overanalyzer
Active Member
OK tell me how often you change your water - seen several thread where this is being debated .... thoughtI would centralize them .....
Water change poll -
- Thread starter overanalyzer
- Start date
snakes'n'fish
Member
I do a water change every 2 weeks on my larger tanks. My 30 I change once a week. Some may think it is excessive, but it seems to work for me 
lesleybird
Active Member
I change out one third of the tank every two weeks for the 40 gallon and 65 gallon. I guess if I had a bigger tank than these I would only do about 25 percent every two weeks. I have mainly fish and they create a lot of waste so I feel the need to vaccuum the crud from the substrate. I may not keep a perfectly clean house, but I cannot stand a dirty fish tank! Just the thought of them living in their own waste products keeps me honest about the cleaning schedule. Lesley
j21kickster
Active Member
i try to once every 2 weeks- but it always ends up being every 3-4 but my corals do not seem to mind at all
krishj39
Active Member
My tank has been up for one year and I've never done a water change. The only saltwater I ever replace is the saltwater I use to acclimate new animals. All of my water chemistry is still perfect so I don't see why I should mess with it. If I start having problems, I'll start doing water changes, until then...
j21kickster
Active Member
Originally posted by krishj39
All of my water chemistry is still perfect so I don't see why I should mess with it.
I highly doubt it- mabye you have no ammonia or trites and Ph is fine- but after a year the water is not perfect
phoenixrising
Member
35 gallons every 3 or 4 weeks.
gatorcsm
Member
I do about 15-25 gallons over the course of each week. Some weeks I'll skip. But I do about 4/5 gallons a shot over about 3/4 times. I usually end up doing something that requires siphoning out water in some way or another.
So that ends up to around 6.5% per week... but not quite that efficient, since I only do a few gallons a time. Maybe it keeps things a little more stable, i'm not sure..
I remember a thread that discussed larger water changes were stopping growth, and then a little bit after the change, things were going back to normal.. In a continuous cycle, anyone have an opinion on this?
So that ends up to around 6.5% per week... but not quite that efficient, since I only do a few gallons a time. Maybe it keeps things a little more stable, i'm not sure..
I remember a thread that discussed larger water changes were stopping growth, and then a little bit after the change, things were going back to normal.. In a continuous cycle, anyone have an opinion on this?
overanalyzer
Active Member
I noticed 3 people who never change their water - how long have you had your tanks up and running??
lesleybird
Active Member
Originally posted by krishj39
My tank has been up for one year and I've never done a water change. The only saltwater I ever replace is the saltwater I use to acclimate new animals. All of my water chemistry is still perfect so I don't see why I should mess with it. If I start having problems, I'll start doing water changes, until then...
I could see that maybe the trace minerals would need to be replaced. I would also think that you would have to keep a close eye on the buffering capacity of your water if you don't do any water changes. I guess if the nitrates are zero it would be ok. I don't see how you are getting away with it. Do you have a deep sand bed? It may crash in time after several years if you never tend to it. Maybe not. Good luck. Lesley
beaslbob
Well-Known Member
Originally posted by overanalyzer
I noticed 3 people who never change their water - how long have you had your tanks up and running??
previously up to eight years in a given tank for fresh and salt.
current tanks 2 year fresh. 7 months salt (55g display, 20g macro algae culter tank)