What's the "magic" of 10% weekly water changes?

[Daniel@R2R]

Great discussion!!

 

[mike550]

Great discussion!!

Completely agree! I didn’t realize this would create such a conversation but wow! FWIW I could do a 20% change as easily as a 10% change. But after all of this dialog I will focus on 10% / week.

That said, do you think it would be okay if I made 20G at a time but use 10G right away and then another 10G the following week?

 

[David Moceri]

i haven't been doing any water changes for about a year. i run an over sized media reactor, an over sized algae scrubber, a protein skimmer, four filter socks, and an additional mechanical filter.

i have a 140 gallon mixed reef tank and a 30 gallon refugium. corals are growing fast.

I understand this approach is not for everyone. It is working for me, and is less work. I test everything weekly.

I have no ammonia
no nitrates
barely any phosphates
and dose, when needed, for calcium, magnesium, and alkalinity.

My first year with the tank i used to do 10% changes. I think i read about the no water change method here, and switched.

 

[Zionas]

Do you think 20% would be better for heavily stocked tanks, or maybe up to 15% enough for heavily stocked tanks with several large fish?

What about biweekly water changes just double the amount of water changed? Say instead of 10% water change every week I do 20% twice a month.

 

[Salemsoul]

Completely agree! I didn’t realize this would create such a conversation but wow! FWIW I could do a 20% change as easily as a 10% change. But after all of this dialog I will focus on 10% / week.

That said, do you think it would be okay if I made 20G at a time but use 10G right away and then another 10G the following week?

depends on the salt you use. I use red sea coral pro and wouldn't dream of storing it for the following week. However, there are plenty of salts that store well. Bulk reef supply did a great video comparing them all on youtube!

 

[mike550]

depends on the salt you use. I use red sea coral pro and wouldn't dream of storing it for the following week. However, there are plenty of salts that store well. Bulk reef supply did a great video comparing them all on youtube!

Thanks @Salemsoul I'll check it out.

 

[Aclman88]

Expense and work are two reasons to not change more. I show what these sorts of changes accomplish here:

Water Changes in Reef Aquaria by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-10/rhf/index.php

Excellent reads. Thank you for sharing! I always appreciate your deep dive into the chemistry of reef keeping. Your article also demonstrated the importance of dosing once you reach certain levels of consumption as water changes can't keep up with it.

 

[Aclman88]

There are nano vase tanks that do 100% water changes weekly with no issues. As long as your parameters match in the replacement water there shouldn't be an issue. The key is to just change enough to keep your nutrients where you want them.

Right. I have done over 50% water changes with no loss of livestock and in fact, they looked markedly better afterwards. The key is to keep the parameters between tank water and WC water as close as possible.

 

[Reeffragger]

As far as im con erned there is no magic to 10% weekly changes.. My tank is simple. I dont use RODI i dont use skimmers.. i use tap water.. Yes i know whats in my tap water as the water company has to release it to the public. Sure there are traces of things some woyld flinch on and sure it accumulates with refilling the tank after evaporation.

I just use hobs and power heads and t5s thats it. I clean my front glass every 2-3 days.. dose once a day. And then every 4 weeks i do a 50-70% water change in my 135 gallon 6ft. Litterally i have 75 different corals sps lps mainly and 20 or so zoas.

Im wayyyy too lazy to care about having to change 15-20 gallons every dang week. Thatd be annoying to do and since what i do works why change it