The Water Change Guide For EVERYONE (#1 Key to a Healthy Aquarium)

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‎ How often should you do water changes on your aquarium? We made a high-level water change flow chart for fish keepers who need help figuring out their tank maintenance frequency, and the internet had some divided opinions. Cory explains more in-depth how water change schedules depend on many factors: the fish and plant stocking levels, your tap water's parameters, tank size, primary goals for the aquarium, time and energy limitations, etc.
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WHO WE ARE
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At Aquarium Co-Op, we focus on your aquariums. We specialize in freshwater tropical fish, aquatic plants, and the overall betterment of the freshwater fish keeping hobby. Our goal is to help you with your first pet fish and graduate you to an advanced aquarium hobbyist. If you'd like to take it to the next level, subscribe to Aquarium Co-Op and check out our weekly videos.
Cory McElroy is employed by Aquarium Co-Op LLC. He also owns Aquarium Co-Op LLC. Therefore, all content is sponsored by Aquarium Co-Op.
#Aquariumcoop #Aquariumfish #Fishtank

[@AquariumCoop]

*What advice would you give to a friend on how often to change their water?* (Assume that they probably have different tap water, fish stocking, plant selection, and experience level than you have.)

[@caewalker9276]

Test. Test. Test. Your water. At least once a week. Change as needed

[@ivancho5854]

I would try to get them to test their tap water BEFORE even getting an aquarium. Unless you have your own well then ask your municipality and they will most likely email you that weeks highly accurate report of the chemical composition of your tap water. Not only does this influence what type of fish would be be easiest to keep, but they might find that their tap water is unsuitable for keeping anything whatsoever and an alternative will have to be sought to simple tap water. All the best Cory.

[@dinesendk]

My experience for the two times I've started up my 128L have been: Put in soil, gravel/sand hardscape and plants (No fish). Let it run for a day. Test water. Change 25-40% of water if values are too high. Let it run another day, and repeat if nessassary (Took me two waterchanges to get my values down at a healthy level). Then I let it be for a week. Then another test. Waterchange depending on how much the values have gone up (10-40%), but usually much less than first week. I clean filter, and let it run another week. I repeat this until values are OK, and I can put fish in, and then I start over, because now the tank holds fish too. Today my routine is liquied furtilizer, and cleaner every week. One week I top off, second week I clean filter, and change about 10%, and then top off. So best advice i can give, is to treat it as an experiment, and then slowly dial your tank in - Again, be careful about when you put the fish in, or make sure you have the time, and possibility to keep an eye on the tank , so you can act on it, if they start to struggle = More waterchanges. I hope my experiences can help some of you guys.

[@skips_biotope8656]

I encourage small/frequent/consistent water changes because: small/frequent/consistent behavior is less overwhelming, is easier to keep up with, and in a new tank is incredibly unlikely to be harmful (I also encourage test and fertilize). Water is heavy. People procrastinate. Small/frequent water changes require less time/physical demand per event. Personally I’ve found this helps me… “3 gallons today is easier than 10 gallons next week.” Sure I’m nerding out over phosphate levels and recharging my kH “battery” while I drive a struggle bus to keep nitrates >10 ppm, but the behavior principle is the same as it is for someone with their first tank. Granted I have never had a friend “dive in” new on a tank bigger than 20 gallons, so selling a water change less than a 5 gal bucket/week is pretty easy. I also explain how useful/stress-relieving Seachem Prime can be in an ammonia emergency, citing that one time I over-cleaned my filter; I follow up that story by emphasizing how important it is to watch/know your fish and their behavior… citing that one time I woke up after over-cleaning my filter and all of my fish were “acting weird” (observing the tank = Cory has emphasized this many many times). I always recommend a “when in doubt, a big water change can only help” outlook. But I live in a land of 0ppm ammonia/nitrate tap water. It’s long answer, but nerms attract nerms 😂

[@ktylonox8646]

I just refer them to your website. If they aren't interested enough to dig a little to learn the very basics and not have to be spoon fed information, they shouldn't keep fish.

[@bsdoweidt]

Cory about 7 years ago someone gave me an aquarium that was abandoned in a barn and half full. We had no idea that there were even fish in the muddy thick water. I went to KZbin to figure out how to save these fish and I found your channel. It has changed my life. In the 7 years I have become a fish nerd. I had 21 tanks at one point but now I’m just down to 13 tanks with most 20 gallons or less. I have asked you questions through the years and even gotten you personally responding. I want to thank you so much for giving me the knowledge and confidence to keep fish properly. Good fortune to you, your staff and family.

[@vincetaliaferro2777]

I wasn't expecting it to bring me closer to mother nature the way it has.

[@I.AM.ON.MY.WAY.]

@@vincetaliaferro2777 same here. I just finished my 10 gallon planted platy tank and I’ll frequently find myself just staring watching them swim around. There’s something about setting up a new tank, going through the cycle, and finally going to the store for fish that makes it all so worth it. The way I’m doing it is starting small and working my way up. Started up the classic 5 gallon planted betta tank, moved onto 10, next I’ll look into a 20. It’s an addiction

[@InsideTheStadium]

These beautiful and perfect fish brought me closer to God, seeing how amazing they are got me thinking how amazing God is to create such beautiful creatures. Love ❤️

[@barry1122]

What kind of fish were in this abandoned murky unfiltered muck??

[@fredgandolfi2356]

Cory, your patience with the internet astonishes me. You have such High EQ. Your advice is a role model: strictly for consideration, trying to be helpful and also with humility. We have ALL killed fish.

[@gryffbirb]

I do a water change weekly just to keep a schedule, it works for me, but I know that in a more practical sense, that when certain things are too high are when to do them. It just works for me because I have mental health issues so consistency is key.

[@scrotusmaximus3043]

I've had 2 stable planted tanks going now for 6 years. One a 20 the other a 75. Thick gravel sand beds, higher plant to animal ratio. The big one needs maybe 2 changes a year at best, usually a top off suffices. I personally think it mimics rainfall and the fish love it. My advice is plan your tanks out well. I think big sand and gravel beds with lots of plants will certainly reduce the times you need to water change, which will only get longer the better and healthier a tank becomes.

[@toveycen4668]

Sand/gravel & plants are essential for the balance of a healthy eco system.

[@ivancho5854]

@@toveycen4668 I wouldn't say that they are essential. They work for you and many others, but there's more than one way to have a healthy ecosystem. All the best.

[@girishjoglekar3578]

Which filters do you use?

[@mattkinsella9856]

I agree and after keeping and breeding various fish for over 20 years, this is by far the best advice for an easily maintained aquarium. Having said that, there are those that can't go with this setup e.g. a typical African cichlid tank and then a strict water change schedule is more important. Also a planted tank with deep substrate can take a while to establish and I'm not talking about a basic tank cycle, so for a newbie as Cory was discussing it's important for them to know that even for a planted tank a weekly partial water change is probably a good idea for the first 6 months.

[@PaulZyCZ]

With planted tanks my favourite substrate is deep bed with pond compost on the bottom, locked with sand and a trickle of aquasoil near/on the top. That's basically what I did in my last tank and it worked like a treat. I could probably skip the water changes altogether if I had light stocking (less than 1" per 4 gallons, 1 cm per 4 liters) and even before last water change water seemed cleaner than my tap water and any other fishtank. However I was losing some red tetras (could be overfeeding) and filters had muck inside. So I guess I will be doing 50% water change once every 3 - 4 months in that tank. Of course there are multiple options, for beginners I'd recommend coarse sand and root tabs. With goldfish, large fish, Discus... it's better to go with gravel, bare bottom or tiles like King of DIY likes to do.

[@HappyBuddhaBoyd]

Cory, I watch your videos and agree with you 90% of the time. On the issue of water changes, I completely get irritated at those who blindly say you must change your water. I have had many tanks and RARELY do any water changes. If you have proper filtration, and by that I mean to say your bioload is 1/4 or less than the filtration recommendations... then you will never need to do water changes. Water changes will add stress to the fish, and tend to cause imbalances in water parameters.

[@tinadorminy4086]

Thank you Cory for always trying to teach us! I love how you use relatable things make the information understandable. You are a gift!

[@B.Colby107]

Great content and love how your so dedicated to teaching people about aquariums and giving advice on keeping them up kept

[@AJBAdventures]

Thanks for staying Humble Cory 👌 advice like this will help out the newbies no end 👍 There's a million ways to do this hobby ay Cheers Aaron

[@MelodieRose727]

Always enjoy your perspective and your thoughtfulness towards the beginners in the hobby. You gave me the confidence to be proud of keeping guppies, and I’m deeply grateful. ❤

[@Nellykir]

BIG THANK YOU, for providing so many educational videos and articles! I am a newbie at planted aquariums and only had betas and tetras in the past. Planted aquariums make this hobby a completely different ball game! You’ve helped so much on my journey by educating about it. Thank you!

[@angelaatwood6667]

Very helpful video! Thank you for putting this information out there to help people who are trying to get started. I’ve been keeping fish for over 10 years, but I feel like my fish keeping has definitely improved when I found your channel. I started following your videos back in 2019. In my experience, most people greatly underestimate what you need to know in order to set up an aquarium and keep fish. I have talked to so many people who tried to set up a tank and couldn’t keep their fish alive and then got discouraged and gave it up completely. This always makes me sad because I think it is such a fun hobby. Thank you for your instruction and guidance. I always think your videos are fun to watch, not too long, and broken down into easily digestible segments.

[@kawikasmith4089]

Just got into fish keeping and I greatly appreciate this and the past couple videos with the recommendations! I had 6 cories in a 65 gallon planed aquarium and lost 3 to illnesses and started giving them the med trio and the other 3 are looking a ton better and clearing up as of now!

[@santimateo1984]

Thanks Cory! I always watch your guides. I have a 5 gal planted tank with a single Betta, it will turn a year by January. I check parameters once a month and everything is stable. Really thankful of your guides.

[@lacyp1365]

Really appreciate the Waterchanging Guide! The videos you share are highly anticipated and SO helpful!

[@gdn86]

This is perfect advice, from the guide to the analysis of the comments section. I am just starting out, and will be putting together my first tank (as an adult), and the advise your channel has given me was confirmed when I visited a local aquarium store and found other people also very obsessed with this hobby. They guided me even further down this rabbit hole, but gave me confidence to put this all together no matter the inevitable pitfalls. I appreciate your channel, and recently ordered some plants and equipment I was missing to fill everything out. I learned to phase in the first living residents of this tank once I have a relatively stable ecosystem with shrimp, then some pleco/loach species and be patient as this project develops over the next few months. I'm excited to scape the tank correctly and adapt to the changes. I built a functioning garden in my backyard last year, and this seems intertwined to that project as I plan to use any water from the frequent changes ahead, to fertilize that garden. Much love.

[@wewantben]

Your water change guide was very helpful for my family and me. We own an assortment of five tanks in our family, different sizes, different fish, and some with and without plants. Each tank required different times we needed to change the water in order to achieve balance. What was super helpful for us in this process was maintaining a water change and test log. So thanks Aquarium Co-Op, your guide was super helpful for us!

[@timfrank911]

You have helped me greatly in getting my tanks working and stable so thank you. One tip I would suggest for setting up that first tank is to baseline your tap water. I am on a well and found my nitrates were running 45 right out of the tap. Suddenly it made sense why I kept changing water and could never get it down to where the fish needed it. Since it was my entire house supply I ended up putting in a 100gal/day RO system that also remineralizes. Bottom line is you got to know where you are to know where you can go.

[@glowingsoulfire819]

Love the content from Aquarium Co-op. You are ambassadors for the hobby and a valuable source of information. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.

[@boges11]

Some very good advice there Cory. I have 9 tanks and 3 ponds and they all get different water change schedules and amounts, because they are all stocked differently and some have different amounts of filtration and plants.

[@robinbregman]

As always, your advice is clear and easy to understand, as well as much appreciated.

[@tomastorasen9164]

That guide is awesome! Thank you very much! I will follow this and it feels very trustworthy for a new tank owner. Kudos!

[@sarakianebula2667]

Great video!! - new to hobby and wanting to make it longterm and appreciate your channel motivating and educating newer folks! The attitudes and egos in this hobby are clearly prevalent and enjoy your peaceful and understanding approach

[@jeffprosser7856]

They're so many variables to taking care of a aquarium. Every tank is unique to a person's specific experience. The best advice I was given "If you got a problem and you don't know how to change or fix it, go back to the basics. Test your water. Water change based on results of your test if necessary. There is no magic number, Sometimes it's less sometimes it's more. Watch your fishes behavior. Learn their specific patterns, and how they react. Do they appear happy? are they acting erratically? Do they looked stressed? Are you meeting your fishes needs? It could be temperature, water quality, flow, oxygen, over stocked, the wrong tank mates, poor filtration, etc. spend time with your fish and develop a relationship with them ( they are your pets after all)" Take what you learned and apply it to your tank and make the necessary adjustments for you.

[@icshay21]

Thank you for breaking this down in simple terms. New to the hobby and want to do right by my aqua babies

[@tenmillionvolts]

That's great. Best thing I did when started NG a tank was to keep testing like he said. The build up of ammonia and nitrates is invisible and your fish don't give much warning. My fish shop tests water for free, so I was getting tests about every three days at first, just so I could catch the change when the fish food and waste caused a rise

[@lichy875]

Great video. My biggest takeaway is to respond to other peoples questions with the heart of a teacher.

[@MandyJane123700]

I really appreciate all the information! I am fairly new to the hobby, and I have watched so many of your videos to understand cycling and filters and all that stuff. I have had a 20 gallon for about 3 years, and for the longest time only one fish, so it was very easy. Now I've got that same 20 (with lots more fish) and was given a 70 gallon (with fish) and I realize I still have a lot to learn. I didn't know you had a forum, I love forums. I think I will register so I can ask questions and learn more.

[@johnlasco894]

Another great video. I learned from you, Rachel OLeary and the Prime Time Aquatics folks about the basics of aquarium care and I've been very happy with the results. Once you learn the basics, you can pretty much use plain old common sense. I gravel vac and do water changes once a week for my four nano aquariums. I dont look on it as a chore but as a way to really look at what's going on in the tank, and find it very relaxing. I get into my 'Zen' mode and lose track of time.

[@audrameyer9558]

This was great no matter how long you have been in the hobby. Thank you 😊

[@LaRosi0114]

Thanks, Cory. I will head over to Facebook to check this out. Also, I love your videos because your voice is so zen. ❤

[@TaleRavenTarot]

Thank you for this video! Very helpful for a newbie!

[@invisblemouse]

Thank you so much. Been researching for years and finally felt ready for my first tank... Then was like, wait, water changes. How do you do that. Thank you, great, clear guide to get started ☺️ Definitely checking out your Facebook page for more guides!!

[@sethf2258]

Over 800k subs! Dang I started watching in 2017, learned as much as a could then worked at a petco for 2 years trying to do as much good as I could without getting fired. It definitely burnt me out from the hobby after 2 years at a different job I'm getting back into aquariums as a hobby, you where right to not sell my tanks and so many other tips. Thank you to the whole aquarium co-op crew it really takes alot to go from hobby to doing it 24/7 and still stay passionate.

[@Sabriel3632]

I think one of the most toxic traits in this hobby is the “fish police” mindset. I love watching videos of fish keepers in other countries and see what they are doing. I think it’s exciting there are multiple ways to have happy fish and healthy tanks!

[@Gk22632]

Some people just don’t like seeing animal abuse, some people need to be policed, that said, lots of people wanna say someone is doing something wrong when they’re just uneducated on what they’re policing

[@voultronix761]

Id say the fish police are more right then wrong and good . I hate this "their fish keeping culture is different" . We all keep fish from the same place.. fish need adequate space and care , surviving is not necessarily thriving

[@romankrhounek5974]

I agree

[@angelaatwood6667]

I agree. I live in a rural area and it takes about an hour in any direction to get to a fish store. Many people that I’ve talked to have had the experience of going into a big box store and getting no helpful information or going into a specialty fish store and being talked to like they’re an idiot who doesn’t deserve to have a fish. 😮 So I think this makes it hard for people to learn because it’s hard for them to be a beginner and either get no info or info that’s WAY over their head. Beginner fish keepers really need encouragement and straightforward instruction. It kills me to see the hateful comments people make to others who seek out information in some of the fish groups.

[@chrismgd01]

Everyone’s ecosystem is a little different. Just have to monitor your water and do what’s best for your situation. Watch your actual tank, if your plants and fish are thriving then you are doing it right. It’s still important to know your numbers and test, but treat the tank, not the numbers.

[@dubadah]

Thanks. The info was really helpful.

[@spearpointministries]

Thanks for your teaching sessions

[@errk25]

I test weekly with strips. Three tanks that have been going for 4+ years. Actually change water 30% every 4-6 weeks. Seldom gravel vac. Plants and lightly stocked. Platies, guppies, rasboras, corydoras, plecos, shrimp, and snails. Stable parameters. Overall pretty low maintenance. Works for me. In the beginning I changed water much more often and had more filtration. Found out I just didn't need it over time.

[@char2304]

Thank you Cory for your information 🙏 😊

[@J.Olivers_Guppies-Aquatics]

Great information. I have some tanks that are on automatic daily water changes and I have others that might get eight changes or so a year

[@kens3dandaquatics]

Everyones water is different but once a week works for me (I have 7 tanks and 20 breeding grow out tanks)

[@ritenour12]

Yep been doing once a week my whole life only time I change is if I have quarenteen going new fish I usually always do a big water change the next day after I see what died since my local isn’t to good of a store

[@kens3dandaquatics]

@@ritenour12 like clockwork every Sunday morning I 25% water change and on Wednesdays I top off for evaporation. I really need to invest in a auto top off system... Hell even better. A auto water change system. But all my tanks are spread throughout the house

[@MissChelle]

Awesome guide! Thank you for recognising that there are some of us that have a disability. I’ve tried to make my water changes as easy for me as possible. What’s right for you may not be accessible for me ❤️🇦🇺

[@yarntrekker1127]

I love the Coop chart! When Girl Talks Fish made her video about this technique of figuring out how often to change water, I experimented for a month and learned that basically my bio load is so low and my plant mass is so high, I “never need to change water again”. HOWEVER I live in an area (Texas) with lots of minerals in the water. So, I do water changes as it’s convenient to me, about every 3 weeks. My goal is every 2 weeks 30-50% change but honestly I never meet that. Good luck everybody! I believe there’s as many ways to keep fish as there are fish keepers.

[@cyndifalk]

Well this was very helpful - I manage a 75 gallon at an animal shelter and people have ALL KINDS of opinions of Water Changes- most people think I do it too often at 50% twice a month. I think i'll print out your WC guide and post it with my numbers. Even though my nitrates never get very high, I change water for water clarity and sediment, hoping this will help with the Dread BBA. At least your guide will give me a starting point for discussion 🙂

[@bdelphan]

Some years ago, I visited a friend of a friend who had a flourishing aquarium that produced babies constantly and looked amazing. I was shocked to discover that he had *never* done a water change. Ever. I learned a lot from that visit and have only ever topped up the water since. Freshwater, not salt, but it works for me. I learned to figure out what was happening with my own tank, rather than following "rules".

[@majesticwonder]

Excellent informative video ❤️ 💙 thank you !!

[@bsautospa2957]

Thanks for posting this! Been slightly panicking the last 5 days or so, glad to know that balance can become a thing. I went from an extremely over stocked tank with unhealthy plants, to having a solo fish and no plants. I did a couple partial water changes the first week and still had 20-30ppm nitrates, and then I thought I killed my cycle after doing a deep substrate cleaning and 70% WC. My tests the first couple days were 0-0-0, today I think Im testing 0-0 and maybe 1-2ppm nitrates. All the forums make it sound like a crash happened and panic. I've justs kept on testing 🤷

[@RZ350NC]

I used to only test for pH and also do a 10 to 20% water change weekly. I always kept an eye on my fish to see if they were stressed and changed more water if they were. I'm getting back into the hobby after a 15-year hiatus and am now doing a fishless cycle and testing all water parameters. Planning on doing a weekly 10% water change after the tank gets established. The recommendation of large water changes if the NO3- gets too high sounds like good advice. Take care.

[@steveoff1182]

Good advice. Been enjoying buying coop products locally at exotic pets in Wichita. Glad you have this partnership.

[@billwatkins1041]

Great job. Well done.

[@tishcramer3515]

I love this flow chart! Thanks. And don't know how I missed the facebook page before.

[@GreenfieldsHomeplace]

I’m new this year to fish keeping. Yes…I have two 3.5 gallon tanks with…you guessed it, Bettas. 😊 I’m starting small and WOW, so much to learn. My weekly nitrates/nitrites have been at zero for a while. I have a few plants in each but recently I added Pothos to each tank and ever since they started taking off, nitrates/nitrites are zero. I’ve been blown away. However, I still do a small water change (25%) to add new water and clean the substrate but I don’t want to clean so much that I remove beneficial nitrogen that the plants are thriving on. This is just my thinking and seeing what’s going on in MY tanks. Even though nitrates/nitrites have been zero, the minerals deplete and new water should be added…or so I heard. 😊 Thanks, Cory. I’ve learned so much from you and you have so much patience with all of the opinions out there. It’s obvious that what you do works and thanks for sharing with all of us pros and newbies like me. 🐠

[@flawlessstrategy9972]

Also, the fresh water (I like it to be a bit cold) adds oxygen and CO2 that really benefits the plants. And cold water holds more of these gases than warm/hot water. Sometimes you'll see the effects b y witnessing the plants "pearling." Little air bubbles dripping off the plants and to the top of the water. Smaller tanks are even harder to deal with because there is less room for error, so take care with your 3.5 gallon ones. :) Good luck and have fun! Oh, and zero nitrates "could" be a sign that your tank is not actually cycled yet. Should have zero ammonia/nitirite, as these will kill fish. Nitrate should be around 40ppm or lower, they say. But, yeah, I hear Pothos loves nitrate. I have some here and there in my tanks but they don't do that great really. One is doing really good though. Has like 11 leaves now - had 4 or 5 at first. And is like 1.5 feet tall now. Root grew all the way down into the sand.

[@PheOfTheFae]

I read that pothos is a heavy nitrate feeder and I think it does so in my betta tank as well! Its roots were the first thing that started to grow out of all my aquarium plants.

[@kennethshaheenjr.1164]

The best single answer I can think of is to monitor what you need to and do water changes more or less often as the aquarium requires. Maintenance should be customized for each aquarium.

[@TheArthurkan]

Watched Video about that SF fish store. That schedule works for me

[@Philip_smith88]

Great information and tips.

[@k0olmini11]

This style of video is really nice.

[@christophererenberg1963]

Just from my experience. I had a lot of problems with nitrate levels ammonia and all that stuff when I first set up my 36 gallon bow front planted community tank. I had to do water changes very often to keep things good. Once the tank became established after a few months the maintenance got way easier. Now that the tank is over a year old I only have to do water changes every couple of weeks.

[@RobertMoscicki]

We left for vacation for 12 days - zero feeding and the tank was just amazing ! 8 huge angles , around 40neons and 15-20 glow tetra and huge L 142 on a heavy planted tank

[@wynandwolmarans6689]

Intresting video

[@pollywu1956]

I needed help with this!

[@Lizardlafemme]

Darn I don’t understand how I missed the live! So bummed. Anyway glad to watch now!

[@kerrynjordaan]

Can't thank you enough for this video. It helped enormously. Where can I get that infographic if I'm not on Facebook? Thanks again!!

[@sairvinginthestacks]

I've been getting back to doing one or two smaller water changes a week in my tank. A few months ago though, I had a serious shoulder fracture that almost needed surgery. When I was in the sling with an abduction pillow for 6 weeks, there were two water changes. I probably did one water change the first month after I came out of the sling. I needed help and honestly, I just hurt. Sometimes, circumstances beyond our control dictate what happens with our tanks. All good now though.

[@thefishguy13551]

Yep, every tank situation is going to be different. No two tanks are the same. You can have ten tanks with the same stocking of live stock and plants and have the same equipment and most likely all ten of those tanks are going to be different. I agree with you, what works for one may or may not work for another. Happy fish keeping.

[@valeriebeach3150]

Thanks

[@melb8843]

Hello. I have 10G, 30G and a 50-55G. All my tanks are planted. My 50-55 gets 20% change every week as I have pleczilla with many tetras and livebearers. This tank is well stocked with plants and floating stem and managed duckweed. Oh, lol have three loaches too. Tank is 8 years old. I don’t check water parameters, although I could. 30 G- 2 loaches and about 70 to 100 Endlers, heavily planted and floating stem plants, 20% every two weeks. Great ecosystem in this tank. 10g kitchen tank is my fave. Heavily planted with 5 white Cory and two skirted tetras, a mess of amanos and lots of ram and Malay snails. Neat tank with very little fuss. This tank has produced two new Cory’s and two of my amanos are egg bearing. We’ll see what happens. I use hanging aquaclear filters with sponge intake filters on everything. 2 50s on 50G, 1 50 on 30G, and a 20 on my 10G. Alll my filters and plants are from Aquarium co op. Thanks guys!

[@jackparkin1339]

I like that you've said don't just tell people I do this water change and that works people really need to explain there set up I have a 240ltr planted with 8 fish ( 5 black neon tetra, 2 German blue rams and an Albion bn pleco) small stocking my friend has a 310 ltr planted (2 plecos some jewel cichlid some red tail sharks a blue Acura and a few other fish we both do 2 vastly different water change schedule and both are right for our tank

[@bigpickles]

Discus breeder here. 100 to 200% daily depending on which racks (parents, fry, growout). WC schedules are different for every scenario. DOC and Bacteria are far more critical to manage than your usual test kit tests ;)

[@Amanda-uc5jq]

My 2 x 170 gallon planted tanks I’m lucky to do water change once a year. I have a lot of floating plants and house plants with roots in tank to help keep nitrates down and because they are open top tanks i top up about 40-50 litres of water a week

[@PheOfTheFae]

I'm new to the hobby and have only had my tank going for about 3 months, half of that time was doing fishless cycling. Within just a few days of adding my betta and two nerites in a 10 gallon planted tank, things leveled out. Every time I test (weekly at this point), the numbers are good. But I'm still doing weekly water changes because of how much snail poop I vacuum out of the gravel, lol. I think I will probably always have to for that reason, and that's fine by me.

[@nikhildavid90]

great video

[@Demontoastslayer]

I do large water changes once a month, large understocked tanks with plants :) Ex 40g with corydoras, guppys, and zebra danios

[@ErikWhyRock]

Wooooooooo cannot wait for Tanner today!!

[@Evil_Genius_888]

What advice? Pretty much what was outlined here. Water test & water change regularly until things look balanced. Don’t forget to test the tap water as a baseline either if that’s what is being used.

[@PaulZyCZ]

Some of my tanks have less nitrates than the tap water. Usually I get build-up of Calcium. Also even if done right, those water parameter tests don't show everything like bacteria or parasites. So even with my largest, heavily planted, dirt-bed tank I'm doing water change once in 3-4 months. Maybe if I cleaned my filters more often, I could skip it altogether. With other tanks I'm doing water change once 2-3 weeks, wet paludarium 4 weeks. With filters it's similar to water changes. It might be fine to leave the filter running for months before it clogs completely, but with sensitive fish it might be better to clean it once a month or once it's clogged, whatever comes first.

[@NyssaMysteria]

I mostly do "water changes" when I'm neatening up the gravel in the front of my tanks to pull out the excess detritus, and that usually ends up being about a 30% water change every month on my two 55s. I leave the rest of it alone for all of the plants, and since I stopped gravel vaccing around them their growth has exploded! For my 5 gallon betta tank I do about a 50% every month with the same neatening up strategy, but it ends up being a higher percentage since the tank is smaller. Everyone is happy and healthy, and I top off as needed between the cleanings. I don't test the water unless I notice something weird going on, which I haven't had to for quite a while. It really is situational once you become in sync with your little slice of nature, and that's the beauty of it is having that intuition over time.

[@davidrix804]

Great advice👍👍i have 50gallom tank and 3, 4 inch goldfish never done a water test in 2years and change water 80% every six months,fish look great and healthy,the old saying if not broken dont fix it.

[@davidmeyer2586]

I am NO EXPERT by any means but I love this hobby and have been fairly successful. I do 25% water changes every Saturday without fail, does not take long for three tanks, may not be needed but I guess it would be like watching your car every weekend even if it was not dirty it makes you feel better.

[@CarolynnMc01]

Thank you! I change water once a month then top off... lots of plants and nano fish in my 30 gallon. If you see this, I'd love to see a video which talks about the product Seachem Equalibrium. What's it for? I can't figure that out! I have a big container of it which I bought a couple years ago, but why? I can't remember! LOL.

[@moosey1978]

I do 50% every other week and clean filter media once a month. I have 3 overstocked tanks and 2 barely stocked tanks. No major issues

[@animablo]

Terimakasih atas konten ini

[@robb.4586]

Where I live in the FL panhandle, I have to use RODI water, If I used the tap water unfiltered, I would kill my stuff real quick. I have a lot of success with it and using the purified water allows me to keep the water changes down to about twice a year. This is a75 planted with a canister filter, a pair of 660GPH wave pumps, and LED Lighting. It has been running for 7 years now, the fish are a combination of Tetras, 15 Neon and about 20 Rummy Nose, a couple of Ottos, and Cory cats.

[@elvinsworld11]

Nice

[@redparrot]

I set up my tank for low maintenance, low tech and similar to nature from the start: aqua soil topped of with fine gravel, many plants which thrive in the conditions my tap water provides (luckily no chloride in it here), many swimming plants which always get CO2 out of the air and can oull out excess nutrients out of water no matter what and just some bladder snails and red fire shrimps as animals until now. Only thing I have to do now is feeding and cutting the roots of the frog bite swimming plants then and now. It's not exactly Walstad method as I didn't use soil as a substrate but it's kind of Walstad-inspired. Can recommend that big time as there's so much to learn when just observing how all the organisms in there work together and establish equilibrium while just making sure everything feels good by closely watching and sometimes doing water tests and only intervening when it seems necessary :)

[@broccanmacronain457]

I am very bad about water changeouts. My ammonia and nitrate levels are always zero but at least in my 55 gallon which I can not seem to keep plants in (between the 4 silver dollars (and a clown loach) and the film algae that keeps coming back and coating everything) but the Ph is always below 6 and the nitrite levels are high.

[@raisinggoldfishonabudget7058]

I always hear don't chase the water parameters it will make things worse instead of better so I just don't do anything but top offs every month & add water conditioning every other month that's helped me.

[@wonderfulworldofwater370]

When I first got into the hobby it was once a month for recommended changes. Now it is once a week. I found balance at 2 weeks. I only feed once a day or every other day. Fish seem healthy and happy. My master test kit shows 10-20 ppm nitrate. I still do the water change because it adds freshwater to tank and removes excess fish waste. What works for me may not work for someone else🤷🏾‍♂️. I run an AquaClear 70+20 hob filters, on a 50 Gallon, I have 0 plants, only spiderwood, Lacerock, and 2-3 inch Caribsea Aragonite+white Imagitarium sand bed. I keep 3 larger Angelfish, 1 Demansoni cichlid, 5 emperor Tetras, 2 rummy nose tetras, and 2 Lemon tetras. So far so good. I plan on adding a Fluval 405 canister to replace the AC 20.

[@paulouzman7267]

Recently set up a 360 litre tank after over 20 years out of the hobby. 18 small tetras, 8 corys, 1 bristlenose, 2 angels, all silk plants. Do a 30% water change every 10-12 days, nitrates at 10-20ppm afterwards. Seems the right ratio at present.

[@jonlobb]

Great update! If only the poisons left behind when aquarium water evaporates weren’t invisible, the need for regular water changes would be so much more obvious. What you can’t see can kill your fish.

[@CosmeGamerXD07]

I do water change if water is getting bad but mostly of times is good so i just refill, clean filter and skip until next week

[@mrobles1983]

Looking for mudskippers fish any suggestions? I'm from NJ

[@gordonadkins4907]

In the warm months, I shoot for 50-75% weekly water changes. My tanks are planted, but I overstock the fish population and I have a tendency to be heavy handed when I feed. In the cold months, I try to do 30% twice weekly. I get micro bubbles severely from my water source in the cooler months and I have to do smaller changes to keep the fish from dying from that. I’ve found juvenile rainbows to be very susceptible

[@bashlivingstonstampededojo882]

Lately I've done very few water changes but at the moment I only have guppies in my ten gallon and progressive plant growth with a slow moving under gravel filter and a good 3 inches of substrate gravel there's never any one answer to the water change thing I always recommend to do them still no matter what system you have and still helps in some ways especially with plants I just don't believe in overdoing them either I have been skipping them a lot and my aquarium is really good nitrates at 0 ammonia zero nitrite at zero

[@waynegarrett1614]

how often should I be testing my water? once a week?

[@user-bw5xf3yr3m]

I will simplify it put a lot of plants in it,4to5 inches substrate and a small stock of fish and you don’t ever need to water change. Feed the plants ferts if the fish aren’t creating enough ammonia.

[@clarence0075]

Personally, I do 50% water change once a month. What I was told to do thirty years ago I stuck to it...💪🏾💪🏾

[@robb.4586]

I should add, with the plants, trimming them and removing the cuttings is similar to water changes, because doing so removes the nutrients. And I rarely ever clean the Canister Filter, only if the flow drops too low and then only part of it will get cleaned, as to not remove all the beneficial bacteria.

[@jharris280zx]

i clean 3 of the sides of the tank and leave the back so that beneficial bacteria survives, clean filters in a bucket of tank water, more plants will help keep chemical in check, botanicals with tannins and mopani wood will help create a blackwater tank which made my catfish more active and brought out their color.

[@bassamnijem4848]

do i need to use dechlorination when changing 50% or less water

[@mariavillanueva6317]

I have a betta fish in a 10 gallon with some live plants. The small pest snails population stayed around 10 for a year. Recently I noticed more bitten plants and my betta was not as mobile than usual so I started manually removing the snails. I pulled 15 one day and the 13 the next day. Did a full water change and the betta is back to being active. I only did water change once a month before things looked suspicious. I think the snails are cute but an overpopulation can do some damage to a tank. Its definitely my fault for overfeeding as I wanted the snails to eat the left over food instead of going after the plants. Previously the snails would eat algae as I leave the light on for 8 hrs a day. With more plants to obsorb the nutrients, the algae just stopped growing eliminating that food source for the snails.