Why is regular water change important?

Should we be wasting our time doing regular water change? Is it really that important? The real question here is why shouldn't we? Doing regular water changes is the basic way for ensuring that the environment our aquatic pets live in is not only aesthetically pleasing to our eyes but most important of all, is fit for the general well-being of our aquatic pets and their surroundings.

Some beginners in the aquatic pet hobby think that the only reason why we need to do water change is for water clarity. A clear water as a matter of fact doesn’t mean that your tank water is clean. It is just the same as a drinking water. Being clear doesn’t mean that it is fit for drinking. It could contain harmful chemical which are not visible to the naked eye but are unhealthy for you. Filtration systems especially those high-end expensive types can help keep the tank environment in optimal condition but this doesn't mean that we no longer need to do water changes in our tank. The frequency might be lower but in the end, we still cannot run away from the fact that we still have to do regular water changes. An exception maybe is for setups which are self-sufficient, such as planted tanks that are based on the Walstad method, but generally regular water changing a must in the aquatic pet-keeping hobby.

Water change helps remove discoloration and odor which in some tanks needing light, whether artificial or natural, to have optimal light penetration down to the bottom of the aquarium. This is very important for proper photosynthesis to occur in planted tanks to obtain excellent plant growth, and in saltwater setups it help beautiful corals and unique invertebrates with their growth and general health.

Regular water changes generally removes waste produced by your aquatic pets, organic materials that decomposed in the water and also the excess of the chemicals that were used (if any) in treatments done in the tank. The waste dissolved contributes to nitrate and phosphate build-up and can create an unhealthy environment for your aquatic pets while promoting algae and bacterial growth which would eventually result to a number of problems in your tank. Not to mention that it will make the aquarium unsightly.

When you change the water, you also replenish beneficial minerals and traces of elements which in some cases can be very important especially when dealing with corals and freshwater or saltwater crustaceans like crabs and shrimp. This is because they need these minerals for skeleton or exoskeleton growth. Corals and other saltwater invertebrates use up minerals quickly in a small and closed environment hence replacing the water in their tanks regularly is a must.

Ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate are nitrogen compounds harmful to our aquatic pets. Biological filtration helps to process ammonia, and convert it to nitrite, then into nitrate. Most aquarium lack the system to process nitrate and the result is nitrate accumulation which is extremely common in both freshwater and saltwater aquariums. Aquatic pets can tolerate low levels of nitrate as we cannot totally ensure a nitrate-free environment for them but when the nitrate reach high levels, this begins to stress to them. This will make our aquatic pets more susceptible to disease and will cause them to demonstrate poor growth and color development. In marine tanks, high level of nitrates will contribute to corals and invertebrates' degraded health and will negatively affect saltwater fishes as well.

Water changes is also used to help trigger spawning in some species of aquatic species by artificially recreating the natural condition where the fish would normally breed. It enables the breeders to either change the temperature of the tank by raise or lowering it and same goes for the water level. Take for example some species of Corydoras. In the wild, they usually spawn after heavy rain. If a breeder is planning to breed them, lowering the water level in the tank for some time and then suddenly increasing it with water that is of a slightly lower temperature might help trigger spawning provided that other breeding conditions are met.

As an aquatic pet hobbyist, it is important to educate ourselves of the basic care of our pets to ensure that they are well taken care of. One of the basic knowledge we should know about is how important water changes are for the hobby we are in. Proper procedures in doing water changes should be followed like stocking water beforehand when harmful chemicals such as chlorine are present, doing routine partial water changes instead of a total water change to avoid stressing aquatic pets with frequent and sudden changes in their environment which also kill beneficial bacteria and a number of things.

Nowadays, the information needed can be easily researched about online either from aquatic pet websites where they have related articles on specific topics you’re currently looking for or if you don’t feel like reading you can search for tutorial videos where you can really get to watch and learn tons of stuff. Another great way to learn is by meeting and talking to fellow hobbyists as most will surely be happy to share their knowledge and experiences with you. We for example at Iligan Aquascaping Community (IAC) have a regular monthly meeting where we gather with fellow hobbyists to learn, discuss & share aquascaping knowledge and experiences.

The process of water changing can be a frustrating chore for most of us but if you really are in love with the aquatic pet hobby, the chance to get a tiny glimpse of life underwater is a wonderful experience that will make all the hard work worthwhile. It is simply of the ways where you can get to enjoy life's simplest pleasures.

To those interested about our Iligan Aquascaping Community (IAC), click on the highlighted links or on our group logo below to visit our group on Facebook and you can just copy & paste this link on your browser, https://www.facebook.com/groups/IliganAquascapingCommunity.

Don't forget to visit our Facebook page MAGS-Pets :D
 Happy pet-keeping!

Article contributors: Kayle & Mags