water changes necessary or not?

[El Duderinho]

Hey all,

So I noticed that most people advice water changes and I know it's the way to go and all. However, the lady from the store where I bought my RSM250 says it's not really necessary if you have enough live rock, that they take care of the nitrate together with the protein skimmer. Apparently she does not do the water changes in the RSM250 that's in the store and it has a reef with several fish and soft&hard corals.
I've noticed some other people here on the forums who don't do it either.
So what about it? How necessary is it? Is it a matter of unmeasured chemical substrates that need to be replaced when depleted or something else? Why do some people get by not doing the water changes?

I'm planning on doing the water changes (my RSM250 just started to cycle, so not necessary so far), but wanted to hear different opinions with pro's and con's...

PS: sorry if this thread has been done in the past but the search engine ignores 'changes' so basically only looks for 'water' which isn't that specific either on a forum like this )

[BigAl07]

Hello and welcome to RS!

You're about to learn a lesson about LFS's.

A) Either they honestly don't KNOW otherwise and are giving ignorant information

or

B) They know different but it goes against how THEY do things in their store/business.

Keep in mind that many LFS do things "Old School" and honestly don't know anything different.

Also realize that a LFS is int the business to make "turns" which is FISH IN and quickly FISH OUT! Due to the fact of "scooping water" all the time she is indeed doing partial water changes.

Without water changes your tank becomes deficient of essential elements through the process of living and growing. I mean think about it.. if a coral is "taking up" calcium from the tank where does the replacement Calc come from?

Take VERY bit of advice you get from your LFS with a grain of salt and RESEARCH it thoroughly!! More often than not they are DEAD wrong!


As far as "Live Rock" taking are of Nitrates... HOG-WASH! Nitrates are reduced through ANEAROBIC bacteria deep in the sand bed of a mature and stable tank. Without a Deep Sand Bed and a VERY mature tank NO3 (Nitrates) only build and cause harm.

[BigJay]

Originally Posted by BigAl07

Without water changes your tank becomes deficient of essential elements through the process of living and growing. .

Thats it in a nutshell. There are some people who have specialized tanks with very low stocking levels of both fish and corals that can push the window between water changes and use supplements to maintain things like alkalinity, calcium, magnesium, iodine etc.
The problem with that is you need to test so much and have a very throrough understanding of water chemistry to accuratly dose the tank and even in doing that it can be a major balancing act.
Or you can do water changes regularly using a quality reef salt that has everything added in the exact balances your tank needs. Not only is your tank healthier but its not any more expensive then test kits and supplements and its a hell of a lot easier.
Reefing isn't new. There is very little new technology even. After 5 decades of reef keeping whats out there has all been tried. Pick up a reef book from the 70's , 80's , 90's to current and the one thing that hasn't changed is the recomendation of 10% per week or 20% per 2 weeks. Stick with that and it will serve you well.

[burntricer]

really Al? that would probably explain why im fighting huge amounts of algae after i removed my sand bed (had to change tanks)

[BigAl07]

An Algae Outbreak can come from SEVERAL causes...

Algae needs 2 things:

Fuel and Fuel.... Light and some other source of fuel. It needs some of both. It can be fueled from:

• Insufficient Bio-Logical Filtration
• To much bio-load
• Over Feeding
• Feeding wrong food
• Food is "bound" with preservatives (preservatives = Rocket Fuel for Algae)
• Less than stellar Source Water
• Lack of water changes leading to build up of contaminants in tank
• Excessive "Natural" lighting (sunlight striking the tank boosting the algae)
• Old/Faulty lights that have "shifted" into a light spectrum more favorable to the aglae

It could come from any of the above, ALL of the above or a combination of the above.

[El Duderinho]

ok that makes perfect sense and it's what I already suspected. Thanks for the answers!!

[nanoreefing4fun]

+1 to the good advise above....

I can say 1st hand, doing 10-15% water changes every week, is a "real key" for my rsm 130D, healthy coral, healthy fish & no algae...