Water change

[RayM]

I have an algal bloom happening in my freshwater tank.

I've reduced the food, thrown in some plants from the pond and will black out the tank for a week or so, once I find something to use to do this. The tank is on an outside verandah so it does get a lot of light, nothing direct but a lot of reflected light. It has been like this for about 10 years and OK.

I think the bore water quality has changed for some reason and possibly has extra phosphate. I have changed over to using rainwater for the tank.

I've been doing 30% water changes twice a week but the tank still looks like pea soup.
What is the maximum water change I can do?

RayM

[Aeonflame]

Dave's primer would probably help a lot more than I could

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[RayM]

I have had a read of the link, it contains good advice. Still not sure the max amount of water I can change in one hit.

I do know where I can find some daphnia, trouble is, the fish really like macros to eat and will probably eat them before they can eat the algae.

[Aeonflame]

I have changed up to 80% of my water on a weekly basis with no ill effects on my fish.

[korith]

As long as your filter media is cycled and all that, should have no issues doing large water changes. I have done a 75% water changes on my discus tank every other day for almost 6 months now. And the discus fry tank, gets a large water change on a daily basis. The big thing is to keep the water temp around the same, shouldn't have any issues then.

One thing you need to address is the cause of the algae. Dave's primer has some good info on it.

[RayM]

As long as your filter media is cycled and all that, should have no issues doing large water changes. I have done a 75% water changes on my discus tank every other day for almost 6 months now. And the discus fry tank, gets a large water change on a daily basis.

Yes, filter is well and truly cycled, it is a canister filter.
Why do you change so much of discus tank water so often?

[Aeonflame]

Discus are sensitive to water conditions. They look better and breed easier in water with as little waste as possible.

[RayM]

OIC. Had to go find some photos of Discus, yes they are quite beautiful looking fish. I guess they'd have to be, to be worth all that effort.

[korith]

Yes, filter is well and truly cycled, it is a canister filter.
Why do you change so much of discus tank water so often?

For the discus fry, water changes help, if you've ever seen discus that look like their growth was stunted, chances are lack of water changes and good quality foods were the cause. When they reach adult size, you can cut back on water changes, but I figure it couldn't hurt to do more water changes, plus water is included in my rent so why not take advantage of that. You can really see a difference in the quality, size and color of them when you take good care of them. Also I want to the adults in breeding condition so trying to keep water quality and food at the best I can.

For raising any type of fry, frequent water changes help a lot.

[RayM]

Update: I have done a 50% water change 4 times over the last 9 days and things are looking much better in the tank. There is just a slight haze of green now. I have used rainwater with a little salt and not the bore water. The fish seem happy enough.

I have been paying a lot of attention to the water temp and making sure what I put in is the same temp as what I take out. The fish are staying a lot calmer during this process now. I never even thought about this before.

I have added some more gravel and planted some native waterplants from my pond. The fish are liking this too. They would like to express their gratitude for the advice you have given me. :ssmile:

[Lady Hobbs]

LOLOL Nothing is a better cure all than water changes.

[RayM]

I tested the bore water today and it is now 1240 microSiemens per cm, almost double the salt level that it was 12 months ago. The pH is 4.5! Yikes.
I suspect the algal bloom may have been a combination of pressure on the filter medium from the extra salt and low pH plus some other contamination in the bore water. Thank goodness these little native fish are made tough for tough Aussie conditions.
It is rainwater tank water for them from now on.
The aquarium is reading 240 microSiemens and pH 6 so the filter should be happier now too.

[RayM]

My tank is finally really clear. I now suspect my filter medium may have collapsed in the poor water quality and had to go through a cycling. The plants I added from the pond would have had some of the important bacteria on them so this should have helped speed up the process. The fish seem a lot happier and are active around the tank again for the first time in ages.

If only fish could talk mine could have said
"haalp, the water is off, too salty and acidic....dooooo something" :fish2: :cheerleadersmileygi :helpsos:

[korith]

My tank is finally really clear. I now suspect my filter medium may have collapsed in the poor water quality and had to go through a cycling. The plants I added from the pond would have had some of the important bacteria on them so this should have helped speed up the process. The fish seem a lot happier and are active around the tank again for the first time in ages.


That's good. Another good thing about plants is they suck up all the excess nutrients, and help with the water quality.