# How frequent do you do water changes?



## jobber (May 14, 2010)

Thought it be fun to start some polls and do some trending and stats of BCA members.
Today's poll is to see how well you maintain your tanks and how well you treat your fish by providing them with fresh quality water .


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## charles (Apr 21, 2010)

bi-weekly, sometimes every other day.


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## discuspaul (Jul 2, 2010)

Twice a week.
Bi-weekly means once every second week.
Semi-weekly means twice a week.


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## bigfry (Apr 21, 2010)

Monthly for shrimp tanks
Bi-weekly for the African tank
Every other day for the discus tank.


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## InfraredDream (Jun 24, 2010)

Weekly for my bettas and community tanks.


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## Jasonator (Jul 12, 2011)

every 4-7 days with treated water.


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## Ursus sapien (Apr 21, 2010)

2x a week with my bristlenoses (very... um, bioactive fish)
1x for most everyone else


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## jobber (May 14, 2010)

Surprised no one responded to monthly water changes . I know of one person who does that.....me! Well, not my own tank...but within the household. It's thriving and BNP's are productions


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## davej (Apr 28, 2010)

I change 1/3 bi-weekly


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## josephl (Apr 21, 2010)

I have discus, a python water changer and a 'spare bathroom' to keep the python hooked up permanently plus natural gas hot water on demand so the household dosen't run out of hot water so I am able to do daily 2 X 50% water changes in my 210 gallon and 1 X 50% water changes in my 72 gallon.


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## Captured Moments (Apr 22, 2010)

Never ever never ever.


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## joker1535 (May 23, 2010)

josephl said:


> I have discus, a python water changer and a 'spare bathroom' to keep the python hooked up permanently plus natural gas hot water on demand so the household dosen't run out of hot water so I am able to do daily 2 X 50% water changes in my 210 gallon and 1 X 50% water changes in my 72 gallon.


2 50% water changes a day? Geeez, I'm lucky to find time for a bi-weekly waterchange


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## jay_leask (Apr 22, 2010)

50-60% every week


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## jay_leask (Apr 22, 2010)

josephl said:


> I have discus, a python water changer and a 'spare bathroom' to keep the python hooked up permanently plus natural gas hot water on demand so the household dosen't run out of hot water so I am able to do daily 2 X 50% water changes in my 210 gallon and 1 X 50% water changes in my 72 gallon.


wow thats alot, you must go through crazy amounts of water conditioners


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## crazy72 (Apr 22, 2010)

For me it totally depends on the bioload. I usually have very light bioload so although I do w/c weekly or even bi-monthly, I still consider that I treat my fish well.


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## Elle (Oct 25, 2010)

Weekly or twice a week for a couple of the tanks. Although sometimes I let it go for 2 weeks if I'm lazy or busy.


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## gklaw (May 31, 2010)

jobber604 said:


> Surprised no one responded to monthly water changes . I know of one person who does that.....me! Well, not my own tank...but within the household. It's thriving and BNP's are productions


Mine is really quite random - I don't keep record either. Definitely exceed a month often.

- when the sump gets near the bottom and the pump will run dry;
- when I see early signs that the fish may not be as happy as they should be;
- when I have time and remember


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## Ra's al Ghul (Apr 28, 2010)

Once a week 50 percent on a 120 gallon planted tank.


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## Ebonbolt (Aug 12, 2011)

Whenever I find time to, but at least once a week 30-40%


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## MELLO (Apr 21, 2010)

Every night 70-90% on 27g cube, 20 gallon, and 65g fill halfway only. Clean water to keep my discus happy


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## Shiyuu (Apr 9, 2011)

Once a week, if I'm lazy/busy, I do WC bi-weekly~


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## The Guy (Nov 26, 2010)

*Wow lots of lucky fish out there!!*

I do 40- 50% water changes every 2 weeks and all my tanks are thriving and doing well, plus bottom gravel vac. 
PS: does anybody out there have a python hose they don't need, I only need the hose 25 or 50 foot?


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## Acipenser (Apr 21, 2010)

SW tank twice a week 4 gallons each time 
guppies get a change every two weeks or longer if I am quite busy it has stretched out to almost a month 
betta gets changed with the guppies


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## Niffarious (Oct 2, 2011)

I do water changes 2-4 times a week in most cases. Right now all I have are axolotls and fancy goldfish though, so I think that's self explanatory.


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## Momobobo (Sep 28, 2010)

One 50% on all my tanks once a week, can't really spend the time more then once a week.


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## Slopster (Mar 14, 2011)

1/3 of the water every Saturday, plus cleaning of glass and substrate 4hrs/5 tanks


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## josephl (Apr 21, 2010)

joker1535 said:


> 2 50% water changes a day? Geeez, I'm lucky to find time for a bi-weekly waterchange


Tank is in the sitting room, with the python, I can do water changes while working, surfing the net, watching TV or having dinner


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## Captured Moments (Apr 22, 2010)

Every 3 weeks. Routine driven by a modified EI dosing for my planted tanks extended to 3 instead of weekly.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

2x a week at least on all tanks. Discus cube 4x a week.


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## taureandragon76 (Apr 21, 2010)

I feel bad now that I realize I was the only one who put once a month Most of my tanks have quite a low bioload on them. I do water top offs more than I do waterchanges, mainly due to my health problems I have been having this year. All my fish are healthy and happy, I also only feed my tanks 3 times a week.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

taureandragon76 said:


> Most of my tanks have quite a low bioload on them........ I also only feed my tanks 3 times a week.


Those are the keys right there. No reason to make more work for yourself if you don't want it. Problem with most people is that we are not able to resist overstocking and overfeeding. In my growout tank and discus tank, I'm feeding 4x a day, so hence the frequent water changes.


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## Captured Moments (Apr 22, 2010)

2wheelsx2 said:


> Those are the keys right there. No reason to make more work for yourself if you don't want it. Problem with most people is that we are not able to resist overstocking and overfeeding. In my growout tank and discus tank, I'm feeding 4x a day, so hence the frequent water changes.


I think just saying how often you do water change doesn't mean much since a lot depends on many factors such as bioload, feeding regimen, general maintenance and upkeep, presence of plants, etc.. What is good for one may not be for another and perhaps can do more harm than good? Depending on the setup, changing water every 3 months or even longer may not even be a bad idea.. just need topping off on occasion. I might get chasted for this but that is my opinion.


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## jobber (May 14, 2010)

I'd love to be able to change water every 3 months or so


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## Luke78 (Apr 24, 2010)

Gonna admit that ive eased up on the amount of water i change, been having some issues with GH/KH levels and products i use.Havent seen any negatives so far with my occupants.


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## jobber (May 14, 2010)

Looks like BCA members take care of their fish tanks very well


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## Adz1 (Apr 21, 2010)

every 3 days for me.


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