As you know, we’ve launched the full line of Triton products on the Unique Corals site. Consumer reaction in the U.S. to this stuff has been nothing short of awesome...Seems like everyone is talking about it! Hobbyists everywhere are learning more about the chemical composition of their reef tanks, and even more important- talking about it.
It’s been an amazing, enlightening, and interesting journey thus far. I realized that there is far more to the hobby than the small view that I held onto for so many years…I’ve learned to be a bit more open minded, while still maintaining some skepticism- even when selling a product. I’m trying not to drink too much of the Kool Aid. I even forced myself to reevaluate what I have taken for granted. Case in point:
I have always been a huge fan of water changes…I was just convinced that this was the best way to manage nutrient control and export in captive systems…
I’ve held that belief pretty much my entire aquarium keeping “career”, and have always held the practice of regular water changes “sacred” to my reef keeping repertoire. I’ve written about them, talked about them with others..Heck, I even gave a MACNA talk on this a few years back. I was a near fanatic about doing water changes. For many applications, they are absolutely the best way to go, IMHO…
However, I’ve been really re-thinking the entire philosophy behind the regular water change as a primary nutrient export vehicle. It hasn’t been easy to get the notion out of my head, I tell you. What made me re-think this was our recent indoctrination to the Triton “method” of reef keeping. I’ve touched on this stuff before, and I still find myself struggling to grasp it at times. It involves me wrapping my head around a different viewpoint…being open minded, instead of the stubborn reefer that I am sometimes. Not easy.
Ask yourself this:
Why do we do regular water changes in reef systems?
Okay, besides the obvious and banal response of "because ‘they’ say you should", I’ve kind of narrowed it down to a few reasons…And they make sense. However, if you look at things objectively, especially taking into account the Triton philosophy, it’s quite understandable that the concept of the regular water change is- gulp, not something that is a “concrete” rule we MUST follow in order to be successful with corals (I NEVER would have thought that I’d be writing those words, but hear me out before you put your iPad to sleep, okay?).
*We perform regular water changes to facilitate nutrient export. In other words, they are one of our primary methods to remove unwanted substances, ranging from nutrient excesses to toxins, from our systems. This is a tried and true, sound technique that definitely works. It removes these things- and other stuff- from your system permanently. The old adage about “dilution is the solution to pollution” is spot on here under this consideration.
*We perform regular water changes to “reset” beneficial trace elements in our systems. Freshly mixed saltwater provides many essential substances that our corals need in order to maintain health and growth. Kind of like “topping off” your motor oil in your car, sort of? Sound, on the surface…unless you consider the fact that you are basically creating a “biological upheaval” to your system every time you change a percentage of the aquarium water, asking the animals that reside in it to make significant adjustments to a rapid change in their environment. Okay, I'll say it again..I'm NOT sounding the alarm that water changes are bad and that every tank in which water changes are performed is destined to fail. ABSOLUTELY NOT. That's beyond stupid. "Haters", please get that notion out of your head..
Now, one could argue that the “risks” associated with performing a regular water change far outweigh the risks associated with forgoing them altogether. I would not argue this..unless you look at it from the Triton point of view:
Closed marine systems (ours) have unusually large numbers of animals concentrated in a relatively small body of water. They are totally dependent upon an external factor (hey, that’s US!) to maintain the stability and integrity of the system. These animals consume available nutrients and trace elements as part of their life processes, as well as eliminate metabolic waste, chemical secretions, etc. In a closed system, the simplest way to remove these unwanted substances is to remove some of the water and replace it with freshly-prepared seawater.
That’s all well and good. However, let’s say that, during the interval between water changes, the corals have adjusted to a phosphate level, magnesium level, vanadium level, manganese level, etc., etc., etc. that, although perhaps lower than NSW (natural sea water) values, was stable, and tolerable for them. Suddenly, they’re receiving a “reset” of these parameters, with dramatic increases in these levels, along with an accompanying increase in pH, alkalinity, and possibly even a temperature change as well. And, let’s assume that your salt mix contained exactly the trace elements in the exact amounts indicated on the label (as many reefers can now tell you- not all do…). To corals that have been living in a closed system, this is quite a shock to absorb, wouldn’t you say?
The obvious argument is that there are numerous successful and gorgeous reef systems that have worked for extended periods of time with this tried-and-true technique. Of course, many have used other supporting equipment (ie; calcium reactors) or additives (like two part solutions, etc.) in addition to water changes. Nonetheless, over time, you’ll hear many of the most successful hobbyists telling you that their systems go through “ups and downs” where the corals don’t look as good as they did for some period of time, then rebound. Why is this? Why don’t we all have massive, colorful colonies of corals all the time? Could this be why corals don't always look great? Are there some variables at play?
Regular water changes are also typically indicated as a means to export nutrients from closed systems. Who could argue with that? By removing some water, you are, indeed exporting some nutrients permanently from the system. And of course, allopathic compounds exuded by corals to “hold their territory” are added into the “soup” that forms our closed reef system water, and our corals must contend with them. Are there other ways to mitigate this stuff besides just water changes?
Of course. More tried and true nutrient export mechanisms include use and regular replacement of chemical filtration media, such as activated carbon, Poly Filter, PhosBan/Rowaphos/Phosguard, efficient protein skimming, and the growth of macro algae (such as Chaetomorpha, Ochtodes, Gracilaria, or gasp- Caulerpa) in a reverse-photoperiod section of your sump. In addition, having a healthy, growing collection of corals in the system will utilize trace elements and other nutrients aggressively, effectively removing some of these substances (such as phosphate and nitrate) from the water column. Any of these techniques/concpets will assist with nutrient export. And of course, there are others as well- but you get the idea.
So, in theory, if one wanted to avoid significant and frequent water chemistry fluctuations, one could a) regularly dose a balanced calcium/alkalinity/trace element solution, b) utilize any of the above-referenced other nutrient export techniques, and c) foster the aggressive growth of coral by keeping a healthy, well-fed population of fishes in the system, d) add only specific trace elements required by the system determined via testing, and e) maintain the salinity by exchanging some of the tank water with fresh RO/DI water.
Right?
Yeah, actually. In a nutshell, that’s what Triton is advocating. I’ve sort of put my head around it before by calling it a “deconstructed water change.”
Now sure, there are many reefers who are looking at this strictly from a cost standpoint. Some will find that it’s not a cost effective means to maintain a reef system this way. Some will feel that it won’t work. Like any techinque, there will be people for whom- due to a myriad of reasons- even this simple process won’t work. Not everyone will achieve a thriving reef system with ridiculously colored corals growing out of the water. Some will. Others will find perfect logic and economic sense in it, and give it a whirl. You’ll have to do the math and mental gymnastics yourself, but I think that, in many cases, you’ll find that when you factor in water, labor, additives, etc. and compare them to the costs of Triton’s “method”, you might find that it’s actually less expensive and less labor intensive to manage a reef system via this method. There’s a reason why it’s been working in Europe for almost a decade now.
Look, I’m NOT trying to be a shill for a product I sell, even though I’m discussing the philosophy at length here. I’m happy if you just buy my corals, believe me-that's my core business. What I am doing here is trying to clarify what is being discussed everywhere, and asked to me by many people every day. For some people, it won’t make economic sense, or they simply don’t like the idea. And that’s fine. Look, water changes and some of the other techniques have worked okay for decades, and if performed properly, will maintain- HAVE maintained- beautiful reef systems for extended periods of time. What I’m discussing here is just another approach, and analyzing it from the aspect of what we’re trying to accomplish maintaining reef systems.
What I am discussing here with Triton is NOT that it’s the “best way” to maintain a reef system. It’s just A WAY to maintain a reef system. There will always be those who won’t even listen because I’m a vendor and anything I talk about ultimately has a commercial message attached to it soemhow. I can’t really separate myself from that in some people’s eyes, I suppose. I AM trying to share with you what I have been excited and interested about recently, however. And most important, I’m taking you through the mental exercises that I performed when evaluating the Triton “method” myself. It forced me to ask myself questions- to reconsider all of the fundamental reef keeping practices that I held so dear for so many years (I’ve been keeping reef aquarium since they debuted in 1986). In the end, you’ll have to run the pros and cons for yourself, and analyze the benefit/cost thing based on your system. There are many ways to run a reef. This is just one of them. In the end, our goal as reefers is to have happy, healthy, thriving coral.
What I’d like you to take away from todays discussion is not “Buy into what I’m offering for sale…” No! What I am hoping that you’ll take away from this discussion is that you can re-evaluate hobby practices that you’ve held near and dear for years, and at least give them due consideration before dismissing any different view that come along. It was not easy for this “old school” reefer to embrace a philosophy that seemingly went against all that I held near and dear…until I looked at it from a detached, less emotional point of view and realized that it really wasn’t that different from what I thought I was doing with the techniques and philosophies I’ve embraced for decades.
Anyways, I’d like to see a discussion and hear your thoughts on this stuff…Not from a standpoint of attacking anyone or trying to ridicule one side or the other. Not from the standpoint of “Scott, you’re trying to sell us on this idea.” Again, do I sell Triton products? Yeah. Do I think everyone should by them and embrace the philosophy behind them? No. Do I think we should all re-evaluate our long-held reef keeping beliefs from time to time?
You betcha.
So, keep an open mind…Keep re-evaluating, being skeptical, and sharing your views. And, most important…
Stay wet.
Regards,
Scott Fellman
Unique Corals
It’s been an amazing, enlightening, and interesting journey thus far. I realized that there is far more to the hobby than the small view that I held onto for so many years…I’ve learned to be a bit more open minded, while still maintaining some skepticism- even when selling a product. I’m trying not to drink too much of the Kool Aid. I even forced myself to reevaluate what I have taken for granted. Case in point:
I have always been a huge fan of water changes…I was just convinced that this was the best way to manage nutrient control and export in captive systems…
I’ve held that belief pretty much my entire aquarium keeping “career”, and have always held the practice of regular water changes “sacred” to my reef keeping repertoire. I’ve written about them, talked about them with others..Heck, I even gave a MACNA talk on this a few years back. I was a near fanatic about doing water changes. For many applications, they are absolutely the best way to go, IMHO…
However, I’ve been really re-thinking the entire philosophy behind the regular water change as a primary nutrient export vehicle. It hasn’t been easy to get the notion out of my head, I tell you. What made me re-think this was our recent indoctrination to the Triton “method” of reef keeping. I’ve touched on this stuff before, and I still find myself struggling to grasp it at times. It involves me wrapping my head around a different viewpoint…being open minded, instead of the stubborn reefer that I am sometimes. Not easy.
Ask yourself this:
Why do we do regular water changes in reef systems?
Okay, besides the obvious and banal response of "because ‘they’ say you should", I’ve kind of narrowed it down to a few reasons…And they make sense. However, if you look at things objectively, especially taking into account the Triton philosophy, it’s quite understandable that the concept of the regular water change is- gulp, not something that is a “concrete” rule we MUST follow in order to be successful with corals (I NEVER would have thought that I’d be writing those words, but hear me out before you put your iPad to sleep, okay?).
*We perform regular water changes to facilitate nutrient export. In other words, they are one of our primary methods to remove unwanted substances, ranging from nutrient excesses to toxins, from our systems. This is a tried and true, sound technique that definitely works. It removes these things- and other stuff- from your system permanently. The old adage about “dilution is the solution to pollution” is spot on here under this consideration.
*We perform regular water changes to “reset” beneficial trace elements in our systems. Freshly mixed saltwater provides many essential substances that our corals need in order to maintain health and growth. Kind of like “topping off” your motor oil in your car, sort of? Sound, on the surface…unless you consider the fact that you are basically creating a “biological upheaval” to your system every time you change a percentage of the aquarium water, asking the animals that reside in it to make significant adjustments to a rapid change in their environment. Okay, I'll say it again..I'm NOT sounding the alarm that water changes are bad and that every tank in which water changes are performed is destined to fail. ABSOLUTELY NOT. That's beyond stupid. "Haters", please get that notion out of your head..
Now, one could argue that the “risks” associated with performing a regular water change far outweigh the risks associated with forgoing them altogether. I would not argue this..unless you look at it from the Triton point of view:
Closed marine systems (ours) have unusually large numbers of animals concentrated in a relatively small body of water. They are totally dependent upon an external factor (hey, that’s US!) to maintain the stability and integrity of the system. These animals consume available nutrients and trace elements as part of their life processes, as well as eliminate metabolic waste, chemical secretions, etc. In a closed system, the simplest way to remove these unwanted substances is to remove some of the water and replace it with freshly-prepared seawater.
That’s all well and good. However, let’s say that, during the interval between water changes, the corals have adjusted to a phosphate level, magnesium level, vanadium level, manganese level, etc., etc., etc. that, although perhaps lower than NSW (natural sea water) values, was stable, and tolerable for them. Suddenly, they’re receiving a “reset” of these parameters, with dramatic increases in these levels, along with an accompanying increase in pH, alkalinity, and possibly even a temperature change as well. And, let’s assume that your salt mix contained exactly the trace elements in the exact amounts indicated on the label (as many reefers can now tell you- not all do…). To corals that have been living in a closed system, this is quite a shock to absorb, wouldn’t you say?
The obvious argument is that there are numerous successful and gorgeous reef systems that have worked for extended periods of time with this tried-and-true technique. Of course, many have used other supporting equipment (ie; calcium reactors) or additives (like two part solutions, etc.) in addition to water changes. Nonetheless, over time, you’ll hear many of the most successful hobbyists telling you that their systems go through “ups and downs” where the corals don’t look as good as they did for some period of time, then rebound. Why is this? Why don’t we all have massive, colorful colonies of corals all the time? Could this be why corals don't always look great? Are there some variables at play?
Regular water changes are also typically indicated as a means to export nutrients from closed systems. Who could argue with that? By removing some water, you are, indeed exporting some nutrients permanently from the system. And of course, allopathic compounds exuded by corals to “hold their territory” are added into the “soup” that forms our closed reef system water, and our corals must contend with them. Are there other ways to mitigate this stuff besides just water changes?
Of course. More tried and true nutrient export mechanisms include use and regular replacement of chemical filtration media, such as activated carbon, Poly Filter, PhosBan/Rowaphos/Phosguard, efficient protein skimming, and the growth of macro algae (such as Chaetomorpha, Ochtodes, Gracilaria, or gasp- Caulerpa) in a reverse-photoperiod section of your sump. In addition, having a healthy, growing collection of corals in the system will utilize trace elements and other nutrients aggressively, effectively removing some of these substances (such as phosphate and nitrate) from the water column. Any of these techniques/concpets will assist with nutrient export. And of course, there are others as well- but you get the idea.
So, in theory, if one wanted to avoid significant and frequent water chemistry fluctuations, one could a) regularly dose a balanced calcium/alkalinity/trace element solution, b) utilize any of the above-referenced other nutrient export techniques, and c) foster the aggressive growth of coral by keeping a healthy, well-fed population of fishes in the system, d) add only specific trace elements required by the system determined via testing, and e) maintain the salinity by exchanging some of the tank water with fresh RO/DI water.
Right?
Yeah, actually. In a nutshell, that’s what Triton is advocating. I’ve sort of put my head around it before by calling it a “deconstructed water change.”
Now sure, there are many reefers who are looking at this strictly from a cost standpoint. Some will find that it’s not a cost effective means to maintain a reef system this way. Some will feel that it won’t work. Like any techinque, there will be people for whom- due to a myriad of reasons- even this simple process won’t work. Not everyone will achieve a thriving reef system with ridiculously colored corals growing out of the water. Some will. Others will find perfect logic and economic sense in it, and give it a whirl. You’ll have to do the math and mental gymnastics yourself, but I think that, in many cases, you’ll find that when you factor in water, labor, additives, etc. and compare them to the costs of Triton’s “method”, you might find that it’s actually less expensive and less labor intensive to manage a reef system via this method. There’s a reason why it’s been working in Europe for almost a decade now.
Look, I’m NOT trying to be a shill for a product I sell, even though I’m discussing the philosophy at length here. I’m happy if you just buy my corals, believe me-that's my core business. What I am doing here is trying to clarify what is being discussed everywhere, and asked to me by many people every day. For some people, it won’t make economic sense, or they simply don’t like the idea. And that’s fine. Look, water changes and some of the other techniques have worked okay for decades, and if performed properly, will maintain- HAVE maintained- beautiful reef systems for extended periods of time. What I’m discussing here is just another approach, and analyzing it from the aspect of what we’re trying to accomplish maintaining reef systems.
What I am discussing here with Triton is NOT that it’s the “best way” to maintain a reef system. It’s just A WAY to maintain a reef system. There will always be those who won’t even listen because I’m a vendor and anything I talk about ultimately has a commercial message attached to it soemhow. I can’t really separate myself from that in some people’s eyes, I suppose. I AM trying to share with you what I have been excited and interested about recently, however. And most important, I’m taking you through the mental exercises that I performed when evaluating the Triton “method” myself. It forced me to ask myself questions- to reconsider all of the fundamental reef keeping practices that I held so dear for so many years (I’ve been keeping reef aquarium since they debuted in 1986). In the end, you’ll have to run the pros and cons for yourself, and analyze the benefit/cost thing based on your system. There are many ways to run a reef. This is just one of them. In the end, our goal as reefers is to have happy, healthy, thriving coral.
What I’d like you to take away from todays discussion is not “Buy into what I’m offering for sale…” No! What I am hoping that you’ll take away from this discussion is that you can re-evaluate hobby practices that you’ve held near and dear for years, and at least give them due consideration before dismissing any different view that come along. It was not easy for this “old school” reefer to embrace a philosophy that seemingly went against all that I held near and dear…until I looked at it from a detached, less emotional point of view and realized that it really wasn’t that different from what I thought I was doing with the techniques and philosophies I’ve embraced for decades.
Anyways, I’d like to see a discussion and hear your thoughts on this stuff…Not from a standpoint of attacking anyone or trying to ridicule one side or the other. Not from the standpoint of “Scott, you’re trying to sell us on this idea.” Again, do I sell Triton products? Yeah. Do I think everyone should by them and embrace the philosophy behind them? No. Do I think we should all re-evaluate our long-held reef keeping beliefs from time to time?
You betcha.
So, keep an open mind…Keep re-evaluating, being skeptical, and sharing your views. And, most important…
Stay wet.
Regards,
Scott Fellman
Unique Corals
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