water change frequency... and products that state "NO MORE WATER CHANGES"

blitz99

blitz99

Member
how often should you change your water? i've been doing 10 % changes each week... it's only a 40 gallon tank and i take out about 5 gallons of the 33 ish thats in there... so maybe closer to 15%
i also saw a product that stated "no more water changes, ever" it was some sort of additive/filter substrate... i know it's not real feasible to not change water, but could this help the overall quality of the water?
 
bigarn

bigarn

Active Member
What you are doing now sounds fine. If you're not having problems I'd leave well enough alone. :D
 
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big911dog

Guest
so i've got this bridge for sale.....
Ur water changes are good. Don't believe the advertisers (who, by the way, probably don't even have any fish).
 
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thomas712

Guest
And if you act now you'll never have to breath again......
Think about it, a reef tank uses the elements naturally as we breath and eat. If they are not replaced then they will die. They may have something that might replace them for a while but I doubt it would repalce these elements on a permanent basis.
 
blitz99

blitz99

Member
relax... could these products help push water changes to 2 weeks instead of weekly? could they improve water quality between changes?
i never said i was going to bypass changes..
 
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thomas712

Guest
Not being sure of these products I could not say.
I could say that having some of the following could lessen the frequency of those changes.
Light coral bio load
Protien skimmer
Planted refugium with DSB
Good water chemistry
A good quality sea salt
 
nero

nero

Member
i wouldnt recommend adding ANY chemical besides natural elements (calcium, iodine, etc.) that you test for. everything else just sounds too hokey for me. JMO
 
lion_crazz

lion_crazz

Active Member
what kind of products are you talking about? I think your water changes are fine. The only way you are going to know if you are dong enough water changes is if you can keep your levels consistent every week. If you begin to notice that your nitrates are spiking, it may be a sign that you are not taking out enough water for how much you are feeding your fish.
In reagrds to nero's comment, that is not always true. For instance, Cycle is not a "natural element", yet it is a great nitirifier to the tank. I add Cycle into my aquarium after every water change to help keep my tank healthy, help keep my levels down, and add bacteria back into the system. (And Cycle is not a product you can test for, but I know many people who add it to Reef aquariums).
 
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big911dog

Guest
Hey Blitz, I wasn't trying to flame u. I was just trying to say advertisements can embellish. I agree with Nero. Don't put anything in you dont have to. Sorry if u thought it was a flame. wasnt intended that way.
 
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crm13

Guest
:yes: I think you are doing the right thing the way you're changing the water now. You could do every other week, too, with slightly larger percentage water changes. I believe that it is more beneficial for your system, though, to do smaller water changes more frequently. It helps to maintain equilibrium and consistency much better. I think a lot of those additives that have claims like that work to some extent but at the expense of other benefits of water changes. In other words, it may help to keep nitrates down (one of the main benefits of water changes), but it won't replenish other important elements that are important to your system, let alone "the breath of fresh air" your system gets from replenishment. Marketing in this hobby is just out of control it seems. By the way, I want to hear more about that bridge, Big911.:D
 
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big911dog

Guest
LOL. i'll send you the account number to deposit into for pictures of ur new bridge crm! i'll even throw in the cost of shipping the pictures (of course they'll come via e-mail).
 
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