Water Change Schedule?

[NaH2O]

What is your water change schedule? I understand there can be a lot of factors involved with this. If you can, please elaborate on why you choose the schedule you do? Also, please include what percentage of water you change.

[Witfull]

i do about 15 gallons or so every 2 weeks. plus i skim the sand bed with a diatom filter.

[Curtswearing]

I voted on other as I usually let my corals tell me. I do a 5 gallon bucket each weekend but this is nothing on a 75g tank with a 29g sump. I obviously turkey baste my rock prior to these water changes.

Once a month, I make a royal mess in my tank. I don't turkey baste my rock, I powerhead my rock. I also make a royal mess of the top inch or so of my sandbed. Then I do a good size waterchange based on how my corals have been acting and how much detritus is floating in the water column.

[jimeluiz]

I turkey baste my rock and then do a 5 gal. change. Mostly because I have a 5 gal bucket!! But I figure with a 58 gal tank and maybe about 15+ gals in the sump it should be staying ahead of the game. That's just 6.4%, but it is weekly. So far so good.

I buy filtered sea water from my LFS - don't have space in our tiny urban apartment for all the water treatment or water preparation bells and whistles. We have ZERO storage - or any other space!

[danny254]

I do about 15g water changes every 2-3weeks with about 70-80 gallons? in my entire 90g system, and while doing that spray the rocks off, and mix a portion of my DSB.

Danny

[reefshadow]

Hi, NaH20-

I do 25 gallons monthly on both of my 125's, after using a powerhead on the rocks and stirring up the substrate.

I haven't seen any difference from the 6 gallon weekly changes I used to do, except convenience!

I use a big rubbermaid roughneck trashcan to mix my salt 48 hrs in advance, then I just wheel it over to the tank and pump it in! (i use another of the same cans to drain, down the sink). I also use one of these cans to collect and store ro water, I think they're indispensable and wouldn't dream of being w/o them now.

It has cut my w/c time down to 10 - 15 minutes from the tedious and time consuming labor of using 5 gallon buckets.

I also disassemble and clean my skimmer and prune refugium algae, etc on my monthly w/c days.

Seeya, Becca

[Craig Manoukian]

5 gallons per week for my 80 gallon with a 29 gallon sump/refuguium. 2 gallons per week on my 20 gallon. After cleaning and turkey basting!

[nivek]

10 gals every two weeks on my 55gal (with 55gal sump). remove a bit of top layer dsb (planning to go BB slowly).

[reefrunner]

I do 25% every two weeks on my 20g, when my 150 was up and running I did about 25% once per month to every two months. Larger than that...I'd probably go less frequent.

[wooddood]

i let the tank tell me,with 2 to 3 gals evaporation a day i do very few water changes.

[middletonmark]

1 5 gallon bucket a week [maybe 4 out of 5 weeks] on my 58g stony/clam tank.

1 5 gallon bucket every other week on my 40g softie tank.

[RanRoc]

I do a six gallon water change on my 55g once or twice a month. I use aerated, buffered (with baking and washing soda) RO water, or sometimes ozonated DI water from grocery store (b/c it's faster).
-RY

[rawald]

I do a 50 gallon water change every 3 to 4 weeks on my tank. I have a 140 gallon tank and 150 gallons in the sump/refugium. I also watch the tank to see how thing are doing.

[Scooterman]

I like to turkey blast every day but usually only 2 or 3 times a week. I check my rocks closely and use a PH when I water change which is usually around every 6 weeks or so. I'll make a tub of about 30g a few nights before. I clean as per my inspections, so it will vary as far as what I'll do. I have only a course rubble bottom, so passing a vacuum on that is rather easy. I try to keep as much water movement under,behind and all around the rocks, to keep as much waste in the water column as I can, I'd rather see it go to the skimmer than settle down elsewhere and rot (I Skim Fairly wet 24/7).

[Woodstock]

Weekly 10-15%. I tend to feed a lot I guess I'm a sucker for a begging fish! lol ... and they DO BEG!!