Who Doesn't Do Water Changes

[teesquare]

The LFS also said they have the same system with many more fish and they dont do any maintainence and it is perfect. They also suggested no water changes since that also gets rid of the nutrients needed for the macro in the refugium. I am trying the eco-system modified since I use a dsb and the inventor suggests bb. I am just wondering who else uses a more natural way with a macro refugium, a dsb, and no significant water changes or protein skimmer.

Well...if you REALLY like a LOT of algae...just follow the advice of your LFS:spin2:
Soon enough - you will have PLENTY of algae!

T

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

According to the LFS where I bought the tank, this type of system does not need water changes, and in fact frequent water changes would be detrimental. That is the only reason that I got into saltwater tanks. I knew that I didn't want to perform saltwater changes. I have freshwater tanks and enjoy the water changes for those tanks, with is easy with a python and tap water, but a to change saltwater is very time consuming. I tried it once...and that was enough for me!

I am hiring someone to do a monthly water change of about 25% (to the top of my corals).

regardless of who's doing the water changes they're a good thing IF DONE PROPERLY. A protein skimmer can somewhat lessen the need for water changes. Both water changes and skimming can help improve upon the "natural" (miracle mud?) methods of reef aquarium filtration IME/IMO.

 

[teesquare]

Every few years (over the span of the close to 30 I have been a fish geek anyway) someone markets a method that eliminates or almost eliminates water changes.
And - just as fast as they came....they go - these methods I mean.....
The point is, there is no panacea. There is no method of magically causing all of the accumulate wastes to leave the tank without changing some water. And do some cleaning as well, it will really pay dividends for preventing bad algae outbreaks..
Refugiums, sand beds, de-nitrifiers and the like all work to a degree, but none of them - nor the combination of them has ever been able to completely substitute for the vastly complex nutrient sinks of the ocean and lagoons, sand flats, mangroves etc. I say this not because I was skeptical of all the "new technologies" mentioned above (and others not mentioned), but because I too hoped, and was willing to buy into anything that would make reef keeping "push-button easy".:twitch:

I think you are in for severe dissapointment if you got into saltwater on the whim of "no water changes" - *if* you want a tank that does not end up looking like a swamp complete with flowing green mops of algaes.

As I have said before about keeping aquaria: There is no solution to pollution like dilution.
Change some water - and watch your fish and corals smile at you.

 

[chris88]

Tap water here for 3 years in sps reef with no problem. You are putting much worse in the water when you feed. Good quality de cholr tap water is fine and i have never had any issues with any algae. Yes ro is better but so is feeding less. Dose a carbon source with a skimmer and problem solved. If you want pictures i will post to finally prove the nay sayers about tap water.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

Tap water here for 3 years in sps reef with no problem. You are putting much worse in the water when you feed.

nah.

If you feed your corals (aquarium) properly it's a good thing.
Municipal water sources put things (chloramines) in tap water to kill organisms. It's the accumulation of TDS over time that will eventually cause stress to your SPS. (Dissolved solids don't evaporate).

Like I already posted- don't do water changes.
SOMETHING will survive. In the meantime you might want to take pix and post them. Photographs provide fond memories.

 

[Garage1217]

Tap water here for 3 years in sps reef with no problem. You are putting much worse in the water when you feed. Good quality de cholr tap water is fine and i have never had any issues with any algae. Yes ro is better but so is feeding less. Dose a carbon source with a skimmer and problem solved. If you want pictures i will post to finally prove the nay sayers about tap water.

Be careful as it works in your area, but not others. I would be willing to bet a steak dinner I could crash your tank with a gallon or two of tap water from my area

Also as I stated before. A no water change / or micro water change system that is super healthy is easily obtainable, but the reefer has to know what he is doing and understand his tanks ecosystem, waste removal system, what to feed / qty's of food & overall biology. Like I said, 2 years now with only adding salt because the sg slowly drops because of skimmer cleanings. I do not care to post my methods as noobs or newer reefers may try to duplicate the methods and may or may not succeed. For those that have figured it out with year(s) of success, congrats

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

like Garage posted, the quality of tap varies greatly across the continent.

Desert southwest USA has tap that's notoriously high in TDS.
Not only that... but tap can vary within each municipality from day to day without you knowing. Better safe than sorry.

 

[jer77]

I have had no problems in the past with keeping anemones and rarely doing water changes. Rarely means about twice a year or less. I only kept hardy fish, but I most definitely overfed. I began using tap water, but did eventually switch to RO/DI. I credit the tank's stability to a small Euro-Reef CS-80 and most importantly the DSB. DSB's can be quite underrated. They aren't the prettiest filters, but boy are they easy.

 

[nemo808]

i do NSW changes every week or two, it depends on my mood hehe, but i have a few friends that never do water changes at all, they just add tap water and dose supplements without measuring and they're tanks are doing fine

 

[teesquare]

O.K. - I will confess.....now that Garage and Gary have opned the door I have kept some systems that had only very rare and very small water changes.
But I hate to even mention them to someone that is new to the hobby. It is a precarious balance, hat really requires a lot of experience to be successful.

So -while I agree with their posts for sure- I am discouraging you from trying it....until you are completely confident that you understand enough of the variousmethods and mechanisms that can be used in such a system......and then be prepared for some ups and downs, until you have tweaked it to suit your aquarium. We lose a lot of hobbyists to frustration. I think many try to "run before they walk" to use an old expression. The fundamentals in the hobby will help you become more observant of how various things impact your particular system, and keeping notes will enhance the learning experience in conjunction with regular water testing.

Careful.......but have fun! And - best of luck at reefkeeping!
T

 

[ct103]

I will confess that I do not do the water changes as often as i should but they are necessary in order to keep a healthy system and about once a year or so I take everything out of my sump and clean all of the build up of detrius and algea. My sump contains a rather large amount of LR for its size I also have cheato and lots of life so I have a build up of stuff. Maintenance is required in this hobby or failure is unavoidable.

 

[travis32]

So what are some variables on frequency of water changes? Some I can think of (pretty major ones) is number of fish. Number of corals, rates of element consumption by the corals, type of filtration: Macro, DSB, BB, excessively large amounts of LR, Amount of water volume, CUC, and much more probably.

If we narro WC down to serve the purpose of removing waste.. No one has said the primary reason WC are required. So, Let's narrow it down.. -- To remove waste from fish and food, I'm assuming.

What if a system is lightly stocked, (say 4 or 5 medium fish in say a 125g tank and a 55g sump that's lightly fed. Vs. a 125g tank with 20g sump, stocked with 12 - 15 medium sized fish that has to be heavily fed to keep the fish full.

Scenerio A I could see one getting by with a WC a couple times a year if done right. Scenerio B I see some serious toxicity and algae issues occuring within 6 months if not sooner if no WC were done.

That's assuming all other things were equal-- skimmers, macro, and etc.

 

[chris88]

I will post some new pictures soon. Tap water in the two cites i have lived in Canada has been more then adequate for running my reef tanks.

 

[mthomp]

i guess my question is this, Why take the chance? it isnt like water changes are hard or time consuming.

 

[sslak]

After 5+ years of reefing I can say with confidence that you need to do water changes. Sure, for a month or two you can get by like Mr. Golfoo above with a join date of June 2010. Eventually all those excess nutrients build up and overwhelm the biological filtration and you will have an outbreak of algae, or worse.

If you don't do water changes, especially with no skimmer, the system will begin to look worse and worse and worse...until one day you realize your tank looks terrible and something must be done.

It's much easier to just do the maintenance regularly and avoid the huge battle when it all begins to pile up. Every time I let my water changes slide I saw the condition of the tank decline. It's easy to see.

Seriously, how hard is it to fill a bucket of water, measure out some salt, let it sit with a heater and pump while it mixes?

You sir, are in the wrong hobby. Laziness. No excuse.

 

[Dr. Reef]

every situation is different.
i have a 120 gal reef tank with 3 different tangs 5 clowns reefsafe wrasse and 10 peppermint shrimp 2 cleaners shrimp and 3 emerald crabs. i have about 20 different kinds of healthy corals and gorwing with 700+watts of MH lights and actanics T5's.
now to your question. i have a 15 gal sump with 25 lbs of live rock 50lbs of live sand few pads and sponges a small deep sand bed and a korilline sulpur denitrator. NOT RUNNING SKIMMER it adds a lot of micro bubbles for some reason so its been down for 2 months.
i do water changes once every 3-4 months. but i evaporate about 3-5 gals a day and i refil RO/DI water everyday mixed with trace elements.
i have had no problems with the tank even with the skimmer down and very few water changes. i have a very balanced monthly schedule that works for me. i will post it here in few.
Good luck

 

[chimmike]

with all that feeding, it's only a matter of time before you have a massive algae bloom.

I agree, without a skimmer and all that feeding, you're begging for trouble not doing any water changes. 4 months old is young in terms of tanks.

 

[Dr. Reef]

this is the schedule i follow and seems to work for me. All products are used in quantity recommended by the manufacturer.

 

[lisafoster]

I have neglected at times for a few months and not done water changes as soon as I do them again my water looks cleaner my corals look happier. It is very simple to do the water changes 2x monthly. I have been using my tap water for almost 2 years with no algae . I am getting nervous reading these posts now I was not aware that over time that could cause my tank to crash. I could go the r/o way I just get nervous to change things around .

 

[sanababit]

You have to do water changes its part of the deal, if you dont your tank will fail. Second Definitely buy a R/O system , it may cost a pretty penny but will be worth it.

No true, never say you are going to fail at something, i dont do water changes and have a tank going on now for 3 years, albeit i started like everyone else, doing my weekly/montly waterchanges i stopped to experiment and see any effects of not doing them, this experiment has been going for about 2 years now, i've done 1-2 water changes since but that is because i had a leak and lost water, but that is it, so i can say you can have a succesful tank without waterchanges, BTW, my not doing waterchanges doesn't mean i am lazy, it means that there are other methods of maintaining a tank, and i intend of finding them all:lmao:

sana