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should i do a 50 percent weekly water change or 2 25 percent weekly water changes?

5K views 22 replies 9 participants last post by  Tolak 
#1 ·
so i did that fish calculator thing and it says to do a 50 percent weekly water change or i may want to split it up into 2 25 percent water changes what do you think.
 
#4 ·
Aquarium Salts are perfectly safe to use during your water changes. They reduce stress, treat parasites, protect fish from nitrite poisoning. Been using them for over 30 years and never once lost a fish due to it. If your having issues with your fish check your water parameters. It would have nothing to do with the Aquarium Salts.

Jeff
 
#5 ·
I'm trying to think of a bigger scam in this hobby than aquarium salt. If you feel the need to use it pick up a 50 pound sack of livestock salt, same thing, for $5. I use it for hatching bbs, in a busy year breeding I'll go through 50 pounds. If you use salt to deal with stress, parasites or nitrite you're treating the symptoms, not the problem.

As far as water changes I'd go with the 50%, why drag out & put away gear twice.
 
#11 ·
Currently running 19 tanks & a couple 150 gallon tubs in a 30 tank fishroom that hits just over 1k gallons. Mostly breed angels, and will buy overstock from other angel breeders when the need arises. I could link you to a topic with plenty of pics, explains what & how I do things, but it is on another tropical fish forum, which I own. This would violate TFK rules. I could dig up pics, which I will do once I'm done packing a variety of things for a drive from Chicago to Indy tomorrow for an auction. Last weekend's drive to an auction in Elkhart brought me a $330 profit, not bad for a day's work doing what I love.

I'm a member & preferred vendor with Greater Chicago Cichlid Association. They have 90 table swap meets every couple of months, and actually my day job gets in the way of me expanding my aquatic endeavors to a full time employment situation. There are so many old world cichlid keepers & breeders in that club that going in that direction would be an exercise in further swamping the area with O.W. cichlids. These are the cichlid guys I hang with, look them up. I'm also a lifetime member of Greenwater Aquarist Society of Chicagoland, I get my general aquatic fix from them, have held numerous exec & board positions over the years, chair committees, run events, another endless list.

I'll get up some pics once I'm done doing things that pay the bills, I'm wondering what any of this has to do with the questions the OP asked; water changes.
 
#12 ·
You're 50% water changes actually benefit your tank far more then 2 25% WC. While I see in theory how it might add up but it actually doesn't...plus it wastes time. Use a python and go for the 50% and be done with it.

I suggest you avoid the hassle of two separate water changes. It will be less stress on you as well as your fish. What additives are you using for your water changes.

I use Seachem Prime & Aquarium Salts.


Jeff
Jeff, many many fish do not need aquarium salt. In fact it's an irritant. It stresses the fish and causes excess slime coat production.
However as I do I assume you keep Mbuna.. this is another animal together.

Aquarium Salts are perfectly safe to use during your water changes. They reduce stress, treat parasites, protect fish from nitrite poisoning. Been using them for over 30 years and never once lost a fish due to it. If your having issues with your fish check your water parameters. It would have nothing to do with the Aquarium Salts.

Jeff
Actually you should be using aquarium salt, a light dose of marine salt and a small dose of epsom salt. This replicates their high salt content lake and the minerals they need from this...it is not for nitrite poisoning ...not for parasites. This is for their health from their salt water ancestors and they thrive in this environment that many other fish would not.

No they do not need aquarium salts.
OP does not need salts...unless keeping rift lake fish

How many Cichlid tanks do you have and how many Cichlids. Please share your pics.

Jeff
I can share plenty pics..(but it'd be easier if you just look for mine as they are here on TFK) :lol: .. but i'm not going to hijack the original question. all cichlids also are not the same. My S.A. cichlids would not thrive with the salt additives. My mbuna love them.. but it's best to know why you are adding them.
 
#13 ·
All this in a livebearer section, go figure. Rift lake cichlids do need harder water with higher pH, this means minerals, not salinity. Marine salt is a different product from aquarium salt, it does contain the minerals & buffers that will increase hardness & pH. What is the s.g. of the rift lakes, this will tell you their salinity.
 
#15 ·
should i do a 50 percent weekly water change or 2 25 percent weekly water cha...

Two 25% changes are not equal to a 50% change, as was pointed out. The only time it's advantageous to do small water changes is if there have been no water changes done in a really long time - a few months or more - as to no shock the fish.
 
#16 ·
That would be marine salt that provides those elements. This being in the livebearer section the only species that I can think of that would do well in elevated salinity would be mollys, but I'm no livebearer guy. They do appreciate harder water with a higher pH, much like rift lake cichlids. As mentioned, epsom salt, which is magnesium, as well as a calcium additive would more closely replicate the waters of the rift lakes. Their salinity is the same as fresh water.
 
#18 · (Edited)
As Jaysee said, 2 x 25% water changes is not the equivalent of a 50% water change.

The African lakes (Malawi, Tanganyika etc) are freshwater. Tanganyika is recorded as the World's longest freshwater lake. They are high in mineral content, hence the hardness values required for setups containing fish from these locations, but in terms of salinity the SG is basically 1.000 (that of pure/freshwater).
 
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