Why Water Changes?: The Long Answer

[MOA]

Hello,

I build stocking spreadsheets in my spare time and one accusation I often hear from the people who use my spreadsheets is that it is unfair to base how many fish a person can keep based on their cleaning frequency and the amount removed. I have heard this argument for many years and finally decided to answer it in some detail:

Why are Water Changes Necessary? (MOA's: How Many Fish?, Stocking Freshwater Aquariums)

The above link essentially states that 1) not all waste products can be handled by live plants or filters, and 2) that partial water changes do definitely limit the amount of waste that can be in a given aquarium. Hopefully this post will help answer any questions that new aquarists might have about water changes in general.



MOA

 

[emmanuelchavez]

I've read a small part of it so far, and will continue to read it a bit later when I have more time.
I'd like to add though, potassium (in ionic list) can also be used by plants. In fact, I have to dose it quite frequently in order for my plants to thrive. I like what you're doing so far though. *thumbsup

 

[MOA]

Actually,

I need to genralize that section as I used a terrestrial source for the urine data instead of an aquatic source--completely agree that the data is a bit skewed right now.

MOA