The PSYCHOLOGY of Water Changes

[HB AL]

I decided a couple years ago after 30+ years of doing them I was gonna stop doing water changes and see how it went. I'm on year 2 know and just kinda follow my own regimen of dosing RedSea ABCD, 10ml a month of each. My tank is packed with corals and fish and so far it's been the most successful.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Ok.....

I go thru about $400 in salt mix a year.

What would Triton cost me:
1) in initial setup cost?
2) yearly in dosing material?

.

I use triton and never really looked at operating costs but rather the benefits. As for salt, I just added $250 in salt to my new tank over the last weekend. In this hobby, it all adds up and I try to overlook the expense

 

[ZoWhat]

No. Steaks don't belong in the freezer... They belong on the grill.

OP here.... Totally agree. Fresh steak is the bomb. But when $14/lbs steak is on sale for $6/lbs .... i cant help but STOCK UP and load the freezer.

HEY .... LET ME HIJACK MY OWN THREAD!!!!!!

I took grilling classes to be a better cook and now have up'ed my grilling game.

Professional steak grilling:

(Of course frozen steaks should be thawed in the fridge 24hrs before grilling)

1) preheat your grill for at least 5mins, preferably 10mins. Turn the grill to 100% output.

1a) All grills have a "hotspot" where it's hottest in an approx 4x4in area. ...hotter than anywhere else on the grill. FIND AND KNOW YOUR HOTSPOT ZONE(s).

2) after preheating the grill make sure its hottest heat output. Your grill should be blazing hot

3) add your (fresh or completely thawed) steak right ontop that hotspot. You ALWAYS GRILL STEAKS FROM THE OUTSIDE INWARD

4) SEAR your steak first by browning the outside on BOTH SIDES at very hot temps to SEAR IN ~100% OF THE JUICES. HUGE CRITICAL STEP!!!!!!! Outsides of the steak should be almost blackened but NOT QUITE. Nice browning is near perfect.

5) once the the steak is seared to a deep brown.... move steak to a cooler grill zone. You've already cooked the outside of the steak by searing it. Now you're cooking the inside to med-rare, med, welldone, etc.... in Step 8 below

5a) if you are grilling say, 4 steaks.... SEAR one steak at a time. Meaning, one steak being seared while the 3 other steaks stay ungrilled on a plate. Rotate seared steak #1 to a cooler zone for internal cooking then start to sear the 2nd one, then move 2nd to where the 1st steak is internally cooking, then sear the 3rd. Searing ONE STEAK AT A TIME!!!! You gotta keep track of steaks #1, #2 and so on, so you know how how much internal cooking time to apply.

6) NEVER EVER NEVER EVER CUT your steak on your grill to see the inside. It's a SIN worthy of Hell. ALL THAT JUICE THAT POURS OUT FROM CUTTING ON THE GRILL IS YOUR FLIPPING !FLAVOR!..... the first time the steak is to be CUT into is on the dinner plate!!!

7) Dont ever put a Temp Probe in the steak either. The puncture lets the FLAVOR JUICES pour out as well.

8) Here are the internal Grill times AFTER SEARING THE OUTSIDE. Again you have to keep track of steak #1, #2, #3 and so on to get the below internal cooking times correct:

Med Rare roughly 5 minutes in the internal cook zone.....
Med roughly 8 minutes
Welldone roughly 10 minutes

9) After removing from grill, let the steak REST 3mins as the FLAVOR JUICES are being reabsorbed towards the middle of the steak.

AGAIN, MAJOR LEAGUE TIP: Cut into your steak on the grill? You have failed committing an unforgivnable SIN. Always SEAR your steak on the outside then cooking internally.

Happy grilling based on the grilling classes I took. Its made a world of difference!

Bon appetit




.

 

[Bryson.bobby]

OP here....

Totally agree. Fresh steak is the bomb.

But when $14/lbs steak is on sale for $6/lbs .... 8 cant help but STOCK UP and load the freezer.

HEY LET ME HIJACK MY OWN THREAD!!!!!!

I took grilling classes and now have skilled grilling anything to perfection

Perfect steak grilling:

1) preheat your grill. All grills have a "hotspot" where iys hot in a 4x4in area than anywhere ele on the grill. FIND AND KNOW YOUR HOTSPOT.

2) after reheating the grill. Turn the grill to 100% heat.

3) add your steak right on that hotspot. You ALWAYS GRIIL MEATS FROM THE OUTSUDE INWARD

4) SEAR your steak first by lightly browning the outside at very hot temps to SEAR IN 100% OF THE JUICES. CRITICAL STEP!!!!!!!

5) once the the steak is seared.... move steak to a cooler grill zone and possibly cut heat to 50%. You've already cooked the outside of the steak by searing it. Now you cook the inside to med-rare, med, welldone, etc.

6) NEVER EVER NEVER EVER CUT your steak on your grill to see the inside. ALL THAT JUICE THAT POURS OUR FROM CUTTING ON THE GRILL IS YOUR FLIPPING !FLAVOR!..... the first time the steak is to be CUT is on the dinner plate for consumption!!!

7) Dont ever put a Temp Probe in the steak either. The puncture leys the FLAVOR JUICES pour out as well.

8) Grill times AFTER SEARING THE OUTSIDE:

Med Rare roughly 5 minutes
Med roughly 8 minutes
Welldone roughly 10 minutes

9) After removing from grill let steak REST 3mins as the FLAVOR JUICES are reabsorbing towards the middle of the steak.

10) Cut into your steak on the grill? You have failed and you should fire yourself! Lol!!

Happy grilling based on the grilling classes I took. Its made a world of difference!

Bon appetit




.

So long story short...don’t cut into your steak on the grill. Thanks for the advice[emoji23]

 

[ZoWhat]

So long story short...don’t cut into your steak on the grill. Thanks for the advice[emoji23]

Not quite, Cliffsnotes version

* sear steak to a brown on the outside FIRST using the hottest temp. you cook steak from the outside inward

* move steak to a cooler grill zone to cook internally based on my times in step 8 for medrare, med, welldone

* never cut into a steak while grilling

* after grilling let steak rest for 3mins to allow juices to reabsorb towards the middle of the steak

* first cut into the steak is on the dinner plate





.

 

[Bryson.bobby]

Not quite, Cliffsnotes version

* sear steak to a brown on the outside FIRST using the hottest temp. you cook steak from the outside inward

* move steak to a cooler grill zone to cook internally based on my times in step 8 for medrare, med, welldone

* never cut into a steak while grilling

* after grilling let steak rest for 3mins to allow juices to reabsorb towards the middle of the steak

* first cut into the steak is on the dinner plate





.

Cool! I am definitely going to come back to this thread next time I cook a steak[emoji3]

 

[Hemmdog]

Ah, so we’re not talking Salisbury steak here. Whew, that’s good news.

 

[Bryson.bobby]

What area of Ohio are you from? I’m currently in Zanesville but have moved around a bit.

 

[ZoWhat]

What area of Ohio are you from? I’m currently in Zanesville but have moved around a bit.

Cincinnati Ohio. The City of Losing Sports Teams

 

[PaulPerger]

OP here.... Totally agree. Fresh steak is the bomb. But when $14/lbs steak is on sale for $6/lbs .... i cant help but STOCK UP and load the freezer.

HEY .... LET ME HIJACK MY OWN THREAD!!!!!!

I took grilling classes to be a better cook and now have up'ed my grilling game.

Professional steak grilling:

(Of course frozen steaks should be thawed in the fridge 24hrs before grilling)

1) preheat your grill for at least 5mins, preferably 10mins. Turn the grill to 100% output.

1a) All grills have a "hotspot" where it's hottest in an approx 4x4in area. ...hotter than anywhere else on the grill. FIND AND KNOW YOUR HOTSPOT ZONE(s).

2) after preheating the grill make sure its hottest heat output. Your grill should be blazing hot

3) add your (fresh or completely thawed) steak right ontop that hotspot. You ALWAYS GRILL STEAKS FROM THE OUTSIDE INWARD

4) SEAR your steak first by browning the outside on BOTH SIDES at very hot temps to SEAR IN ~100% OF THE JUICES. HUGE CRITICAL STEP!!!!!!! Outsides of the steak should be almost blackened but NOT QUITE. Nice browning is near perfect.

5) once the the steak is seared to a deep brown.... move steak to a cooler grill zone. You've already cooked the outside of the steak by searing it. Now you're cooking the inside to med-rare, med, welldone, etc.... in Step 8 below

5a) if you are grilling say, 4 steaks.... SEAR one steak at a time. Meaning, one steak being seared while the 3 other steaks stay ungrilled on a plate. Rotate seared steak #1 to a cooler zone for internal cooking then start to sear the 2nd one, then move 2nd to where the 1st steak is internally cooking, then sear the 3rd. Searing ONE STEAK AT A TIME!!!! You gotta keep track of steaks #1, #2 and so on, so you know how how much internal cooking time to apply.

6) NEVER EVER NEVER EVER CUT your steak on your grill to see the inside. It's a SIN worthy of Hell. ALL THAT JUICE THAT POURS OUT FROM CUTTING ON THE GRILL IS YOUR FLIPPING !FLAVOR!..... the first time the steak is to be CUT into is on the dinner plate!!!

7) Dont ever put a Temp Probe in the steak either. The puncture lets the FLAVOR JUICES pour out as well.

8) Here are the internal Grill times AFTER SEARING THE OUTSIDE. Again you have to keep track of steak #1, #2, #3 and so on to get the below internal cooking times correct:

Med Rare roughly 5 minutes in the internal cook zone.....
Med roughly 8 minutes
Welldone roughly 10 minutes

9) After removing from grill, let the steak REST 3mins as the FLAVOR JUICES are being reabsorbed towards the middle of the steak.

AGAIN, MAJOR LEAGUE TIP: Cut into your steak on the grill? You have failed committing an unforgivnable SIN. Always SEAR your steak on the outside then cooking internally.

Happy grilling based on the grilling classes I took. Its made a world of difference!

Bon appetit




.

Whew. You redeemed yourself. I was worried for a moment there.

Have you ever used a cast iron skillet for the sear? If not, you must give it a try. Just be sure you have a really good oven mitt available to remove that bad boy after the searing process. I put mine on the grill before I light it up, allowing it to go from cool to hot along with the grill, then set a cold steak in the middle with a nice light press, 1 minute, flip it, light press, 1 minute on the other side and move from skillet to grill. Proceed with your step 5a.

 

[KirstenB]

I started doing weekly 20% water changes to get rid of a cyano problem from neglecting my tank for a bit. Now that the cyano is gone...I am still doing weekly 15% water changes only because while doing them I get so much poop n crap out of the sandbed as I use a long 50 ft siphon. I only siphon my water from the sandbed. My parameters are perfect but there is always so much crap in my sandbed that I think I will stick to 15% WCs for a good while.

 

[Jon Fishman]

Cincinnati Ohio. The City of Losing Sports Teams

Cleveland checking in...... hey how's it going down there?


I am making the move to monthly water changes.... just a bigger quantity.

My 140-ish total volume setup will get 40g water changes once a month, and maybe a 10g between if I decide a large number of rocks need scrubbed etc..... or if there is something that looks off.

Heavy flow through the sump, and vacuuming the sump out for water-changes is my method.

 

[LesPoissons]

So the whole point of water changes is just to supplement trace elements by unknown amounts, and rely on the biological and mechanical filtration to do the rest. You are saying you can scrap water changes and just add in the trace elements. I see the logic but its a hard jump to make when biweekly or weekly water changes have been drilled into our heads forever. Not only that, I have a hard time processing all these creatures living essentially in bathtub with no influx of fresh water ever? I'm all for change, I have a 220 and water changes are horrible for me and take forever. I would love to leave them behind. I may go reckless and just give it a try.

 

[Journeyman]

So the whole point of water changes is just to supplement trace elements by unknown amounts, and rely on the biological and mechanical filtration to do the rest. You are saying you can scrap water changes and just add in the trace elements. I see the logic but its a hard jump to make when biweekly or weekly water changes have been drilled into our heads forever. Not only that, I have a hard time processing all these creatures living essentially in bathtub with no influx of fresh water ever? I'm all for change, I have a 220 and water changes are horrible for me and take forever. I would love to leave them behind. I may go reckless and just give it a try.

Well, it's also for nutrient export. But the ones who do triton or similar methods in theory are able to use biological methods to clean the the water instead of changing the water. The idea being that it is cleaning the water back to a nutrient free state.

Of course under that method, elements are getting used up without being replenished. Hence, dosing.

If you want to cut it water changes, I would go gradual while adding more biological filtration. Either an algae scrubber or refugium. Then test when you would normally do a water change and see if your levels are still low and stable. If the levels are low, then you can skip that water change and test again later. After 3-4 weeks of stable low nutrients, I think you're good.

 

[LesPoissons]

Im actually doing a water change today (currently waiting on mixing and temp) and already frustrated. Im going to document all my levels pre-change, then post change, then test weekly to see what is happening with N/point of sale and how much ca is getting used. Ive religiously done them every 2 weeks for years, the tank maybe able to handle less maintenance now. Thanks!!!!

 

[MnFish1]

The question is: How much is your TIME worth?

If you have tons of spare time and want to save money then sure, doing water changes might be reasonable, hoping you get to dilute all elements that are in excess and hoping to replenish all elements that are lacking by kind of relying on luck.

If you value your time then I think testing and replenishing only what you know is lacking makes more sense to me, although I will agree that ICP testing and Triton reagents will likely cost you slightly more.


And for full disclosure: I've only been doing the Triton thing for about 2 months now, We will see if I have any major issues down the road I definitely might change my mind.

I like doing water changes because I pay attention to the tank. The problem (IMHO) with Triton - is that though it does give you good control if you do it correctly - of elements - if something rises on your ICP tests - the solution is likely 'water changes'. Every tank is different and needs different elements - so Triton is 'relying on luck' as well (if it weren't you wouldn't have to do tests ever 3 months).

 

[MnFish1]

I decided a couple years ago after 30+ years of doing them I was gonna stop doing water changes and see how it went. I'm on year 2 know and just kinda follow my own regimen of dosing RedSea ABCD, 10ml a month of each. My tank is packed with corals and fish and so far it's been the most successful.

I agree - I have decreased the frequency of water changes considerably -but when I do one - its like 35 %. Maybe even month - which is about the same as changing15 gallons/week

 

[BeejReef]

See the problem lies with having to manually do WC's.

I plumbed my tank to my WC station so all I have to do is turn on a pump, flip a couple valves, and in 10 minutes turn it all off. I do weekly 20G WC's with ease.

When I had to do them manually, I loathed the process.

Same, Same.. siphon it down the floor drain, hit the remote outlet to start the pump, watch for two min while it fills to line. The only hitch is remembering to go to basement and flip valves back to safe position. 24 hrs before WC, same remote turns on mixing pump and heater.

 

[PYRU]

It bothers the crap out of me to with sw, but it's the life blood of the tank. I'm in the minority though. I prefer keeping fish 1st.

How true this is I don't know, but I've always been told that fish secrete other elements into the water so more clean water the better. 10-20% psychologically is like a breath of fresh air compared to the huge ones I'm used to doing with fresh.

I use drilled sumps, valves, & pumps with switches. So wc's are like drinking bourbon in one hand easy though.

 

[BeejReef]

if something rises on your ICP tests - the solution is likely 'water changes'.

That would be my concern as well. I hope to have a mature tank someday and rely less on WC, but unless Triton works nearly perfectly, I'll be pretty chapped if the ICP results tell me to do a series of 3 30% WC because of lithium or some other oddball that would have been easily controlled with a modest WC routine.

To address the OP's psychology question, I remind myself that rivers, bays, and precipitation are constantly WCng the ocean, so I don't feel like it's cheating