# Water changes with planted tanks



## martinshaver (Nov 25, 2011)

What does everyone do for water changes. I hear some do 50% once a week, some say just siphon off the bottom and top up.


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## Tarobot (Jun 27, 2010)

depends on how much of what you have in what size tank


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## jobber (May 14, 2010)

Here is some water change information of some BCA members.

http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/aqua-lounge-7/how-frequent-do-you-do-water-changes-21958/
http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/aqua-lounge-7/how-much-water-do-you-change-21959/


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## martinshaver (Nov 25, 2011)

Say a planted tank that used to look like this: This was my old tank but I am redoing it.


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## newfie (Mar 7, 2011)

Hi, your tank look very nice.


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## monkE (Aug 4, 2010)

i do a 40-50% change once a week every sunday. My tank is a 77 gallon planted. 

what ferts are you planning on using? if you are going to be EI dosing then you'll have to do a 50% to keep the fert levels correct.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Depends on a lot of factors:

Lighting level
CO2/Excel?
Stocking level
Substrate type, etc

If you are doing EI then 50% a week is a standard, but there really isn't such as thing as too many water changes if you are dosing.


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## martinshaver (Nov 25, 2011)

Lighting is a tek fixture. T5 HO 4x54w. Co2 is compressed with an inline atomizer. Fertz are dry from aquariumfertilizer.com

Substrate is aquariumplants.com's substrate and stocking about 50 tetras


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

I would advise starting at the EI recommended rate of 50% per week as a minimum then.


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## jiayaw (Jun 10, 2011)

I myself do 50% weekly water changes but aiming to do 2-3 times a week when I have more time after I graduate... as I plan to keep discus in the future... and keep the water as pristine as possible... without having the fertilizer levels going a bit too higher between each reset...


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## jjrock (Oct 16, 2010)

do you still need to add conditioner to the water if you only have plants, and no fish?


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