sam1 Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 Hi all I'm very new in the cichlid world and am going to be doing my first water change on the weekend. I have a 3ft x 2ft x 1.5ft tank with 40 fry of Malawi and Tang cichlids. I know that's alot of fish for the size tank but I will be reducing the numbers as my fish grow. The tank is filtered by a minireef system and is about 6 weeks old. 1. What % of water should I change? 2. What chemicals should I add when I replace the water? eg prime, stabilizer 3. Do I add these chemicals after I put the water back in the tank or do I put it in the new water before I put it in the tank ? 4. What test kits should I have? Is the API master kit recommended? 5. Last of all how often should I do my water changes? Sorry about all the questions but I just want to do it right. Thankyou and I look forward to your responses. Regards Sam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krellious Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 1 30% 2 prime 3 bicarb soda and epsom salt... google cichlid buffer recipe 4 api is best, get the one that has gh,kh,high range ph, anonia, nitrate and nitrite 5 weekly, but depends on what filter you have... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sam1 Posted September 23, 2009 Author Share Posted September 23, 2009 Hi all I'm very new in the cichlid world and am going to be doing my first water change on the weekend. I have a 3ft x 2ft x 1.5ft tank with 40 fry of Malawi and Tang cichlids. I know that's alot of fish for the size tank but I will be reducing the numbers as my fish grow. The tank is filtered by a minireef system and is about 6 weeks old. 1. What % of water should I change? 2. What chemicals should I add when I replace the water? eg prime, stabilizer 3. Do I add these chemicals after I put the water back in the tank or do I put it in the new water before I put it in the tank ? 4. What test kits should I have? Is the API master kit recommended? 5. Last of all how often should I do my water changes? Sorry about all the questions but I just want to do it right. Thankyou and I look forward to your responses. Regards Sam Thankyou Krellious Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sam1 Posted September 23, 2009 Author Share Posted September 23, 2009 1 30% 2 prime 3 bicarb soda and epsom salt... google cichlid buffer recipe 4 api is best, get the one that has gh,kh,high range ph, anonia, nitrate and nitrite 5 weekly, but depends on what filter you have... Thankyou Krellious Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Miller Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 G'day Sam, Krellious has given you some good advice, but we all do things differently, if not necessarily better 1. % water change depends on number and size of fish, the filtration you have and the frequency of changes. Your minireef is probably doing a good job. And you acknowledge that the tank is 'fully' stocked. So, I would only do 10% weekly, otherwise salts and buffers start to get expensive. Weekly changes can get problematic if you have a lot of tanks. I do 25% every three weeks on 11 tanks. 2. Chemicals? Prime is good to neutralise chloromines etc that Sydney Water adds to the water. I've always used Wardley's Water Ager. Then there are salts and buffers. 3. There are some good 'home made' recipes around for additives. I prefer to use Seachem salts and buffers but they can be more expensive than the DIY types. I add to the new water before it goes into the tank. 4. I like API too. 5. Most people I talk to who do weekly changes only do 10%. On my Malawi tanks I do 25% every three weeks. But when I had Tropheus I was doing 20% per week (because of my own paranoia ) Just another opinion. Cheers, Lee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sam1 Posted September 23, 2009 Author Share Posted September 23, 2009 G'day Sam, Krellious has given you some good advice, but we all do things differently, if not necessarily better 1. % water change depends on number and size of fish, the filtration you have and the frequency of changes. Your minireef is probably doing a good job. And you acknowledge that the tank is 'fully' stocked. So, I would only do 10% weekly, otherwise salts and buffers start to get expensive. Weekly changes can get problematic if you have a lot of tanks. I do 25% every three weeks on 11 tanks. 2. Chemicals? Prime is good to neutralise chloromines etc that Sydney Water adds to the water. I've always used Wardley's Water Ager. Then there are salts and buffers. 3. There are some good 'home made' recipes around for additives. I prefer to use Seachem salts and buffers but they can be more expensive than the DIY types. I add to the new water before it goes into the tank. 4. I like API too. 5. Most people I talk to who do weekly changes only do 10%. On my Malawi tanks I do 25% every three weeks. But when I had Tropheus I was doing 20% per week (because of my own paranoia ) Just another opinion. Cheers, Lee. Thanks for the feedback Lee, you hear so many different ways of doing things it can get a little confusing at times. I guess it's just a matter of getting as much advice as possible and then applying what works best for each individual. Thankyou Sam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod54 Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 We all do what works for us! If you are growing fry....the greater the frequency/volume of water changes the better. With grow out for my shellies I do 30% every other day.....I don't add salts.....just use a calcium carbonate substrate... I don't add salts unless fish get sick....they breed and prosper in treated Brisbane tap water I've found them to be very hardy and prolific....unlike apistos that seem very prone to bacterial infections if water is not to their liking Perhaps this would be the opposite in Melbourne that has very soft tap water??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Miller Posted September 24, 2009 Share Posted September 24, 2009 G'day, If you are growing fry....the greater the frequency/volume of water changes the better. Now we know why Brisbane has a serious water shortage! The only thing to be careful with in doing massive water changes is the impact on the biology of your aquarium. It is necessary to maintain good bacteria at healthy levels - whatever that is I wouldn't recommend more than 50% at a time. Cheers, Lee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fongyfong Posted September 24, 2009 Share Posted September 24, 2009 Hi all I'm very new in the cichlid world and am going to be doing my first water change on the weekend. I have a 3ft x 2ft x 1.5ft tank with 40 fry of Malawi and Tang cichlids. I know that's alot of fish for the size tank but I will be reducing the numbers as my fish grow. The tank is filtered by a minireef system and is about 6 weeks old. 1. What % of water should I change? 2. What chemicals should I add when I replace the water? eg prime, stabilizer 3. Do I add these chemicals after I put the water back in the tank or do I put it in the new water before I put it in the tank ? 4. What test kits should I have? Is the API master kit recommended? 5. Last of all how often should I do my water changes? Sorry about all the questions but I just want to do it right. Thankyou and I look forward to your responses. Regards Sam 1)30 2)seachem prime 3)I use to add it after i put the water back in, though i think its better to add before 4)API is the best but any master test kit should be fine 5)fortnightly, but i use to be a lazy buM and did it monthly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killiguy Posted September 24, 2009 Share Posted September 24, 2009 I think the Discus philosophy works for all tank raised fish:the more water you change the better the fish will do.Most of us have limited time so a weekly change of 30-50% is good.Some fish dont appreciate huge changes unless the water is similar to that removed (esp Tangs) I must say I use very little testing for my Rift lakes ,but that is after 35 years of keeping fish.I do have a digital pH meter but that is for my Apistos and my black water wild bettas(at pH 4.0 its best to keep an eye out for a pH crash) If you have a good source of buffering(coral substrate +- Rift lake salts) then alot of testing is unneccesary after a few months esp for the Rift lakes and esp if you grt into a good routine of water changes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sam1 Posted September 24, 2009 Author Share Posted September 24, 2009 Thankyou guys for all your information and input. Sam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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