"Water Changes" how often do we really do them?

[Grassroots]

25 gallons whenever I want which comes out to about one water change every four months. Corals and fish are fine not much algae growth either; its from running an over sized skimmer and not over feeding. Clean up crew helps keep detritus from causing problems and good flow helps keep it from settling.

[ludnix]

120 + 40g sump, about 150g total water.

I change 10g monthly.

[BucNtears]

Originally posted by Grassroots
25 gallons whenever I want which comes out to about one water change every four months. Corals and fish are fine not much algae growth either; its from running an over sized skimmer and not over feeding. Clean up crew helps keep detritus from causing problems and good flow helps keep it from settling.

With an oversized skimmer I could see prolonging a water change. I've pushed the limit so to speak when I kind of lost interest in the tank a couple years ago. Holding back on feeding heavy and a good cleaning crew goes along way:}

[ZoaGuy]

I have 180 gallons and probably change about 25 gallons every 6 months or so. I was religious about it on my old 55 gal, but have not done much on my 180. I am not saying what I do is right, but everything has been doing very well. The params I test for are all great. I do not skim, but I do have a 55 gallon tank as a fuge and also have a DSB.

[Bmgrocks]

12 Gallon with a 2 gallon wc every 3 weeks, really started to cut back, from 2-3 gallons I did religiously every week. As I've watched my tank mature, I've really started to note the importance and benefits of stability. Filtration is simple, 2 Rear Chamber filled with Carbon, and AC70 filled with Chemi Pure Elite.

Reefkeeping/fishkeeping in general is nothing short of an intimate relationship, where both the keeper and tank grow together.

More than anything else, its about knowing your tank; test kits and guidelines can only tell you so much, but its the knowledge of your tank that serves you best.

[lucas73]

Change 5 gallons every Saturday on my 29 gallon Biocube.

[BucNtears]

Reefkeeping/fishkeeping in general is nothing short of an intimate relationship, where both the keeper and tank grow together.



Well said....,

[MeVsTheWorld]

Originally posted by BucNtears
Reefkeeping/fishkeeping in general is nothing short of an intimate relationship, where both the keeper and tank grow together.

Well said....,

+2

40g w/15g sump
every 7-10 days 5g then 10g alternating. On the 10g days I pull all pumps out and give a good scrubbing, but on all water change days the top layer of my sand bed gets vacuumed too.

[harlequin75BB]

I have a 29G with no sump. 40lbs LR, I skim with Tunze 9002 and change 17% (5 gallons) every week with RO/DI and Kent salt.

[der_kluge]

Ok, I've got a complete noob question here.

I've got a 55g and I've never changed the water out. I've got a leather coral who, despite my best efforts, has clung to life, but it's a mere shell of what it was when I bought it. I'd kind of given up on corals, but would like to put some in there, I just don't trust myself enough to keep them alive.

Will water changes help corals? Because my fish (hippo, scopus, 2 clowns, and a few others) don't seem to care one bit. My hippo tang looks great.

I toss in cubes to balance out the PH from time to time, and it seems to be working OK.

I also have one of those little ionizers in my tank, which might also be helping.

Someone educate me.

[tewkes]

Wow, I thought I didn't do enough but judging from what everyone else does, I'm on the ball, lol.

I have a 150 display, 75 sump, 20 frag tank. I change 40-50 gallons every 2-3 weeks.

[username in use]

der_klug, yes some water changes would help, its good to be on some kind of routine with it. Also, your two tangs are a huge bioload on a 55g, if you get rid of one or both that will also help. Do you test for nitrates? That could be why your corals are not doing well.

[BucNtears]

Originally posted by der_kluge
Ok, I've got a complete noob question here.

I've got a 55g and I've never changed the water out. I've got a leather coral who, despite my best efforts, has clung to life, but it's a mere shell of what it was when I bought it. I'd kind of given up on corals, but would like to put some in there, I just don't trust myself enough to keep them alive.

Will water changes help corals? Because my fish (hippo, scopus, 2 clowns, and a few others) don't seem to care one bit. My hippo tang looks great.

I toss in cubes to balance out the PH from time to time, and it seems to be working OK.

I also have one of those little ionizers in my tank, which might also be helping.

Someone educate me.

Do you have any test kits and if so how old are they.
First thing I'ld suggest is test the water, then post the results so others can chime in..
Secondly start browseing here http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/fo...s=&forumid=104

Reef Central is the place where all your questions can and will be answered.

[tank41]

75g with 20 gallon sump. I change 4 gallons of water weekly.

[BigJay]

I change 40 gallons everey two weeks on a 180 display + 65 sump/fuge. I estimate around 200 gallons total taking into account rock and sand.

Do I always go through with it? I missed a change last week due to business/work, but I'm mixing the salt now for this weekend.

[Paul B]

20% five or six times a year.

[BigJay]

Originally posted by Paul B
20% five or six times a year.

So every other month you head out and collect natural seawater?

How long does it take, and what do you do?

[Paul B]

So every other month you head out and collect natural seawater?

No, I diden't say that. We have winters here in NY where the sea is iced up. Water is also heavy so I don't use 100% NSW. I wish I had the energy to collect that much. I use mostly fake water and in the summer I collect NSW and use about half of that and half ASW. In the winter it is all ASW.

I sometimes take it when I am out in my boat in the Long Island Sound but I would rather take it here on the Atlantic beaches. I wade out with a bucket. It doesen't get any better than that.

[MrRyanT]

I have about 100 gal total and change 12 gal every week religiously. I've been considering cutting back to doing 12 gal every 2 weeks.

[Jcohen9999]

Originally posted by Paul B
I sometimes take it when I am out in my boat in the Long Island Sound but I would rather take it here on the Atlantic beaches. I wade out with a bucket. It doesen't get any better than that.

Hey Paul,

I am a south shore boater and have considered pulling water out of the GSP as change of pace for water changes...which, just to stay on topic, I honestly only do 30 gals 3x a year from an approx 200 gal system. I even went as far as to buy a bunch of buckets and tops and collecting about 25 gallons but I stopped myself from using it because it was from the bay not the ocean. What's your thinking on the difference between the two? I hardly ever go out the ocean but what if I made a trip to the inlet would that be that much better than the bay? Also, what prep other than temperature adjustment do you do.

TIA

Jeff

[Paul B]

The ocean would be better because of all the organic matter you have there from those dying reeds but the inlet on an incoming tide would be fine. I sometimes take it from the Coast Guard Station near there. I am a north shore boater but I like the ocean beaches better but I do take it from the Sound as well.
I like to strain it through a coffee filter as soon as I can to lose any tiny jellyfish and floating organic matter, then I just check the salinity which is usually low so I may have to add salt.
The temp changes in a few hours then I dump it in. If you keep it longer than about a day it may cloud up from the bacteria growing on the sides of the container. If that happens it is still safe to use but if you wait a couple of days it will clear up and any organic matter will be taken care of by the bacteria. There may be slight nitrates depending on how well you strained it after you collected it. When I take it from the Sound I sometimes diatom filter it because the Sound is loaded with life which will die in a tank. If you hold up a glass of Sound water you can see with just your eyes all the tiny organisms. I sometimes add that just for the life.
If there is a red tide in the Sound I bleach the water but that is for another thread.

This is the Sound out near Montauk

[Jcohen9999]

Originally posted by Paul B
The ocean would be better because of all the organic matter you have there from those dying reeds but the inlet on an incoming tide would be fine. I sometimes take it from the Coast Guard Station near there. I am a north shore boater but I like the ocean beaches better but I do take it from the Sound as well.
I like to strain it through a coffee filter as soon as I can to lose any tiny jellyfish and floating organic matter, then I just check the salinity which is usually low so I may have to add salt.
The temp changes in a few hours then I dump it in. If you keep it longer than about a day it may cloud up from the bacteria growing on the sides of the container. If that happens it is still safe to use but if you wait a couple of days it will clear up and any organic matter will be taken care of by the bacteria. There may be slight nitrates depending on how well you strained it after you collected it. When I take it from the Sound I sometimes diatom filter it because the Sound is loaded with life which will die in a tank. If you hold up a glass of Sound water you can see with just your eyes all the tiny organisms. I sometimes add that just for the life.
If there is a red tide in the Sound I bleach the water but that is for another thread.

This is the Sound out near Montauk

Thanks. I'll probably swing by the Jones Inlet on my way to/from (tide dependent) Zachs this weekend and grab at least a couple of buckets worth and give it a try. The Diatom filter sounds like a good idea but doesn't that remove a lot of the critters (I'm thinking plankton) that might be good food for the tank?

[Paul B]

Most of those critters that are floating in the water are free swimming plankton which will die in a short while in your tank.
They do make good food if you have something like tiny fry that will eat them but as soon as the water warms, they will start to die. Also many of those animals are living on the edge of their oxygen demands, the swirling cool sea gives them enough oxygen but they have almost no capacity to be in a lower oxygen envirnment like your tank.

[SWINGRRRR]

I change 5 gallons every other day. I feed like crazy though.

135 + 40L sump, best guess 150 TSV