller power filters.

Thanks for the chat.

B


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

I think it's much better to have water that doesn't change then changing water that does. *old dude

But that's just me

and my .02


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