No Water Changes

All I know is that I will always do my weekly water changes on all of my tanks.

A while back I couldn't do them due to back surgery. And even though all my test kits said that all was where it should be, things looked "off" -- mainly my blue haddoni. I was able to get some help and do a series of water changes. According to the test kits nothing changed, and yet, the tank --- mainly the blue haddoni looked so much better.

So while I can't quantify what changed, I sure know that something did and my tank looked better for the WC.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15328590#post15328590 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by BuddhaKiss
Depends on livestock as well I suppose. A 90 G with one perc requires less water changes than the same tank with 10 percs.
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Of course, a 90 gallon tank with 10 perculas will eventually only have TWO perculas. That being said, I do a water change on each of my tanks every three weeks (20%)
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15330038#post15330038 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Toddrtrex
All I know is that I will always do my weekly water changes on all of my tanks.

A while back I couldn't do them due to back surgery. And even though all my test kits said that all was where it should be, things looked "off" -- mainly my blue haddoni. I was able to get some help and do a series of water changes. According to the test kits nothing changed, and yet, the tank --- mainly the blue haddoni looked so much better.

So while I can't quantify what changed, I sure know that something did and my tank looked better for the WC.
Click to expand...

There are "things" that are depleted that we (normal folks) don't measure. Water changes keep those "things" close to NSW.
 
Not doing a water change is like not flushing the toilet after you use it.

Wastes accumulate - you need to take it out!
 
I do the quarterly quarter as well -- 30 gallons in a 125 every 3 months. Everything in the tank is doing well, and I do drip saturated kalk to keep key parameters stable. I also have about 60X turnover in flow, plenty of live rock, the biggest skimmer that fits in my stand, and an enormous chaeto mat in my sump.

Stocking list = 2 black clowns, 1 yellow tang

If you have lots of fish, change water often. If you don't, you can get away with way fewer water changes.
 
at the moment i only just finished cycling so i added a blenny for something to look at in a month i'll start stocking after i get my magnesium and calcium right.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15330085#post15330085 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by snorvich
Of course, a 90 gallon tank with 10 perculas will eventually only have TWO perculas. That being said, I do a water change on each of my tanks every three weeks (20%)
Click to expand...

well yea lol, guess that was a bad comparison on my part :D

but a tank with one fish would less frequent water changes that a tank with 10 fish
 
I have seen some yearly or less waterchange tanks. If you have a small tank its easier to just change the water. On a large tank then you can save a lot of money by just supplementing minerals and using PO4 and NO3 removal systems. I think for most tanks a monthly or at least bimonthly water change typically does the tank a lot of good. Every tank is unique, like a big money sucking snowflake ;)
 
On my 120g SPS dominated tank, I probably change about 30g yearly, 15g or so twice a year, once in the summer, and once in the winter. Otherwise it gets calcium/alk from a calcium reactor (just changed that to 2 part 2 weeks ago), Ro/di topoff, fish food, GFO was changed out every 3-6 months, but now it's stopped due to carbon/vodka dosing, I've got a large skimmer for my size tank (8" diameter chamber, 24" high) and empty it weekly or every 2 weeks, and that's it.

Occasionally when I sell coral or what not I'll have to top-off with salt water, but I don't really consider that a water change since it's usually smaller volumes of water.

When I had my 24g nanocube with me in my dorm, I did 5g weekly water changes religiously and fed very lightly. Smaller tanks are very finnicky for me, too finnicky for me to ever really do again with more than 1 fish.
 
Water changes have always been kinda like taking a shower for me. Everything just looks so nice and squeaky clean when your done. Not to mention its a good excuse to spend time with your tank.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15334740#post15334740 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by cloak
Taking a pi$$ is a water change. Got to do it...
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into the tank and you satisfy two water changes with one bodily function:lol: :rollface: :lol:
 
Be careful when you make comments that say "you must" or "got to do it" because there are many of us that dont...change water that is, we all pee. You can have a VERY successful reef without weekly or even monthly water changes.
 
Try it and see

Try it and see

I had my 110 semi-crash (all the fish died, the corals didn't) and temporarily was doing water changes every 3 days (couldn't find all the bodies) and then weekly. I have never seen my corals look better!

My suggestion to whoever wants to know if water changes are for them is to take a picture of your tank and try a weekly water change for a month and then take another picture and compare. If you don't notice a difference or don't think it was worth the time/cost, then don't do it. I was hooked on my weeklys once I started that on my 110.


We'll see on the new tank....
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15330911#post15330911 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by xtm
Not doing a water change is like not flushing the toilet after you use it.

Wastes accumulate - you need to take it out!
Click to expand...

If it's yellow let it mellow, If it's brown flush it down!

Not going to lie I use to do water changes all the time and my parametes were all over the place. I quit doing them and eventually my parameters all leveled out. Whats up with that? I was doing 5 gallons a week on a 55. Now its like 5 gallons a month.
 
I do beleive that at least a quarterly water change of at least 20% should be done IF you can keep it all looking good.

I have in the past gone for a year without one and my corals looked great, on the other hand I started doing weekly and never noticed a change in any corals or parameters. I beleive it depends on your husbandry skills and how well you maintain your tank.

I take a power head once a week and blow the "crap" off the sand and rocks and let the micron filter in my canister pick it up. Also I over skim, use RO/DI water, reef crystals salt, clean out canisters and replace media twice a month, run carbon 24/7, clean my glass daily and use micron filter to suck up the algae.

Skimming and carbon remove much of the same things a water change does.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15336746#post15336746 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by GrimReefer82
I do beleive that at least a quarterly water change of at least 20% should be done IF you can keep it all looking good.

I have in the past gone for a year without one and my corals looked great, on the other hand I started doing weekly and never noticed a change in any corals or parameters. I beleive it depends on your husbandry skills and how well you maintain your tank.

I take a power head once a week and blow the "crap" off the sand and rocks and let the micron filter in my canister pick it up. Also I over skim, use RO/DI water, reef crystals salt, clean out canisters and replace media twice a month, run carbon 24/7, clean my glass daily and use micron filter to suck up the algae.

Skimming and carbon remove much of the same things a water change does.
Click to expand...

i agree, and forgot to include that i WAY overskim, 1000g skimmer on 300g system. i have a remote deep sand bed. i have tons and tons of live rock. i run carbon 24/7 in a reactor, and i dose kalkwasser in ATO. this seems to keep my tank doing great for months at a time.
 
I don't do a lot of water changes. 15% every couple of months if I remember. I do dose two part daily, dose vodka, and add freshwater daily. My SPS are growing so fast recently I will have to purchase a larger tank.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15336159#post15336159 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by downhillbiker
Be careful when you make comments that say "you must" or "got to do it" because there are many of us that dont...change water that is, we all pee. You can have a VERY successful reef without weekly or even monthly water changes.
Click to expand...

I'm sure there are people out there that don't, but those are not very good odds to me. The lazy factor seems to come into play. It's not a sprint, it's a marathon, and I'm not playing that horse.

I love to see a tank where there were NO water changes at all. NONE. Got to be one or two in there. I'll bet on it.

:)
 
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