trigahappynigerog
Member
is there an attachment i can add to my tank/sump where i wouldnt have to do water changes???
no water changes???
- Thread starter trigahappynigerog
- Start date
mr . salty
Active Member
There really is no "attachment" that can make this possible.Water changes are nessisary,unless you have excellent water quality,Low bio load,Lot's of live rock AND live sand(DSB),Monster skimmer,and VERY GOOD filteration...I havn't changed the water in my FOWLR/LS in over a year now.
trigahappynigerog
Member
i have alot of lr, dsb in the refugium with more lr and ls, caulpera lots of corraline algae. i only have a bag of carbon and a skimmer in the sump area. how do i know when i need to change water?? what tests should i do??? i hate water changes... hurts my back mixing so i buy ocean.. im getting tired of that too.
sorry i didnt get back to you sooner.. i just recovered from the flu..
sorry i didnt get back to you sooner.. i just recovered from the flu..
trigahappynigerog
Member
does this apply to only FOWLR. can it be done to reefs tooo??
broomer5
Active Member
Okay ... guess I'll catch some heat for what I am going to say .... but going to post my comments anyway.
As we all know, a saltwater aquarium is a closed system, whether it's a fish only, fish only with live rock, with or without substrate, DSB or a full blown reef loaded with corals. It's still a closed system. Many hobbyists are striving for a "natural balanced" system of biofiltration and nutrient export. I myself am working towards that end.
But...
In this hobby, we test or measure what ?
Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, Phosphate, Alkalinity, Calcium, pH, Salinity, Carbon Dioxide, ORP, Disolved Oxygen, Copper, Iodine, Strontium, ... etc.
In addition to the above, what other biological/chemical compounds and ions do we NOT test for ? What other undetectable elements that are present in trace amounts are we not measuring?
Plenty are present in a saltwater tank I can assure you, but for most hobbyists, the cost of running these additional tests are not practical.
Foods we feed the tank, animal wastes, plant/algae decomposition and biproducts, other organic materials, undetected heavy metals, additives, supplements .....
What are these concentrations ?
What are the "safe" level of such concentrations ?
Even with the best quality and quantity of live rock present, a wonderful mature biologically diverse and functioning live sand bed, exceptionally productive protein skimming and a refugium allowing additional nutrient export, you will still have an accumulation of chemical compounds in the water over time. To what degree I don't have the answer, but can anyone argue that these compounds will NOT accumulate ?
There's no doubt in my mind that water changes are not only the right thing to do, but that allowing a tank to go on indefinatly without some form of water exchange, will lead to unforseen problems down the road.
How long can you responsibly go without a water change ?
1 year ?
2 years ?
5 years ?
10 years ?
In a closed system, the solution to pollution is dillution.
Nuf said - stepping down now and suiting up my Nomex coveralls for the flames.
Brian
As we all know, a saltwater aquarium is a closed system, whether it's a fish only, fish only with live rock, with or without substrate, DSB or a full blown reef loaded with corals. It's still a closed system. Many hobbyists are striving for a "natural balanced" system of biofiltration and nutrient export. I myself am working towards that end.
But...
In this hobby, we test or measure what ?
Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, Phosphate, Alkalinity, Calcium, pH, Salinity, Carbon Dioxide, ORP, Disolved Oxygen, Copper, Iodine, Strontium, ... etc.
In addition to the above, what other biological/chemical compounds and ions do we NOT test for ? What other undetectable elements that are present in trace amounts are we not measuring?
Plenty are present in a saltwater tank I can assure you, but for most hobbyists, the cost of running these additional tests are not practical.
Foods we feed the tank, animal wastes, plant/algae decomposition and biproducts, other organic materials, undetected heavy metals, additives, supplements .....
What are these concentrations ?
What are the "safe" level of such concentrations ?
Even with the best quality and quantity of live rock present, a wonderful mature biologically diverse and functioning live sand bed, exceptionally productive protein skimming and a refugium allowing additional nutrient export, you will still have an accumulation of chemical compounds in the water over time. To what degree I don't have the answer, but can anyone argue that these compounds will NOT accumulate ?
There's no doubt in my mind that water changes are not only the right thing to do, but that allowing a tank to go on indefinatly without some form of water exchange, will lead to unforseen problems down the road.
How long can you responsibly go without a water change ?
1 year ?
2 years ?
5 years ?
10 years ?
In a closed system, the solution to pollution is dillution.
Nuf said - stepping down now and suiting up my Nomex coveralls for the flames.
Brian
trigahappynigerog
Member
do aquariums change water??? they have alot of tanks how do they do it??? those are close systems too..
wamp
Active Member
Yes they do... They have massive storage tanks that are setup for water changes. They pretty much do a change every day. The add fresh water and remove the old... (took a tour of Ripley's Aquaium and Baltimore aquarium's filtration rooms) They also have massive sand filters, alge turfs and refugiums! if you have never seen one you need to!