Water changes.........or Not

p fish

p fish

Member
I've read and heard many comments on this subject. I would like to hear everyone thinks. Should we change the water or not, and if so how often......
:confused:
 
adrian

adrian

Active Member
Yes you should definitely change the water on a regular basis. 20% per month, or smaller, more frequent water changes as mentioned above is whats generally suggested. HTH
 
nicky1.8t

nicky1.8t

Active Member
hmm i was wondering would you have to water changes if you mixed up some salt water and used that to top off with?
 
banshee

banshee

Member
nicky1.8t....
If you did that, then you would be adding salt water while only fresh water evaporated. The more you did that the saltier the water would get.
BTW, I go against the norm on this board and only change my water every couple of months (25%).
 
reefsoe

reefsoe

Member
I do a little more frequent with less ammount mainly to replace trace elements ( I hate to dose anythink but Kalk ) Remember this is just my opinion but check your levels once a week see how they are... do what works for you just make it habit and remember to do them.
 
p fish

p fish

Member
Its truly amazing the diffences in opinions on this, My LFS has a display tank 125 and he says he nevers changes the water, this thing is excellent looking. Everything in it looks right out of a book.....
 
calvindo

calvindo

Member

Originally posted by P Fish
Its truly amazing the diffences in opinions on this, My LFS has a display tank 125 and he says he nevers changes the water, this thing is excellent looking. Everything in it looks right out of a book.....

same here... this topic sucks, imo :D everyone does there own thing. i've been doing 20% weekly, but thinking about cutting back to monthly instead.... just to see if there is a difference in the way corals/fish behaive.
there are few lfs in my area, one says "dont ever change your water, unless you have level problem", other say 10-20% bi-monthly is a must.... I'm just going to investigate into this, myself :D
 
flydan

flydan

Active Member
Hey,
I'm a once a monther too. About 20%. (Who really knows how much water is in a tank with 150lbs of lr in it?)
Dan'l
 
adrian

adrian

Active Member
Ive tried to go without water changes before, sometimes 6 months, everything looks the same, and then all of a sudden things go south, mostly algae blooms. Each time it took a few months of performing regular water changes to get the tank back to normal. Guess it would really depend of the inhibitants and the filtration on the tank. IMO they are mandatory no matter what the tank consists of, there are so many things that can be harmless in small quantities in our tanks that we cant see and are not removed by standard filtration, and if left unchecked can build up and cause problems.
 
shep

shep

Member
i add small doses of trace elements but don't do water changes. everything grows great and is stable and I am a firm believer in the "If it's working don't mess with it" method to maintenance.
 
j21kickster

j21kickster

Active Member
there was a time where i didnt do a waterchange on my 20 for like 3 months- that is when the hair algae went crazy and i noticed the growth rates slowed down- so now im back to 20% every 3 weeks and it is working perfectly and my tank is lookin fine for my taste
 
soupysteve

soupysteve

Member
Recently, I've been topping off with DI/RO water (about a gallon a day). Every 3 days, I empty out my sump and replace with fresh water (usually a 50/50 mix of saltwater & DI/RO - depending on the salinity level of my tank). I still add my strontium, calcium, and iodine.
Before, I was just topping off with DI/RO daily, adding my strontium, iodine, and calcium - and every other week doing a 10% water change (5gal).
The difference is AMAZING. My mushrooms have grown more in the last 3 weeks than they did the 3 months prior, my zoanthids are multiplying MUCH faster, my aragonite bed LOOKS cleaner, and the collection cup on my skimmer takes MUCH longer to fill. Needless to say, the water is now crystal clear compared to before, and I have much less green algae growth on the glass - and more coraline popping up. My tank looks like it is maintained by someone who knows what they are doing as opposed to a "rookie"
My next purchase will be (without a doubt) an RO unit.
I hope to eventually have everything set up so that I can simply have my roommate top off my water with DI/RO or pre-mixed saltwater if I go on a week long vacation or something.
 
beaslbob

beaslbob

Well-Known Member
As is well known on this board, I don't conduct regular water changes. And haven't in salt and fresh tanks since the late 70'. I establish and encourage plant growth and just replace the water that evaporates.
 
j21kickster

j21kickster

Active Member

Originally posted by beaslbob
I don't conduct regular water changes. And haven't in salt and fresh tanks since the late 70'. I

I think you would be plesantly surprised how the growth rates would change if you did- Plus you would be providing one of the best environment that you could for the fish you have that were stripped from their perfectly good home in the ocean with prestine water that they have evolved in for millions of years:D ;)
 
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