Water Changes

[+Jakedoza]

Are water changes over rated?

I know there will be a lot of different answers here and I know it also depends on application... but I'm curious..

I have a 135G Mixed reef with mainly LPS and Softies. I have not done a water change since Thanksgiving and I have to say.. All of my coral have increased in color, size, and extension. My fish are all healthy as well. So.. why spend the money on salt and water then? I want to know ARC's opinion.

[FarmerTy]

I'm not going to speak for the world but I agree it depends on application.

I used to change my water every week with my nanocube (12-gallon), every 2 weeks with my 65-gallon, and then moved to monthly with my 125-gallon.

In the last 8 months, I have done one water change. The difference now though is I dose calcium, alkalinity, magnesium, and sometimes iodine. I don't dose a single thing that I don't have a test kit for.

The other reason I don't do water changes anymore is because I do solid carbon dosing with biopellets in a reactor. It keeps my nitrates and phosphates low and I plumb the output hose directly into the skimmer (IME is pivotal, otherwise you'll get a cyano bloom).

So, for me and my application, I feel water changes are unnecessary with the dosing and the biopellets. I use it only to remove the physical accumulation of "crud" in my sump and the 2 times a year I do that, the hope is it replenishes the trace elements that I do not dose or monitor as well,

I have a mixed reef tank, with more of an emphasis on SPS and zoas, though my SPS colonies are all small right now since they were all little frags I've collected over the year (thank you fellow reefers). Fish population-wise, I have a large desjardini sailfin tang (6"), blue hippo tang (5"), yellow tang (4"), lawnmower blenny, clownfish, midas blenny, and 3 chromis. I feed every day flakes and seaweed, and 2 days a week they get the good frozen mix.

I hope the info helps. Good luck!

-Ty

[wesreyn]

I'm not going to speak for the world but I agree it depends on application.

+1. I think it all depends on stocking density, filtration system, age of system, etc. I used to do small weekly changes on my smaller tanks and everything was perfect. With my 100 gallon everything seems much happier with a small change every couple of months or longer. The more I change the water on it the less happy everything looks and I get this brown stringy algae. If I just leave it alone it all dissapears and everything opens up and looks great. If everything looks good and tests good, I don't see why you would need to unless you just needed to replenish trace elements.

[bige]

I agree that the less water changes seems to make everything look better. Since I dose like mentioned above, only trace elements need to be replaced. Also, with recent drought, I worry about our hobby and the use of water. We won't be able to change water like we have been forever.

[mFrame]

It also depends on what you're keeping. I know that many of my softies actually prefer dirtier water and thrive if I neglect a water change. Every system is different, so you have to figure out what works for you.

[DerrickH]

Im going to put this to the test once my 72 is complete and running. After the cycle, Im going to do a 50% WC, and thats it for a while. Running macro, GFO, AC, and going to dose trace elements. Probably the reef essentials. Will dose liquid calc as well. I found that I could go about a month with my smaller tank without doing a wc before it started looking down but then again, I wasnt dosing any elements.

[+C Lo Slice]

For me, personally, water changes are a necessity. The water out here in buda is disgusting, plus by my doing 10% changes weekly, it keeps my alk, calcium, and pH consistent enough to where I have been able to quit dosing. Also, I have no filtration other than Live Rock, plenty of water movement, and a HOB skimmer.

My cousin, on the other hand, hasn't done a water change on his 125 in two years and his tank is gorgeous.

[+dapettit]

I haven't done water changes in the last few months due to family issues and my tank def is looking bad! So for me a bi-weekly water change of 45 gallons works out (when I had time to do them).

[subsea]

Hey Budha,

My ground water is disgusting in this part of Hays County. I had strong sulfide smell to water requiring scented soaps and air freshners for laundry. The standard procedure out here was to nuke with chlorine every once in a while. This also addressed iron prducing bacteria. This described my first two years of Texas Hill Country water. During the first year of living amongst a Texas Hill Country drought, I was shocked how one 5 GPM impulse sprinkler drained the water column in my 5" home well, to the point that the pump was sucking air and cavitating. This made me realize that I had limited fire protection from my water supply. My previous 2" home well served me well in DeRidder, La for the past 30 years and I could airflift 20 GPM with a 1 HP air compressor. When I burnt my 2HP pump seals up, it ran on limited output for two years before capital investment money was turned lose and I upgraded to a smart pump that slows down when demand is low and turns off when demand exceeds water supply from the aquifier formation. Anyway, with this pump, I can safely irrigate without danger to pump. I have pulled on the formation so hard that it has brought oxygen rich water to the zone of my wellbore. I no longer have stinking sulfide water, as the oxygen has destroyed these anerobic bacteria. I put this water staight into my reef tanks. It is heavy with calcium, magnesium, iron and to a lesser degree sulfates. I never do water changes and I add trace elements and use carbon for filtration.

Patrick

[troypt]

I went 2 years once without doing a water change and things were fine. I have since started doing a 10-15% water change once a quarter. I don't run a skimmer or any mechanical filtration and my tank is doing pretty well.

Troy

[pbnj]

I'm a firm believer that the way a tank is established from the very beginning plays a huge role in what is required from a maintenance standpoint going forward.

My first reef tank was a 75g. Not bad, but I went through the whole gamut of problems: cyano, gha, bryopsis, RTN, yadda-yadda. Probably made every rookie mistake in terms of setting it up. Even with consistent water-changes, there were never-ending problems.

With my current 135g tank, I took all of my acquired knowledge and applied it from the beginning. Let me tell you, it's been a real pleasure the past 13+ months. I've only done about two or three 15g water changes in that time out of pure guilt, not necessity. On top of that, I've been skimming only part-time (12 hrs/day) for the past 3-4 months. My maintenance schedule now consists of replacing the topoff jug, re-filling the dosing containers and cleaning the skimmer neck/cup as needed, and changing the carbon every 3-4 months.

[Timfish]

Well, I voted no. From what I've seen over the years a well setup tank like PBNJ posted will do well for a long time with very little or no water changes. It doesn't surprise me to hear or read about systems running for years and the argument that a properly ballanced tank doesn't need water changes has been around for at least decades. I don't have a problem with an experienced aquarist trying it but strongly caution the new hobbyest not to try this until they have maintained a system for a while and understand thier animals. One of the concerns I have is even if a tank can be kept looking good for a few years can it be done for the 20, 40 or more years these systems should live? My epxeriences in the past the longer a tank goes without water changes the greater the odds of something wonky or something catastrophic happening. There is still a pittifully small amount of research that has been done on how different filtering methodologies change and act over the years. Also the tests we have do not begin to scratch the surface of monitoring all the things going on in our tanks. Those of you who are doing this keep really good notes for the rest of us.

[Timfish]

Just saw this on Advanced Aquarist, thought I'd pass it along.

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2012/2/aafeature