Water Changes

[fishfreak1242]

My friend was telling me that I needed to change my water routinley but then my other friend said that it ruins your tank. Now im really confused. I have a 55 gallon saltwater tank and not very sure what to do. (I dont have any fish quite yet).

 

[colorado2step]

You should do a 10 percent water change weekly. There are many different view on this though and you will probaly get a couple of different answers to this.

 

[sinner's g]

yep, water changes are good.

however, if you have an established set up with tons of lr and such, then you won't need one as often.
I did monthly, now I do weekly or every two weeks or whenever. (I have tons of lr in a 20gl with one star and no fish). In my 10, doing a gallon a week is no big deal, takes no time at all. with 75gl, it takes more time BUT I have more room for error.
When my 75gl was up, it was every 2-3 months, BUT i had lots of lr and very low (2 fish, lots of inverts) bioload. I was in school and that's all I had time for.
Test your water or take it somewhere and have them test it. if your nitrates are over 5, then do a water change. if you see it takes a month for them to get over 5, then do it once a month.
High bioload, imo equals more water changes.
Water changes decrease nitrates and replace trace minerals you can't test for.

 

[geoj]

You want to keep the water chemistry and waste at or better then natural seawater. You can do this by doing water changes. As you increase the number and variety of animals you keep it is plausible that your water change scheduled will not maintain the ideal conditions. Once this happens you must either adjust your scheduled or use additives to bring things in to balance. So you must test your water for the correct things to know if the conditions are right for you and your animals.

 

[snakeblitz33]

I recommend about a 10% water change once a week for fish only aquariums.
Reef aquariums with very few fish and a very good protein skimmer I recommend about once a month.
Doing a 10% water change every single day isn't good either, unless something is seriously wrong with the tank.
Some people do about a 50% water change once every 6 months. Some things work well for some people. When you get some experience, you can tell in your tank when you need to do some water changes.
Happy reefing!

 

[angler man]

Originally Posted by SnakeBlitz33
I recommend about a 10% water change once a week for fish only aquariums.
Reef aquariums with very few fish and a very good protein skimmer I recommend about once a month.
Doing a 10% water change every single day isn't good either, unless something is seriously wrong with the tank.
Some people do about a 50% water change once every 6 months. Some things work well for some people. When you get some experience, you can tell in your tank when you need to do some water changes.
Happy reefing!
Snake,
My LFS has constantly tried to tell me that I need to do a 50-80 gallon water change every month on a 92 gallon tank, it's also not a coincidence that he sells pre-made saltwater. Needless to say, my RO/DI unit just arrived today. Take that evil money grubing LFS!

 

[t316]

Originally Posted by Angler man
Snake,
My LFS has constantly tried to tell me that I need to do a 50-80 gallon water change every month on a 92 gallon tank, it's also not a coincidence that he sells pre-made saltwater. Needless to say, my RO/DI unit just arrived today. Take that evil money grubing LFS!

I hear you Angler....mine should be here by Monday. So rediculous

 

[angler man]

Originally Posted by T316
I hear you Angler....mine should be here by Monday. So rediculous

 

[geoj]

Originally Posted by Angler man
Snake,
My LFS has constantly tried to tell me that I need to do a 50-80 gallon water change every month on a 92 gallon tank, it's also not a coincidence that he sells pre-made saltwater. Needless to say, my RO/DI unit just arrived today. Take that evil money grubbing LFS!

Some times it is not that they are evil money grubbing LFS but that the liability of giving advise makes them cowardly evil money grubbing LFS…

 

[flinka]

Water changes are not only about removing waste but also about replenishing natural levels of ions and minerals used by corals, invertebrates, etc.
Personally, I do 3 gallon water changes on my 75G reef tank every 3-4 days. Takes about 5 minutes each time and my tank is thriving.

 

[nycbob]

10% each week. also topping off very 2 days is crucial.

 

[lexluethar]

Originally Posted by nycbob
10% each week. also topping off very 2 days is crucial.
Agreed, i would just add you can do 10% weekly or 15-20% every other week. If you only have fish probably every two weeks or so is okay, if you have corals or anemone's i would suggest every week.

 

[drummerdude124]

Then what would be a good method to change the water without disturbing your fish?