Any harm in restarting water changes after 1 year?

[Lineatus]

Is there a risk in me doing a water change after ~1 year of not doing any? My water box 15 hasn’t seen a water change in a while now, after a house move I got lazy. All the corals are doing great, and I’m seeing more growth after cutting water changes out than I ever saw whilst doing them regularly. However, the tank isn’t too pretty to look at. Cyanobacteria has come back in force, I’ve been having to stir the sand and blow the rocks everyday for a couple months now. The water surface is now looking scummy and water bubbles are building up on the side of the glass.

All of these issues do seem to be purely aesthetic, and as I say, the corals don’t seem to mind at all. I’d like to start doing a water change every 2 months or so, to hopefully fix the look of my tank. What risks should I be prepared for and what % change would you recommend if I do go down this route? Thanks!

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Is there a risk in me doing a water change after ~1 year of not doing any?

No.

 

[Dom]

If it isn't broken, don't fix it!

Are you dosing the tank?

 

[The_Paradox]

I only top off if I vacuum and to replace what skimmer removes. In 12 years I have only done two 20% water changes. Those were done due to starting new tanks and both times it triggered some algae and cyano. I would say start small to avoid that. Something like a couple 5% changes.

 

[Doctorgori]

I hate water changes but after reading some post from Moonshiners and other methods it’s a fair question if just mixing/ changing 25% is actually less work

 

[Dom]

I hate water changes but after reading some post from Moonshiners and other methods it’s a fair question if just mixing/ changing 25% is actually less work

I really think it is a matter of practicality.

25% on a 40 breeder is 10 gallons and practical. Whereas a 25% change on a 400 gallon tank would be expensive and a lot of work.

 

[Doctorgori]

I really think it is a matter of practicality.

25% on a 40 breeder is 10 gallons and practical. Whereas a 25% change on a 400 gallon tank would be expensive and a lot of work.

Exactly, and pretty much a better way of putting it

I did not want to hijack and turn into a water change or not thread but there are limits to anything/everything

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

corals doing great but tank is ugly with scummy surface.... that is not balance. Balance is aesthetically pleasing plus corals doing great. Personally I would always work to achieve that balance

 

[Lineatus]

Well I decided to do a 10% water change two days ago and thought I’d crashed my tank. 12 hours later and my fish were acting lethargic, breathing fast and my corals were not happy at all. This went on for two days, with my corals and fish getting progressively worse and worse. I figured I must’ve messed up the micro biome or something since all my tests were 100%.

Sigh, remember to plug your heaters back in after a water change folks. I have absolutely no idea how everything in my tank is still alive. I live in a single glazed Scottish flat, outside temperatures are in the negatives, I don’t even want to think how cold the tank was at night.

But luckily everything seems to have survived! I guess corals are more resistant than I thought. My cyano also seems to have completely disappeared, guess they don’t like the cold…. Lol

 

[Garf]

Well I decided to do a 10% water change two days ago and thought I’d crashed my tank. 12 hours later and my fish were acting lethargic, breathing fast and my corals were not happy at all. This went on for two days, with my corals and fish getting progressively worse and worse. I figured I must’ve messed up the micro biome or something since all my tests were 100%.

Sigh, remember to plug your heaters back in after a water change folks. I have absolutely no idea how everything in my tank is still alive. I live in a single glazed Scottish flat, outside temperatures are in the negatives, I don’t even want to think how cold the tank was at night.

But luckily everything seems to have survived! I guess corals are more resistant than I thought. My cyano also seems to have completely disappeared, guess they don’t like the cold…. Lol

Can you not rig your heaters so they are fully submerged during the waterchange?

 

[Shaina Carey]

Oof, I have done that a few times in my 10 gallon freshwater tank. Only fish that I had that were sensitive to that were ember tetras