Goldfish water change

[Jeremy]

Hi Guys

Im going to be starting a new job on Wednesday and its a night shift, 12 hour shifts at that. Anyways I know im going to feel very sluggish for the first couple weeks and just have a question about my water change.

I try to change 30% each week in my 40 gal goldfish tank and was wondering If I was to do a 50% change tomorrow will that buy me a couple weeks until another water change or is that too much to change at once?

any tips would be great

Jeremy

[Limming]

50% is fine as long as ph and temp are the same I do 50% each week. As for being enough for a few weeks as long as you have good filtration it should be ok for a couple of weeks.

[mommy1]

Are you going to be working 7 days a week? Maybe you can change your water change schedule for your day off. You should really do a water change weekly. Watch the nitrates, even though water changes are for much more than reducing nitrates, they can be a good indicator as to whether you can wait two weeks or not.

[mizzoutank]

2nd that to Mommy1

goldfish need super filtration and big water changes because of the amount of wastes they produce, so things go sour really really fast in that set up.

and of course, this is all pending you have adequate stocking in your tank with proper filtration.

[Jeremy]

Thanks guys,

I have a aqua tech filter right now that is made for a 40 gal but I find it doesn't really do a good job. I really want to get another one. Can anybody recommend one?

[Tiari]

I would recommend keeping the filter you have, and adding a second filter. Your filtration capacity should double what your tank holds. for a forty gallon tank, you want 80 gallons of filtration. I would recommend an aquaclear as a second filter, and even adding a sponge filter run by an air pump as a back up to that. It seems like overkill, but trust me, in the long run its well worth it.

[Dennis Bissett]

Goldfish are messy, depending on quantity even if your filtration is keeping up with ammonia production, you still need to clear nitrates, by water change. The only way I can see to buy yourself some time between changes is go to 70 - 80%, frequency to be dictated by the results of your water tests

[Cliff]

Thanks guys,

I have a aqua tech filter right now that is made for a 40 gal but I find it doesn't really do a good job. I really want to get another one. Can anybody recommend one?

As you feel you don't have very good filtration, I certainly would not suggest skipping a weekly water change. If anything, I would suggest increasing the amount, but your water parameters will confirm that for you. It doesn't take all that long at all to complete a waterchange and your fish will thank you for it

As for filter recommendations, I would suggest looking into Aquaclear HOBs, or, if you want a canister filter then Rena, Fluval, and Eheim are all good brands to pick from. I can't make much more of a recommendation than that as I do not know your current stocking or tank size.