![]() Just reply to this e-zine and tell me what you think, or what topics you want covered.How often should a goldfish tank be cleaned? To read more about water changes click here.Ĭomments? Ideas? Feedback? I'd love to hear from you. Use your water test kit to make sure the volume and frequencies you are changing your water at ensures the water never moves far from the ideal quality. Every month or so depending on the season I completely change the water. I make three quarter (75%) water changes weekly in my aquariums, and use a water conditioner when re-filling. Poor water quality is the number one reason Goldfish become stressed and get sick. ![]() They know that by providing high quality water for their fish, very rarely will their fish succumb to disease or parasites. Most Goldfish experts make large water changes, and often. This doesn’t mean stripping down the aquarium or pond, it is just the water you are changing. The ideal is to make complete water changes often. Some of the pollutants, and to keep ahead of the build-up, you would need to make more and more frequent water changes. The point I am trying to make is this, partial water changes only remove This is because with a half water change you have only removed half of the pollutants.Įach time you do a half water change or less, the water that is left is becoming more and more polluted. If you keep testing the water daily until it starts to show signs of pollutants rising again, you will notice it is a lot quicker than when the aquarium was clean. Partial Water Changes Only Remove Some Of the Pollutants If ammonia does start to build above zero, check that your filter is big enough for the job, or that nothing has died unseen in the aquarium.īy making say a half (50%) water change, and retesting your water, the pH should be up, the nitrates half what they were, and ammonia at zero.īut is this enough? When do you need to make another water change? You will now have an indication of how fast the water starts to degrade from fresh.Įstablished aquarium, ammonia shouldn’t be a problem if the filter is doing its job. As soon as any one of the three parameters, pH, nitrates or ammonia start to move too far away from the ideal, a water change is required. Starting with a clean aquarium, and a filter that is established (the aquarium has gone through the ammonia cycle), use a water test kit to test the water daily. Test Until Your Water Starts To Become Unclean Goldfish are quite tolerant of high nitrate levels, but there is some evidence that high levels can cause swim bladder disorders. There are other chemicals in your water supply such as silicates that have an effect on the growth of brown algae (diatoms) but the important ones for your Goldfish’s health are the three listed. Water from your tap should have nitrates near zero,Īmmonia at zero, and a pH level around 7.0, but pH can vary depending on location. Nitrate level less than 20 ppm (parts per million) ![]() Goldfish are very adaptable to different water conditions, so for example if your pH level is a little above or below the ideal, you will know what the normal unpolluted level is.Īfter testing your water supply, you have some figures to compare against the ideal Goldfish water parameters. ![]() ![]() Only you can decide.Ī good start to working out how often to change water is to test your fresh, clean water supply. The amount of light your aquarium/pond receivesĪs you can now appreciate, there are too many variables for any publication or website to start giving advice about how often, and how much water should be changed. The number or density of your fish per gallon/literĦ. The problem is, several important parameters affect how often the water should be changed. What they should be saying is, water changes are very important, and you must work out how often you need to change the water. In fairness to the websites or publications, they know that water changes for Goldfish are vital if they are to thrive, not just survive. Many will give volume and frequencies figures, but qualify them by saying that your particular circumstances may be different. The advice given ranges from 10-25% weekly water changes, to as long as monthly changes. ![]()
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