The first question asked by many people interested
in setting up an African cichlid tank is "how often will I need to
change the water?". There is no single answer to this
question. It depends on how many fish are in the tank, what
percentage of the water will be changed each time, the feeding
practices of the owner, the breeds of fish themselves, the type of
food that will be used and if there scavengers in the aquarium or
not.
With that said, a good place to start is to do a
25 to 50% water change each week. This may be more than is
necessary, but by the time the crushed coral (or whatever substrate
is used) is vacuumed, you will find
that this much water has been removed from your cichlid aquarium.
You will see over time if the aquarium is being kept clean and can
adjust the amount and frequency of water changes.
Since African cichlids require an elevated pH and
hard water these conditions that must be maintained between water
changes, see our section on how to change the water and keep these
conditions the same over a long period of time throughout many water
changes.
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