Auto water changes suggestions .

[Nommarune]

Okay so build is up and cycled. I am using a doser to do auto water changes. Question is should I do a heavy move at once or just do 45 ml every 2 hours like the schedule below. The other way I could do this is move 3500ml every friday so a 5% a week all at once. Need opinions on this. Thanks.

 

[reeferericb]

I was doing 2 gallons a day at night (2:00-4:30). It was noisy and the pumps aren’t very quiet running like that. I moved to continuous water changes a couple weeks ago and I haven’t noticed any difference in the tank. There’s no longer a high pitched whining sound, so that’s an improvement anyway.

 

[srobertb]

There is a Holmes-Farley article where if I recall, there is not really a big difference between doing them all at once or over time. It’s like a 10% all at once is equal to a 12% over a day

I do about 1.5 gallons throughout the day with a heavier amount at night when I’m asleep. I use DOS pumps and they are workhorses but they are loud.

few tips: look at your dosing pumps. Some pumps, like the Ecotech Versa dosers, have a VERY NARROW tube. It will get clogged with sand, dust, molecules, quickly. I spent more time cleaning them than it would have taken to do the water changes. I had purchased the panel and 4 pumps just for water changes and they were a PITA.

No matter what, use prefilters on BOTH lines. BRS sells a 1/4” push to connect fine mesh filter that’s completely dark so algae won’t grow in it. You can also find them online as inline fuel filters I didn’t think I needed one on my fresh saltwater until a month ago when the pump head clogged (granted it clogged after a year).

I installed a T with ball valve before the dosing heads. I also purchased a cheap peristaltic pump (like 5gpm) from Amazon and fitted it with push to connect fittings. Once every 6 months, I open the ball valve and hook the other end up to the pump. This flushes the lines (which are 60’ a piece).

 

[Nommarune]

Awesome info guys!! I will look into the filters you are talking about. Eight now I have them in the pump area of my aio and only half way in the water colum as to reduce sand and crap lol, but that filter idea is great. And since it doesnt matter I will keep to my 45ml every 2 hours. That's 2 gal every 2 weeks so 10% of actual water.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Water Changes in Reef Aquaria by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com

"Water changes of 15-30% per month (whether carried out once a month, daily or continuously) have been shown in the graphs above to be useful in moderating the drift of these different seawater components from starting levels. For most reef aquaria, I recommend such changes as good aquarium husbandry."