The no water change revolution!

[Murica]

In a month or so, I'm going to start a hybrid triton method. Basically I'm going to keep calcium and alkalinity stable with kalk, I have a decent skimmer, macro, I'm going to get a carbon and gfo reactor... Etc etc. I'm going to send my water to triton periodically throughout the year, and dose based of those results. May do one or two water changes a year. The only thing I may have to do more often is test.

Anyone else eliminating water changes? I find that more and more people are. If so, please share your results!

 

[719bloodhound]

I’m kind of looking to go this same route, just keep dosing my two part and dose what is needed after triton testing

 

[Leaellynasaura]

I don't do water changes in my 200 gallon system with limited exceptions. For instance if I want to change 5 gallons in one of my 20 gallon QT tanks I take 5 out of the display system to replace the changed water in the QT and then put 5 fresh gallons into the display system. I dose baking soda solution and vinegar daily along with calcium and Reef Sea coral colors weekly.

 

[Zack K]

I only do WC when the tanks not looking good. I also change the carbon. That’s about once every 6-8 months.

 

[User1]

I like the idea with regards to zero or low water change. Salt is expensive (catching sales, coupons, of course are wise in this hobby). Some states are looking at water usage for home owners (California). So additive based reef keeping is interesting, promising, and probably the environmentally right thing to do. However, I'm not sure it is the be all chemical euphoria just yet. I think the onus is on the reef keeper / hobbyist to ***** their reef and see if what they are keeping and build is compatible. If so, great. I'm actually looking at two of the methods now but still not sure if I will go this route or collecting NSW in Monterey and truck it back to my house (although I'd get a good day of scuba diving in - so that is a plus...).

My fear is that some will flock to the new methods without the proper assessment, build, and fail.

 

[Murica]

I’m kind of looking to go this same route, just keep dosing my two part and dose what is needed after triton testing

Just a pointer, if you use baking soda instead of buffer/alkalinity, it'll save you lots of money. I had no interest in using kalk before but once I found out how easy it is, I can't wait to start using it. I'm going to drip it into my sump because my ato is a float valve attached to my house water. I, fortunately have very clean water and don't need to use rodi

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

I dunno, it may be controversial , but my pets live in water. I don’t mind changing it.

The constant dosing testing thing sounds like work.

 

[Leaellynasaura]

If it were free I would change water every day. The more water you have the more it costs to do frequent changes. I am still pretty new, but in my experience you test a lot at first and then less and less as you start to understand the demands of your tank. Before long you can get away with only monthly testing for things like calcium or alkalinity.

 

[Dennis Cartier]

In a month or so, I'm going to start a hybrid triton method. Basically I'm going to keep calcium and alkalinity stable with kalk, I have a decent skimmer, macro, I'm going to get a carbon and gfo reactor... Etc etc. I'm going to send my water to triton periodically throughout the year, and dose based of those results. May do one or two water changes a year. The only thing I may have to do more often is test.

Anyone else eliminating water changes? I find that more and more people are. If so, please share your results!

I just received my first Triton test result. That got me to thinking about using Triton on my new DT. Like you I am thinking of using a hybrid approach. My new tank is 560G so when I looked up the cost of 10L of the Core7 supplements, it made me reconsider how feasible Triton on a tank this size. So instead I plan to dose fully saturated kalk from a stirrer, along with a CalRx. I will be using an alk monitor to determine how much alk needs to be added. Once I am able to calculate the amount of alk required, I plan to also dose AquaForest 3 part mixed without the Ca, alk, Mg and reef salt. This should give me a similar system to the Triton one, except using kalk and CalRx. The alk depletion needing to be replaced (as measured by the monitor) will allow me to link the amount of required AF supplements needed (if I had not removed the alk from the prepared supplements).

The only thing missing is the extra nutrients that Triton provides to spur macro growth. To sub in for that purpose, I will be dosing a Fe & Mn supplement, and a nitrate & Mo supplement to allow fine tunning of phosphate levels.

I expect that I will need to modulate the fuge light to tweak my nutrient levels and growth potential for the DT. I am planning to use a 150G stock tub for the fuge with 2 x H380 lights.

I will also have a skimmer on the tank, but I would like to explore reducing its use with an eye for eventually eliminating alltogether once the coral bioload is high enough.

Dennis

 

[Murica]

I just received my first Triton test result. That got me to thinking about using Triton on my new DT. Like you I am thinking of using a hybrid approach. My new tank is 560G so when I looked up the cost of 10L of the Core7 supplements, it made me reconsider how feasible Triton on a tank this size. So instead I plan to dose fully saturated kalk from a stirrer, along with a CalRx. I will be using an alk monitor to determine how much alk needs to be added. Once I am able to calculate the amount of alk required, I plan to also dose AquaForest 3 part mixed without the Ca, alk, Mg and reef salt. This should give me a similar system to the Triton one, except using kalk and CalRx. The alk depletion needing to be replaced (as measured by the monitor) will allow me to link the amount of required AF supplements needed (if I had not removed the alk from the prepared supplements).

The only thing missing is the extra nutrients that Triton provides to spur macro growth. To sub in for that purpose, I will be dosing a Fe & Mn supplement, and a nitrate & Mo supplement to allow fine tunning of phosphate levels.

I expect that I will need to modulate the fuge light to tweak my nutrient levels and growth potential for the DT. I am planning to use a 150G stock tub for the fuge with 2 x H380 lights.

I will also have a skimmer on the tank, but I would like to explore reducing its use with an eye for eventually eliminating alltogether once the coral bioload is high enough.

Dennis

Just looked at the price of 10L and that is expensive! I'm still going to stick with baking soda and a calcium additive after the kalk is introduced so if I ever need to add buffer or calcium, it should be rather cheap. The micro nutrients appear expensive up front, but I'm assuming a bottle goes a long way. Hopefully the idea is that I'll break even or save money in the long run.

 

[Murica]

I dunno, it may be controversial , but my pets live in water. I don’t mind changing it.

The constant dosing testing thing sounds like work.

Definitely controversial! Especially since so many people have grown up with the idea that you must water change.

I, personally hate water changes. So if I'm able to pull all the bad stuff out and replenish the good stuff, I'm hoping to be successful with it. I'm sure there will be trial and error, but initially I will have to test frequently. After I get my kalk doser tuned and I see a trend with nutrient consumption, hopefully I won't have to test as much and things will get easier.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

In a month or so, I'm going to start a hybrid triton method. Basically I'm going to keep calcium and alkalinity stable with kalk, I have a decent skimmer, macro, I'm going to get a carbon and gfo reactor... Etc etc. I'm going to send my water to triton periodically throughout the year, and dose based of those results. May do one or two water changes a year. The only thing I may have to do more often is test.

Anyone else eliminating water changes? I find that more and more people are. If so, please share your results!

This sounds to me like a good method, but may have issues beyond those suggested. In particular, dealing with elements that are accumulating despite the export methods you suggest. There are typically more than one of these every day in the chemistry forum where Triton testing shows things accumulating, not just depleting. For example, tin, zinc, molybdenum, aluminum, etc.

So you may want to figure additional export methods into the plan if they are detected.

 

[Murica]

This sounds to me like a good method, but may have issues beyond those suggested. In particular, dealing with elements that are accumulating despite the export methods you suggest. There are typically more than one of these every day in the chemistry forum where Triton testing shows things accumulating, not just depleting. For example, tin, zinc, molybdenum, aluminum, etc.

So you may want to figure additional export methods into the plan if they are detected.

That's really good advice, thank you!

 

[Sea MunnKey]

I'm just gonna stick to my usual (water changes & occasional check on Ca, Alk & Mag) regimen. I can't afford the extra cost and time involved anymore ...

 

[Murica]

I'm just gonna stick to my usual (water changes & occasional check on Ca, Alk & Mag) regimen. I can't afford the extra cost and time involved anymore ...

What size is your tank? Doing a 10 percent water change every week is about 25 gallons. That's a lot of time for me and salt alone is about 55 bucks every month. I'm hoping with the hybrid triton method I'll spend more up front to save in the end, all while reducing my maintenance time

 

[Sea MunnKey]

I have an old standard 90 gallon tank from over 20 odd years back but I stripped away the old silicone and re-applied with new silicone about 1.5 years ago. I've been doing a 15 gallon water change every weekend but may consider doing daily 1 gallon water changes as per Randy Holmes-Farley method. But not before I get myself a dual Reef Filler pump though ...

Way back I used to get involved in all the Bio Balls, vodka dosing etc. but now strictly only water changes & routine maintenance. That's it and nothing else ... on odd days I may acquire new corals . Need to re-arrange corals that's been sitting on the sand bed ... looks like litter and ugly messy too!

 

[hubble]

I do water changes like once a month and I really don't mind. It only takes like an hour to do it and thats like a 10 or 15 gallon change. It's also the time when I add some new animals to the tank. Because I use tank water to acclimate the new arrivals it has to be replaced so I figure it's a good time to do a water change.

 

[Greybeard]

I had the same plan. Followed it for several months... and went back to water changes. I sincerely hope it works for you... but it didn't work for me. Everything just looks healthier when I do my bi-weekly 15% water changes. Whatever is causing it... triton doesn't detect it. Triton didn't see anything wrong with my water before I started doing water changes, and doesn't show any differences after the water changes, but the corals sure do.

 

[Cornerboy]

In a month or so, I'm going to start a hybrid triton method. Basically I'm going to keep calcium and alkalinity stable with kalk, I have a decent skimmer, macro, I'm going to get a carbon and gfo reactor... Etc etc. I'm going to send my water to triton periodically throughout the year, and dose based of those results. May do one or two water changes a year. The only thing I may have to do more often is test.

Anyone else eliminating water changes? I find that more and more people are. If so, please share your results!

Following

 

[Ento-Reefer]

I have always been a big fan of water changes. I base the frequency and amounts on the age and stability of the tank. The first 3 months I usually change 10-20 % bi-weekly. Gradually as the tank matures I switch to 20% monthly. After a year or 2 I let the corals and fish tell me when I need to do a water change. On my 95 I have been changing 30g every 2 months and it works for me.

I think every tank is going to be different and it is up to us to keep in tune with the needs of our system.