# how u look after



## paul_28 (Jan 20, 2011)

how do u look after your large tanks? give me a rough idea of your daily, weekly, monthly routines. because of the larger water volume can u get away with less water changes? some will say the bio load is more diluted and its less dangerous than in a 20gallon tank. I was having a word with my lady Lol and we might have a 125gallon with cabinet in our living room but she thinks it will be alot of work to keep the tank running.


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## hp10BII (Apr 23, 2010)

Water change routines on any tank still depends on how heavy you stock your tank and the type of tank inhabitants, so it's still all relative. So if you have the same type of fish and numbers that you have in a 20g moved to a 125g, sure, you can go longer between water changes. Let your nitrate readings tell you whether your water change regime is good for your tank.

My community with clown loaches and demansonii barbs gets a 50% waterchange weekly, it's heavily stocked. During the change, I prune, gravel vac, add back water supplements. I have 2 canister filters on it, they get serviced every 4 months. Nothing to do daily, just feed, every couple of weeks, scrape algae.

Depending on stocking levels, my tanks get 25-50% water changes weekly.

Discus tank 60% water changes 3x a week, service hob filter monthly.

Make your life easier doing water changes - for my basement tanks, I use a utility pump to pump water out and another pump to pump water back in - no buckets. A python type of water change system will help gravel vac and siphon water out and pump water back in - I use that on my community tank.


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## hgi (Jun 13, 2010)

Like Hp said, 
"Water change routines on any tank still depends on how heavy you stock your tank and the type of tank inhabitants, so it's still all relative."

I give my big tank a 50% change once a week, If I'm fast about it I can have everyone done and put away in 30min. I hook a vinyl hose right to my tap to refill, buckets are not fun.


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## Shell Dweller (Jul 11, 2010)

I do 20 to 30 % w/c on my 11 tanks weekly. They range from 33 gal to 160 gal. I use a python attatched to the sink, and it takes me 2 to 3 hours to do all of them, including cleaning the gravel. Clean the canister filters every 3 months, HOB filters every month.


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## paul_28 (Jan 20, 2011)

would x5 black widow tetras, x7 tiger barbs, x3 corydoras and a handfull of apple snails be overstocking in 125gallon? i think i could add more but dont want any large fish just lots of smaller shoal fish really. we have 125gal in living room now but waiting before add the fish yet.


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## monkE (Aug 4, 2010)

You could put a lot more than just that in that tank. have a look at my signature for my stock in a 77 gallon.

i think the general rule of thumb is 1" of fish per 1 gallon of water. So in your 125 you could have up to 125 inches of fish.

Please somebody correct me if I'm wrong



paul_28 said:


> would x5 black widow tetras, x7 tiger barbs, x3 corydoras and a handfull of apple snails be overstocking in 125gallon? i think i could add more but dont want any large fish just lots of smaller shoal fish really. we have 125gal in living room now but waiting before add the fish yet.


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## firsttenor (Jul 7, 2010)

monkE said:


> You could put a lot more than just that in that tank. have a look at my signature for my stock in a 77 gallon.
> 
> i think the general rule of thumb is 1" of fish per 1 gallon of water. So in your 125 you could have up to 125 inches of fish.
> 
> Please somebody correct me if I'm wrong


lol well if you had 125 inches of oscar you would defintly have a problem. That rule is pretty solid for small thin bodied fish.


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## dean9922 (Apr 21, 2010)

I have plumbed in my tanks to central water pumps. I have one pump, which thru numerous valves I can turn on whatever tank I want and drain the water waste right to the drain. I then have a holding tank 125 gallon and with using another pump, I can again control, thru valves and pump clean and aged water right back into the tanks to fill up. Makes life so much easier then hauling buckets of water. I have discus only and I change 50% every second day on 2 tanks and 50% the next day....works awesome.


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## AWW (Apr 22, 2010)

I think this is way to broad. 

Some people use top of the line filtration, that you don't need to clean for months. 

Others use sumps, where maintenance is weekly. 

Some people use a trickle system = no water changes. 

Discus keepers often do daily water changes. 

Oscar keepers generally don't. weeks could go by. 

I think the more money/time/care you take in setting up your system, the less maintenance you have to do.


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## 240sx (Sep 4, 2010)

For what it's worth I have a 130 Gallon with a full grown Oscar, 3 Peacock Bass, Dat, Knife fish and a common Pleco and I do one decent water change a week at least. Sometimes twice a week if I have time. 

It has two AC 110's and a Magnum 350 Canister filter. Xp3 is getting connected very soon. I alternate filter cleaning and that makes it so much easier. So does having sand. 

Hope that helps!

*edit I also feed them a lot of live food, like cray fish, feeder minnows and convict fry. Also eat pellets and prawn.


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## charles (Apr 21, 2010)

1" per gallon rule is a myth.

also, if you want less work for water changes, then you can use plant to be a nitrate sponge. Though you will get away from doing water changes, you then have to do extra work on getting fert., trimming, for your plant.

Just remember, doesn't really matter what filtration you use (with the exception of self water changing system), water changes is still a must.

You are right about water in a bigger tank is more stable. In a 20g, water can go bad fast if you let it. A bigger tank, will take longer. Again, this is a general saying. Even in a 220, putting 15 full size oscar in there will kill the bio pretty fast in a tank that size.


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## deepRED (May 22, 2010)

I change the water in both my 300 gallons once every 7-10 days. At least 100 gallons in each tank. 

Both tanks are planted, but both tanks are well stocked.

My one tank has around 200 assorted small/medium fish (angels, rainbows, loaches, barbs, tetras etc..) and the other tank, around 15 larger fish and a fly river turtle. Change out the filter floss each water change, but on the one tank with a canister filter I service it only once every 2 months. 


My 100 gallon discus tank I change the water once a week, 50% change. This tank is fully planted and is growing houseplants emersed out the back. Still, with all the plants I still do the changes because the discus do better with the fresh water, growth rates and appetite are increased. 
This is removal of hormones and other things that a simple nitrate test will not tell you. 

Like others have said, unless you are doing a 24/7 autochange, there is no way around water changes unfortunately, even in large systems.
You may be able to get away with it for a while, and there is definitely more room for error, but the quality of your water will have a direct impact on the long term health of your livestock.


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## tony1928 (Apr 22, 2010)

For my 400g, which has around 50 med/large africans in there, I do a 25-30% wc every two weeks. No way around having to change water.


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