water changes?

wickedfood · 11/06/2006, 08:29 PM

It's been over 3 weeks since my last water change, and my parameters remain 0-0-0. I have a 12g nc dx with a couple fish and a xenia frag. I also have a good bit of calerpa, which I think is the reason the nitrates aren't piling up. So is it still necessary to do periodic water changes even if the nitrates remain 0-5ppm?

smcdonn · 11/06/2006, 09:13 PM

OH JEEZ. I started a thread about this a while back and got numerous views on this. I personally have changed about 15 gallons in my 75 gallon in the past 10 months. I feel if everything looks good and all the parameters are in check don't sweat it. BUT I am sure somebody will cuss me for this advise.

Craig Lambert · 11/06/2006, 09:59 PM

Must be hell to do a 10% water change in a 12 gallon Nano Cube.....

UrbanSage · 11/06/2006, 10:02 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by smcdonn
BUT I am sure somebody will cuss me for this advise.

$*&%#^%# were you thinking?!?!?!?!

Nah, just kidding

Water changes.... my parameters always read zero because of my refugium. But I still do 33% water changes semi weekly.
I do this because I can see a healthy difference in my reef as opposed to when I do not keep up on the water changes.

I know people who has not performed waterchanges in years with a reef that is doing well. But I would not do it. I could be wrong ofcourse but it is not a gamble I am willing to take.

I feel changing the water is beneficial to the reef.

UrbanSage · 11/06/2006, 10:03 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Craig Lambert
Must be hell to do a 10% water change in a 12 gallon Nano Cube.....

LOL

Yeah! Lazy bastard!!! j/k

pledosophy · 11/06/2006, 10:22 PM

Water changes do more then just alveviate nitrates.

If the system is able to handel the bioload and there is no lifeforms that require the trace minerals I think all is well. In a reef if you are not doing WC's you are dosing, or your corals are dying.

cbeitel · 11/06/2006, 10:28 PM

I think this is a great topic. Here are my thoughts...

First, I think every hobbyist is in search of the elusive, zero maintenance tank. How I would love to never change a skimmer cup or scrape algae, etc, etc. I have 4 tanks (Reef and FW) and finally gave into doing regular changes after MANY years of avoiding them and having problems associated with gradual build up of toxins. This was a bigger problem for me because I used to top off with tap water. (Only RO/DI for me now)

But, the reality is our little ecosystems get contaminated no matter what we do. Someone said, what goes into your tank stays in your tank until you take it out. The water evaporates and the toxins stay for the most part. We top off with even more stuff to replace the lost water.

The water gets polutants from many other sources.
- food by products
- polution from the air
- animal waste
- stuff leeching from the sand/rock/equipment
- Oils and stuff from us sticking our hands in the tank
- I'm sure many more

We only measure a small amount of the possible chemicals in our tanks. These things would get filtered out naturally in the real world due to the sheer volume of the natural system. So, our only defense against these harmful build ups is the good ole water change. And this doesn't even address the lost elements used by the inhabitants.

I take the stance that it doesn't really matter how often or how much you change water, JUST DO IT. 10% weekly or 20% monthly, or 25% Quarterly. As with all changes to the tank, just make sure temp, PH, and salinity changes are extremely gradual. Don't shock them!

Lastly, we owe it to the animals we keep to give them the cleanest environment possible so they can live a full life. All be it for our enjoyment.

Well, thats my 2 cents.

wickedfood · 11/07/2006, 08:24 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by smcdonn
OH JEEZ. I started a thread about this a while back and got numerous views on this. I personally have changed about 15 gallons in my 75 gallon in the past 10 months. I feel if everything looks good and all the parameters are in check don't sweat it. BUT I am sure somebody will cuss me for this advise.

And your tanks been healthy throughout this time?

wickedfood · 11/07/2006, 08:27 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by UrbanSage
LOL

Yeah! Lazy bastard!!! j/k

I really don't mind doing them. Just that I didn't want to do it for the sake of doing it. Know what i mean??

wickedfood · 11/07/2006, 08:32 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by cbeitel
I think this is a great topic. Here are my thoughts...

First, I think every hobbyist is in search of the elusive, zero maintenance tank. How I would love to never change a skimmer cup or scrape algae, etc, etc. I have 4 tanks (Reef and FW) and finally gave into doing regular changes after MANY years of avoiding them and having problems associated with gradual build up of toxins. This was a bigger problem for me because I used to top off with tap water. (Only RO/DI for me now)

But, the reality is our little ecosystems get contaminated no matter what we do. Someone said, what goes into your tank stays in your tank until you take it out. The water evaporates and the toxins stay for the most part. We top off with even more stuff to replace the lost water.

The water gets polutants from many other sources.
- food by products
- polution from the air
- animal waste
- stuff leeching from the sand/rock/equipment
- Oils and stuff from us sticking our hands in the tank
- I'm sure many more

We only measure a small amount of the possible chemicals in our tanks. These things would get filtered out naturally in the real world due to the sheer volume of the natural system. So, our only defense against these harmful build ups is the good ole water change. And this doesn't even address the lost elements used by the inhabitants.

I take the stance that it doesn't really matter how often or how much you change water, JUST DO IT. 10% weekly or 20% monthly, or 25% Quarterly. As with all changes to the tank, just make sure temp, PH, and salinity changes are extremely gradual. Don't shock them!

Lastly, we owe it to the animals we keep to give them the cleanest environment possible so they can live a full life. All be it for our enjoyment.

Well, thats my 2 cents.

Thanks man. Good food for thought...

skeeter-doc · 11/07/2006, 10:16 AM

I say, do small water changes, if anything just to balance out all your trace elements, ...

UrbanSage · 11/07/2006, 02:03 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by wickedfood
I really don't mind doing them. Just that I didn't want to do it for the sake of doing it. Know what i mean??

I get where you are comming from.
But it is not untill we stop doing the things we do that the bad stuff hits us.

playa0069u · 11/07/2006, 03:51 PM

ACTUALLY! those small tanks DO suck to do water changes in lol I take out 2 gallons and my LR and corals are exposed to the air!!! its a HUGE pain lol

UrbanSage · 11/07/2006, 04:47 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by playa0069u
ACTUALLY! those small tanks DO suck to do water changes in lol I take out 2 gallons and my LR and corals are exposed to the air!!! its a HUGE pain lol

I drain my 10 gallon tanks overflow to a bucket while filling the sump with fresh saltwater. I am sure I this way drian a bit of new saltwater eventually, but that is why I do more water changes than I need.

When doing my water changes I have several sps exposed to air for a maximum of about 10 minuttes.

aquaria_rn · 11/07/2006, 07:46 PM

Absolutely!! I used to do infrequent water changes, 4-maybe 6 weeks. Always had parameter problems. Alk too low, Alk too high Ca+ too low Ca+ too high. Then Idecided to return to the basics. In large oceans water changes are naturally performed by the oceans currents. Nutrients and wastes are carried in and out by currents. In home aquariums we don't have this luxury. There for it is up to the responsible reefer to continue the process of fresh ne"WATER CHANGES, WATER CHANGES". It's sometimes a dubious task but I personally have reaped the rewards of seeing my corals,fish and anything else living in my tank appriciate the changes. I still am fighting with coraline growth but my tanks looks much better with every water change I do. A 10 to 20% weekly water change does wonders for my 72 bow.55Gallon and 20 gallon tanks. So suck it up and do the change, then sit back and enjoy the benifits. Good Luck!!

es_surf · 11/08/2006, 12:04 AM

i dont ever do water changes

see this thread
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...hreadid=965155

my tank is three yrs old
i did 20% water changes every 2 weeks my first year
i did between 6 and 12 water changes the second year
i havent done a water change in over 12 months

i have no nitrates and phosphates that i can detect, and none of my inhabitants have any problems.

I am happy with the results

best of luck

chucksta1 · 11/08/2006, 02:59 AM

In other late breaking news, This report just in......

It would seem that certain inhabitants of the tank, namely the coral contingent, have been found to be releasing certain chemicals into the communal water supply. Certain elements, who have asked to remain annonymous, claim that they are hormonal attacks on the other inhabitants of the tank. Some corals have been asking their elected representatives to lobby for a "Clean Water" bill to be expedited. Their rallying cry is "The solution to pollution is dilution"

Film at 11.00

UrbanSage · 11/08/2006, 11:03 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by es_surf
i dont ever do water changes

see this thread
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...hreadid=965155

Did that thread have pictures once upon a time?

es_surf · 11/08/2006, 11:36 PM

the pictures should still be there.
i just tried and they worked (they take a couple seconds to load on my computer)
try it again, and if they still dont load, i will post a couple in my gallery if i can figure out how

JeffersonReef · 11/09/2006, 02:50 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Craig Lambert
Must be hell to do a 10% water change in a 12 gallon Nano Cube.....

ROFLMAO. I know... I do 50 gal every 2 weeks on my 125... would love to just do 5 or 10 gal.... LOL.

Fastmarc · 11/09/2006, 03:16 PM

I think the more 'mature' a tank gets, the least critical water changes become.
That being said, I personally think at least a 10% change occasionally on a 'mature' tank can't hurt.

UrbanSage · 11/09/2006, 04:05 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by es_surf
the pictures should still be there.

Today they are showing just fine

looks good!

3rotorFD · 11/10/2006, 02:26 AM

screw that! i do small changes every 3 days. couple gallons to 5G the most. better be SAFE than SORRY =P

aquarius77 · 11/10/2006, 02:45 AM

I agree that they are very beneficial, I do several small water changes over the course of a month and my tank always responds. IMO

11/06/2006, 08:29 PM	#1
wickedfood Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Philadelphia, PA Posts: 223	water changes? It's been over 3 weeks since my last water change, and my parameters remain 0-0-0. I have a 12g nc dx with a couple fish and a xenia frag. I also have a good bit of calerpa, which I think is the reason the nitrates aren't piling up. So is it still necessary to do periodic water changes even if the nitrates remain 0-5ppm?

11/06/2006, 09:13 PM	#2
smcdonn Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Fayetteville, AR Posts: 925	OH JEEZ. I started a thread about this a while back and got numerous views on this. I personally have changed about 15 gallons in my 75 gallon in the past 10 months. I feel if everything looks good and all the parameters are in check don't sweat it. BUT I am sure somebody will cuss me for this advise. __________________ 180g IN WALL, REEF Current Tank Info: 180 gallon

11/06/2006, 09:59 PM	#3
Craig Lambert Premium Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 2,897	Must be hell to do a 10% water change in a 12 gallon Nano Cube..... __________________ "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will spend all day in a boat drinking beer." Current Tank Info: 75G Tank, 29G Sump, 100lbs LR, AquaC EV-180, Iwaki MD-20RT return Tunze nano streams 4X54 t-5/Icecap Ballast & SLR's 2x110 vho actinic

11/06/2006, 10:22 PM	#6
pledosophy Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Beaverton Posts: 5,290	Water changes do more then just alveviate nitrates. If the system is able to handel the bioload and there is no lifeforms that require the trace minerals I think all is well. In a reef if you are not doing WC's you are dosing, or your corals are dying. __________________ 120g mixed reef 90g QT

11/06/2006, 10:28 PM	#7
cbeitel Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: McKinney, Texas Posts: 367	I think this is a great topic. Here are my thoughts... First, I think every hobbyist is in search of the elusive, zero maintenance tank. How I would love to never change a skimmer cup or scrape algae, etc, etc. I have 4 tanks (Reef and FW) and finally gave into doing regular changes after MANY years of avoiding them and having problems associated with gradual build up of toxins. This was a bigger problem for me because I used to top off with tap water. (Only RO/DI for me now) But, the reality is our little ecosystems get contaminated no matter what we do. Someone said, what goes into your tank stays in your tank until you take it out. The water evaporates and the toxins stay for the most part. We top off with even more stuff to replace the lost water. The water gets polutants from many other sources. - food by products - polution from the air - animal waste - stuff leeching from the sand/rock/equipment - Oils and stuff from us sticking our hands in the tank - I'm sure many more We only measure a small amount of the possible chemicals in our tanks. These things would get filtered out naturally in the real world due to the sheer volume of the natural system. So, our only defense against these harmful build ups is the good ole water change. And this doesn't even address the lost elements used by the inhabitants. I take the stance that it doesn't really matter how often or how much you change water, JUST DO IT. 10% weekly or 20% monthly, or 25% Quarterly. As with all changes to the tank, just make sure temp, PH, and salinity changes are extremely gradual. Don't shock them! Lastly, we owe it to the animals we keep to give them the cleanest environment possible so they can live a full life. All be it for our enjoyment. Well, thats my 2 cents. __________________ Favorite Quote from a customer at my store... "It says here these fish are best kept in schools, but can I keep them in my home?" Honest to God, someone said that. -Chip Current Tank Info: You have too many tanks, says my wife

11/07/2006, 10:16 AM	#11
skeeter-doc Moved On Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: TX Posts: 1,643	I say, do small water changes, if anything just to balance out all your trace elements, ...

11/07/2006, 03:51 PM	#13
playa0069u Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: H-town Posts: 1,407	ACTUALLY! those small tanks DO suck to do water changes in lol I take out 2 gallons and my LR and corals are exposed to the air!!! its a HUGE pain lol

11/07/2006, 07:46 PM	#15
aquaria_rn Aquaria_RN Join Date: May 2003 Location: Long Island, New York Posts: 83	Absolutely!! I used to do infrequent water changes, 4-maybe 6 weeks. Always had parameter problems. Alk too low, Alk too high Ca+ too low Ca+ too high. Then Idecided to return to the basics. In large oceans water changes are naturally performed by the oceans currents. Nutrients and wastes are carried in and out by currents. In home aquariums we don't have this luxury. There for it is up to the responsible reefer to continue the process of fresh ne"WATER CHANGES, WATER CHANGES". It's sometimes a dubious task but I personally have reaped the rewards of seeing my corals,fish and anything else living in my tank appriciate the changes. I still am fighting with coraline growth but my tanks looks much better with every water change I do. A 10 to 20% weekly water change does wonders for my 72 bow.55Gallon and 20 gallon tanks. So suck it up and do the change, then sit back and enjoy the benifits. Good Luck!! __________________ " Learn to walk through a mine field from those who have made it to the other side " Current Tank Info: 125G/40 G sump Mix Reef/ 29G Softie reef/ 55G reef and 29G QT set-up

11/08/2006, 12:04 AM	#16
es_surf Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Posts: 74	i dont ever do water changes see this thread http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...hreadid=965155 my tank is three yrs old i did 20% water changes every 2 weeks my first year i did between 6 and 12 water changes the second year i havent done a water change in over 12 months i have no nitrates and phosphates that i can detect, and none of my inhabitants have any problems. I am happy with the results best of luck

11/08/2006, 02:59 AM	#17
chucksta1 Premium Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: mississauga ont. Posts: 490	In other late breaking news, This report just in...... It would seem that certain inhabitants of the tank, namely the coral contingent, have been found to be releasing certain chemicals into the communal water supply. Certain elements, who have asked to remain annonymous, claim that they are hormonal attacks on the other inhabitants of the tank. Some corals have been asking their elected representatives to lobby for a "Clean Water" bill to be expedited. Their rallying cry is "The solution to pollution is dilution" Film at 11.00

11/08/2006, 11:36 PM	#19
es_surf Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Posts: 74	the pictures should still be there. i just tried and they worked (they take a couple seconds to load on my computer) try it again, and if they still dont load, i will post a couple in my gallery if i can figure out how

11/09/2006, 03:16 PM	#21
Fastmarc Premium Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Kingston, Jamaica W.I. Posts: 460	I think the more 'mature' a tank gets, the least critical water changes become. That being said, I personally think at least a 10% change occasionally on a 'mature' tank can't hurt. __________________ Compared to motorsports, this hobby is a bargain. Current Tank Info: 50 gallon reef with refugium

11/10/2006, 02:26 AM	#23
3rotorFD Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: federal way WA Posts: 330	screw that! i do small changes every 3 days. couple gallons to 5G the most. better be SAFE than SORRY =P

11/10/2006, 02:45 AM	#24
aquarius77 Moved On Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Highland, Il Posts: 2,198	I agree that they are very beneficial, I do several small water changes over the course of a month and my tank always responds. IMO