668 DAYS - NO WATER CHANGES ..and going strong !

[backbayreef]

Beautiful tank - congrats! Love the setup.

No WC for all my big tanks as well. My 150gal cube went 5 years without a WC but I’ve reset the aquascape and replaced 30gal in the process. It’s definitely doable - my previous 60gal mixed tank went 7 years wo a WC as well. My new 1yo 450gal hasn’t seen a WC either — all thru CaRx + kalk, denitrator (no3 control) and LC (po4 control). I do dose Brightwell Replenish for trace elements.

 

[xparkys]

inspirational!

is it working because of low fish load? Also, what's your top off process?

 

[BeanAnimal]

On one hand, while not sustainable, a no water change tank is possible if you are adept at keeping a reef tank.

My tank is over 20 years old. I have lost track of when I last performed a water change. Easily 7 years, but more than likely 10-12 or more. I have no desire to back into the number at this point.

I ran without a skimmer, refugium, ATS or other means of filtration (socks, floss, whatever) or ANY testing, including salinity, and zero dosing for 5 or more of those years.

No special equipment, virtually zero testing. I added a skimmer back when I decided to get back into SPS. I test Alk now to keep dosing on track.

I am toying with small daily (1000 mL) AWC, for no other reason than something to do.

I do not think water changes are bad and I would not encourage a new reef keeper to skip them. In fact, I would argue that water changes provide reliable export and help to keep ions in balance and things on track. So why do I not do them? I despise the process.

So not sustainable? I suppose that requires context. My reef has existed for over 2 decades. Will it come crashing down due to lack of water changes? Maybe! But its lifespan has exceeded the tenure of most people’s participation in this hobby, @PaulB excluded.

 

[cheykaser]

Congratulations! Thats one hell of an achievement, and your corals look great too.

Out of curiosity, what do you do if you ever find one of your traces above average? Surely thats happened at some point for you

If one of the traces are outta wack...let's say you high...I just let it settle on its own...re test in a month...I also put CAC carbon in to remove any contaminations

 

[cheykaser]

I am thinking of upgrading to that exact tank and would run a similar sump set up. May i ask what lights you are using? Tank looks beautiful.

Sorry forgot to mention they are the 30s as well

 

[cheykaser]

inspirational!

is it working because of low fish load? Also, what's your top off process?

I have 12 fish in this tank...and looking to add more ....I top off with bottled water from a local water bottle company (like Primo Water) ..do not use an RODI system..waist of time and money in my opinion

 

[cheykaser]

Well that is a wonderful thing. Good for you that your closed system is free of toxin buildup, pollutants and PFAS (forever chemicals).
But sarcasm aside, your post is a double edge sword for reefers. On one hand, while not sustainable, a no water change tank is possible if you are adept at keeping a reef tank. You are exchanging the effort/cost of doing water changes with the effort/cost of closely monitoring the water chemistry of your tank and making the necessary adjustments.
But in honesty, corals are going to die because a new reefer only read " two years and no water changes"
and that's what they will do... Then I will have to read and maybe respond to a post of " All my corals die.. why?"
A better title might have been, "Almost two years without a water change and this is how I did it".
Just Sayin...

Good point and very well taken thank you !

 

[cheykaser]

I agree but those focus covers made it difficult to tell and I was thinking 30s might be to much for a 16 inch deep shallow mixed reef.

Yes they are xr30s

 

[cheykaser]

15 or 30s?

30s sorry

 

[D.WhiteShark]

Beautiful Tank! Kudos for keeping a tank a lot of us strive to have.

 

[Lavey29]

Well that is a wonderful thing. Good for you that your closed system is free of toxin buildup, pollutants and PFAS (forever chemicals).
But sarcasm aside, your post is a double edge sword for reefers. On one hand, while not sustainable, a no water change tank is possible if you are adept at keeping a reef tank. You are exchanging the effort/cost of doing water changes with the effort/cost of closely monitoring the water chemistry of your tank and making the necessary adjustments.
But in honesty, corals are going to die because a new reefer only read " two years and no water changes"
and that's what they will do... Then I will have to read and maybe respond to a post of " All my corals die.. why?"
A better title might have been, "Almost two years without a water change and this is how I did it".
Just Sayin...

This is true. OP is an experienced reefer with a beautiful display but going with the no water change option leads me to wonder how much tank micro management is involved with the moonshine method. Im sure once the tank gets in rhythm then it gets somewhat easier to know what is essential to replenish aside from the major elements.

 

[BeanAnimal]

I top off with bottled water from a local water bottle company (like Primo Water) ..do not use an RODI system..waist of time and money in my opinion

That is $1.25 or more a gallon. Residential water is a fraction of a cent per gallon in most states.

A typical $200 RO/DI system with a 98% rejection membrane will produce over 850 gallons of product water with a 300 TDS input. Even at 1000 TDS input you will get around 250 gallon of water before the resin is depleted. So even at 1000 TDS the cost per gallon does not exceed that of bottled water.

Replacement resin is a fraction of the cost of the unit, so with each refill your lifetime cost per gallon of processed water further drops.

Sure, there are edge cases where source water quality breaks the model, but for the average person and input water, bottled water is substantially more expensive per gallon by a factor of 5x more.

 

[cheykaser]

That is $1.25 or more a gallon. Residential water is a fraction of a cent per gallon in most states.

A typical $200 RO/DI system with a 98% rejection membrane will produce over 850 gallons of product water with a 300 TDS input. Even at 1000 TDS input you will get around 250 gallon of water before the resin is depleted. So even at 1000 TDS the cost per gallon does not exceed that of bottled water.

Replacement resin is a fraction of the cost of the unit, so with each refill your lifetime cost per gallon of processed water further drops.

Sure, there are edge cases where source water quality breaks the model, but for the average person and input water, bottled water is substantially more expensive per gallon by a factor of 5x more.

For me it's the convenience as well..not to mention all of the waste water going into our septic

 

[SudzFD]

When i started this hobby in 2014 (thanks to my hubby for getting us into the hobby) I was always preached to by LFS, water change water change water change...well thats not always the case...im going on nearly 2 years now with my Waterbox 155.5 Infinia frag with not a single water change !!! With the diligence of keeping parameters in check ... and in all honestly im reall not that strickt in myself....monthly (or every other month or so) ICP tests and the discipline i have found for myself in Reef Moonshiner's this has been an amazing journey....tank is thriving...I am keeping almost every type of coral...SPS...LPS...softies, gargonians....everything from leathers, acropora, zoas to gonis .
This tank is run on the basics of equipment... filter floss filtration ( pillow stuffing from Walmart) , cheato and miracle mud in the refugium, skimmer and uv , running at night.
Auto dosing calcium, alkalinity, iron and manganese.

Absolutely stunning. So are you carbon dosing? Your refugium doesn't take care of your nitrates and phosphates enough? Im curious because Im actually dosing nitrates at this point because I cannot seem to keep them up. My latest ICP test was pretty much perfect, so I might consider going longer between water changes. Also, you find you have to dose Manganese and Iron, despite the miracle mud? How often are you changing miracle mud?

 

[johnnyspzl1]

I'm part of the team that hasn't changed water for at least 2 years and I'm going to keep doing it that way.

 

[cheykaser]

I'm part of the team that hasn't changed water for at least 2 years and I'm going to keep doing it that way.

It's an awesome feeling isn't it

 

[cheykaser]

Absolutely stunning. So are you carbon dosing? Your refugium doesn't take care of your nitrates and phosphates enough? Im curious because Im actually dosing nitrates at this point because I cannot seem to keep them up. My latest ICP test was pretty much perfect, so I might consider going longer between water changes. Also, you find you have to dose Manganese and Iron, despite the miracle mud? How often are you changing miracle mud?

I do have a bag of CAC carbon in the sump as an absorption method just to keep any pollution down..I did start doing Nitrates as well..had a hard time keeping above 20 as my softies and gonis like the higher nutrients..as the same with my manganese (for the gonis) ...I haveonly had the miracle mud in about 10 months...ill change it out at the end of the year

 

[rebeccakelly]

When i started this hobby in 2014 (thanks to my hubby for getting us into the hobby) I was always preached to by LFS, water change water change water change...well thats not always the case...im going on nearly 2 years now with my Waterbox 155.5 Infinia frag with not a single water change !!! With the diligence of keeping parameters in check ... and in all honestly im reall not that strickt in myself....monthly (or every other month or so) ICP tests and the discipline i have found for myself in Reef Moonshiner's this has been an amazing journey....tank is thriving...I am keeping almost every type of coral...SPS...LPS...softies, gargonians....everything from leathers, acropora, zoas to gonis .
This tank is run on the basics of equipment... filter floss filtration ( pillow stuffing from Walmart) , cheato and miracle mud in the refugium, skimmer and uv , running at night.
Auto dosing calcium, alkalinity, iron and manganese.

 

[Reef Puncher]

I think the choice to do a water change will have little impact on the tank to be honest, unless something has happened then a larger wc needed to be done then maybe..

As long as you ICP (as you do) and dose trace then you shouldnt theoretically have to do a water change. Unless something is contaminating your tank as sometimes things like aerosols sprays and other things can contaminate a tank. Or perhaps some issue pops up, then theoretically one isnt needed.

I do them biweekly to just make sure all my traces are good, i have to dose traces alot cause my GFO strips a ton out. I also do it to clean my sand. it keeps it white, and keeps nutrients and detritus low by siphoning the sand during a water change. But im honestly thinking about going to one slightly larger one once a month. that will save me alot of time and energy.

 

[rebeccakelly]

When i started this hobby in 2014 (thanks to my hubby for getting us into the hobby) I was always preached to by LFS, water change water change water change...well thats not always the case...im going on nearly 2 years now with my Waterbox 155.5 Infinia frag with not a single water change !!! With the diligence of keeping parameters in check ... and in all honestly im reall not that strickt in myself....monthly (or every other month or so) ICP tests and the discipline i have found for myself in Reef Moonshiner's this has been an amazing journey....tank is thriving...I am keeping almost every type of coral...SPS...LPS...softies, gargonians....everything from leathers, acropora, zoas to gonis .
This tank is run on the basics of equipment... filter floss filtration ( pillow stuffing from Walmart) , cheato and miracle mud in the refugium, skimmer and uv , running at night.
Auto dosing calcium, alkalinity, iron and manganese.

How???? I have never heard of no water change—I guess I’m a noob! Tell me more! Would it work with a smaller 16 gallon or 20 gallon or just large tanks? Salt only or fresh too? Please point me in the direction!