Paulo Soares
Member
- Joined
- 6 Nov 2014
- Messages
- 602
For Planted Aquariums With Estimative Index
Good day,
First let me tell you that since I embrace this hobby and as time goes by I always question my self some theorys and methods that are taken as functional and it seem also cientically proven without question.
Well.. since I remember myself of being in this world that I always question and question time after time things I deal with. It´s in my nature.
And so this is the reason of this thread. Questioning!
Everyone knows what is a Water Change (In Portugal we called it “TPA”)
As you know it is being accepted over the years the so called method of 50% weekly water change.
So, I would like to leave my opinion and share with you my thoughts about this method.
I believe that we should do WC-“Water Change” of 15 / 20 % three times a week. This would be perfect. But doing this becomes almost impraticable for many of us due to our lives, so I accept for myself a value not inferior of 30% twice a week instead those 50 % once.
Firstly, because very few fish tolerate sudden changes of 50% and the parameters of the water. I think that we all agree in this matter. IN a long term we are compromising them.
Sudden Changes and significant amount as the 50% is in my opinion too big.
And I am not only talking about the thermal issue. This in itself is a cute problem we all deal with. How to maintain and stabilise the same temperature with levels so high of WC..
Then we run a full week with nitrates levels and others rising due to their own biological filtering right? I think that also here there will be no doubts. As well as the level of contamination, and nitrogenous fertilizers that are accumulating during the week.
The PH itself eventually suffer a enormous change with a weekly process running than in a process of bi- or tri-weekly water change.
As we know by water analyzes from the city hall or another institute of our area, a WC of 50% will remove too many trace elements presented in that current water that the 50% refitting will never match. So we´re gonna have too many losses.
Further, we do not know dates of water treatment by the company and changes that it suffers, so the risk of 50% WC is incredibly higher than a 30% or 20% if something wrong occurs in water of the network. And i´ve seen too many post of colleagues that after a WC of 50% their tanks suddenly become totally unstable and with fish deads, or sudden onset of Diatoms as the most common cause that I perceive. Why this occurrence happen so many times?
The tank is stabilized and suddenly after a WC crumble? ( ... )
More: With two or more WC instead of the 50% I have no need to turn off the filter and destroy bacteria and repeat the cycle. Only this gain for me is already more than valuable.
I dare to say that even for the plants a change of 50% is not beneficial. The higher plants goes from a submerged stage, to a re-emerged once a week, and this sum of Out/In – Emerge for many scholars results in the so-called "Dyeoff" part of plants (leaves that fall, shaken due to contacts etc) which in turn will lead to an increase of decomposition of organic matter.
Another problem with the 50% WC is the risk (and occurs almost certainly) of rummaging to mcuh the substrate and release millions of bacteria in one fell swoop to the little water that is inside.
And even the fact of plants slipping/drop by not being submerged (they lose balance) certainly will damage the stem, and also revolve the substrate.
So what is preferable? Make a small change and thus ensure that the changes do not converge much or change 50% and differ everything?
The ideal for me, will be to make small changes to water quite often. 15% Per cent every other day, but in the light of our lives being complicated I apply the 30% twice a week.
My concern is not to change the water of the aquarium so drastically and minimize the risk of significant changes in water chemistry.
If we make small changes of water, the 20 or 30% that I have spoken, it would be necessary that the main water or that already in aquario were in very poor condition for any tangible significant differences within the aquarium. (All mixed up)
I see this as in nature. Rivers are constantly renewing the water in so many different ways, such as rain, snow, source of water, glaciar, or the WATER CICLE.
In a tank we have a water closed circuit so how can we bring a more closer or approach form as it is in nature? Performing more WC I think.
For instance: If Sunday I change 20%, than on Tuesday another 20, than on Friday more 20 and so on… from the last partial change to the new in each time i´m not making significant changes in the parameters of the water and so she will be always equal and the same over and over. Always quite new with few changes.
Even in a mature tank if we do more WC we certainly are delaying the final day.. Eutrophication.
This is my opinion and as a member of the forum I share for exchange of ideas.
It is for this reason that we're here.
I see more but much more beneficials in frequent Water Changes than the older "50 Method"…
Compliments
Good day,
First let me tell you that since I embrace this hobby and as time goes by I always question my self some theorys and methods that are taken as functional and it seem also cientically proven without question.
Well.. since I remember myself of being in this world that I always question and question time after time things I deal with. It´s in my nature.
And so this is the reason of this thread. Questioning!
Everyone knows what is a Water Change (In Portugal we called it “TPA”)
As you know it is being accepted over the years the so called method of 50% weekly water change.
So, I would like to leave my opinion and share with you my thoughts about this method.
I believe that we should do WC-“Water Change” of 15 / 20 % three times a week. This would be perfect. But doing this becomes almost impraticable for many of us due to our lives, so I accept for myself a value not inferior of 30% twice a week instead those 50 % once.
Firstly, because very few fish tolerate sudden changes of 50% and the parameters of the water. I think that we all agree in this matter. IN a long term we are compromising them.
Sudden Changes and significant amount as the 50% is in my opinion too big.
And I am not only talking about the thermal issue. This in itself is a cute problem we all deal with. How to maintain and stabilise the same temperature with levels so high of WC..
Then we run a full week with nitrates levels and others rising due to their own biological filtering right? I think that also here there will be no doubts. As well as the level of contamination, and nitrogenous fertilizers that are accumulating during the week.
The PH itself eventually suffer a enormous change with a weekly process running than in a process of bi- or tri-weekly water change.
As we know by water analyzes from the city hall or another institute of our area, a WC of 50% will remove too many trace elements presented in that current water that the 50% refitting will never match. So we´re gonna have too many losses.
Further, we do not know dates of water treatment by the company and changes that it suffers, so the risk of 50% WC is incredibly higher than a 30% or 20% if something wrong occurs in water of the network. And i´ve seen too many post of colleagues that after a WC of 50% their tanks suddenly become totally unstable and with fish deads, or sudden onset of Diatoms as the most common cause that I perceive. Why this occurrence happen so many times?
The tank is stabilized and suddenly after a WC crumble? ( ... )
More: With two or more WC instead of the 50% I have no need to turn off the filter and destroy bacteria and repeat the cycle. Only this gain for me is already more than valuable.
I dare to say that even for the plants a change of 50% is not beneficial. The higher plants goes from a submerged stage, to a re-emerged once a week, and this sum of Out/In – Emerge for many scholars results in the so-called "Dyeoff" part of plants (leaves that fall, shaken due to contacts etc) which in turn will lead to an increase of decomposition of organic matter.
Another problem with the 50% WC is the risk (and occurs almost certainly) of rummaging to mcuh the substrate and release millions of bacteria in one fell swoop to the little water that is inside.
And even the fact of plants slipping/drop by not being submerged (they lose balance) certainly will damage the stem, and also revolve the substrate.
So what is preferable? Make a small change and thus ensure that the changes do not converge much or change 50% and differ everything?
The ideal for me, will be to make small changes to water quite often. 15% Per cent every other day, but in the light of our lives being complicated I apply the 30% twice a week.
My concern is not to change the water of the aquarium so drastically and minimize the risk of significant changes in water chemistry.
If we make small changes of water, the 20 or 30% that I have spoken, it would be necessary that the main water or that already in aquario were in very poor condition for any tangible significant differences within the aquarium. (All mixed up)
I see this as in nature. Rivers are constantly renewing the water in so many different ways, such as rain, snow, source of water, glaciar, or the WATER CICLE.
In a tank we have a water closed circuit so how can we bring a more closer or approach form as it is in nature? Performing more WC I think.
For instance: If Sunday I change 20%, than on Tuesday another 20, than on Friday more 20 and so on… from the last partial change to the new in each time i´m not making significant changes in the parameters of the water and so she will be always equal and the same over and over. Always quite new with few changes.
Even in a mature tank if we do more WC we certainly are delaying the final day.. Eutrophication.
This is my opinion and as a member of the forum I share for exchange of ideas.
It is for this reason that we're here.
I see more but much more beneficials in frequent Water Changes than the older "50 Method"…
Compliments
