Here’s How To Do A Proper Water Change For Your Aquarium

that guarantees your fish will still be alive after the process!

An aquarium is an enclosed environment, so any waste material release by the living organisms with it end up in the water and substrate. Unless they are removed at regular intervals, these waste materials are biologically transformed into toxic by-products like ammonia, nitrate and phosphate, which affect the water quality and harm the fishes’ health.

If you do not maintain the aquarium well, the poor fish and plants will be living in a sewer filled with pollutants and toxins, and their health will suffer.

What’s the Best Way to do a Water Change?

Water changes involve more than just removing water from the tank and replacing it. Other factors, such as the condition of the replacement water and the amount of water to remove, also come into play. These can affect the water quality, and thus the state of your aquarium’s health.

Colonies of beneficial bacteria grow on every surface in the tank. These bacteria are part of the biological filter; allowing them to thrive will help improve the quality of the biological filtration system.

If you use gravel as a substrate (the floor of the aquarium), simply removing water from the tank only eliminates dissolved pollutants but does not eliminate the detritus and organic matter trapped within the gravel granules. If left alone, these waste materials will eventually decompose and pollute the water.

Using a gravel-cleaning siphon will remove these trapped waste particles, and oxygenate the substrate as well, allowing nutrients and oxygen to reach the biological bacteria living on the gravel.

How Much Water to Change Each Time?

The aquarium size, the number and species of fish, and the types of aquarium accessories will determine the amount of maintenance required.

A small tank with a heavy load may need half its water changed every three days. A large tank with just a few fish may only need a small fraction of the water changed every week or fortnightly.

Ideally, more-frequent and smaller volumes of water changes should be made. These avoid the problems of drastic fluctuations in water parameters, so the organisms in the aquarium need not cope with sudden changes in their environment.

On the other hand, too-frequent water changes should also be avoided, as these disturb the fish and plants, and prevent beneficial bacteria from developing.

Under normal conditions, you should remove 10 to 25 per cent of the total water volume.

Try not to exceed 50 per cent at a time. Do a complete water change only in emergencies such as a disease breakout or accidental water pollution.

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