When To Water Change An Aquarium – (No, It Doesn’t Depend)

Doing water changes is an important part of the hobby. Our fish deserve the cleanest possible home and yea, we love to look at our clean tanks 😊

But how do we determine WHEN to water change an aquarium. Do our fish hold up a sign that says "clean me"? lol Of course not. 

So how do we know WHEN to do them....Simple!

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[angelmika]

Since I found your channel my tank has been so crystal clear. My main tank is in the living room and when the pizza delivery guy delivered our food he stated that my tank was so clear that it look HD quality lol. Thank you again and looking forward to more videos.

[FREEPALESTINE]

In my opinion. This is the best fish channel on Youtube.

[jenndensmore]

I had a freshwater aquarium about 20 years ago and eventually gave up after suffering an Ick infection that got out of hand. Back then, there wasn’t a lot of information available on the internet to the average hobbyist, unlike the wealth of information and ease of accessing the information that there is now. I’ve recently decided to try the hobby again, and during this journey of planning and preparation to start my new tank, I discovered your channel and have been binge-watching all of it. Your presentations are informative and easy to follow, and your personality is engaging and keeps me coming back for more. I can’t thank you enough for doing what you do and helping this newbie to become an informed and empowered fish keeper.

[AVHTOR]

Appreciate your channel man. Straightforward and to the point. No bs/ fillers nonsense to make sure you hit the almighty 10 min mark.

[Kathy_Bennett]

I thought I understood my small little 10 gallon tank that I had set up about 10 years ago. I had it going to watch the little Glofish Danios play and a Betta Splenda during the time I fought Lymphoma (blood cancer). Those little Danios would form little swimming patterns (sometimes just 2" wide) on their own and sometimes another one would join in; then there were the games of chase.

About 2 months ago, I woke up one morning to find most of my fish dead. I was heart broken, I told my husband that they were innocent, they did nothing to deserve this! It was an ammonia spike! I started doing research, and that's how I found you. The Stability saved the fish I could save, especially after a second spike. Let me just say I have one tough catfish and one tough Betta, they survived both spikes. So I need to *thank you* so much!

[flonkas]

Straight to the point. No bs. This is why I watch your videos over everyone else’s.

[FLSBRider]

I usually just do 80% water change every Thursday regardless of what the tests say. Usually it’s about 20ppm with 12 adult discus, 9 angels, 2 blue phantom plecos, in a 125 gallon. Been doing it this way for years without issue.

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I love your videos! I am a very busy person and I don’t have 15-20 minutes to waste on videos that the point never comes out. I really like how you put the point no nonsense straight to the front of your video, at that point, I know, this is the video for me and I will spend whatever amount of time watching the video. That’s because I know what I am getting Versus randomly searching. You’re doing a great job. Keep it up! Love your style.

[celbornagain]

The biggest thing I learned was about the nutrients and minerals!! WOW! Thank you!

[sharoncornell]

I’m still waiting for my tank to cycle. It’s at 5 ppm right now. I recently learned from you that doing a water change before it’s cycled is like resetting the timer. So, I’m patiently waiting. I also just put in a wave maker and my fish seem happy. Thanks for all the great info! I think you have the best channel out there for beginners in this hobby.

[cicatank]

i felt very consoled when you show us your nitrate. I was getting paranoia about that nitrate level when i did those test. I water change every week and do not like to add plants. it is an office tank so not very nice for me to add too much stuff in when i don't have that kind of time for plants maintenance. thanks for your note of encouragement and easy to understand information. clap clap!

[dr.thaliaw]

Awesome tips as I just set up a new African Cichlid tank. I’m really sticking close to this channel now!! Thanks Kev, you’re the best teacher. 🌹

[ShrimpCity]

Hey Kev! I'm new to the hobby but I want to give you a huge thank you for all the info that you've been pushing out! I'm enjoying the hobby a lot more thanks to your videos. Keep up the great work!!

[Kikkomansayo]

Hey Kev, hope you don’t get sick of hearing how much of a source of wisdom and inspiration you are! I’ve always found myself circling back to your vids whenever I’ve been stumped 😁

Don’t stress if there are too many specifics here but if you’ve got the time, I had a question around what you define a water change as!

I’ve got a heavily (give or take) planted tank that seems to keep the nitrates in check. I’ve done water testing every week for the first few months and have always read NH3 = 0, NO2 = 0, NO3 = 20-40, sometimes slightly higher as I figured out the feeding schedule. I lose about 5-10% water to evaporation over the course of a month, so unless nitrate has been higher than 20-40, I usually just do a top up. Do you think this is enough to keep the minerals stocked and if not, do the GH and KH test kits tell me if I’m running low?

I’ve definitely had a few slightly inexplicable losses that I’ve had to chalk up to aggression from my Angels, always a possibility I’m overlooking something. It’s only rummynose tetras and guppies I’ve lost, so questionably sensitive fish to those kinds of parameter changes yeah?

Thanks so much either way man, already given me so many life saving tips as is! Just hoping to get a handle on this before I find out the hard way 😅

[steverabbits]

Kev, your stuff is brilliant man! I was worried to death about my nitrates and they have never been over 15ppm! Currently at about 7ppm. I've watched 3 of your videos so far tonight and I've learned more in 1 hour than I have in a week in the past! I plan to make some great changes based on your teaching my friend - so grateful I cannot tell you!

[medsurgcutie]

You are good at what you do. I follow a lot of fish type content creators but you were the first to really break down and simply the nitrate cycle for me. Thank you.

[celbornagain]

THANK YOU SO MUCH!! Oh my word I’ve been keeping fish for nearly 6 yrs and did not know all of what you shared! Nitrate levels at 40?! Crazy! I would just do water changes weekly regardless!

[ms]

New to the hobby and I admit I'm hooked thanks to your videos I've learned so much. My only regret is not buying a bigger tank..lol I appreciate your help. Thank you.