Water Change Help

bsor79 · 08-26-2007, 06:14 PM

Hi everyone! I'm new to this forum. And i'm also kinda new to owning a aquarium. Every time I do a partical water chance in the tank the next day the fish are hanging around the top of the tank. It looks like they tryng to suck some air. I use tap water conditioner while i'm refilling the tank. Does anyone know the cause of this and if so what can i do to stop this when make partical water changes?

Tommy Gun · 08-26-2007, 07:13 PM

Welcome to the forum bsor79!

I am sure we can help you out but it might help to know a little bit more about your tank so we can help you.

Are you using any airstones or other methods of promoting gas exchange (Co2 out, O2 in)?

When you are putting the water back in the tank, are you making sure that it is not too cold or too warm?

What brand of water conditioner are you using? (My prediction might be stress coat)

When you add the conditioner, are you adding enough for just the amount of water you are replacing or for the entire water volume of the tank?

The cause of this is, as you probably know already, is a lack of oxygen for some reason. Stress coat can sometimes cause this...I have witnessed it in my own tank. If the water you are adding is too warm, the oxygen levels in the tank might become lower since the hotter the water gets, the less oxygen it can hold. There may be some other reasons as well. If you can give us as much information as possible, it would help to narrow things down. If you are not sure what else might help, you can use the link that is in my signature, or by viewing the 'getting faster, more accurate replies' sticky located at the top of this section of the forum.

bsor79 · 08-26-2007, 07:49 PM

Thanks for the quick reply! I got a 55 gal. i am using a rather large air stone and during and after a water change i turn to air flow up as high as it will go. I'm using API (Aquarium Pharmaceutials). And i actually go alittle heavy on the dosage. And i by a 55 gallon dosage. When i do put the water back in i make sure it's at about 78 degrees. I'm at lose for what to do. I feel bad watching these fish look like their suffering.

jd@ga · 08-26-2007, 09:39 PM

Are you using aquarium salt? That may help out alot.

Tommy Gun · 08-26-2007, 10:27 PM

I might also perform some water tests on your water source to see if there are a high amount of nitrites in the water. In fact, can you share the results from your water tests with us (particularity ammonia, nitrites, nitrates)? The presence of nitrites in the water can result in your fish having a hard time getting oxygen, even if there is alot of oxygen in the water.

I might also suggest that when you add the water back to your tank, let it fall into the tank so that it agitates the surface water. This will help increase the rate of gas exchange (Co2 out, O2 in the water). In fact, your air stone does not really add any dissolved oxygen to the water from the bubbles themselves, but it is really the agitation of the surface water that the bubbles create which helps (otherwise the bubbles would get smaller and smaller on the way up and we would want to do something to slow those bubbles down during their ascent). This is important because it is relatively easy to reduce the effectivness of an airstone if it is not placed in a good spot.