No water change. Does it work long term?

[galantra]

I wanna add my input, I currently don’t do Water changes. I found I had less situation with Corals dying when I stop doing water changes with that being said I probably do one once every six months maybe even longer than that I’ve been reaching for a long time and since I stop doing monthly water changes found that it has improved my tank quality I do does trace elements as well as from time to time phosphate E and I feed a lot of amino‘s since my tanks are usually more SPS. In this hobby, I know we deal with a lot of possible loss, algae blooms, and other types of chemistry issues but this has worked for me

 

[Badboy GP]

Hi Op,

I haven't done a water change in 2.5 years.

Sps dominant tank, I have massive growth sometimes too much.

If you look at my threads 3yrs ago and further you would see I religiously did weekly water changes at 5% and dose 3 part with ZERO coral surviving.

I'm currently dosing
AFR
Sometimes Mag, Sometimes Alk.

I have massive refug, roller mat and a good skimmer.

I want to do a 10% or so change it this year.. not necessary but just to remind myself what it feels like.

 

[LPS Bum]

I think all aquariums benefit from at least somewhat regular water changes. Whether the water changes are necessary or not depends upon your individual system, but so long as the new saltwater is properly mixed up, it should help. I find it always helps to re-balance the system from salinity creep due to dosing, loss of trace elements over time, etc.

 

[QuinnLee512]

Hi Op,

I haven't done a water change in 2.5 years.

Sps dominant tank, I have massive growth sometimes too much.

If you look at my threads 3yrs ago and further you would see I religiously did weekly water changes at 5% and dose 3 part with ZERO coral surviving.

I'm currently dosing
AFR
Sometimes Mag, Sometimes Alk.

I have massive refug, roller mat and a good skimmer.

I want to do a 10% or so change it this year.. not necessary but just to remind myself what it feels like.

I def want to be where you're at. I'm going to start dosing iodine and flourine in addition to AFR since my ICP test says they're low and go from there.

 

[soreefed]

I’ve always been afraid that the water/tank will get stinky with no water changes.

I do 2 water changes per month that equal about 50-75% water change per month. I use a liquid transfer pump and the whole process from mixing to changing takes under 30 mins.

Every time I do a change its reminds me of how much I love my tank. I take pics and do some routine cleaning.

 

[PPBlimpy]

I personally feel once a tank is mature and established, good RO water is used for top off, and lots of testing done including quarterly icp test and dosing of trace elements as needed water changes can mostly go to the way side. As long as everything is being watched and taken care off.

My old 180 was getting water changes every 4 months, but I did often blow off all the rocks and vacuum up crap into a sock in the sump, tried to minimize crap being in the tank to long to get broken down.

this was a lps/ softie tank. not sps

My big problem with my current tank is every time I do a water change my BTA split. I currently have 50+ in a 150g system, sell and give away as many as I can. Then I do another water change and BAM, more NEMS. i am setting up a 300g and thinking about just letting it be a BTA tank, and down sizing my mixed reef into a 60g breeder

 

[cnaegler]

Check out the Reef Moonshiners method. No more water changes. You use ICP tests for your water chemistry every month and only buy the supplements you need to keep the tank almost perfectly balanced. I've been reading up on it after I did a ICP test and saw a few elements nonexistent even though I do a 1% water change daily. I've lost over 30 SPS in the last 2 months and there's no reason, I can find, why it was happening. Now, I believe a lot of it was missing elements that are crucial for SPS.
I figured it would work out the same $ wise if I'm not buying an $80 box of salt per month. Just my .02.

 

[Bohemian Waxwing]

A hobby is supposed to be fun. Doing weekly water changes is not fun. I can't think of anything that could be rusting. My returns are hard plumbed to my pump so no metal hose clamps. The only magnets that I can think of are for my powerheads. All for reef also doses trace.

???

Get into a different hobby is taking proper care of animals is too much work for you. You know what’s fun? Doing your best to keep your tank thriving.

Ugh the average hobbyist has gotten so lazy.

 

[QuinnLee512]

???

Get into a different hobby is taking proper care of animals is too much work for you. You know what’s fun? Doing your best to keep your tank thriving.

Ugh the average hobbyist has gotten so lazy.

Get off your high horse. There isn't just one way to take care of a tank.

 

[Bohemian Waxwing]

Check out the Reef Moonshiners method. No more water changes. You use ICP tests for your water chemistry every month and only buy the supplements you need to keep the tank almost perfectly balanced. I've been reading up on it after I did a ICP test and saw a few elements nonexistent even though I do a 1% water change daily. I've lost over 30 SPS in the last 2 months and there's no reason, I can find, why it was happening. Now, I believe a lot of it was missing elements that are crucial for SPS.
I figured it would work out the same $ wise if I'm not buying an $80 box of salt per month. Just my .02.

Tbh it’s hard to take the advice of someone who’s lost 30 SPS. I think I’ve probably lost 3 in my 3 years, and I probably run one of the lowest budget SPS reefs on the site.

Seeing your elements low doesn’t mean stop doing water changes, it means your elements are low. Dose them, or switch to a salt which can replenish them if usage is very very low.

I don’t do water changes because I want to keep elements stable. I do them to dilute pollutants we don’t test for. I’ve never seen a water change hurt a tank.

 

[IceNein]

The thing about a strictly no water change maintenance schedule that I would worry about is all of the chemicals that you do not test for. ICP tests test for elements, but they don't test for things like the chemicals that corals release to fight off other corals.

 

[Bohemian Waxwing]

The thing about a strictly no water change maintenance schedule that I would worry about is all of the chemicals that you do not test for. ICP tests test for elements, but they don't test for things like the chemicals that corals release to fight off other corals.

Correct. The ocean is so much cleaner than our tanks. Even the coral that thrive in lagoon environments still get regularly inflows of fresh, clean saltwater. Any volatile compounds that build up are washed away.

A no change reef to me is like a stagnant pond.

 

[BeanAnimal]

???

Get into a different hobby is taking proper care of animals is too much work for you. You know what’s fun? Doing your best to keep your tank thriving.

Ugh the average hobbyist has gotten so lazy.

I suppose that depends on how you define "proper care."

I loathe water changes. I loathe testing. I loathe maintenance. Heck, these days I even loathe DIY, and I used to love it.

I do enjoy looking at my fish and coral.

I’m a lazy reef keeper, and have been for three decades. A lazy fish keeper for over four.

Be careful with swift, harsh judgments. This hobby doesn’t conform to your standards, or mine, or anyone else's!

There is no rule that says it must require a fixed amount of toil or self-imposed suffering to be valid.

Not everyone wears effort as a badge, and not everyone enjoys the same parts of the experience.

As for water changes? have not done one for at least 7 years now. Not a single one. I can't give you a specific reason as to why this works for some people and not others, as each of our systems are vastly different. I am not advising anybody to no do water changes either. In fact, I think in most cases, doing water changes is good advice,

 

[cnaegler]

Well...GoOd FoR yOu! I simply said check out Reef Moonshiners. I never said take my advice. Nor do I use the method. Why did you feel the need to be a smartalec? Because I mentioned an alternative method other than yours? Too hard to scroll by?

 

[Lavey29]

???

Get into a different hobby is taking proper care of animals is too much work for you. You know what’s fun? Doing your best to keep your tank thriving.

Ugh the average hobbyist has gotten so lazy.

Kind of goes hand in hand with the " i want a reef and i want it now" attitude also. Not saying this is applicable to the OP but just in general to new people entering the hobby. Lot of them just don't want to put in the work to be successful. They may have the wallets to load the tank with exotic corals and fish but typically never find success and the enjoyment of creating a beautiful environment.

To the OP, weekly water changes are essential to new tanks under a year because of the inherent instability in new tanks. After that you can go maybe monthly but you need to account for major and trace elements. I feel that if you start trying to do zero changes, eventually pollutants in the water which come from a variety of external and internal sources will catch up with you and you will start to see coral decline. Fowler would be different but still needing changes periodically.

 

[BeanAnimal]

The thing about a strictly no water change maintenance schedule that I would worry about is all of the chemicals that you do not test for. ICP tests test for elements, but they don't test for things like the chemicals that corals release to fight off other corals.

I am well over 20 years into this tank. Never an ICP test done. I have no idea what one would yield, maybe scary levels of one or more things... maybe not. One may explain troubles I have had over the years, maybe not.

I even purchased a kit a few years ago... it lost the shipping envelope and recently threw the vials out.

Maybe one day... but at $100 or so and no major problems... meh.

 

[MnFish1]

I've had my RSR 350 running for 1.5 years now. Up until a month ago I didn't do any water changes. I dose all for reef. I export phosphates via chaeto and gfo. My phosphates usually fluctuate between .1 and .3. I can't seem to produce nitrates naturally so I'm dosing neo nitro. Nitrates are usually around the 10ppm range.

Around 2 months ago I started experiencing coral deaths. What stopped it was a 15% water change. I'm clueless as to what was in the water that a 15% water change fixed. Also recently I added a bubblegum, forest fire Digi, and Monti cap under 200par lighting. They all turned white. I heard lack of iodine can cause that?

So I'm curious if the no water change route can work long term or if I should incorporate monthly or bi-monthly water changes?

In general 'no'. However, you have to define 'long-term' if you mean do you need once weekly water changes probably not. if you have multiple excess. nutrient removal methods, possibly not. however, there are many things that are not measured in our tanks so - IMHO - water changes are beneficial - and I would say smaller water changes more frequently are more effective than large changes every 6 months. However as shown by the thread everyone has their own method/opinion. Bioload, the types of food you're using, whether there is coral, etc. - all play a role. IMHO water changes simplify management - as compared to adding 3 drops of xx every day or some of the other methods for managing water. Again - not a criticism of those methods - just not what I want to spend money or time doing.

 

[MnFish1]

Hi Op,

I haven't done a water change in 2.5 years.

Sps dominant tank, I have massive growth sometimes too much.

If you look at my threads 3yrs ago and further you would see I religiously did weekly water changes at 5% and dose 3 part with ZERO coral surviving.

I'm currently dosing
AFR
Sometimes Mag, Sometimes Alk.

I have massive refug, roller mat and a good skimmer.

I want to do a 10% or so change it this year.. not necessary but just to remind myself what it feels like.

This doesn't make sense to me - mainly because I would like to see what would happen if you went another 2.5 years without doing one. But - I have the feeling you might be thinking it is necessary - as compared to reminding yourself what it feels like - kind of like slamming your finger in a car door for a second time to remember what it felt like:):)

 

[MnFish1]

I am well over 20 years into this tank. Never an ICP test done. I have no idea what one would yield, maybe scary levels of one or more things... maybe not. One may explain troubles I have had over the years, maybe not.

I even purchased a kit a few years ago... it lost the shipping envelope and recently threw the vials out.

Maybe one day... but at $100 or so and no major problems... meh.

Do you use activated carbon? Or something similar?

 

[Saltyanimals]

Ahhhh. another WC vs no-WC debate. This is really for larger systems that makes WC a pain otherwise it's easy to do a single bucket WC.

I was in the no WC / take-care-of-water camp for many years and regularly monitor my water with ICP. Dosing trace etc which on paper shows I have great water. However I'm starting to move to at least an annual or 2x year WC. The real reason is physical detritus removal as I see the gray dusty stuff all over my sand. They're likely inert and do nothing to the water as shown in the water test. It's just unsightly because they have no way to break down further CUC or no CUC. I like the whiter looking sand. And admittedly there is a little satisfaction in seeing buckets of filthy detritus dark water if I'm able to put aside WC are not fun for large systems. And auto WC doesn't remove the stuff so I'm sucking it up and started doing a WC again.