The case for frequent water changes....Again.

[ronnie]

When I started the 75g in 2007 or 2008, I was pretty lax on water changes. I did them every month for the most part. Typically around 10 gallons.

When I upgraded to the 120g, I was pretty religious on weekly water changes since I had gone to mostly SPS. I then went to daily 1g water changes, and the stability really paid off with some great growth and colors.

Then I got lax. I stopped doing daily, and then stopped water changes all together. I thought I could do it since I had "figured it all out". So I went six months without a water change. In that time, I also discovered AEFW, so lost even more motivation. I probably could have saved frags of just about every acro I had, but the combination of no water changes along with the flatworms was too much. So it all perished. I tried a sulfur denitrator near the end as well, thinking I could use technology to beat the water changes. It worked, sort of. I think the main issue was the trace elements that had been depleted.

Fast forward to today. I currently do either 5 or 10 gallon weekly water changes on the existing cube. I'm pretty good about these, and have only missed one or two in the last six months.

The new tank will kick this up a notch. I'm planning to do daily water changes in the range of 1/2 to 3/4 of a gallon. This will be fully automated and it'll really help stability. So I've gone full spectrum for the most part.

One thing I will say is this: nobody has ever complained about losing coral because they did a water change. I've experienced first hand and seen numerous tanks complain about losing coral when they didn't do a water change.

You're never above them. Do them and do them frequently. Don't skirt this part. It can be time consuming, but it's easier than scraping dead coral off of rock.

 

[Aquarium Art]

Nice thread , we are forced to do about 20% water change weekly do to cleaning out tanks and sucking up all the dirt thats left over. And we do reap the rewards by doing so . We have clowns and corals spawning do to this

 

[Aquarium Art]

[video=youtube;HieqebTd9B4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HieqebTd9B4[/video]

 

[uniquecorals]

AWESOME Stuff! Thanks for sharing that!

-Scott

 

[Stpatrick]

Hi Scott. How much is to much, in your opinion? I have a 100 gallon tank and I have been doing a weekly 20-25 gallon water change. For months now. Is that to much? I also dose the usuals along with bacteria. My tank runs at very low po4 & no3.

Love the corals by the way....

 

[uniquecorals]

Hi Scott. How much is to much, in your opinion? I have a 100 gallon tank and I have been doing a weekly 20-25 gallon water change. For months now. Is that to much? I also dose the usuals along with bacteria. My tank runs at very low po4 & no3.

Love the corals by the way....

A fair question, one that is open to interpretation, IMHO. I mean, there is no set guideline about how much you MUST change. As I will outline in my piece this morning, husbandry is really about observation, and tailoring your practices to the needs of your animals and the results you want to obtain. I suppose you can argue that you can never change too much water in a closed system. However, I think you could get a bit excessive to the point where you can create near-terile conditions that would certainly be less conducive to good coral growth. Remember, the goal is to provide enough dissolved organics for your corals to utilize for growth and cold, without accumulating excesses that nuisance algae can utilize for...well, you get what I mean. Bottom line: If you like the results you're getting now, stick with it! If you are unhappy (i.e.; excessive algal growth and overall not-so-hot coral health), I'd consider stepping up the amount of frequency of the changes, or re-evaluating your other husbandry practices. If you are seeing lackluster coral growth and color (like "pallid", and washed out) and a near pristine looking tank, I'd consider changing less...

It's all about balance!

Thanks for the kind words!

-Scott

 

[Keithcorals]

First I have to say water changes for some people and some systems are the best way to go. But I do next to no water changes maybe 5 to 10 percent every other month.
And I have more than average growth and color. But I do a lot of water tests and add what is needed. My SPS system uses way too much nutrients elements and trace elements for a tiny water change to do anything.

Next to no water changes for almost a year. It can be done and it's not dumb luck

 

[uniquecorals]

The Space Shuttle flew dozens of times with potential issues to it's heat shielding materials caused by launch related damage, despite considerable observations and some of the best engineers in the business. On one occasion, the heat shielding material failed after being damaged at launch. A known issue that was not widely considered "problematic" by NASA to take further precautions until it killed the crew on reentry in 2003.

I'm not saying that you are acting in an irresponsible or negligent matter. What I am saying is that dodging a bullet, no matter how careful you are, and how successful you are until the bullet strikes, is still making something way more, shall we say, "exhilarating" than it needs to be. I believe, based on my personal experience, and that of many others around the world over decades in the hobby and industry, is that not changing water periodically in a closed system is "dodging a bullet."

Getting away without water changes is not "dumb luck", it's calculated luck.

I would venture to guess that you'd have similar results if you simply did water changes and saved all the money on additives, save for a few necessary ones. You strike me as someone who knows what he is doing. I just wouldn't personally manage my systems that way. Again, I'm not going to belittle or disagree with your results; your corals look fine right now, and I commend you for testing and at least knowing what your corals need and supplying it to them. The point of "tiny" frequent water changes is to avoid waiting for excesses of nitrogenous wastes to accumulate to the point where they can become problematic, and to avoid complete depletion of trace elements, etc. It's not intended to be your sole source of "additives" for a system full of growing corals. At Unique, we supplement extensively, as discussed here, to meet the needs of our many growing corals. We also conduct regular water changes.

The fact is, you ARE doing some water exchanges, so I sense that you realize that it's at least to some advantage to do so.

I still feel, that for the vast majority of reefers, regular water changes are a far better way to go. I have seen many examples over the years of tanks where reefers have gotten away without changing water for extended periods, and are quite dogmatic that everyone else "has it wrong" (I'm happy to see that you are not one of those people)! I totally appreciate you presenting your experiences and an obviously successful system at the moment. Believe me, I'm not saying that water changes are the only way to go, and that aquariums need to be pristine. However, for the vast, vast majority of hobbyists, they are the best way to go for assuring stable water quality over extended periods of time (years, not a year or two). A basic part of closed system water quality management. My orientation is for long-term sustainability. With a facility filled with thousands of corals, I cannot afford to gamble with my inventory (and my livelihood) on being able to stay ahead of the curve by simply adding things to the water. Therefore, I will not recommend avoiding water changes, as this is not something that would work for me. I run my personal systems in a similar fashion, so again, my experiences have been more than positive both professionally and personally with water changes.

I am very happy to see that your husbandry routine works for you for now. I think it would be fascinating to keep track of this over a very long term (say several years). I am still sort of intrigued by your small, yet somewhat infrequent, water changes. What is the rationale behind them, given your overall husbandry technique? Have you actually ran the system for extended periods of time with zero water changes?

Thanks again for sharing; I hope you interpret my response in the spirit in which it was intended: To foster a discussion among reefers, who all have the similar goal of thriving, healthy corals. We can all learn from each other, and I'd love to learn more about your methods! Please continue to share and foster discussion!

Regards,

Scott

 

[Av8Bluewater]

My tank seems happier doing water changes than without. I do about 18% every two weeks.
One thing I would like to add is if you can do anything to make your water change routine faster and easier spend the money and do it. Get a pump that pumps faster, build a water change station, get the easy and correct fittings ect. The easier it is and faster the more likely a person will do it.

 

[flynhawaiianz28]

Excellent article! I have committed to doing a 5 gallon WC a week on my 20 gallon. To some people it may seem like a lot but I started doing this back in March and my tank has never looked better and everything is happy and I have seen a great improvement in my corals.

 

[mc-cro]

Hows that again Scott? tell me again why water changes are so important.