changing water - your thoughts?

[charlie]

https://youtu.be/YwJ5R0ZmYSc
What is your  opinion ?

[Bob_S]

I watched his video a couple of times in case i missed something.

He makes some valid points and I think on a planted aquarium small or no water changes could work.

Since I have mainly kept Cichlids I always did major water changes and the fish seem to appreciate it, maybe I should do less water changes and save on the water bill.

Starting a couple of planted tanks so will try his method in one of them.

Also thought his point of leaving some old water in a pail was interesting, will try on my next water change.

An interesting video.

thanks for posting it.

[bergenm]

It can be done, but you need to find the right balance between maintaining the buffering capacity of the water, while providing plants to absorb the nitrates.

A cichlid tank can maintain the buffering capacity due to the hardness, but nitrates will build over time.

Likewise, a planted tank can clear out the nitrates, but depending on the substrate, it may struggle to buffer the water.

So plant your cichlid tanks or rock your plant tank (with carbonate based stones) and you can give it a shot...

I would also argue that you can move old fish from tank to tank, it's harder on them so you have to do it gradually or adjust the water in the new tank to match the old environment but it can be done.