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

[beaslbob]

 

[p fish]

thanks everyone. Its seems that some do do changes and swear by it and some don't do them and also swear by that.
So who knows, I guess we will all do what works for each of us.
I'v done it both ways and find that they both work......

 

[gatorcsm]

I do like 5% a week.
Another Con:
-Stress from rapid level changes (if performing large % water changes)

 

[komet]

I have a 90 gallon reef and for the past 2 years Ive been changing 5 gallons per week. My water parameters stay very consistant. I cant imagine not doing regular water changes. IMO not doing water changes is big mistake!!

 

[dbgt]

no real way of avoiding this but, water changes slighty make the tank less mature. especially big changes. 10%-20% a month would be okay.Use macroalgae and additives.

 

[suver569]

I was against water changes for a while, not by choice, but I wasnt working... No money.. My tank never looked so bad. Recently, after picking up a new position i've been able to spend some money on the tank. Water changes being the first thing I picked up again. Now, my tank has never looked better, and everything looks so much healthier.
Changing water replaces trace elements, and that is pretty important.

 

[j21kickster]

Originally posted by DBGT
no real way of avoiding this but, water changes slighty make the tank less mature. especially big changes. 10%-20% a month would be okay.Use macroalgae and additives.

I strongly disagree- there is no way that doing a waterchange inhibits tank maturation- I guess it could if you did it frequently and used water that was too hot or cold, wrong salinity or had other undesirable attributes but other than that- it only helps-
I have done waterchanges several months in a row of 50% and my corals/fish/inverts seemed to do awesome
:thinking:

 

[j21kickster]

Just one more thing to think about - Every inch of new growth of your corals comes from the water ( if you dont feed) which a lot of people dont- So every tiny element must be derived from the water- the coral cant produce its own calcium- it doec not generate its own carbon- (a building bloge of living organisms- or most of the elements that compose its self- they must be removed from the water and food (if they get any) and when you have a tank full of corals all pulling these elements from the water- THEY WILL BE DEPLETED- then it is left up to the coral to produce its own food- which will not account for 100% of the growth. So when you do waterchanges you ensure that the concentration of the needed elements remain high- the longer you wait- the lower the elements get in concentration, the harder they are to get to the corals and growth is severly affected-

 

[calvindo]

i think this thread will go on forever... so the answer to your question is... do whatever works for you. weekly may work for some, but may not for others. i find a can of miller light keeps all inhabitants happy. maybe you should try?