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How much.....???? (1 Viewer)

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Long story short, need major water change. How much of a water change can I do without risking the stability of the tank? What %?

Thanks
 
A

AggieBrandon

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i've done 75% changes or more with good results on an established tank. I've even heard people do larger changes with good results. Just watch the parameters after the change and be prepared.

Brandon
 
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G

Guest

I ended up having to do a total water change. When I rinsed the tank out it was still blowing bubbles. Now I have to let I cycle again. Hopefully the rock is still "live" and won't be a total loss.
 
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VIC I am not understanding what the problem was and what about the bubbles?
 
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Actually Al posted that when he was at my house. Soap got in my tank, Thus the bubbles, and everything started dying. Al was wondering how much "cycled" water he could take out of his tank ,without throwing it off, to get mine back up and running in the least amount of time.
 
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Guest

Dang, I would continue to do 50% watrer changes over the next few days. Soap dissolves really fast adn I woudl definately turn off any kind of powerheads and pumps, b/c if you dont then the soap will coat the internal mechanisms as well.
Good luck!
 
alstang1

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Ok, lets try this again..... Eddie..... this is what happened. Vic took EVERY DROP of EVERYTHING out of his tank. No water no rock no fish no nada. He is starting over from ground zero. I have the 75G tank running fine. How much of my 75g tank can I safely water change without kicking off the balance of my tank? The water I pull out will go directly into vic's tank.

Al
 
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Guest

I've got most of the soap out and now cleaning out the sump. Hey Al, I thought you were going to bed?
 
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I'm allmost finished, just need to put everything back together:>. I need sleep.
 
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Well, the best thing to do is obvioulsy to dillute the soap as much as possible. As far as the sand bed, you can pretty much guarantee that that is gone, so look to replace that.
The LR I would place into a trash can and just continually let the soap leak out of it and keep changing the water every few days (all of it) for a month or two and then to test the water etc but you wont truly know until you try it in a tank so get a 10gallon, and some bait shrimp from a local fish market and drop one or two in the tank with as much rock as you can fit in there. That will tell you if it will be safe or not. If you dont want to do that then you need to hjust put the rock out in your yard for decoration.
Eddie
 
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G

Guest

FYI - taking water from an established tank doesn't really help you with cycling - that's a myth. The bacteria you want live on the rocks, sandbed, even the glass, but not much if any of it is in the water.
 
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AggieBrandon

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Yeah the soap in the rock is going to be fun to deal with. Maybe mix up some fresh saltwater and dunk each rock in the water over and over again to flush the rock out so to speak. I would definitely make sure the rock is soap free before I stuck it back in a tank....otherwise you are back where you started.

Brandon


and yes you can take about 40 gallons out of your 75 but maybe do it over a period of a few days or so. If you take it out all at once watch your tank closely and be prepared for everything.
 
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Guest

Gee thanks Eddie. I could have a rock garden :lol:. I've been washing rock for the last few hours and seem to have gotten most of it out. It looks like there are still a few critters kickin.
 
kris4647

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Mikester is correct "aged water" doesnt do anything for the cycle. Your nitrifying bacteria reside primarily on the surface of your rock tank walls etc.

If I read the posts correctly, you have nearly nothing in your tank but rock, a 90-100% change should be fine. A small HOB skimmer would really help you out with the soap export....

Good Luck
 
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Guest

Vic, depending n how much rock you have it could make a nice rock garden with sand the whole package! How exactly did the soap get into your water?

Al----you can pretty much do 80 slow and gradually but its like MIKESTER is saying, it wouldnt really be beneficial to either of you. Ill give you a call later on today.
 
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