theories of water changes.
- Thread starter Blackness
- Start date
bourganaes
Member
There is alot of good info here- in my expierience A WELL SEASONED TANK doesn't need as frequent water changes as a newby as your bacteria cultures should be able to handle your waste load in a balanced system(depending of course on your setup)- BUT as for me I consider it a labour of love and not a chore to take care of my "babies". It seems to me that (especially if you are new to reefing) you should do the frequent changes and gradually over time stretch them out observing your tank and it's inhabatants for signs of stress.
Yarr
Active Member
I read about a fella in Germany that does 10% water changes... 1 per year... Now, he had a very large system.. soemthing like 12,000 L and all the gucci equipment that goes with it.
As has been stated many times before this post it is completely up to the individual requirements of the tank aswell as the habbits of the tank owner.
As has been stated many times before this post it is completely up to the individual requirements of the tank aswell as the habbits of the tank owner.
Witfull
Well-Known Member
with the talk of not doing waterchanges....can this be a good thing? possibly. those with DSB's, alot of things get locked into sand. trace elements for example, many of these are heavy metals. copper, magnesium, nickel, iron etc...now sand adsorbs them, and are bound in the matrix of bacteria. as the depth of the sand increases, the pH of this water also decreases, this disolves the sand and releases whatever is bound within/around it.
could it be said that waterchanges, continuously adding trace elements and a DSB actually can cause and overload ove these?
could it be said that waterchanges, continuously adding trace elements and a DSB actually can cause and overload ove these?
Maybe, maybe not. Before answering that question, we must first define the variables of the salt used, the filtration and what they actually do. Are you using a salt that is high in heavy metals, has an overabundance of major/minor trace elements? Do you have a tank full of corals that are absorbing most of these? Do you use a refugium and regularly trim/remove macro algae? Are you using a skimmer? Replacing carbon often? Using a media that adsorbs metals (such as a polyfilter)? Do the above really remove unwanted elements and to what degree?
IMO, If the amount of importation of elements is greater than the exportation, then, yes, an overload will eventually occur.
IMO, If the amount of importation of elements is greater than the exportation, then, yes, an overload will eventually occur.
I don't believe in OTS, IMHO I believe it's a neglected tank. As the tank becomes well established over the years you tend to become laxed in your husbandry skills in time that will cause problems.
I went thru a period of about 5 months with only one water change and even though everything looked good, I decided I wasn't going to chance it because it was becoming difficult to measure accurately the trace elements, so I decided to start doing them again maybe on a biweekly schedule.
I went thru a period of about 5 months with only one water change and even though everything looked good, I decided I wasn't going to chance it because it was becoming difficult to measure accurately the trace elements, so I decided to start doing them again maybe on a biweekly schedule.
meandean45
Active Member
Great article on water changes. A gallon a day delivering the same results as 30 gallons once a month seems reasonable,and the smooth and steady change seems like it would be benificial for reef stability. I'll have to look into this!
Dean
Dean
lcstorc
Well-Known Member
That would depend on what you are trying to accomplish.
If you are exporting "bad" stuff. trates etc, then larger change of volume makes a big difference.
If you are trying to add trace elements or whatever, then I would think it would not matter.
Can't find the link right now but saw somewhere (on RS) where they did the math for the reduction of trates bases on many small wc vs fewer large wc. I'll keep looking and post it if I can find it.
Peace
Lynn
If you are exporting "bad" stuff. trates etc, then larger change of volume makes a big difference.
If you are trying to add trace elements or whatever, then I would think it would not matter.
Can't find the link right now but saw somewhere (on RS) where they did the math for the reduction of trates bases on many small wc vs fewer large wc. I'll keep looking and post it if I can find it.
Peace
Lynn
MitchellDD
New Member
Another thing to consider. . . Reef Tanks are turbulent, yet consistant. There are tons of changes always taking place, yet there are fundamental cycles that (should) Happen normally. I have found water changes to be a cycle that should happen normally. I manage servicing tanks at my lfs, and (like mentioned earlier here) every system, whether 2 gallons or 20,000, is different in many ways. It is an ecosystem that you control, no matter if you are low or high tech. . . Every different system must achieve some sort of balance, even though you cant control nature, you can do your best to mimic the natural environment of these creatures.
Example 1
10 gallon reef. Low stock. WELL LIT. fed appropriately. Normal water changes due to all factors. Happy. Healthy. (water changes every 9 weeks)
Example 2.
210 reef. Heavy stock. EXTREMELY WELL LIT. Fed Well. Normal water changes due to all factors. Happy. Healthy. (weekly water changes)
Example 3.(ffrankie)
siphon detritus into sump without changing water(getting ready to stock, but we'll see how often the actual changes go due to his stocking levels and soforth) He siphons out the bad stuff Through a micron filter into the sump.
Can we say clean tank? Yes. It is purdy. Anyways, this is a great method to remove junk, while not giving up perfect water.
His top offs are done via an autofill floatvalve attatched directly to an R/O unit.
Its getting late, im getting sleepy.
Will post soon
Example 1
10 gallon reef. Low stock. WELL LIT. fed appropriately. Normal water changes due to all factors. Happy. Healthy. (water changes every 9 weeks)
Example 2.
210 reef. Heavy stock. EXTREMELY WELL LIT. Fed Well. Normal water changes due to all factors. Happy. Healthy. (weekly water changes)
Example 3.(ffrankie)
siphon detritus into sump without changing water(getting ready to stock, but we'll see how often the actual changes go due to his stocking levels and soforth) He siphons out the bad stuff Through a micron filter into the sump.
Can we say clean tank? Yes. It is purdy. Anyways, this is a great method to remove junk, while not giving up perfect water.
His top offs are done via an autofill floatvalve attatched directly to an R/O unit.
Its getting late, im getting sleepy.
Will post soon
Thanks for telling everyone my secrets Mitch! lol 
I do monthy water changes also to replenish the tank with trace elements. The sock thing is for a weekly cleaning of debris gathering up on the bottom of my "purdy" BB set up. I also syphon the rocks off instead of just blowing it into the water colum which imo has no value. Its all still going to end up in the filter pads and not solve anything. My way, by syphoning it into a sock in the sump, i can actually remove it from the tank with out clouding up my water a turkey bastor.
I do monthy water changes also to replenish the tank with trace elements. The sock thing is for a weekly cleaning of debris gathering up on the bottom of my "purdy" BB set up. I also syphon the rocks off instead of just blowing it into the water colum which imo has no value. Its all still going to end up in the filter pads and not solve anything. My way, by syphoning it into a sock in the sump, i can actually remove it from the tank with out clouding up my water a turkey bastor.