water changes in fish only tank?

[denisec]

I've read mixed reviews about doing them. Some say do them religously some say only when levels warrent. Also should I vaccum my crushed coral or just dip off the top? I'm new to the salty world, been doing freshies for awhile.

 

[jimi]

In my opinion small bi monthly changes are best. You will probably have problems with high nitrates down the road from your cc bed so it is best to vacuum it.

 

[guppie]

The way I have been doing it for years is, when the tank has finished its cycle start doing a 10% water change every 2 weeks, for about the first six months, then after that do a 20% every two weeks, and I would vaccum the cc this will get all the uneaten food and junk out of the tank. Good Luck

 

[goofieones]

I would tell you to do a water change at least once a month, but I haven't done one in 3 months now, and all tests are good and my nitrates won't go above 10. I plan on doing one soon to vacuum the bottom. But I would do the water changes after the initial cycle every month, until you are sure of yourself and sure the tank can go without the water changes.

 

[pufferlover]

I tend to do my tanks every week (because I enjoy seeing them look good all the time) but I agree twice a month is quite good enough. If the load of fish in a given tank is small then I suppose monthly is enough. One thing I find the fish don't mean frequent changes and some like my Puffers seem to enjoy it coming over to be under the flow of new water as I pour it in. They will run from wherever they are to get under the water flow and it is a funny site to see. I siphon gravel every water change as it takes only a couple of minutes and cleans the bottom of any uneaten foods or fish poop.

 

[oceanblue]

I've tried to take a little more objective approach to my saltwater tanks, and have run them both ways to see for myself what seems to be the best. Now, I tend to run hybrid tanks that lean on reef more than FO, but I can say that my tank went to the toilet when I didn't change the water for 3 months( this actually came about by a major family event which took me away from my normal duties), and it may have had the occasional 10% in there..like 2 maybe. Anyway, I lost an arrow crab a peppermint shrimp and the anemone's and soft corals didn't look very good. I know that most people that talk about not changing their water but once every 6 months to a year, are doing the regular top offs and are supplementing...but so was I. this tank had a U.S. aquarium pro something wet/dry with built in venturi skimmer, and a full load of live rock. that was an 80gal. tank, versus one of my acrylic 56gal's that had little live rock, a couple of hermits, and a mix of damsels came through that same time period unscathed..no real damage or sickness of any kind. I had attributed this to the difference in the bio load between the tanks, even though the FO tank had more fish load than the reef did. The other funny thing(I've seen jaws drop, or at least gotten a surprised look from other hobbyists when I say this) but the FO tank ran for a year on two canister filters, no skimming, no supplements no nothing...and here's the kicker...it only ever had tap water in it mixed with instant ocean and Seachem Prime. and without the canister's being changed or anything they came out fine. SO, sorry to be long and drawn out, but I think for a well stocked FO tank, the optimum is bi-monthly with once a month sufficing for general health. On my reef tanks I usually do bimonthly depending on the load, if it's a heavier load then I do 10% weekly with supplements, and just the difference between the per week and bimonthly is huge for growth factors. I'll shut up now

 

[pufferlover]

OceanBlue; You did not take to much time and what you said has merit so when you post do as I do take the time and finish your thoughts. I sometimes ramble on but find that I feel much better when I re-read my posts if I have said all I wanted to. One of the great things that comes out of these boards is that everyone has their own way to do things and some are good and some are bad and some are plain silly, but if you see all the types of options you can do then you choose what makes sense for your application. If something is too far out then someone will bring that to light fast enough so members don't get off on the wrong foot.

 

[broomer5]

Excellent point Pufferlover !
DeniseC
As many of the people that replied to your question have said, lots of different methods and ways to do or not do water changes.
I think as you are starting out - it would be advisable to do at least a monthly water change of say 10-15%
Test your water often.
You will eventually learn to see the subtle changes in your fish/corals/inverts which will alert you as well.
Personally - I do water changes every 3-4 weeks as a standard routine.
Good luck !
Brian

 

[denisec]

exactly! That is why I love to ask ?s You get lots of answers and you can see if your ideas are sound or even worth trying.

 

[oceanblue]

thanks puffer, I'm answering from work, so I know I must seem like a headless chicken with some of my answers, as I get pulled away alot. Anyway, I don't think you can go wrong doing water changes...after all there is no such thing as too many water changes, except during cycling perhaps. Just do them as your toxin levels suggest to start with, and as you become your own avid expert you'll want to fine tune things in your own way! Thanks and Good Luck!!

 

[jbird0824]

Hi new to the salt water world. You will see if you do thing right, you will enjoy doing water changes and a hole lot more.. i like to change my water every month. i always have salt water ready to go in a trash can in my basement incase something happens. and i also have a quantine tank too, because the fish store i was geting my fish from ,they had dieases any almost killed all my fish. that was a bad week i lots about a 100 dollars in fish that week. so i dont go there no more.. anyway i have a 65 gallon tank i change it monthly 25% and i change the filter every two months hope this help you out. happy fishing

 

[botp2k1]

DeniseC, I used to perform water changes for a FO tank every other week. This way I try to keep the nitrates down. I had a period where I got lazy and did not, after a while the nitrates climbed up to 40-50ppm. Since then, I made it a point to change daily for about one week to see how much I can bring it back down and then resume the consistent changes. This is the present situation for me, I have half a week to go and then I will retest and see what other measures I need to take. It may be a little drastic but I like to keep the levels low.