# water change



## Attack! (Apr 7, 2003)

i recently did a complete water change and tank clean. it was strange, but every new fish i put in the tank was dead by morning, but the residents are always fine. all the tests i did suggested nothing was wrong, but i decided to go and change it all. So i put all my fish in a 55g bin and completely changed the tank-cleaned every stone,rock, etc.
after a couple days, fish back in. it's been a month now and everything is fine. even new fish survive no problem.
question is, how long after a complete change do i do a regular water change and how much do i change?


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## Mr. Hannibal (Feb 21, 2003)

30-35% weekly water change!


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## Grosse Gurke (Jan 3, 2003)

Sounds like you have a 55 gallon tank. It should be cycled by now. If you have test kits, test it to make sure. 
If cycled, I would do a 50% water change to lower the Nitrates. I would wait another month before I did a gravel vacuum, and I would begin weekly water changes of 25-35%.


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## Neoplasia (Feb 16, 2003)

Holy crap, why did you do a total cleaning??? You realize that you've effectively killed off the vast majority of your bacteria. NEVER do this unless you are setting up the tank anew and are planning on cycling it first. You should do small weekly water changes (size and frequency will vary some, but you'll figure what works best for you tank after a while). Once you have an established tank (properly cycled) you do not need to thoughroughly clean everything as you are negating the very purpose of the cycle. The only reasons I can think of to do this are if you are moving, changing the substrate or have a massive problem with your tank that cannot be remedied by other means. I can't say why some lived and some didn't, likely they were hardier fish though I dare say they suffered rather elevated levels of stress during the cycling process.


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## piranha198220 (Jan 13, 2003)

i agree with grosse gurke 
i usually do a 25% water change each week if i remember but thats weired why the new ones would die and the others wouldent unless the older ones would torture the new one sometimes that happens i always make sure the older ones are well fed before adding a new fish i think this is a must just for that reson


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## sccavee (Feb 11, 2003)

I do 30% water changes weekly.


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## Attack! (Apr 7, 2003)

thx for the replies. 
i do regular water changes weekly-always have-and very detailed gravel vaccuuming as well. as i said, my tests all said the levels were fine.
but then my fish were getting thios white growth all over them on a regular basis. 
then, every new fish i put in,including feeders and hearty fish, would be dead w/in an hour or the next morn. i've watched good fish die very quickly for no reason in there...and their eyes always clouded over almost immediately. 
i tried almost all meds i know of that are safe and nothing worked. the really strange part is that the resident fish never died, just new ones.
so i had no choice. i tried 50% changes,etxc. 
so i started over and all seems fine now. but i need to know if i do a 50% change now, then go into reular routine or just go into regular routine, etc. 
it's been about a full week since the "clouds" went away and the water is crystal clear.

thx


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## nitrofish (Jan 14, 2003)

Attack! said:


> thx for the replies.
> i do regular water changes weekly-always have-and very detailed gravel vaccuuming as well. as i said, my tests all said the levels were fine.
> but then my fish were getting thios white growth all over them on a regular basis.
> then, every new fish i put in,including feeders and hearty fish, would be dead w/in an hour or the next morn. i've watched good fish die very quickly for no reason in there...and their eyes always clouded over almost immediately.
> ...


 what do you consider ok water paremeters? ammonia,nitrate nitrite? even a little ammonia is bad.same with nitrite, nitrates are a little more forgiving.

cloudy eyes, sounds like it could be ammonia burn


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## Attack! (Apr 7, 2003)

i have been keeping fish for years, so i have some understanding of water parameters and tests,etc.
i look for a zero ammonia, as well as nitirtes and nitrates, if possible.
i thought it was ammonia burn as well, but nothing seems to answer the question of why only new fish and not the residents? can they build a tolerance?
i have some of those warning meters in the tank as well, although i'm not too sure they work either.
nonetheless, it was a risk i was willing to take, thank God it worked out good.
but i need to know the answers to my questions as well.
thx


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## Raptor (Jan 3, 2003)

Yes they can build a tolarance. Over a length of time. Too much of a differance. Say from .225ppm to 5.0 is deadly.


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## Attack! (Apr 7, 2003)

what possible signs would i see on my fish if they have built up a tolerance?

also, i'm getting concerned about the number of fish in my 55g..
i have a fairly large oscar, a decent size JD, a small JD, a small convict and a small red devil...i plan on going to a 125g...i'm wondering if i have too many fish for a 55g at this point? oscars seem to have a lot of waste...


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## o snap its eric (Feb 19, 2003)

you killed off benificial bateria homeboy. it may also cause the tank to do a mini cycle because of the lose of benificial bacteria.


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