How long can you go

[Basile]

How long can you go without water changes. How long can your system can last with out it.

 

[BigJay]

depends on the tank. Some mature tanks that don't have high supplement needs and/or low bioloads can go quite some time months even without needing a water change. Thats far from optimum though and pushing your luck. If the tank gets too far gone it can be hell getting it back.

 

[Frankie]

I do 5% weekly~

 

[michael_cb_125]

When I had my 100 gallon setup, I could go 3 months without a water change. My Nitrates never got above 5. But, I had to supplement Ca. and Magnesium.
~Michael
Now I do 10 gallon water changes every other week in my 55 gallon. Not due to High Nitrates, just to keep my Ca. and Magnesium levels in check.
~Michael

 

[chriswho]

I could probably go longer than I do (once a week), due to my low bio-load, but I choose not to.

 

[Frankie]

There is a lot of other stuff that needs to be replaced other then Ca+ and Mg.
It's not something you want to do just to keep the nitrates back. Corals and fish need trace elements also for strong structure and over all health. Small weekly water changes with a good quality salt will ensure you keep a balance going.

 

[Scooterman]

I change about 70% once a month in my small tank. Not necessary the best option but the time I need to vacuum out & suck up much takes about that much water. What most people do is weekly wc's, 5%/10% & every so often do a through cleaning. Husbandry is something that you shouldn't take lightly & experience goes a long ways to making things look easy. To ask this question means your doing right by asking & getting input, also there are many available reads on husbandry that is worth your time.
Here's a good read!
The “How To” Guide to Reef Aquarium Chemistry for Beginners Part 1: The Salt Water Itself by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com
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[Basile]

When I had my 100 gallon setup, I could go 3 months without a water change. My Nitrates never got above 5. But, I had to supplement Ca. and Magnesium.
~Michael
Now I do 10 gallon water changes every other week in my 55 gallon. Not due to High Nitrates, just to keep my Ca. and Magnesium levels in check.
~Michael

Would a calcium reactor be more economic? Salt is expensive, and the chore would be left for later. In my 29 Biocube its every 45 days, and i can go to 60 days at 10.0 ppm Besides trace element can be supplimented by additives, i do it .

 

[BigAl07]

I wouldn't take that approach espeically with a 29g tank. There are a lot more things that need to be replaced and unless you have a whole arsenal of tests at your disposal you're dosing blindly. It really depends on the tank itself but the more life in the tank (corals, fish, inverts) the more critical water changes are. With a stable tank you can do much smaller water changes (Like Frankie) but still do them. Put this into HUMAN terms. Would you want to live in a jar that's closed up tight (air tight) with just a bunch of fans moving the air around for months on end? Wouldn't it be nice to once a week get to open the window and let some of the "polluted" air out and some fresh air in? The larger more mature/stable a system is the longer you can "Stretch" the water change but if you're wanting to really PUSH it do smaller water changes for the health of everyone in the tank. Remember the water change is almost VERY important for exporting other things than JUST Nitrates. It just happens on most systems that's the ONLY way to export them.

 

[Octoman]

I'm sure I could go for a couple months, but many trace elements would get severely depleted, so I do 10% every week. Not much of a chore (2 minutes to premix the SW, 5 minutes to do the water change the next day), and costs me 8 gallons worth of salt every week ~ $2.50 worth. Some of the trace elements can be pretty toxic if overdosed (eg Iodine), so that can be a dangerous game to play.​

 

[Basile]

I wouldn't take that approach espeically with a 29g tank. There are a lot more things that need to be replaced and unless you have a whole arsenal of tests at your disposal you're dosing blindly. It really depends on the tank itself but the more life in the tank (corals, fish, inverts) the more critical water changes are. With a stable tank you can do much smaller water changes (Like Frankie) but still do them. Put this into HUMAN terms. Would you want to live in a jar that's closed up tight (air tight) with just a bunch of fans moving the air around for months on end? Wouldn't it be nice to once a week get to open the window and let some of the "polluted" air out and some fresh air in? The larger more mature/stable a system is the longer you can "Stretch" the water change but if you're wanting to really PUSH it do smaller water changes for the health of everyone in the tank. Remember the water change is almost VERY important for exporting other things than JUST Nitrates. It just happens on most systems that's the ONLY way to export them.

I understand, you point. The point i'm making; i work outside the country, and never though i could keep a saltwater aquarium. I gave it a shot ( it was a dream of myne to have one); and saw that when i came back every parameters where fine, better than expected. So i red article upon articles, made all the possible tests, and came to the conclusion that i could keep the aquarium going, with less than prescribed by most authorities concern.

I don't let my tank go without care; i do all my tests weekly( and when i'm not here a friend do them and feed my little friends) . I use additives to stablilize my parameters. A calcium reactor for a 29g is overkill. So i use Bio-Calcium with additive to keep my tank between 360 to 400. as for fresh air i keep my biocube, panels open when i'm gone for better air exchange. i maintain charts of parameters and they are pretty stable. Amonia - 0 , nitrities- 0, KH - at 11 constant, Phosphate - 0 ( i uses Phosband to prevent problems) , My temps varies only by 1 to 2 degrees now. And the fish are fed only every 2 days; which by most standards is about correct. From what i red the ocean fish can go without food and they do sometime for up to 3 weeks no problem. ( Fishes apparently don't eat every day, and for some of their need they fast , i didn't know that red it somewhere) So over feeding is a big problem in closed systems. My fuge anyway helps with that also. But i appreciates your thought on the matter. The goal of this thread is to refflect on are over bearing manipulation of are tanks and its needs. Their is some debate about clean and dirty tanks and their benefits. Nitrates slows down respiration of fishes yes, That why water change are important, but too much water changes in some views destablilizes chemical and bacterial counts. Moving substrate is considered by many to be as bad as whats in it( but we must at some point, better be later ... So yes keep those arguments comming and we can share are experiences. Myne is you can leave your tank alone for a while with little adverse effects( for a 29g i'm adding).

 

[BigAl07]

I see your point. Yes for some corals our tanks are indeed "too clean" but we also have to factor in that many of our corals need BETTER conditions than what we give them. We're trying to fit a whole ocean of different animals into a very closed loop system.

If what you're doing is working then keep doing that. What works for one tank may or may not work for many others. That's part of the beauty of this hobby.. we learn all we can and then "apply" that knowledge and then we tweak it for what works for us.

Only thing I want to point out is that the majority of your established bacteria is NOT in the water column under normal circumstances and water changes shouldn't negatively affect your biological filtration unless you're stirring up the sand or disturbing the live rock itself. If you're "turkey basting" and "raking sand" then yes you're suspending SOME of the bacteria in the water column but that's the exception not the rule.

Keep up the good work

 

[Basile]

I see your point. Yes for some corals our tanks are indeed "too clean" but we also have to factor in that many of our corals need BETTER conditions than what we give them. We're trying to fit a whole ocean of different animals into a very closed loop system.

If what you're doing is working then keep doing that. What works for one tank may or may not work for many others. That's part of the beauty of this hobby.. we learn all we can and then "apply" that knowledge and then we tweak it for what works for us.

Only thing I want to point out is that the majority of your established bacteria is NOT in the water column under normal circumstances and water changes shouldn't negatively affect your biological filtration unless you're stirring up the sand or disturbing the live rock itself. If you're "turkey basting" and "raking sand" then yes you're suspending SOME of the bacteria in the water column but that's the exception not the rule.

Keep up the good work

Yes i agree, thats why i posted my experience because; all i had red before my tryout, was indicating i wouldn't be able to keep such a tank. But reality sat in ;and yes its possible( to my great satisfaction too lol), and thats some of are dogma have to change regarding the possible and the impossible. Thank for the encouragements, i just noticed LoL you are from Big Al's, i shop there LOL , thats the reason i got into the hobby. They where very supportive at the store and gave me a lot of help at first . And then i red alot too.:read: