Water changes in a nano

[fishwhistle]

So I’m still researching everything as much as possible before taking on a 28g nanocube.

I can buy gallons of saltwater from my lfs. And that makes sense, it’s cheap and I would only need a few gallons at a time for a water change (right?, 10% is the correct amount to change)

But how often should I be changing the water? Because in a year from now, do I really want to drive there for water every week? I know that I’ll not want to do that forever and I’ll give up.

Is the other option a RO setup? (Which I don’t know that I have an easy way to set that up)?

This is kinda the last deciding issue on deciding to move forward or not for me and maybe the answer is-this isn’t for me idk.

Experiences input greatly appreciated!

 

[gbroadbridge]

Water changes are more important in a small tank then in a larger tank.

You should be thinking 10% every week.

Reef tanks are hard work, and driving to a LFS every week just makes them more work.

Just cost in a RODI system and make life easier.

Just my two cents.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

First I would strongly suggest to get a rodi machine and make your own water. If its just not possible, then buy distilled water from the grocery store, don't use LFS water, who knows how often then change the filters or maintain their equipment.

I would say 10% is the popular suggestion, not a rule. And 10% is "maintenance" it means when your tank is coasting......... new tanks often need much more than 10% changes during the first year.

I have 4 very mature tank, and I do weekly 20%-30% water changes on them all. I do personally believe in weekly water changes are important. I'm sure many feel its unnecessary, but to each his own,

 

[exnisstech]

I don't trust anyone but myself to make my saltwater water and I don't want to carry jugs back and forth. Its also nice to have water on hand for emergencies.

EDIT: a bonus to having an rodi system is nice clean drinking water. I have a tee before my di and supply my fridge water and ice maker along with a faucet at the sink.

 

[OSHA Violating Shrimp]

I have a 10 gallon tank and I buy about 10 gallons of rodi water from my LFS at a time. I do roughly 4 gallon water changes weekly but this depends on the nitrate and phosphate levels.

I would recommend buying rodi water and salt and mixing at home. You will also need water for evaporation to top up with so you need it on hand anyway.

If you want to go even less frequently, buy more jugs for storage, or get your own rodi system.

 

[Reef.]

Buy a rodi unit, many easy ways to fit them, 10% is recommended for bigger tanks with a lot of equipment to help reduce water changes, on a nano you will be years away from 10% water changes if you ever get there.

 

[Tahoe61]

Make and test your own water when able.

 

[Jimmy Smits IV]

There is no correct amount of water to change. Some do 25-50% weekly on very small tanks, some do 10% weekly, some 10% monthly, some do 1% per day on an automated basis. Some dont change their water at all. Ive been doing 7% water changes every other week because thats what I consider the easiest for me to do in a way that will become a habit.

You can setup an RO system on any sink in your house that has the correct faucet hookup, or a washer dryer hookup, or a few other methods to make it more convenient than having it hooked up and plumbed 24/7 to a hard line. I settled on installing it in my basement. I installed a new branch off my main water and soldered a connector so I can have RODI permanently setup into a 20 galloon can.

Ive never done it but ive also heard of people buying distilled water from the grocery store and using that to mix up salt water.

Theres many successful tanks that change water once per year. Theres many successful tanks that change water every week. It does seem however that the less experience you have, the easier it is to ensure success by doing water changes.

 

[fishwhistle]

Buy a rodi unit, many easy ways to fit them, 10% is recommended for bigger tanks with a lot of equipment to help reduce water changes, on a nano you will be years away from 10% water changes if you ever get there.

Are you saying I will need larger water changes until it’s fully established? And if so, what % makes the most sense?

 

[Entity77]

Water changes are more important in a small tank then in a larger tank.

You should be thinking 10% every week.

Reef tanks are hard work, and driving to a LFS every week just makes them more work.

Just cost in a RODI system and make life easier.

Just my two cents.

Why are water changes more important in a small tank vs larger tank?

 

[Reef.]

Are you saying I will need larger water changes until it’s fully established? And if so, what % makes the most sense?

Not straight away, get the cycle out the way and let the nutrients increase but depending on the tank and equipment I would suggest aiming for 20-30% and remember you need rodi water for topping up the tank and other uses such as rinsing carbon, rinsing filter floss etc( some rinse carbon in tap water but I don’t recommend that especially on a smaller tank.

I have my rodi set up to attach to the washing machine inlet pipe, a Y connector is with a ball valve on the end, all I do when making water is take the unit out of the cupboard and push the tubing into the ball valve and open the valve, when not in use back in the cupboard.

 

[fishwhistle]

Why are water changes more important in a small tank vs larger tank?

Smaller volume means that small changes in water have a larger effect

 

[rtparty]

10% weekly is plenty even from week one. You don't need to wait a year or more to get to 10% weekly.

I have been keeping nano tanks since 2006. My oldest one was 8 years old when I finally had to sell it off due to moving houses 3 times in 6 weeks.

Here you can see my latest nano build:

My “Proof of Concept” Aquarium

Nothing I show here is new or groundbreaking in any way. I make no claims of that. Just journaling my ideas and what has happened thus far… Backstory In May of 2024 I was burnt out with the hobby and my 250g “dream” tank. Link in my signature for that build thread. I sold all livestock...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Gumbies R Us]

I would recommend buying an RODI unit and doing them at home. It's good to have one anyway, just in case of an emergency with your tank, and you always have backup RO water.

For a tank your size, I would recommend doing 10-15% water changes every week. It will help keep up with the demands of your tank and remove any harmful nutrients in your tank too.

 

[JumboShrimp]

Regardless of tank size, you will ALWAYS need access to more water than you think. It's a Murphy's Law type of thing. (Lol!) ;)

 

[fishwhistle]

The more I think about, this may not be for me right now. I know how I get and I’ll start to view as a chore and resent it at some point because I’m a weirdo.
I appreciate all the help, I will say that so far the aquarium enthusiasts seem very nice without being judgmental, that I do like!

 

[JumboShrimp]

Just as an idea, this was a 7-gallon All in One (AIO) softie tank I ran that was a lot of fun, with absolutely minimal water changes (and no dosing). You could use an occasional $1.00 gallon of distilled water for water changes / top offs. ;)

 

[fishwhistle]

Just as an idea, this was a 7-gallon All in One (AIO) softie tank I ran that was a lot of fun, with absolutely minimal water changes (and no dosing). You could use an occasional $1.00 gallon of distilled water for water changes / top offs. ;)

So this is along the lines of what I was thinking. I don’t want a lot of fish really, mostly inverts.
Why was this so “low maintenance”?

 

[JumboShrimp]

Because if you don't rush things (a sound Rule, right there), all softies really need is clean water and adequate lighting. (I had a tiny, tiny wavemakers for flow-- maybe optional with the right random flow generator on the return line.) But a very cheap, short siphon tube made it easy to siphon out the sand frequently. I think the tank was only about 10" tall. It was a LifeGuard Aquatics 'slant nose' tank, with two Kessil A80 lights.