Water Changes!!!!
- Thread starter acrylic51
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bobbyzat
Member
There a ton of reasons to do water changes, in my experience, the most important reasons are
1) to dilute/remove the bad things in your water that are hard/impossible to filter out like nitrates.
2) to replace trace elements found in natural seewater tht organisms slowly strip out of the water column and..
3) (total oppinion here) I dont think any amount of filtration is perfect. Think of a long plane ride, yea the air is filtered, but it is never fresh.
Iamsure many people can add stuff here, these are just the reasons I do em.
1) to dilute/remove the bad things in your water that are hard/impossible to filter out like nitrates.
2) to replace trace elements found in natural seewater tht organisms slowly strip out of the water column and..
3) (total oppinion here) I dont think any amount of filtration is perfect. Think of a long plane ride, yea the air is filtered, but it is never fresh.
Iamsure many people can add stuff here, these are just the reasons I do em.
X
xnikki118x
Guest
IMO, there is no system that won't require water changes. Sure, they're not as crucial in a 200 gallon tank as they are in my little 29 gallon, but they're still important.
Like bobby and NM reef said, water changes do help replace trace elements that have been consumed by the organisms. Now some people might argue that you can supplement trace elements, and you can, and I have supplements that I add, but I still do weekly or biweekly water changes.
Also, you don't need to vacuum live sand, but my tank has crushed coral, and I vacuum it whenever I do a water change to keep the waste and nitrates under control. So that's another potential problem, also.
No matter how much filtration you have or how good or state-of-the-art it is, a home aquarium is still a closed system. The world's oceans have unmeasurable volumes of water. A 400 gallon saltwater tank is quite impressive, but if you took 400 gallons of water out of an ocean, it wouldn't make any difference because it's such a miniscule amount by comparison. A 400 gallon aquarium is still a closed system, and no filter is perfect.
Like NM reef said, dilution is the solution to pollution. :yes:
Like bobby and NM reef said, water changes do help replace trace elements that have been consumed by the organisms. Now some people might argue that you can supplement trace elements, and you can, and I have supplements that I add, but I still do weekly or biweekly water changes.
Also, you don't need to vacuum live sand, but my tank has crushed coral, and I vacuum it whenever I do a water change to keep the waste and nitrates under control. So that's another potential problem, also.
No matter how much filtration you have or how good or state-of-the-art it is, a home aquarium is still a closed system. The world's oceans have unmeasurable volumes of water. A 400 gallon saltwater tank is quite impressive, but if you took 400 gallons of water out of an ocean, it wouldn't make any difference because it's such a miniscule amount by comparison. A 400 gallon aquarium is still a closed system, and no filter is perfect.
Like NM reef said, dilution is the solution to pollution. :yes:
90reefkepr
Member
my friend who has had many difficult fish said that water changes are best to do only about 5-10% every month...
many people are over changing their water and causing bacteria not to build up fast enough.
many people are over changing their water and causing bacteria not to build up fast enough.
nm reef
Active Member
I agree....small percentage water changes on a monthly basis is what I do....I avoid large volume water changes because they may actually disrupt the system. Even with state of the art filtration and all the high tech monitoring equipment and moderate suppliments I still believe it may be best to perform small percentage water changes. As for supplimets...water changes will replenish most trace elements...the salt products are designed to maintain normal saltwater levels of most trace elements.In general trace elements can't be easily and accurately tested for so I allow the salt mix to maintain those ... the only additives I use are designed to establish and maintain desired levels of calcium and alkalinity....and a stable PH....as a rule the only additives or suppliments I use I first insure I understand what the desired level is and why that level is desired...and I also insure I can easily and accurately test those levels. based on that ramble I only suppliment for calcium and alkalinity.....period.
acrylic51
Active Member
Originally posted by xnikki118x
IMO, there is no system that won't require water changes. Sure, they're not as crucial in a 200 gallon tank as they are in my little 29 gallon, but they're still important.
Like bobby and NM reef said, water changes do help replace trace elements that have been consumed by the organisms. Now some people might argue that you can supplement trace elements, and you can, and I have supplements that I add, but I still do weekly or biweekly water changes.
Also, you don't need to vacuum live sand, but my tank has crushed coral, and I vacuum it whenever I do a water change to keep the waste and nitrates under control. So that's another potential problem, also.
No matter how much filtration you have or how good or state-of-the-art it is, a home aquarium is still a closed system. The world's oceans have unmeasurable volumes of water. A 400 gallon saltwater tank is quite impressive, but if you took 400 gallons of water out of an ocean, it wouldn't make any difference because it's such a miniscule amount by comparison. A 400 gallon aquarium is still a closed system, and no filter is perfect.
Like NM reef said, dilution is the solution to pollution. :yes:
Exactly my point on water changes... I was trying to prove a point.... In the new hobbyist forum you have a person stating that water changes aren't needed and he advised a person that with the proper filtration setup you don't need too!!!!! BULLSH**.......I do small weekly water changes and not a firm believer in all those trace elements that are being used though.....
I do have to strongly disagree with the above statement about not having to vacuum live sand... That is definitely not correct...A sand bed has to be maintained isn't a a plug and play feature here...A sand bed must be maintained... It doesn't have to be vacuumed, but should be occasional stirred but the entire sandbed should not be disturbed all at once......
reefnut
Active Member
A live sand bed should NEVER be vacuumed... and if stirred only the top 1" or so...
I agree they need maintained!! but maintained by sand bed critters... not vacuuming and stirring.
and I agree, water changes are VERY useful... I shoot for 20% per-month but really what every your system requires.
I agree they need maintained!! but maintained by sand bed critters... not vacuuming and stirring.
and I agree, water changes are VERY useful... I shoot for 20% per-month but really what every your system requires.
A
andretti
Guest
If you don't want to do the maintenance, then this is the wrong hobby to be in. How would you like to be stuck in a closet for a month breathing the same air?
acrylic51
Active Member
Thanks guys for the input... I'm 100% for water changes... Just you have Sly stating that water changes are bad and that CC is better then LS.... It's also been said that you don't need water changes and by doing water changes you are harming your system... I don't understand as to how????
Was told with a properly setup filtration system with Mangroves and such that wouldn't need to do water changes???:thinking:
I do believe the sand bed was have some type of maintenance, and don't believe in DSB, but from my reading and research I've been informed that the denitrification and nitrification process takes place within the top 3/4 -1" of the sand bed so, so from time to time it does need a little helping hand... It's not detrimental to stirr a bit, but not the whole sand bed at once is what I'm saying....
Was told with a properly setup filtration system with Mangroves and such that wouldn't need to do water changes???:thinking:
I do believe the sand bed was have some type of maintenance, and don't believe in DSB, but from my reading and research I've been informed that the denitrification and nitrification process takes place within the top 3/4 -1" of the sand bed so, so from time to time it does need a little helping hand... It's not detrimental to stirr a bit, but not the whole sand bed at once is what I'm saying....
ctgretzky9
Member
I Have crushed coral, which means a bit more maint. I do my water changes during vacuuming...I take the water out by CAREFULLY moving from spot to spot with a siphon vacuum that works awesome and try not to stir things up too much. I do this every second tuesday (just works with mine and wifes woking sched and I only take out about 5-6 gallons from a 60 gallon hex as a maximum. Really, all im trying to do is siphon out any larger debris without going crazy. I do have a thick layer of cc...prob around 1.5-2 inches.
To say you don't need to do water changes sounds wrong, but I also say there are no 100% methods-except the chemistry which I now littel about that some of you guys know very well.
Could it be possible that within a certain ecosystem, with specific life that water changes aren't needed as much? Maybe. Only the health of a tank can answer this.
in nature, I'm figuring new water is added constantly to the oceans int he form of rain, runoff etc...
we are trying to duplicate nature, but with so many variables, who can say what the real answer is except experience (which leans HEAVILY toward water changes)
and I only take out about 5-6 gallons from a 60 gallon hex as a maximum. Really, all im trying to do is siphon out any larger debris without going crazy. I do have a thick layer of cc...prob around 1.5-2 inches.To say you don't need to do water changes sounds wrong, but I also say there are no 100% methods-except the chemistry which I now littel about that some of you guys know very well.
Could it be possible that within a certain ecosystem, with specific life that water changes aren't needed as much? Maybe. Only the health of a tank can answer this.
in nature, I'm figuring new water is added constantly to the oceans int he form of rain, runoff etc...
we are trying to duplicate nature, but with so many variables, who can say what the real answer is except experience (which leans HEAVILY toward water changes)