partial water changes

[atopetu17]

how often and how much, in order to avoid too much nitrates in the tank once it is cycled?

 

[ryanoh]

I do a 25% once a week, or once every other week if I'm super busy.

 

[achase]

Depends on how you stocked the tank, if it's overstocked then you will need to do more water changes. Usually I do 25 - 30% a week.

 

[atopetu17]

thanks guys!!!!!

 

[prsturm]

There is no such thing as too many water changes. Well, ok, once every 10 minutes is too much, but I'm anal, and change out 15-20 percent of my water every other day.

 

[Dylandrewsdad]

I change at least 50% 2X a week in my discus tank, but my other tanks only 50% every 2 weeks or so. They are also not heavily stocked and I have 2X the recommended filter on my tanks. (I am anal with too much filtration!)

 

[riseabovethesun]

There is no such thing as too many water changes. Well, ok, once every 10 minutes is too much, but I'm anal, and change out 15-20 percent of my water every other day.

That's awesome that you're able to do it EVERY other day, dang. Haha. I change my water every week (25-35%) unless things go haywire and I'm left having to skip a weekend. I know, shame on me.

But way to go with the every other day. I also use RO water so the $6 bucks a week is perfect. Or else I'd be in debt...

 

[littletankbigworld]

It really depends. You should use a liquid test kit to test for nitrates every week. If nitrates are higher than 20, you need to complete a water change. If not, you might be able to skip a week, although it's much better to change the water every week so that nitrates never peak to 40 ppm.