No waterchanges in over a year, now I want to start them back up

sneeyatch

Active member
Pretty much sums it up in the title, but I'm concerned with jumping right back in and doing a decent sized waterchange. I'm thinking I need to start small and go forward from there.

The system is a little over a year old - 90 gallon mixed reef, doing quite well considering it's been neglected for some time, so i don't want to screw it up by starting water changes. I don't really dose anything, just top off with plain water.

Any advice?

Here are some pics I took yesterday.

Left side:



Right side:

 
If the animals in the tank are healthy, I'd just start doing 10% water changes twice a month, or use some similar schedule. If you're worried, 2-3 15% water changes over a few days should be safe.
 
Why do you want to start? Your tank looks great. No nuisance algae, good color on your corals. Has your growth been good as well? I hate to make change for the sake of change when everything is running smoothly.
 
I would be checking your Alkalinity, Calcium and magnesium levels ASAP. one year of no water changes combined with no dosing = those 3 levels being dangerously/unbelievably low...especially alkalinity !!
 
Thanks all for the comments. Growth is good all around, great growth for some, other things barely grow. Pretty normal IMO. color is good, no algae issues. I don't test all that often, I probably need to, but overall, everything appears to be healthy.

I look at it as opening the window in the house to let fresh air in, I'm sure it could benefit from some water changes.

I think I'll start small and go from there.
 
I'd recommend small changes say one gallon a day or less. 10% at a time isn't going to shock anything and should be fine . I've been doing 1% per day for a long time with good results.
 
So I can se some acros there, monti, and other SPS, along with few LPS. All stony corals. And you are saying they are growing for one year without dosing or water changes? Top off with plain water (What that means? Not RODI?)

. But maybe I just don't understand the chemistry well enough... Anybody can explain it to me?
 
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So I can se some acros there, monti, and other SPS, along with few LPS. All stony corals. And you are saying they are growing for one year without dosing or water changes? Top off with plain water (What that means? Not RODI?)

But maybe I just don't understand the chemistry well enough... Anybody can explain it to me?
I agree... Fairly certain that defies science. Teach me your ways so I can save money on salt and dosing if this is real! lol
 
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I'll clarify.

I don't use RODI. I use a dual carbon filter (a dual DI unit from airwaterice, but I don't use DI) I use the matrix carbon blocks from BRS instead, just to remove any chlorine. My tap TDS averages around the mid to upper 70's. Its my own personal belief that RODI is not necessary to maintain a successful reef and that since it strips the water of everything, it's just too much. The carbon blocks are rated to (I think) around 6,000 gallons.

Up until around 6 months ago, I used kalk for top off. I went through 2 different pumps getting all gummed up, so I cleaned all that out and have been using straight water for top off. I was using aminos for a while, but also stopped that a while back - longer than 6 months ago probably. Great results with them, just ran out and haven't gotten more.

I run a rlss i8 skimmer, and have a healthy fuge. Bioload is only a small purple tang, 2 ocellaris, a lawnmower blenny and a candy hog. Random inverts like shrimp, a cucumber and typical CUC. Some of the macro from the five has made its way to the display and is growing. Typical grape caulerpa. Some bubble algae here and there and a small spot of cyano.

Now, all that said, I'm not claiming perfection. I've lost some acros, a clam, etc. Not all at once, all over the life of the tank. We can't play God and expect to win all the time.

My main approach to reefkeeping is simple. Keep your hands out of the tank and leave it alone to do what it needs to do. A lot of corals are growing into each other and killing themselves off, but I don't think of it as negative. I look at it as them self limiting and causing them to grow in different ways. I never put my hands in the tank unless it's absolutely necessary, I think it's a big deal, keeping your hands out. I've had my poccillipora spawn and new colonies are growing. The big cap is growing up the back glass, and the birdsnest just won't quit.

I did check the salinity which is fine and checked my nitrates, which came back as 0. I use an API kit, nothing fancy.

I appreciate that everyone thinks my tank looks good, I think so too, but seeing it everyday, I don't get the same appreciation.

If you think I'm yanking your chain, I'm not. I use simple techniques that work for me, and I'm a lazy reefer.
 
I'll clarify.

.....

If you think I'm yanking your chain, I'm not. I use simple techniques that work for me, and I'm a lazy reefer.


My belief is this comes down to a few simple facts..

1). There are a lot of rumors which this hobby is based on and circulated as fact.

2) No two tanks are the same. What works for one person may not work for another.

We see reefers buy top of the line equipment, test everyday, follow all the guidelines, and have tanks that don't do well.

And we have others that do the opposite and their tanks flourish.

The life we put in our tanks adapt extremely well considering. Some adapt better than others. Love the tank!
 
I have seen tanks last a year sometimes almost two years especially if the tank is newer without water changes. A lot can depend on live rock and sandbed. It can depend on the amount of fish and feedings etc. A new sand bed and live rock can bind a lot of the nasties. There are allot of other factors too. You can run phosphate binders, you can additives to keep calcium, alkalinity up etc.

I have also seen these tanks end up crashing in no time. I have seen these owners panic once it start too happen because once it start there ain't much you can do. The rocks are chocked full of flock and they start releasing the nasties back. The sand bed is chocked full of detritus. Without water changes there is no way really remove detritus.

The big threat is where all that detritus goes if it ain't being removed through water changes. Some is removed through skimming or filter socks but allot is not. This is the biggest threat when you start water changes and you start to disturb it. It sits and decays and releases those nutrients directly into the sand bed and live rock.
 
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Speude bradeos---as the Greek proverb has it---Make haste slowly. IE, acting is good, but not breakneck speed. 10%.
 
Some folks report some success without water changes for a year or more. Water changes replenish major , minor and trace elements and remove built up excess elements , pulling everything back to the baseline. Doing smaller water changes frequently vs larger changes mitigates any chance of shocking the system via a large change in one element or another or from temp changes, pH changes etc. It also promotes constancy in the overall tank chemistry,IMO.
 
I used to do simple, 1 gallon daily changes a loooong time ago and I liked it. I think I'll start off doing something like that.
 
Basically other posts above have already said what has to be said - 10% water change once a month should be fine and wouldn't shock the system. I also love the growth going on in the tank.
 
What are you dosing in terms of trace element to go so long without water changes?

I would love to go a year without doing a water change, but the thought alone gives me anxiety lol
 
What are you dosing in terms of trace element to go so long without water changes?

I would love to go a year without doing a water change, but the thought alone gives me anxiety lol
No trace elements, I topped off with kalk for a while but stopped a while back due to it gumming up my pumps. I was also dosing aminos for a while, but stopped that a while back as well. I just recently started with acropower about a week ago, so I'll see how that goes.
 
awesome!! Keep up the good work. Just goes to show that you don't need all the top of the line gadgets and gizmo's to keep a successful reef tank.

Now get off your lazy butt and do a water change LOL
 
Lol. Lazy and reefing don't mix too well. I do suffer from depression and that doesn't help either. During the holidays, it was all I could do to even feed the fish. That's what my daughter's for. She loves feeding them. But I'm on the up and up and feel good. I'm ready to start whipping this thing back in to shape. Once I get back from a quick work trip, I'm going to start with the changes. I never do anything right before I go somewhere, Murphy has no place in my house.
 
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