Reducing or Eliminating Water Changes

[SantaMonica]

High electricity costs can make aquarium maintenance too high for many people to continue keeping their tanks, especially saltwater which requires buying salt in addition to everything else. Might it be possible to reduce, or even eliminate, these waterchanges? The answer is yes.

People usually change water for two reasons: To reduce nutrients, and to add minerals. One solution for the nutrients, of course, is to use algae in the form of an algae scrubber. Small freshwater tanks have nitrate reduced easily with algae, and many freshwater fish love to eat this algae, thus reducing feeding costs as well as water costs and hassle. Even cichlids have been found to love the fresh algae growth. If needed, hardness can be kept up with additives.

Fish-only saltwater tanks usually get lots of food added, and need large water changes (with salt) to get the nutrients (nitrate, phosphate) down. The great news is that algae scrubbers reduce phosphate as well as nitrate, and if you have lots of big tangs, they are going to love eating this fresh living algae. Having them eat this algae means you are adding less food into the water, which would otherwise just make more nutrients.

Reef tanks need to have nutrients removed, and minerals added for coral growth, but also need lots of dissolved and particulate food in the water to feed the corals. So an algae scrubber fits the bill perfectly, by reducing nitrate and phosphate, and by not removing food from the water (Cal, Alk, and Mag are still added as needed). And in addition to the algae being eaten by the fish, the algae actually add dissolved food to the water in the form of glucose, vitamins and amino acids, that you would normally need to buy and dosing anyway.

Whether you want to just reduce your waterchanges, or eliminate them completely, will determine how large of an algae scrubber (or how many of them) you install.

 

[sixty_reefer]

How would you do with minerals?

 

[SantaMonica]

Any of your preferred ways. Algae does not provide any minerals.

 

[Captain Hook]

Any of your preferred ways. Algae does not provide any minerals.

Typically trace elements needed for corals are added back with water changes. So how would you add those elements?

 

[emmo]

Any of your preferred ways. Algae does not provide any minerals.

I do about 2 water changes a year and my reef tank is thriving. I add tropic marins all-for-reerf whenever I add water to my sump and my inhabitants have taken off. I had 1 red bubble tip anenome and it has split so many times I know have about 70 in my tank. I need to get rid of some so i have room for other things

 

[SantaMonica]

Typically trace elements needed for corals are added back with water changes. So how would you add those elements?

In the food you feed. Maybe extra nori if more iron/iodine is needed. This is aside from ca/alk/mag/str of course.

 

[Perfectly_Imperfekt1]

Typically trace elements needed for corals are added back with water changes. So how would you add those elements?

Have you researched Reef moonshiners before? Method of no water changes, monitoring your levels by a ATI-ICP tests regularly. Using your test results with a nutrient calculator from Reef moonshiners webpage( https://www.reefmoonshiners.com ) and then add back the appropriate trace elements, etc. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1755992217822887/?multi_permalinks=4642280449194035

 

[YOYOYOReefer]

SO what methology is needed if you have corals that release toxins into the water. If the water is never changed never tried, but assuming water changes help with that on a healthy reef tank. DO you compensate by running extra carbon or what?

nutrient export by refugium or algal scrubbers is the same thing. As long as you stick with your methology of reefing it can work oldest tech in the world algae.

 

[damsels are not mean]

I think it's definitely possible. I had a 28g tank run with no water changes for years but it had a lot of coral growth and I did not feed much. Didn't have too many stony corals either so dosing was not too bad. Some Caulastrea, a few favias, a heliofungia and some other stuff I can't remember. Never dosed any trace elements and the idea that they need to be added to our tanks intentionally seems dubious. I don't remember that even being a point of discussion a while ago and my theory is if any of these elements are needed they come in through the food and other means. Iron ends up in a lot of tanks from something rusty over a sump as another example. Curiously it seems people started talking about trace elements a lot when triton started trying to sell you trace elements lol. Maybe I just wasn't paying attention to that before.

 

[rtparty]

I did 2 water changes all year on my system. One in February and one in May. I have zero plans to do another until my testing or corals tell me something is up.

I don't keep any softies in my tanks. None of them are worth the trouble IMO. I rarely run carbon. My only forms of filtration are a protein skimmer, live rock, lots of coral, and some ceramic media. I do have a low fish load right now so this helps.

I run the Reef Moonshiners method to replenish all trace elements. Water changes are a terrible way to replace trace elements. They actually don't replace trace elements. That's how poor they are for this.

Water changes are the most over used and misunderstood topic in the hobby. Outside of diluting toxins (which we have zero way to test for or prove), there is nothing a water change does that we can't do better some other way.

 

[damsels are not mean]

Water changes are the most over used and misunderstood topic in the hobby. Outside of diluting toxins (which we have zero way to test for or prove), there is nothing a water change does that we can't do better some other way.

I agree. I think WC are only useful in an emergency. It's good to be ready at all times for a big one but regular ones aren't worth the effort and money. If you're gonna dose majors anyways then the only real reason to do them is for nutrient export, which is another thing they suck at.