Haven’t done a water change in one year

jesse88

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Over 4.5 years here without a water change.
20210513_154816.jpg
How old is this tank to look that good?
 

Ef4life

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I do nothing of these - have not done and will not do that - still "Eppur si muove"

Sincerely Lasse

lol I’m not trying to argue with you, but you are being proactive if you get icp tests instead of doing a water change. Then from the results your proactively adding in elements as needed. That is nothing like “just not doing a waterchange”

you also are dosing ethanol to control nitrates, something that could also be controlled by cleaning a sandbed, getting rid of your dsb, and doing a waterchange.

like I said - just saying you don’t do water changes isn’t true. And doing something in place of water changes is ok, but don’t sell it to a newbie that it’s that easy and not necessary
 

Lasse

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lol I’m not trying to argue with you, but you are being proactive if you get icp tests instead of doing a water change. Then from the results your proactively adding in elements as needed. That is nothing like “just not doing a waterchange”
Yes it is exactly what it is - I´m doing no regular WC - The OP:s question was not if you are proactive or not - it was do you need to do regular WC - and I do not. Should I read your statement that if a "newbie" follow your plan - he/she does not need to use ICP test, not managing the nutrients - only do WC and clean sand and sumps. The result will be an aquarium like mine?

you also are dosing ethanol to control nitrates, something that could also be controlled by cleaning a sandbed, getting rid of your dsb, and doing a waterchange.
Nitrate in the water will not be removed by cleaning the sand - it is totally the opposite way around. Denitrification could never take place without oxygen free environment and access to DOC - either from internal decomposing or adding from the outside. Most of the NH3/NH4 that is converted into NO3 comes from the gills of your fish - most in a couple of hours after feeding - not from the sand bed.

like I said - just saying you don’t do water changes isn’t true. And doing something in place of water changes is ok, but don’t sell it to a newbie that it’s that easy and not necessary

As I said before - I do not do WC and sand cleaning because I do not think that it is the method that is best to use today with the knowledge we can get with modern reef keeping. I prefer to try to tell newbies to use methods that's based in science instead to still tell them fairytales from the past

Sincerely Lasse
 
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Frizzy reefnewb

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Thats nice looking tank/ aquascape.
Dont be so hard on yourself by saying it's not as good.i like it.yes you can add more corals to get more colour but it looks just fine buddy ^_^
Thanks!! It’s all I need when I get off work I stare at it for ummm a few hours ...my gf hates it thanks for all the responses this site kicks butt wish I joined earlier
 

Ben Pedersen

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Yes it is exactly what it is - I´m doing no regular WC - The OP:s question was not if you are proactive or not - it was do you need to do regular WC - and I do not. Should I read your statement that if a "newbie" follow your plan - he/she does not need to use ICP test, not managing the nutrients - only do WC and clean sand and sumps. The result will be an aquarium like mine?


Nitrate in the water will not be removed by cleaning the sand - it is totally the opposite way around. Denitrification could never take place without oxygen free environment and access to DOC - either from internal decomposing or adding from the outside. Most of the NH3/NH4 that is converted into NO3 comes from the gills of your fish - most in a couple of hours after feeding - not from the sand bed.



As I said before - I do not do WC and sand cleaning because I do not think that it is the method that is best to use today with the knowledge we can get with modern reef keeping. I prefer to try to tell newbies to use methods that's based in science instead to still tell them fairytales from the past

Sincerely Lasse
With all those clams in there.... All you really need is a light and circulation pump.. :)

No need for WC or a Protein Skimmer.
 

Ben Pedersen

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Probably not - but I don´t want more forum crossfire for the moment :p:p:p

Sincerely Lasse
Who cares what they think.. ;) I don't think you are in the hobby for them.

Last year I was reading about some research done on bacterial diversity in human and none human inhabited South Pacific islands... It turned out that any place that humans lived there was large increase in pathogen bacterium (big surprise there). They also were researching how the local ecology managed the bacterium.. It turns out that tridacna clams decreased the pathogen bacteria to almost undetectable levels... Clams are some of the best filters for organics.
 
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Frizzy reefnewb

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Who cares what they think.. ;) I don't think you are in the hobby for them.

Last year I was reading about some research done on bacterial diversity in human and none human inhabited South Pacific islands... It turned out that any place that humans lived there was large increase in pathogen bacterium (big surprise there). They also were researching how the local ecology managed the bacterium.. It turns out that tridacna clams decreased the pathogen bacteria to almost undetectable levels... Clams are some of the best filter for organics.
Ok never heard of that guess I’ll be buying a clam today !! More money spent woohoo
 

BitReef

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I’ve always wondered about tanks without water changes. I would expect salinity to slowly fall as salt gets exported through salt creep and protein skimmer cup waste. What keeps salinity up in tanks where water changes are not done?
 
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Frizzy reefnewb

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Honestly those numbers are pretty darn good for little to no maintenance.
Why can’t I keep certain corals tho I love anemones but can never keep them alive along with sps corals ...certain corals just do not live in my tank even with these parameters....aiptasia have no problems thriving unfortunately
 
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Frizzy reefnewb

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I’ve always wondered about tanks without water changes. I would expect salinity to slowly fall as salt gets exported through salt creep and protein skimmer cup waste. What keeps salinity up in tanks where water changes are not done?
Good question I thought if I kept topping off with tap water (I know that’s bad) that the salinity would drop but I guess when water evaporates the salt stays so when you add plain water it just evens itself out??? I guess??
 

Lasse

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I’ve always wondered about tanks without water changes. I would expect salinity to slowly fall as salt gets exported through salt creep and protein skimmer cup waste. What keeps salinity up in tanks where water changes are not done?
If you use a Ca reactor or some 1 parts solution - you will probably have a very slow decrease in salinity but if you use most 2 and 3 parts solutions (to keep the three large up) you will have the opposite thing happens - salinity increases instead and you have to replace saltwater with RO water. In my dosing regime (around 50 ml/day of all parts of the Triton Core7 system(Core7:1, Core7:2 and Core7 3a+b) - I have to take out 2 - 3 liters a week in order to maintain a stable salinity.

Sincerely Lasse
 

Lasse

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Ammonia 0 nitrate 5 nitrite 0 ph 8.0 salinity 1.025 alkalinity 9.6 calcium 430 magnesium 1300 phosphate 0
I´ll think you can have one reason in the bold above
Why can’t I keep certain corals tho I love anemones but can never keep them alive along with sps corals ...certain corals just do not live in my tank even with these parameters....aiptasia have no problems thriving unfortunately
Sincerely Lasse
 

blasterman

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I've gone a year without a water change in my 20L and its loaded with SPS. Don't run a skimmer either. I keep a low bioload and hence have to struggle to keep nutrients. My alk and calcium uptake is nuts and water changes are moot there anyways.

I advocate maintenance water changes for beginners because they solve basic problems and replenishes calcium in sufficient quantities so they can avoid buying two part dosers and making a mess.

What aggravates me is this constant claim about trace elements and false religion that water changes fix everything and return your tank to 'default'. The reefing industry doesn't agree on what defines trace elements and salt makers do not have a standard by which the incorporate trace elements. If they can't get calcium consistent you really expect them to get boron right?

Whats an ICP test? Lol
20210530_205134.jpg
 

Lost in the Sauce

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Why can’t I keep certain corals tho I love anemones but can never keep them alive along with sps corals ...certain corals just do not live in my tank even with these parameters....aiptasia have no problems thriving unfortunately
6 year old tank, with proper lighting, I don't see why you can't but there must be some reason. Possibly time to invest in an icp test to ensure you have everything you need in your water, and noting you don't.
 
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