Water changes. . . . What is your method?

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I track all the fundamental parameters and use icp for trace + things I can’t measure. Coral health is a good indicator if something is imbalanced.
I run chemipure elite in my sump, occasionally use chemipure blue, and I have a reactor with seagel. This combination, with a cryptic filtration zone and ats will absorb the bulk of things I feel are worth worrying about. I filled the tank over a decade ago, the sand and rock are even older. Coral health/growth has not been an issue.

If I have to do one large water change every 15-20 years I still saved a ton of time and money and I would have no regrets

But you almost certainly do not measure the organics I mentioned, and have no way to know if any of your procedures are usefully removing them.

I think as the organic measurement tools Oceamo uses become more widely used, we won’t know, how common such issues are, but in the only case that I have seen of a reef list their results, a plasticizer was unexpectedly high.

 

[AydenLincoln]

I do weekly to biweekly on my reef tank! Although honestly I have slacked on it as it has matured. Hewbie’s tank I rarely do unless I have a reason to.

 

[vlangel]

I agree with @VintageReefer. If you reach a place with your tank that you can minimize or eliminate WCs, that is a good thing. Observation is key however so that if something is going south, it can be corrected before it's catastrophic.

 

[VintageReefer]

But you almost certainly do not measure the organics I mentioned, and have no way to know if any of your procedures are usefully removing them.

You are correct. I do not measure the things you mentioned, and the products I use “claim” to remove toxins, organics, ions, doc, but the specifics of what types are not given, nor proven. All I have to go by is my reef and corals which are healthy, colorful, and growing consistently.

I think as the organic measurement tools Oceamo uses become more widely used, we won’t know, how common such issues are, but in the only case that I have seen of a reef list their results, a plasticizer was unexpectedly high.

I am happy for the new testing they developed. I haven’t bought it yet but it’s something I’m interested in.

For now, food grade level products should eliminate or reduce risk of plasticizers.

 

[VintageReefer]

I agree with @VintageReefer. If you reach a place with your tank that you can minimize or eliminate WCs, that is a good thing. Observation is key however so that if something is going south, it can be corrected before it's catastrophic.

Observation is key and I do spend a lot of time viewing and photographing the tank and corals each day. If something had an issue I can usually go back through my album to see when it started and sometimes I find clues that I overlooked. Then I can cross reference parameter logs to see if anything was out of whack, or if I made any changes / additions In that time frame that could be related

 

[vlangel]

Also if there is a negative compound building up in the tank, no doubt the coral would begin to react. When that is observed, if the tank is not an enormous aquarium, one or two big WCs can go a long way in correcting the issue. That is still a lot easier than weekly WCs.

Don't get me wrong, I am a pro WC person but when a tank reaches a place where it thrives without the consistent WCs, i say go with it.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Obviously no water changes works in some cases to result in a great tank. So does using tap water. I think folks should just be careful in both cases in interpreting what that means for every other tank setup. :)

I would also point out that in a tank not doing water changes for a long time, no one can really say what effect some water changes would have on it.

 

[VintageReefer]

Also if there is a negative compound building up in the tank, no doubt the coral would begin to react. When that is observed, if the tank is not an enormous aquarium, one or two big WCs can go a long way in correcting the issue. That is still a lot easier than weekly WCs.

Don't get me wrong, I am a pro WC person but when a tank reaches a place where it thrives without the consistent WCs, i say go with it.

I am not opposed to water changes, I just don’t need them. In the past I did them. If I had a need to do one, I would bring in two large brutes trash bins, I’d fill one with 50gal of water, salt, heater, and large pump. Let it mix a few days. Then on wc day I would pump out 50g of water into one bin and pump in 50g of new sw.

Then pump the waste water to a drain. My return pump could move 50g in approx 5 min.

I also don’t need a skimmer. I phased that out over a year ago.

 

[Miami Reef]

In the past I did them. If I had a need to do one, I would bring in two large brutes trash bins, I’d fill one with 50gal of water, salt, heater, and large pump. Let it mix a few days. Then on wc day I would pump out 50g of water into one bin and pump in 50g of new sw.

That’s exactly how I do it!

 

[Miami Reef]

Your tank is fantastic, Vintage. I like it a lot. It’s thriving and looks great.

I personally wouldn’t do it for my tank, but I have to give credit where it’s due.

 

[VintageReefer]

That’s exactly how I do it!

Yup!

 

[56longroof]

But you almost certainly do not measure the organics I mentioned, and have no way to know if any of your procedures are usefully removing them.

I think as the organic measurement tools Oceamo uses become more widely used, we won’t know, how common such issues are, but in the only case that I have seen of a reef list their results, a plasticizer was unexpectedly high.

Does carbon remove these organics?

 

[VintageReefer]

Your tank is fantastic, Vintage. I like it a lot. It’s thriving and looks great.

Thank you!
Coral pic for you! Nice fluffy hammer colony. That’s a 3 head hammer on the right for size reference

I personally wouldn’t do it for my tank, but I have to give credit where it’s due.

Will say if needed, I am experienced, observant, and prepared with the needed gear and can do one in a pinch. I just don’t feel like I have a need for it and I think part of my success is from extreme stability

 

[Miami Reef]

Thank you!
Coral pic for you! Nice fluffy hammer colony. That’s a 3 head hammer on the right for size reference

Will say if needed, I am experienced, observant, and prepared with the needed gear and can do one in a pinch. I just don’t feel like I have a need for it and I think part of my success is from extreme stability

Wow! Beautiful!

How’s the halide look with the Meridians?

 

[VintageReefer]

Here’s how you can tell if the tank is healthy. If you put in new acros and have full PE on day 1, and have consistent PE 24x7 any time day or night, your waters probably pretty good

Added this guy last week. Been like this since day 1. The algae on the plug came with it, I have to leave some for the snails and tang but they haven’t touched it yet

 

[VintageReefer]

Wow! Beautiful!

How’s the halide look with the Meridians?

I like it, the 14k bars really were what brought it to a new level.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Does carbon remove these organics?

Some yes and some no. GAC will not do a very effective job on highly hydrophilic organics.

 

[VintageReefer]

Some yes and some no. GAC will not do a very effective job on highly hydrophilic organics.

Is cac any better?

 

[Miami Reef]

Some yes and some no. GAC will not do a very effective job on highly hydrophilic organics.

Is Oxybispropanol an example of a highly hydrophilic organic?

It makes the skimmer go nuts for days despite lots of carbon.

 

[Miami Reef]

Is cac any better?

What is cac?