Partial water change questions....?

How often do you perform partial water changes in a fresh water aquarium and what percentage of water do i remove and replace? Also my tank is newly established, i should have got an under gravel filter as well but i didn't. The water smells kind of nasty so i wonder if it is time to change the water yet, it has only been about 3 weeks since i set it up. Thanks!!!Partial water change questions....?You should do partial water changes each week. How much, that depends on how many fish you have. 10% - 50% ?. Something around 25% is about right for a normally stocked tank. The only way to KNOW for sure is to do water tests. But if you aren't sure, do a water change.



If your tank is new and getting smelly then it's part way through establishing it's natural cycles. I would do some extra partial water changes now to reduce the ammonia level in the tank. Extra water changes do NO harm to the tank or fish, but ammonia is VERY toxic.



IanPartial water change questions....?Doing partial water changes during the cycling process will slow down the cycling as you are removing some of the ammonia thats feeding the cycle bacteria. But it will keep your fish alive if you have added a few too many early in the process.



So some extra water changes are a better option.

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Partial water change questions....?Omg are you saying you havent cleaned it yet? lol! No really they say when you first get a tank you need to clean it every 2 days with a 15% water change. Then they say every 2 weeks to a month. Good luck!Partial water change questions....?First, do you have fish in your tank? If so, then you are in a bit of a situation. Your tank hasn't cycled yet. Read this: http://tetra-fish.com/forums/showthread.



You need to do water changes either way. While your tank is cycling, you need to do them according to that thread I gave you. The bad smell is ammonia. Get a gravel siphon if you don't have one, or use some extra air tubing (using air tubing will take a while, but good in a pinch). If you don't have fish in the tank, do a 50% water change. If you have fish in the tank, do two 10% water changes, back to back. Don't forget to use declorinator/water conditioner. Follow the thread's advice on how often to do water changes.



After you are done cycling your tank, you will need to do one 25% water change every week (unless your tank is overstocked, then you will need to do more).



Hope this helps. If you have more questions ask at tetra-fish.com/forumsPartial water change questions....?You need to do a 25% water change every two weeks for the first couple of months and then a 50% every month from then on. You should also check the nitrite and amonia levels and if you get any kind of reading then it's time to change the water because nitrites and amonia should read zero when tested. Hope this helped.