Water Changes

Re: 50 gallon tank (water change)

If you have a real plant in the tank, do not add salt as it will kill plants.

20% water change every 2 weeks is the minimum. 10-15% every week is better.

Otherwise you were given correct advice.

And that clown loach really needs tankmates of other clown loaches... BUT they will outgrow that tank very quickly. That one fish was probably a bad choice.

 

Re: 50 gallon tank (water change)

You're likely to run into problems housing mollies with those barbs. Mollies are peaceful community fish and the barbs can be aggressive.

As far as water changes go. I would recommend 20% week until your tank runs for a while and you test everything to know how long your water can go without needing to be changed. Now I'm not saying put it off as long as possible, I'm only saying that some tanks may need 2 water changes a week and other may need one 20-30% every 2 weeks. It all depends on the filtration, fish in the tank, plants etc.

 

Re: 50 gallon tank (water change)

I will tell you what I do, I change 25% of the water weekly, and I over filter every tank I have.

What is the filtration like on your tank?

 

Re: 50 gallon tank (water change)

I would have to agree that the clown loach should be returned, however they grow VERY slow and will not soon outgrow your 50 gallon tank. It is commonly believed that they NEED to be in schools but I am not for sure that I am convinced on that issue as of yet

 

Re: 50 gallon tank (water change)

Clown Loaches do grow large but I stand corrected that they do grow slow. They will eventually outgrow the tank though. I have always read and been told you should keep groups but petluvr says different. I dont have that 100% correct answer and there may not be one.

The salt helps relax freshwater fish and promotes oxygen exchange in their gills. I personally use it to treat sick fish. Most pet stores will say to keep it in your tank at all times but I strongly disagree. Salt does well for treating ich, relaxing fish with other illnesses etc...

As for plants prolonged exposure to salt will burn the leaves. Plants do not like salt as they dont grow in a saltwater tank. The salts are different but even aquarium salt will harm your real plants over time. You will find it hard to keep some varieties while others will do ok. It all depends on the plant.

A sponge filter is good but they are usually used to keep small fish from getting sucked into the filter. A strong Hang On Back (HOB) filter will be good while a canister will be ideal. These filters can pump more water through the filter media than a sponge filter. Sponge filters move water by displacing it with air..... canisters and HOB pump water using a mechanical motor (thats the dangerous part for small fish).

 

Re: 50 gallon tank (water change)

Do 50% water changes EVERY week it will have NO adverse side effects on your tank. Test your TAP water for ammonia, nitrite, nitrAtes and ph and AFTER the tank has cycled test once a month to make sure levels are where they should be. Ammonia and nitrIte should stay at 0 whereas nitrAtes should be less than 20ppm. The clown loach just isn't a good idea for long term as they will eventually need at least a 200 gallon tank take a look at this site to get an idea of how large they can get.
http://www.loaches.com/species-index/clown-loach-chromobotia-macracanthus
They however take 10+ years to get that large. For a 50 gallon tank I would recommend an aquaclear filter rated for twice your tank volume sponge filters are good for smaller tanks but in my opinion worthless on larger tanks. Yes people do use salt in their FW setups but mostly as a medication for diseases such as ich. Be careful when adding salt though so that you don't add to much.

 

Re: 50 gallon tank (water change)

I disagree fully with petluvr, I have had one clown loach in a growout tank by himself for a while and he behaves completely different than my larger group of clown loaches. They don't require a group to survive, but will behave completely different and live shorter lives.

As for sponge filters, they are good in that they house LOTS of beneficial bacteria that remove "the bad stuff" from water. However, you will need to get enough filtration to turn the tank over at least 5 times an hour. In my tanks I do nothing less than a 10x turnover rate.

and water changes are sort of a preference as to how much. Like I said I do 25% weekly changes on all my tank (seen in signature)

 

Re: 50 gallon tank (water change)

I've gotten used to people disagreeing with me on the more than one clown loach issue. For your sake and the fishes take it back to the store where you got it would be my recommendation.

 

Re: 50 gallon tank (water change)

I do agree with that petluvr

And as an example I run 3 filters on my 125 gallon

Penguin 350
Emperor 400
Magnum 350

that gives me almost a 10x turnover rate per hour like Wee Bay stated (1100 Gallons Per Hour)

 

Re: 50 gallon tank (water change)

I do at least a 25% water change weekly. I also had to move my Molly's out of my tank because the Barbs were stressing them out and they were getting sick. I recently bought some aquarium salt but haven't used any. Good luck with your new tank...

 

Re: 50 gallon tank (water change)

Don't waste your money on the aquarium salt just use plain old table salt.

 

Re: 50 gallon tank (water change)

....I do not advise the use of table salt...

 

Re: 50 gallon tank (water change)

Why would you not use table salt?

 

Re: 50 gallon tank (water change)

He likes it on his corn.

 

Re: 50 gallon tank (water change)

LOL....

 

Re: 50 gallon tank (water change)

Table salt is aquarium salt plus additives, what these additives are are iodine and various caking agents. You could buy plain table salt (if you can find it) and use that. Rock salt is what I would use instead aquarium salt if it came to it.

 

Re: 50 gallon tank (water change)

I use it all the time in my QT tank. It is my opinion, and that of others, that the iodine in the salt is so minimal that the salinity of the water would harm the fish before the iodine even had a chance to. I once again would like to say that when adding salt table, rock or aquarium it is VERY important to be careful how much you are adding.

 

Re: 50 gallon tank (water change)

I feel that someone should know all the reasons why I say what I say, this ensures that the reader can fully assess the situation and make a decision based on his own logic. I, after reading all the things I have about table salt in the aquarium, cannot recommend it to someone who is new to the game, so to speak.