dosing water changes DO WE NEED TO

[ReeferRookie]

You're making this way too hard. Everyone is basically saying the same thing. The elements get depleted in your tank, faster with skeleton building corals, slower with softies. You have to replace these elements either through water changes or dosing. Period. Pick which one you want to do. It seems like you're trying to start and argument and there isn't one to be had.

I think you said you're not skimming? You're going to need to do water changes to export nutrients anyway. If you don't, you'll have a dirty algae-filled tank with high nitrates and phosphates that even the easiest corals won't live in. If it's bad enough, you'll even have a hard time keeping fish.

Maybe your not understanding. What i said i dont dose i DO do normal water changes my question is whether i can get away with out dosing

My second question.is. my friends states he doesnt do normal water changes. Im asking if thats possible ?

Theres two seperate questions im asking in the same thread. Sorry for.the confusion

 

[Kennyb1]

Yeah, even jfrar does water changes with a pretty complete salt mix+ doses. He's importing trace elements. I will fuel your fire with this though. I broke down my 180 and had to store small amounts of sps and some LPs in my girlfriends tank. Over the year and a half she had that 55 going she did 3 water changes and the only time she skimmed was the last six months when I bough her a skimmer also she only used a fluval 406. I gave her some a and b to dose and some trace elements and not only did my sps see more growth in her tank (she uses r.o. start to finish which is part of what I attribute to to that.) But I mean the sps stayed alive in what I'm assuming was a very nutrient rich tank. Now mind you the nitrates were never high in anyway but still I was impressed because her dosing wasn't regular and she rarely used any trace elements. Still the same basic point remains to achieve explosive and constant growth you need to have what the corals need to grow. You wouldn't expect to be able to survive or grow if you never ate right?

 

[ReeferRookie]

Im understanding all of that. Im asking if things can occur natrually as they do in .nature in a tank. Nature doesnt dose im asking can having fish and water changes and proper filtration no dosing can u keep a stable reef system.




The second part is. If you can go without water changes and keep any kind.of.reef.

 

[ReeferRookie]

Ill reconfirm. I do normal water changes i find it important im asking does anyone feel its not! The only ones who can make an opinion on that is people who do it

 

[sawdonkey]

Im understanding all of that. Im asking if things can occur natrually as they do in .nature in a tank. Nature doesnt dose im asking can having fish and water changes and proper filtration no dosing can u keep a stable reef system.




The second part is. If you can go without water changes and keep any kind.of.reef.

No, elements do not magically appear in your tank. In the ocean, the entire ocean floor leeches elements and ocean life is constantly growing and decaying and using and releasing elements.

I thing the answer to the second question is yes, as long as you have other means of exporting nutrients (skimming) and and replacing depleted elements (dosing). With just softies, I think you you'll go a very long time without water changes and without dosing as long as you're dealing with nutrient export. This will be a impacted by the number of fish you have and the amount you feed them.

 

[-Logzor]

s

Im understanding all of that. Im asking if things can occur natrually as they do in .nature in a tank. Nature doesnt dose im asking can having fish and water changes and proper filtration no dosing can u keep a stable reef system.




The second part is. If you can go without water changes and keep any kind.of.reef.

The answer is: Test your levels, if your levels are low, then dose or do water changes to bring them up. The rocks and sand in the aquarium are not creating substantial amount of calcium or buffer to maintain your corals in a high-demand system. I have to dose over 120 mL a day of calcium and alkalinity or those levels will plummet overnight.

It seems you're looking for an answer that tells you not to dose or do water changes (I see these type of threads frequently, people looking for justification for not doing something). Keeping a reef is a lot of work, water changes are highly recommended. It all depends if you want a higher probability of your corals and fish thriving.

 

[ReeferRookie]

No, elements do not magically appear in your tank. In the ocean, the entire ocean floor leeches elements and ocean life is constantly growing and decaying and using and releasing elements.

I thing the answer to the second question is yes, as long as you have other means of exporting nutrients (skimming) and and replacing depleted elements (dosing). With just softies, I think you you'll go a very long time without water changes and without dosing as long as you're dealing with nutrient export. This will be a impacted by the number of fish you have and the amount you feed them.

a decent an educated answer. Can u get those elements by other means other then dosing ? Or is dosing our only option with stonys

 

[sawdonkey]

a decent an educated answer. Can u get those elements by other means other then dosing ? Or is dosing our only option with stonys

Calcium reactor is really the only thing that comes to mind, although this is really just a different means of dosing.

 

[ReeferRookie]

Yeah i would.consider that dosing. Im just curious if these people.who claim they dont dose but have gorgeous tanks are just full of ****. Or not

 

[akopley]

I haven't dosed anything in my tank. 150 gallons for 6 months and I am having moderate growth and good color. I use red sea pro salt. I plan on adding a calcium reactor when I add more sps. [video=youtube;0OEvcqxQJBw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OEvcqxQJBw&list=UUC2yjYeZEFgiyA6O5iSwMUw[/video]

 

[GHill762]

you don't HAVE to dose if you can keep up with demand by doing water changes, unfortunately if you have a lot of stoney coral (particularly SPS) then it becomes increasingly difficult to keep up with demand by doing water changes.. possible? yes, but difficult and not cost effective..

you can go the other way and not do any water changes, but then you have to be really good at figuring out what to dose.. once again, it's not impossible, just difficult and potentially costly.. it's tough to know what trace elements are actually needed (still a guessing game) and even then the test kits for most trace elements are really expensive and not always accurate..

most people fall in the middle with daily doses of calcium and alkalinity, then do water changes monthly/bi-monthly/etc to keep everything else in line (mag, iodine, potassium, other trace, etc.)..

what you CANT do is have stony corals and not do either.. you have to pick an element import method.. dose or water change. dosing can be done in several ways, 2-part (or more parts, "balling"), kalkwasser, or a calcium reactor..

 

[ReeferRookie]

Two very good answers thank you. And your. Tank is gorgeous for no dosing

 

[jservedio]

No matter what you keep, if you have corals of any sort, you need do water changes to maintain your trace elements, dose to keep them at their required levels, or both. Even with only soft corals, you will still have coralline algae and possible other calcareous macroalgaes (like halimeda) which use Alk, Ca, and Mg. If you don't dose or do water changes, these will eventually use up the available elements and your coral will die.

 

[ReeferRookie]

I dont find. That part true. I think with softies u dont have to dose i havnt dosed at all and all mine are thriving ?

 

[JFrar]

akopley mentioned he uses the same salt i do... i think that has a big part of dosing or not...because everywater change is a dosing method with that salt...thats why i went with it.

 

[ReeferRookie]

I use reef crystals. Idk but i havnt had to dose maybe thats why ?

 

[JFrar]

ReeferRookie, if your softies are thriving thats awesome. BUT, thriving is more than 3, 6 or 12 months down the road..... You should research more on softies and their requirements(I don't really know chemically-wise)... they have to take something up that will eventually run out if not being put back in the tank

 

[jservedio]

I dont find. That part true. I think with softies u dont have to dose i havnt dosed at all and all mine are thriving ?

Then you do water changes. If you don't do water changes AND don't dose, they will eventually die as your coralline takes off. You simply have to do one or the other at a bare minimum or your tank will crash. It is a simple fact of chemistry. It may not happen fast - you may get 6 months, maybe even a year - but eventually the trace elements will, without fail, slowly decline - even without coral skeletons. Coralline, calcareous algae, and other micro organism hitchhikers all utilize Alkalinity, Calcium, and Magnesium.

Not to mention the other trace elements like Iodine which is used by things like shrimp and crabs - they will eventually stop molting and die if it gets too low.

 

[sawdonkey]

This thread is going nowhere. Op is asking two questions and won't acknowledge that they are related. You either do water changes, dose, or both, or you tank chemistry will go to hell and so will your inhabitants. There is no argument or conversation needed. You choose to replenish your elements by changing water. Some people choose to do it with dosing. Everyone is saying the same thing.

It doesn't matter how you keep your chemistry in balance as long as you keep it in balance. Are you trolling us? I'm done.

 

[joshuaaah]

Have not had to do a water change in 6 months. Things are looking better than ever too.