The PSYCHOLOGY of Water Changes

[vetteguy53081]

 

[PaulPerger]

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.

I think you just identified the motivation to do water changes... Make them so easy you can have a bourbon in one hand WHILE doing your WC!!

 

[Traian Boala]

Triton Method became so popular because of this "no water change" policy, thus most of the people associates the practice of not doing WC with Triton. In reality, anyone can choose to do so as long as the NO3 and PO4 are in line and major, minor and trace elements are as well where they should be. If you have good filtration, use let's say CaRx for major and a popular brand for trace (ex. Red Sea colours) you should be good. On the other hand, I can't hold myself thinking about WorldWideCorals practice that BRS talks about in their BRS/WWC hybrid method series. They strongly advice to perform water changes for all the benefits that we know about. I too am lazy, but I prefer to see that as a plus, because I always find ways to be efficient, to do a lot with minimal effort. Therefore, if I want to do water changes I make it to be easy.
We hold a closed system in our living room and you have to be extremely lucky for nothing, and I mean nothing - no aerosols from some spray, no leaks from some stuff arround the tank, or stuff that are in the tank (magnets or whatever) - to reach the water. When that happens you will do a water change. A big one. I think the practice of regural WC is a good discipline, a moment to connect with the tank, to take out something that might be in there and to replenish other things. It will not be enough to replenish all the trace needed, but lets not forget that we put a lot of elements in the tank by simply feeding the fish and corals. Also, if you have sand, you really need to syphon that.
So yeah, I like Triton and am grateful they exist, but I do water changes. And because I am lazy, I change my water by presing a button.

 

[fish farmer]

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.

There is the other reason....keeping detritus in check. I don't want this to get into a sand bed debate or detritus debate, but I have a DSB in an 18 year old FOWLR that is packed with detritus since I don't do frequent WC/siphoning.

 

[KirstenB]

There is the other reason....keeping detritus in check. I don't want this to get into a sand bed debate or detritus debate, but I have a DSB in an 18 year old FOWLR that is packed with detritus since I don't do frequent WC/siphoning.

I'm new to the lingo. Sry...but what are DSB and FOWLR?

 

[Pete_the_Puma]

I'm new to the lingo. Sry...but what are DSB and FOWLR?

Deep Sand Bed
Fish Only With Live Rock

 

[KirstenB]

Deep Sand Bed
Fish Only With Live Rock

Ty Pete!

 

[Hemmdog]

Triton Method became so popular because of this "no water change" policy, thus most of the people associates the practice of not doing WC with Triton. In reality, anyone can choose to do so as long as the NO3 and PO4 are in line and major, minor and trace elements are as well where they should be. If you have good filtration, use let's say CaRx for major and a popular brand for trace (ex. Red Sea colours) you should be good. On the other hand, I can't hold myself thinking about WorldWideCorals practice that BRS talks about in their BRS/WWC hybrid method series. They strongly advice to perform water changes for all the benefits that we know about. I too am lazy, but I prefer to see that as a plus, because I always find ways to be efficient, to do a lot with minimal effort. Therefore, if I want to do water changes I make it to be easy.
We hold a closed system in our living room and you have to be extremely lucky for nothing, and I mean nothing - no aerosols from some spray, no leaks from some stuff arround the tank, or stuff that are in the tank (magnets or whatever) - to reach the water. When that happens you will do a water change. A big one. I think the practice of regural WC is a good discipline, a moment to connect with the tank, to take out something that might be in there and to replenish other things. It will not be enough to replenish all the trace needed, but lets not forget that we put a lot of elements in the tank by simply feeding the fish and corals. Also, if you have sand, you really need to syphon that.
So yeah, I like Triton and am grateful they exist, but I do water changes. And because I am lazy, I change my water by presing a button.

Of corse BRS finds water changes useful, they sell salt! lol

 

[carbene]

I try not to do waterchanges since my tank has exactly 600 gallon of water. 20% waterchange is quite a bit of salt

 

[siggy]

I try not to do waterchanges since my tank has exactly 600 gallon of water. 20% waterchange is quite a bit of salt

WOW 120 gallon WC every week =$$$
Does this determine what you keep? or does sheer volume allow you to forgo WC's?
Whats even more surprising is that No one has come up with a way to filter or recycle saltwater....all the fancy electronics and now testers but no filters

 

[Roid Reefs]

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

Right, I don't like the taste of frozen steaks.

 

[carbene]

WOW 120 gallon WC every week =$$$
Does this determine what you keep? or does sheer volume allow you to forgo WC's?
Whats even more surprising is that No one has come up with a way to filter or recycle saltwater....all the fancy electronics and now testers but no filters

Lots of live rocks, big skimmer and h380 over the refugium keeps the nitrate and phosphate manageable

 

[Journeyman]

WOW 120 gallon WC every week =$$$
Does this determine what you keep? or does sheer volume allow you to forgo WC's?
Whats even more surprising is that No one has come up with a way to filter or recycle saltwater....all the fancy electronics and now testers but no filters

I would imagine that you could recycle by putting the dirty water in a barrel of chaeto for a week or two.

 

[Dan Watson]

I do over 50%+ water changes just for the fun of it, so I can’t say I relate lol. 50g on my 70g display

with no sump? pics? that sounds like your near cycling the tank. how often? when/why do you do your wcs?

 

[Wh00pS32]

with no sump? pics? that sounds like your near cycling the tank. how often? when/why do you do your wcs?

Why near cycling the tank?
Very little of the bacteria is in the water, it's in the rock, sand, on the glass. Anything with a surface.

 

[Traian Boala]

Of corse BRS finds water changes useful, they sell salt! lol

C'mon... they were selling salt back when they changed the BRS 160 to Triton Method. In these series they just explain the WWC practice: CaRx and water changes. Simple. And WWC don't sell salt. They sell corals that grow in those tanks. Maybe you should watch the series. You will find very useful information.
This is not a debate... I might try Triton Method myself because I think they have a great product. But to say that BRS put all the effort to make these videos to sell you salt...

 

[siggy]

I would imagine that you could recycle by putting the dirty water in a barrel of chaeto for a week or two.

wish it was that simple, I was thinking a sand filter as in Pool filter with maybe layers of media and carbon. If such a process was known we would all be filtering instead of building mix stations and buying salt.

 

[Journeyman]

wish it was that simple, I was thinking a sand filter as in Pool filter with maybe layers of media and carbon. If such a process was known we would all be filtering instead of building mix stations and buying salt.

I think that's part of the point. Many of us are filtering with either an ats or fuge instead of changing water.

That's the idea behind triton.

 

[lbacha]

I think I’m still doing water changes. In all honesty the only way I realize I’m doing water changes is when I see the water level in my stock saltwater tank goes down. Since I have plumbed my RODI tank into my ato tank and my salt tank was setup to do automatic daily water changes I haven’t really had to carry around water at all.

I still have to do water changes in my quarantine tank so that stinks but that is it

Now if I could figure out how to automate making up saltwater for the water changes that would rally make me lazy lol

 

[siggy]

That's the idea behind triton.

Yes I tried that route, its not all its cracked up to be. Very large systems it makes CENTS but for an average system or at least mine 75g water changes are the simplest and cheapest. Look at @GoVols tank, old school WC never looked better