Can I do less water changes?Updated 2 months ago

The main purpose of water changes is not to dilute nutrient levels in the aquarium but to remove excess dissolved and solid organic waste. In tanks with higher light levels, organic waste is the prime trigger for algae, and large regular water changes help a lot to mitigate algae blooms. 

Plants produce a lot of organic waste as well, not just animals.

The need for more or less water changes depends on the rate at which organic waste is produced. Fast-growing tanks that produce a lot of older, decaying growth and tanks with higher fish bio-loads will benefit from more frequent, larger water changes. Slower growing tanks with low light and low bio-loads can remain stable and algae free with much fewer water changes.

If you are facing algae issues, skipping this cleaning routine is probably not helpful.

Large water changes can be problematic for folks with poor tap water quality. We explore this exception and other cases in this article on how much water to change for different scenarios.